Well, I can't find the rest of my blog to move it here, so I guess I will just continue on. Hopefully at some point I will "find" the rest of my old blog and someone can show me how insert "What Do You Do All Day.....The Lost Years".

Summer has been flying by, as it always does. June was a blur of swimming and basketball for the boys, and ended with a reunion of my college choir, culminating in a concert. I *loved* singing for real again with other people who know what they are doing. That weekend will definitely be a highlight of my summer!

We just got back from our vacation in FL on Saturday. We had a great time and felt very blessed to be able to take a vacation in the first place, not to mention do the things we did while we were there (parasailing, etc.). There are so many people in dire straits right now....it makes me grateful that DH has a secure job, even though I often feel he spends way too much time doing it!

The kids are fine.....driving me a little bit nuts with the bickering, etc., but so far it has been bearable. Luke will go to camp for a week on Sunday, so I will just have the two younger guys around next week. I can't figure out if that will be easier or harder! We have lots of dr. and dentist appts. scheduled in the next three weeks in order to get it all done before school starts, so that stuff will keep us busy.

School starts in just three weeks.....the first student day is on my 19th anniversary. Hard to believe it has been 19 years! It seems like the longer we are married, the more we hear stories of people we know who are splitting up or have serious marital issues. It shakes us up from time to time, but makes us feel so blessed to have each other. DH and took a walk last night and talked about how horrible it would feel to be married to someone we perceived as a stressor or even an enemy. Goodness knows the life we lead is not an easy one, with kids, his job, my job, etc., but for whatever reason, we still find refuge in each other and I am thankful for that.

The start of school could be very stressful....my staff (7th and 8th grade teachers) moved from an old building to a brand new one over Christmas break last year, but we only take up half of the new building. The 5th and 6th grade teachers will be joining us there this fall, and we will all be one staff.....one big happy family (at least that is the expectation). Teachers here tend to stick around (not a lot of turnover) and I predict the changes won't be easy for some. Our principal (whose first year with us was last year....also his first year as a principal) will have a school that has doubled in size, and a faculty that is pretty set in its ways. It will be challenging for him!

The boys will all be starting at new schools, so I am feeling a little nervous about how they will adjust. The younger two have never been in public school and are used to much smaller class sizes than they will have this year. My oldest hasn't been in public school since 1st grade, and he is headed to *high school*! I think he is ready for a bigger pond.....I hope he is ready for the increased responsibility that he will have. I hope *I* am ready for high school sports!

We met with our decorator just before our vacation, and need to make some decisions about furniture and upholstery. Most of the pieces she has shown us are very reasonable in price, especially with the discount she gets, but the bar stools she showed us are $700 each....and we want 5 of them! We may hold off on those for awhile, but I definitely want living and dining room furniture (and rugs) before Thanksgiving, because (Lord help me) DH's family will be here for the holiday (that's 12 additional people, and my mom and one sister may join us for the meal as well). So we had better get the furniture selected and ordered!