Man, this week went fast and yet somehow Monday seems very long ago.

Monday my running buddy and I ran five miles!  This should not really be celebratory news, but I/we haven’t run that far since October.  We walked some of it, but it felt so good to break that five mile barrier again.  Monday was also grocery day again.  I need to get that bumped to another day of the week.  Although it is nice to get out Monday morning and have it done.  And Grace got her cast off Monday.  (Woot!!!)

I was also very grumpy on Monday.  I’m not sure why.  It could have been the go-go-go again all day.  It could have been early morning run.  Or it could have just been a grumpy day.

Tuesday and Wednesday we cleaned the house.  Wednesday we went to a choir picnic for Emma’s choir group.

Wednesday also brought some unexpected excitement to our lives.  I was sitting at my computer that morning, going through emails when Matt calls to tell me that a house we bought a while back, had remodeled, and had sold (with the closing being only days away), was on fire.  A neighbor had called him to let him know, as we had no other way of finding out.  Investigations that day led to the conclusion that the fire was set intentionally, but by whom, no one knows at this point.  I honestly spent Wednesday laughing about the whole thing.  It was just so ridiculous!  We’re not these crazy people who should have people trying to burn down properties we own.  Such a completely random and bizarre incident!  Thursday I was a little more disturbed by the whole thing as reality sank in a bit more.  We are praying that the arsonist is caught quickly and that God would be glorified in this.  Clearly, it wasn’t time for that house to sell yet!

Thursday morning we did some more garage saling.  I am a long-avowed non-garage saler, but a friend has been baiting me with her great finds for most of a year now, so we’ve given it a try the past two weeks.  The girls and I have had more fun together and we’ve found some great stuff.  Yesterday’s big score was this chair for $10.

I may or may not paint it.  I haven’t decided yet where it’s going to take up residence in the house, so we’ll see.  The other big find was this hideous thing:

Our rule the past two weeks has been “No Toys”.  I have made an exception both weeks, but they seem to understand that this is not an opportunity to collect more plastic junk.  That said, when we drove by the house with this thing in the front yard, Ellie gasped and asked eagerly to go look.  She was completely entranced.  When I told her she could buy it (with her own money), you’d swear she just won the lottery – skipping and bouncing down the sidewalk; all the way home saying “This is a dream come true!”.  They haven’t had any time yet to play with it, so I’m thinking I may have scored myself a very quiet Saturday morning tomorrow!  Definitely worth a few bucks of her money!

This weekend is ballet recital.  Quite possibly it will be the end of (or at least a long break in) an era for Grace.  We are praying about everyone’s activities for next year and what we should all be doing with our time, but we’re all pretty sure Grace is ready for a break from ballet.  This year was hard, mentally more than physically, and the schedule burned her (and us) out.  It will be sad to see her stop, but it’s too large of a commitment both financially and time-wise to drag her to something she doesn’t love.  Regardless of what next year holds, we are all looking forward to a break from regularly scheduled activities for a couple months!

I’m still trying to finish up Chandler and Ellie’s room.  Hopefully by the end of next week now I can post some pictures.  However, I did do a really fun project a couple of months ago that I never shared.  For years I’ve had French memo boards in our front hall for pictures and Christmas cards and such, but the boards were overflowing and also looking very tired so I tried to think of something different.  Enter, an old wood door from our basement:

It’s old and worn and completely imperfect.  It has old, rusty hardware on it, and for years I’ve been trying to figure out something fun to do with it.  Well, with the help of some nails, wire, and my husband, it has been transformed into my awesome picture hanging thing.  🙂

(My incredibly narrow and dark hallway makes it very difficult to get a good picture.)

Well, that’s our lives this week.  We’re loving summer already and the flexibility it provides.  May your weekend be wonderful and filled with time to enjoy your Creator.

For His Glory ~

~ Sara