Day in the Life...July 2022

 I had fun documenting our day in June, so I thought I'd do another one this month!

Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Ryan is 43, Bekah is 44, Braeya is 16, and Lexi is 8 months old
The high for today is 80 and it's sunny

* Ryan gets up super early to check the yard to see if it needs watered. The dew is heavy, and he plans to mow tonight, so he decides not to do a morning  watering and turns off the sprinklers for today so the grass will be dry by tonight. He takes some time to read his Bible and pray while I'm still sleeping.

* I get up and throw on some clothes - actually a sweatshirt and capris, because it's in the low 60s at the moment. Though it hasn't been QUITE as hot the last couple of days, it's still not been sweatshirt level, so this feels strange. Somehow, even though I've only been up for two minutes and haven't had coffee, I remember we need a refill on Lexi's poop bags in our walking bag, so I do that while Ryan gets Lexi up. We head out on our walk, which is pretty and sunny! Lexi is FULL of energy this morning!

* We come home and Ryan cleans off Lexi's paws (which she now offers on command...it's so cute!) and then I bring her inside to feed her breakfast. She pushes that Kong all over the floor, getting every last piece of food out of it. While she's distracted, Ryan and I make the bed, open the rest of the blinds, and I change our little perpetual calendar to today's date. 

* I grab my laptop and take it to the kitchen table to do some work, and I turn on Good Bones for Lexi to watch. (This show is set in Indianapolis, if you're not familiar, so I enjoy watching it as much for the familiar scenery as for the renovation work itself.) Ryan starts getting ready for work, and I pour my first cup of coffee and get my first water glass out to drink up for the day!

* I pull up Facebook to do the daily post for Love INC and see this picture in a memory from nine years ago today. Ryan was driving The Asphyxiator (which we no longer have, praise the Lord!) to work and the hood flew up while he was driving! He had to pull over and tie it down with the only thing he had: an orange extension cord. I do not miss this truck, but I do giggle at the memory. 

* Ryan warms up leftover biscuits and gravy from this past weekend and sits to have breakfast. While he eats, I pack his lunch for today - which is leftover soup I made yesterday. (It was a new-to-us recipe called Spring Chicken Soup. It's pretty good!) Soup, crackers, leftover Texas Sheet Cake from the youth group fundraiser on Sunday, and some snacks! 

* He has a few minutes before he leaves for work, so Ryan unloads the dishwasher, puts away what he can, and puts the rest on a dish mat to finish drying. Meanwhile, I'm on to my second cup of coffee. 

* Ryan leaves for work and I make PB&J toast for my breakfast. It's one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast, currently. I use all-natural peanut butter and organic strawberry jelly on sourdough bread. DELISH. I scroll Facebook and Instagram while I eat my breakfast, and then I take a look over the list of things to do today so I can choose the order. 

* One of the things Ryan and I have in common is that both of us had a sister named Lori lose a baby to stillbirth (before we were married). Today's is Ryan's niece's 14th birthday, so I text his sister to let her know I'm praying for her and remembering the baby with her today. Then I text Ryan's brother to wish him a happy birthday. I also send a quick text to Lynnette, who came to visit yesterday, sending her the pictures I took during her visit. I kind of forgot to send those until very late last night, and I didn't want to wake her up, so I waited until this morning. 

* I decide to start my day by beginning the next step of training for Love INC.  It's an online, self-paced training called Clearinghouse 101. This training is specific to the work I'm doing with Ryan. I do a couple of the sessions and then take a break to get ready for the day. I say hi to Braeya on my way into the bathroom. She's asleep on the chair.  

* I take a shower (hair-washing day today!) and when I get out, I find a text from Ryan with a screen shot from a local paper, announcing his new position at Love INC. So proud of him!!! I'm really warm from the shower, so I refill my water glass and get busy on my second 32 ounces for the day. I get dressed and decide to straighten my hair today instead of doing it curly. It'll take longer today, but it will also last for up to 5 days. I will be glad later I put in the work today. 

* While I work on the hair, I listen to a Marco Polo from my friend Jamie and send one back to her. I normally would put on my makeup at this time too, but I have a feeling I have an upcoming conversation that might make me cry, so I hold off on the face. No need to do it twice! When I come out of the bathroom, Lexi is super happy to see me and has tons of hugs and kisses awaiting. I put some granola in a cup for a morning snack and work on a few more things for Love INC. 

* After doing several more training sessions (and having some more coffee), it's almost time for lunch! I plug in the laptop to make sure I don't lose it, grab the charger to plug in my phone (Marco Polo drains it) and take a break to warm up my lunch and feed Lexi her lunch! I'm eating the same thing Ryan is having - and I do a little internet surfing while I eat. Lexi polishes off her lunch Kong and goes back to the couch to watch the Christmas movies that are now playing! 

* I finish eating lunch and put away the rest of the dishes that had been air drying on the counter since this morning. Ryan calls just as I finish, so I talk to him while I dust the house! We talk for the remainder of his lunch hour. It's so fun to hear him share all the stories from his morning. He's made some new contacts in some area agencies, so he wants to fill me in! 

* Ryan has to go back to work, so we hang up the phone and I decide to do my Bible study. I just started the fourth of five studies in Genesis through Precept Ministries. I'm reading about the account of Isaac marrying Rebekah and the births of Jacob and Esau. While I study, Lexi watches me over the back of the couch - hanging onto her stuffed duck!

* After I do my study, I pause to check my email and answer messages. I notice a couple more Marco Polo messages have come in - so I listen to those and answer. One is from my former WillowBridge co-workers, and her little girl always wants to talk to me when she messages, so it's fun to hear "HI BEKAH!!!!!" And the other one is from a friend who paused to pray for me during the message - what a sweet gift! I decide to make a little chai treat since it's not such a super hot day, so I make that during my Marco Polo festival. 

* Next up: I do my daily free-writes. I have two writing prompts every day. One is general and one is from a Scripture passage. I spend about ten minutes on each one. One of today's prompts is a lot of fun, and the other is crazy convicting. Toes stepped on!!! I complete those and remember that I have not made Wednesday or Thursday's social media posts for Love INC. I work about a month ahead on posts, but the Wednesday and Thursday posts each week often hold time-sensitive information, so I make them much closer to real time. This week I'm featuring the church Ryan and I spoke at on Sunday - so I pause to make the graphics and write the texts for each one. 

* I give Lexi her afternoon snack and then sit down to hang out with her for a while. She's entertained herself so well all day! Ryan calls at the end of his day to let me know he's coming home, and Lexi is waiting at the door when he arrives. She is SO EXCITED to see him!

* Ryan makes our afternoon smoothies for us, and we rest while we drink those. (We switch off making them, but he takes a turn today.) We love our smoothies!

* Ryan wants to go out and mow the yard/weeds, so he changes his clothes and heads outside. While he's mowing, I write the love note for his lunch tomorrow and clean all the fruit we bought at the grocery store so I can make new smoothie packs. Can't run out of those! I end up with 13 bags for the freezer and am happy with that.

* I was supposed to have cleaned the bathrooms yesterday, but we had company and I didn't get it done. So I clean both bathrooms and then start my third glass of water for today. Ryan is almost done with the mowing and trimming, so I check on what time he wants to eat dinner. We're just doing an easy salad kit for dinner, so I can have it ready in just a few minutes. He says he is ready as soon as he finishes the yard, so I come inside and start assembling the salads. 

* Yes, I know it's evening, but I have a meeting to go to, so right around dinnertime I put on my makeup and some earrings. Ryan comes in, we give Lexi her last Kong of the day, and then we sit down to eat dinner and watch Chain Reaction. We both do pretty well on tonight's puzzles! 

* Ryan turns on the sprinklers, since he's done with yard work and the yard has dried out again. They get to work, and he takes a shower. Humid day here + yard work = sticky, sweaty mess! He also starts the dishwasher, because somehow it managed to get full again throughout the day!

* I gather up my day planner and purse, make a travel mug of coffee, and prepare to go to my meeting. It's for a women's conference taking place next month. I'm not a speaker for this one, but I'm part of the planning committee. The meeting is about 25 minutes away, and I need to swing by a church near there to take a picture for Love INC before the meeting starts. 

* The meeting is in this really cute building that has exposed brick walls. Love it. It lasts about an hour and a half, and we spend that time trying to nail down the specific schedule for the day and other details - like food and door prizes. 

* While I'm gone, Ryan documents his evening, which included...climbing on the roof??? He said he noticed some nails scattered on the roof, left behind by the builders, so he climbed up there to get them down. He spends quite a bit of the evening monitoring all the sprinklers, too.

* When it becomes clear I am not going to get home in time for the evening walk (sadness, because I needed the steps!) he goes ahead and takes her around the neighborhood.  While they're out, a little Yorkie pulls up its yard stake and tears down the street after them. Ryan has to disentangle the dogs and walk the Yorkie home, ring the doorbell, and notify the owner that her dog has run away. I'm not entirely sorry I missed that drama! 

* He also takes a picture of the sunset for me, while he's out on the walk, because he knows I'm missing it in my meeting! After my meeting ends, I hurry home and receive endless kisses from Lexi - and from Ryan, too! :) 

* Also while I was gone, our neighbor stops over with some flowers and mint from her garden, so Ryan puts them in a vase for me! So pretty! 

* Ryan does his set of evening chores: refilling the dog food Kongs, setting up the coffee pot for the morning, refilling the Keurig reservoir, and emptying the dishwasher again. While he does that, I work on the blog, finish my third water, and have a little trail mix for a snack. We also talk over our plans for tomorrow, which have changed. 

* We sat down to watch a show called Edge. It's just the third episode. It's a documentary-style show about people who do intense expeditions. This one is about mountain climbing. Terrifying and fascinating all at once. I keep working on the blog while we watch. 

* When I finish the blog, I do my journaling for the evening, and then it's time to do my stretches. Ryan documents that for me, since we realize I've only been in one picture this whole day - whoopsie! 

* We put Lexi to bed and then it's time for US to go to bed! My last move is to write down my to-do list (as much as I know it) and document my prayer and praise section for the day!

Random July Fun

 

I feel like I have a bunch of random little things that deserve a spot in an update, but I haven't done a post like that in a while. So today seems like a good day for it, doesn't it? Here are some July randoms for you!

* Back at the beginning of the month, I met up with one of my WBCL coworkers for lunch at this adorable coffee shop called Crimson House. I'd had coffee there before, but this was my first time to try food. This is the half-size chicken salad, and it was SO good. Their house ranch is a blessing in a cup, let me tell you! 

* We have had some SWEET sunsets this month. I love them all.

* Early in the month, I filled in at Love INC while the office manager weas gone. Lexi got to come along for the ride a couple of the days that week, and she thought it was the BEST.

* The sunrises weren't too shabby this month either!

* I don't like peaches, but Ryan does, so I made him a peach cobbler this month. He loved it. I tried it. Still don't like peaches.

* Ryan and I spoke at the Rotary Club in Decatur this month. We only had about a week's notice that we were going, and I thought Ryan did a superb job pulling together his thoughts and delivering an excellent talk! 

* Yard update! We have some green! A lot of the green is actually weeds, but we have green. Mowable green. We've overseeded the reseeding we did after the first seeding died. Also dead? Most of our plants. This whole thing has just been one miserable experience that we really are trying our best to learn from - somehow.

* I love this girl so much that I simply cannot stand it. Her snuggles are the BEST. 

* He loves this girl so much that he simply cannot stand it. Her hugs are the BEST.

* Braeya kept us up ALL night one night - wanting to play, wanting to talk, the whole bit. The alarm went off and we dragged our sleepy selves out of bed. A few minutes later, Ryan sent me this picture, which he took while he got ready for work. Sound asleep. 

* We headed out to grocery shop last Saturday morning at 8:45, and before we left town, the sky turned to this. That is a MORNING sky, not a night sky. We turned around and went back home for a little bit until it seemed safer to be out and about. 

* Car wash date! We always take a selfie in there. Also, a shout out to my new sunnies! My old ones broke about six months ago, but I've still been wearing them. Ryan finally convinced me to spring for some new ones. ;) 

* We represented Love INC at a church on Sunday...our first official booth/table setup since arriving! Thankful the station taught me about setting up booths!

* Annnnnnnd yesterday I got to see best friend from childhood onward...and I did the math. We have been friends for THIRTY-FOUR YEARS!!!! Pretty impressive since we don't even look 34, right? :) She came to see our new house, visit Lexi, and she brought her adorable daughter, too. She and Lexi became fast friends! 

So it's been a fun month! And now you're caught up on the random happenings of July! 

It's a Parade!

We are learning our new community slowly but surely, and we are grateful for the many friends around who clue us in to things we definitely don't want to miss!

Last week's don't-miss-moment? A parade! I LOVE parades! And Adams County has a parade in conjunction with the 4H fair, which is actually something our home county does NOT have. One of the families in our small group lives right on the parade route, so they invited our small group over for dinner and to enjoy the parade from their yard!

I took cheesy potatoes - and it's possible I didn't pay attention to the amount of cheese suggested and mostly doubled it. Those potatoes were cleaned OUT, and I think the people stopped just short of licking the spoon. So there's a tip for you: double the cheese on your next batch of cheesy potatoes!

We ate inside because it was pretty sticky out that evening. I didn't take group pictures because...well, I'm still new. But I did get this gem of Ryan and me!

We did move outside for the parade, but amazingly enough, it was much cooler by then. It helped that a tree blocked the sun as it set, so the shade went the extra mile in cooling us down. 

Here's another fun fact. There's a guy in Fort Wayne who flies his plane over festivals and parades and flies a WBCL banner behind it! I'm friends with him on social media, so I not only got a picture of his plane, but I was able to borrow HIS picture of the parade from the air! (Photo credit: Tim Blomenberg.)

I did nab a few pictures whilst dodging flying candy!

My friend Julie and I wondered what happened if there were any emergencies in the county, since we seemed to see all the vehicles from every corner! 

Extra creative points to these people: ride in a boat!

Little tractors...

...and BIG ones!

Baton twirlers. I would have dropped mine a thousand times. Props to them.

This one wasn't on backup duty either, I guess! :) 

I always feel sorry for bands marching in the hot parades!

This guy made me dizzy. But this was a fabulously creative float. 

It's good to be prepared for ALL seasons at once. I approve. 

So adorable!

Though we live on the wrong side of the state to be in the RV manufacturing capital of the country, there is a decent industry here, and there were THREE RVs in the parade. I was so excited! 

Fun night, fun with friends, and fun parade!!

PS - Another tip is to not put your coffee on the curb. Someone landed a piece of candy RIGHT in it. 

Sunday Sentiments

 

This week I finished up the third book in the Precepts Bible studies on Genesis. The first book was a four-week study about Creation (though I stretched it farther than four weeks), the second book was a seven-week study on The Fall, The Flood, and the Nations, and then this most recent book was a six-week study on Abraham called Becoming a Friend of the Faithful God. 

I've studied Abraham's life before - more than once, actually - but this time was different. It probably is the most in-depth study I've done on his life, and I didn't realize that along the way of my slow, careful study, he started to feel like a friend to me, too.

Never before have I immersed myself into his life story and seen how deep the push and pull of his desire to be a faithful man of God and his stumbling with sin and selfishness. Never before have I seen how deep - truly deep - his love for Sarah. Never before have I realized just how deep his faith was, especially in light of all he did not have in his lifetime (like the Bible, for example) to teach him.

This week, I studied Sarah's death, followed by Abraham's, and I nearly cried as I read. 

It struck me so profoundly that when Sarah died, the only way he had left to show his love and devotion to her was to properly bury her. They were in a land that, as my study pointed out, belonged entirely to Abraham as part of the promise, but he actually legally owned none of it and had to purchase land to bury his wife. 

The people of the land had such deep respect for him that they wanted to just give him the land as a gift, but he would not hear of it. He insisted on paying a fair price for it. Part of that, I'm sure, was because he was a good and sound businessman. But part of it felt to me like a man who wanted to give this one last gift to his wife, and it only felt complete if it was truly his. 

In this study, I noticed Sarah's occasionally bossy and complaining side. She manipulated things by insisting Hagar have a child in her place and then got angry when she did. Everything she asked or told Abraham to do, he did, and then she would come back and tell him to go fix what he did. Though I know Sarah had good, faith-filled qualities too, I must admit, I am not sure I would have loved living next door to her! But despite the grief she sometimes caused him, Abraham stayed fully devoted to her through her whole life and into her death.

And then when Abraham died, Ishmael and Isaac came back together to bury him beside Sarah. They put aside their own lifelong differences to honor their father. And even in death, Abraham was with Sarah, though he had gone on to marry one more time after she died - and he had more children, as well. 

When I finished the story of his life, I felt like I had said goodbye to a dear friend. I learned much from him in this study. I know that since the Word of God is living and active, I will have many more opportunities to learn from his life. But for today, I am grateful for all I have learned from this dear friend. 

The Saturday Six

 

If you've been reading here very long, you know how much I love lists! List-making comes easily to me because it's just part of what I love, but in recent years, I've made some specific kinds of lists that have made life in general SO much easier. I thought I'd share a few of those lists with you today in case you need to simplify/organize your life a bit, too!

One.

A gift suggestion list. I started doing this a few years ago, and I am so glad I did! In our family, we still give gifts at Christmas and birthdays. When I was a kid, I could sit down and scribble out a lengthy wish list for either of those occasions, but as I got older, those lists were harder to make! I owned most of the things I wanted - either from collecting over time or from just buying things for myself. So I made a wish list on Amazon and started tossing things on it when I thought of something I'd like to have, but I didn't need it in this exact moment, so there wasn't an urgency to buy it. If I ended up getting it for myself, I removed it from the list. Anything still there around Christmas or birthday time could be shared with family as a wish list. It saved me the hassle of trying to think of things on command at wish-list time, and it offered ideas of things I really needed and could use! (For my birthday this year, my sister gifted me a set of extra-heavy-duty pot holders and oven mitts from that list. I got to throw away my gross, burned-through ones from a decade ago, and the new ones are pretty amazing!) 

Two.

A recipe list. I cook most of our meals from the Dashing Dish site, but sometimes I find gems from other random places around the internet/Pinterest, or I use recipes shared from friends. I realized one day that if I rely on pinned recipes, I'm in real trouble if the recipe author takes down his or her site and I can't access the information anymore! (Or if our internet is down...) Then there are the times I know I have a great recipe, but I can't remember the source. So a few years ago, I started a running file in a Word document in my computer. When I find a recipe I love enough to keep, I put it in my document and immediately print a hard copy for a binder I keep with my cookbooks. Then if I can't access my computer, for whatever reason, I still have a list of all my favorite recipes. And if I need to search for a key word, I can look it up in the document. It's a win-win! 

Three.

A travel packing list. While we are not full-time travelers, we do take a handful of trips throughout each year. Some are full vacations and others are overnight trips for a variety of reasons. For a long time, it felt like I perpetually forgot something (minor and yet simultaneously important) on each packing adventure. It might be the sound machine, it might be my phone charger...you get the idea. So I finally made a master packing list in Word. I included everything that could potentially need to come on EVERY trip, regardless of length. When it's time to go somewhere, I save a copy of the master list, rename it to that particular trip, and delete the things I won't need. (For example - if it's a winter trip to a snowy place, I probably won't need bug spray.) I add in the specifics for that trip - like a fancy dress for dinner, or whatever - and use that to pack. I also have a master packing list for Abby to make sure we don't forget any essential RV equipment! This has sped up my packing process SO MUCH!!!

Four.

An accomplishment list. I saw a suggestion on Pinterest to make a "skills and accomplishments" list. I don't necessarily have one of these, but I have something similar, and let me tell you why I think it's important. My list includes places I have done public speaking and links to online articles I've written. This is very helpful for me if I'm submitting a pitch to speak at an event or write for a company. They want to know what I've done, and it's so much faster for me to have all that information at hand. For you, having some sort of similar list of the things you've done could help if you're applying for a job or an opportunity to be part of something. My mind always freezes when I have to think of things on the spot, so keeping this running list is helpful. Ryan and I are also making something similar to this for our work at Love INC, so we can hand a list to the board at each meeting, reviewing the things we have accomplished since the previous meeting. It's great accountability! 

Five.

Location lists! Last year, when Ryan and I were camping in a large state park, we knew it was a park we would want to return to again (probably multiple times, actually). So one evening, we walked around and made a list of sites we would prefer to have the next time we came. (On our first visit, the park was so full, and we had to take what we could get when we reserved. We ended up in the very middle of everything. It wasn't awful, but it wouldn't have been our choice.) So we looked for spots with a better view, some decent space, etc. Later in the year, we went back and we did get one of those spots. It was perfect! This year, while hiking in another park, we wandered over to the campground to make a similar list so when we eventually camp there, we know where we would prefer to stay. I just open a note on my phone and type in site numbers for this. If you don't camp, this list could be tweaked to include hotels or Airbnbs you want to try where you're going. 

Six.

A funeral list. Last year I wrote a little blog series about the things we wish we had known before Ryan's mom and step-dad passed away. The last post in the series was about funeral wishes. We did have a list of things from Ryan's mom about her funeral wishes, but unfortunately we did not have that conversation with her until after the brain tumor was well underway, so her answers to some questions were not fully accurate. (For example - she said she wanted to be buried in her bathrobe. If you knew her, you would know that was NOT her. And we did NOT do that.) Allen died so unexpectedly that there were absolutely no directives on his funeral. I think the kids did a great job honoring them with both funerals, but it really is helpful if you make a list of your wishes - just in case something unexpected happens. It's not fun to think about, and I get that, but it can be really helpful to your loved ones in their grief!