Life Happens

Life happens.  Unexpected.  Crazy.  Full of surprises, both good and bad.  Not to mention, a whole lot can happen in a month's time.  SO!  To catch you up since my last post~

May was a full month... and June is shaping up to be the same.  I finished my first semester of college in May, just in time for our camping trip to Lake Brownwood State Park.  I was kept in suspense the entire weekend wanting to come home and see what my final grades were for the classes.  I came home all worried, not sure if my writing skills for formal papers were as good as I hoped they were.  I had managed to keep my GPA above 97% throughout the assignments, discussions, and essays, but the final papers held the greater percentage, and both papers were shorter than they were supposed to be...so I was worried.  Turns out though, that I did better than I thought, and I need to have more faith in my abilities.  I hold a 98% GPA so far!  (YUP.. I am patting myself on the back!  LOL)

Our trip to Lake Brownwood was amazing!  We rented a small camper which I packed for the long weekend.  (DH was gone on tdy up till the day we left for the trip, so he basically traded one bag of clothes for another.. hehe)  We took our dog with us, sure that he would have a good time.  It was soooo HOT!  and humid, of course, being on a lake.  So while we didn't do alot of hiking and exploring like we normally love to do, we took advantage of the siesta type weather and relaxed and just enjoyed peace and quiet and the ability to do nothing!  We took the kiddo swimming in the lake.  It is amazing to see him lose his fear of water little by little.  He is now begging for another shot at swimming lessons, but I think we will just make sure he gets in the water as much as possible this summer and do lessons again next summer.  The lake was beautiful!  I forgot how much I love lakes!  Even though we have several here in town, I tend to prefer taking the kiddo to the pool where he can play with more kids and where there are more life guards.  I think though that I will need to get us down to the lake here and get our toes muddy more often! 

After our camping trip, I had a week off of school.  I took advantage of the 'free' time by catching up on house projects, a couple crafts and sewing projects, and reading books that have absolutely nothing to do with school!  LOL  I am most proud of my sewing projects.  I am still teaching myself how to sew, and took my mother-in-law's advice on a small project that would help me learn to sew better in straight lines and get better aquainted wiith my sewing machine, which quite frankly, had previously been quite intimidating to try to use.  So I started with some scrap squares that I picked up from Hancock's here in town.  I made a center piece for my dining room table.  Because my table is super narrow, any runners I would put on it were way too big and would mess up the placemats.  So this one I measured out, and viola!  Its still a wee bit too wide, but not near as bad as ones I have bought.  It is reversible.  The one side is strips of different fabrics, while the other side is a piece of an old table cloth that does not fit this table.  I plan on taking the rest of that table cloth and making cloth napkins out of it. (An idea I got from an old friend)

My second completed sewing project was a fabric cover for my laptop, so that when I carry it with my school books in my backpack, it will be better protected.  It's completely reversible and padded.  I wanted to put a liner in the center of the layers to protect it from moisture, but didn't want to press my luck as I am still learning.  I was not even sure it would turn out the way I hoped it would! I impressed myself once it was completed and I was able to put my laptop in it.  (I just put the laptop in a wal-mart bag before I put it in the cover, so it is still a bit protected if water spills on my bag, or whatever...)

During my week off, we also had to take our dog to the groomers to have all the grass spurs from the camping trip cut out of his super long coat.  Many of my friends and family had thought that our dog could use a diet cause he appeared so thick.  (I suspected he was just all fur)  My suspicions proved correct when I went to pick up our freshly sheered dog.  (They cut him WAY too short, after I expressly told them NOT to, so we won't be returning there.)  He was so sad after his hair cut that he lost his 'smile' for two days, and wouldn't even wag his tail when we went out to play with him!  Poor thing!  I think he felt naked! Needless to say, now a couple weeks later, he is his happy and smiling self! 

I am now in my second week of my second semester.  I thought last semesters study load was heavy!  I am in the books or online in the discussion boards a large part of my days now.  I have to make a real effort to make sure I spend time with the kiddo and get us both out of the house.  We are spending time down by the Concho River, or at a local pool, or just enjoying ourselves as we run errands.  Its amazing how therapeutic shopping can be when you find your head spinning from too many terms and concepts! 

And now for the best news of all:  Another healing relationship.  I will not go into great length because there are other parties from the falling out that I do not want to hurt.  Let's just say that an old aquaintance, that I had hoped I could be friends with until this falling out, came to me with great humility and opened the door for more reconciliation!  I am humbled, happy, and inspired by the movement of our Lord!  I am eager to see complete healing, and I am praying for a restored relationship and hopefully a friendship.  Praise God!  (and thank you, dear Lady, for taking that step!!!)

I guess that is it for now... I hope all of you are enjoying your summers!  God bless!