June 11, 2008: Summer's Heating Up!!

Well, it's been 90+ degrees outside for the last week or so.....definitely perfect weather to sit inside and update the blog!

Mom and I just got back from our annual girls' weekend. This year we ventured to Nashville, TN for the annual CMA Country Music Festival. Yes....after years of denying my southern heritage, I'm actually starting to develop an appreciation for country music. It probably started with the Carrie Underwood/Keith Urban concert that Ed and I attended back in April. Anyway, Mom and I had a great time in Nashville, though it was no cooler there! We went to the concerts Friday and Saturday nights at LP Field (where the Titans play). On Friday night, we saw Ashton Shepherd, Jack Ingram, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Jake Owen, and Faith Hill.....AND the surprise guest for the evening was.....KEITH URBAN!! Mom went nuts and I kinda did too. I made her extremely jealous by constantly telling her, "I saw TWO WHOLE HOURS of that!!!!" We didn't return to the hotel until 2:00 in the morning but it was well worth it. On Saturday, we walked around downtown Nashville and took in the sites and sounds of the festival. The highlight for mom was seeing the "Dock Dogs" competition sponsored by the Outdoor Channel, featuring dogs (primarily labs) leaping from a dock into a pool of water to retrieve a duck toy. It was too hot to stay very long so we retreated to our hotel room for some rest before returning for the Saturday night concert. On Saturday, we saw Jason Michael Carroll, Craig Morgan, Little Big Town, Jamey Johnson, Rodney Atkins, Darryl Worley, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, and Kenny Rogers. Actually, we left when Kenny Rogers took the stage. No offense to Kenny, but neither of us was thrilled about seeing him perform and there wasn't a rumored "special performer" for the night so we left. Friday night was definitely the better night but we enjoyed both. It was great to hear just a handful of songs from each performer and to hear their "hits." We ended the weekend by having lunch with Robbie, Merrill, and Catherine before hitting the road. We had a great time and we hope to go back again, maybe with some other female members of our family to make it a bigger girls' weekend.

Ed had fun with the kids over the weekend. They went with Jonathan, Jack, and Davis Merrill to Stone Mountain on Saturday morning and walked to the top before taking the skylift back down. Ed said that Elizabeth did great and walked the whole way, and Daniel walked about 50% and rode the rest of the way on daddy's shoulders. They came home for naps and rest and then they went up to the lake to visit Nanny and Pa along with PaPa, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Denise. There's not much water back in the lake yet to really have fun swimming but the kids had a great time entertaining the adults.

This week, the kids and I are in the throes of "Rainforest Adventure," better known as Vacation Bible School 2008 at Oak Grove United Methodist Church. Daniel is holding down the fort in the nursery with the rest of the 2-year-olds while Elizabeth finally gets to participate this year in the preschool group. I am volunteering as a field guide for one of the Pre-K groups. It's definitely been exhausting after spending the first two weeks of summer sleeping in and taking it slow, but it's fun and I'm glad that Elizabeth is participating this year. It definitely gives me a lot of appreciation for teachers and what they go through. I only have to do this a few hours a day for 5 days but teachers do it day-in and day-out for the better part of 9 months. Hats off to them and to my Mom who just retired from 30 years of it. Better them than me!! The kids have behaved well for the most part, but it's exhausting just to keep up with all of them and if the active boys in my group are any indication, Daniel is going to be a lot of fun to corral by the time he gets to their age!!

We are also getting ready for our vacation next week to Cape Cod and Boston. We leave on Saturday and we'll be spending Saturday night with the Spiegels (Mira, Rob, Zoe and Aaron). We are very excited to see them again and to get the kids together. We saw them briefly in Cincinnati last summer but we haven't been to Boston for a visit since June 2005, when the girls were about 18 months and the boys weren't even here yet. We'll leave on Sunday to drive to Cape Cod for the week and then return to Boston on Friday to stay with the Spiegels and attend Red Sox games on Friday and Saturday, then we'll return home on Sunday. Ed's parents will be joining us in Cape Cod on Thursday and also in Boston for the weekend and the Red Sox games. I should have lots more to update by the time we return! I'm very excited for the trip and I can't wait to spend a whole week with Ed and the kids, just relaxing and taking it easy, and getting the chance to visit friends and family too. I'm a little nervous for the plane rides with the kids but I think as long as we have videos and snacks on hand, we should be fine since it's a relatively short flight.

I've also been on an emotional roller coaster in the past few days, surrounded by bad and good news from friends and acquaintances. First, the bad news. One of our members in WOW (Friday morning Moms' bible study) lost her husband on Sunday. He was waiting for a heart transplant at Emory and had elevated to the top of the list in the region just last week. He was just 46 years old and leaves behind a 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old boy/girl twins. My heart just breaks for his wife, Cindi, and I hope we can be of comfort and support to her in the coming weeks and months. Four of us attended the visitation last night at the funeral home and I know a few more were planning to attend the funeral today. Additionally, a very close friend of Kristi and Brian woke up on Sunday to find that her husband had passed away in his sleep. He was only 33 years old and they determined he had a heart attack. They didn't have any children. I can't imagine what his wife must be going through right now and I just hope that her faith and support from family and friends can pull her through. I also received an email on Monday that a good friend of mine from Coke has an aggressive form of brain cancer. He has a wife and two young girls, ages 6 and 3, I think? He is being treated at Duke University and I plan to keep up with him through the CaringBridge site that they set up. News of all three of these heartbreaking stories has reached me just in the last week. It has been a HUGE reminder to me to appreciate God's blessings in my life, especially Ed and the children, and just to enjoy each day that we have together and not take anything for granted. Meanwhile, my thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who are suffering and need strength and healing.

In good news....our good friends in Sunday School had their triplets yesterday!! They are all doing well but are expected to be in the NICU for the next few weeks. They were born at about 33/34 weeks. I hope they continue to do well and improve. I can't wait to see them! And one of my good friends, Tracey, found out just last week that she is pregnant with her 2nd child after trying for about a year and a half!! She is due on Valentine's Day 2009, exactly one year after her husband had surgery as a result of some fertility testing. So....despite some of the difficult news in the past week, I know God is still at work and I'm very grateful for that.

Our vacation couldn't come at a better time this Saturday, given the emotional whirlwind and the craziness of VBS this week. I will be sure to update with stories of all our adventures!!