Happy Saturday Morning????

 

Yes, you are right.  Your are looking at the bottom rack of my dishwasher.  Sitting on my kitchen floor.  Full of dirty dishes.  Yay. 

Happy Saturday morning.

It all started with David and I laying in bed a little late catching up.  We finished our first week of school.  He was gone for a couple of days, having just returned the night before.  We were discussing  what life held, how the next several months were going to look. Etc.   Then we head to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

I noticed that the floor looked a little warped along some of the boards.  I explained to David that yesterday I noticed a little water on the floor, but it was right after Katie had been working on her tea party/restaurant project.   I asked her if she had spilled some water and she said yes, so I assumed that's what it was.  But I wasn't 100% convinced.  Then life went on.

It was right in front of the dishwasher, so as we cooked breakfast, David and I discussed that this was probably the problem.  (that sounds funny).   He even glanced under the sink to rule that out.  At that moment I was so thankful that I had forgotten to run the dishwasher last night.  We would have woken up to a soggy floor.  So proud of myself for thinking ahead, I filled up one side of the sink with soapy water to be prepared for washing dishes and grabbed some paper plates.  As we finished breakfast, David asked me to be thinking of what today needed to hold to be prepared for next week (more on that later).  We can live without a dishwasher, so it didn't seem pressing at the time.

After  breakfast, I noticed more puddles on the floor.  Hmmm, that's weird.  Upon further investigation, we discovered that it was the sink.  Pouring out whenever the water was turned on. (Are you remembering that full sink of soapy water I was so proud of?)  He finds the leak in the faucet.  At least it is something he can fix. 

So now,  it is 10:45.  My dishwasher has been pulled out to dry out from underneath it.  Towels have been used to sop up water.  Fans are everywhere to dry up the water.  (Did I mention that the water seeped under the floors half way across my kitchen?)  We are headed to Lowe's to get replacement faucet.  We think.  As I type, he is finding another leak.  Maybe.  One thing is leading to another so who knows how this will end up. 

But for now, here is how things stand:

We get to eat out for lunch.  See my kitchen counter.  (Just for the record, I am not desperate enough to wash dishes in the tub yet)

David has shut off the water main.  It didn't shut off completely. 

He sure is having fun using his pipe wrench.  That is about all the fun he is having at the moment.

Bear has to stay in his kennel.  Oh, but wait.  Couldn't I let him lick the dirty dishes?  That would be an idea.  Make him feel like a productive member of the family.  In addition to his rodent killing.

This is our Saturday.  It looks like we may get to start our week off without a functioning kitchen.  Our second week of school.  Our first week with everything on the schedule. 

God knows.  He planned that.  Making us more dependent on Him.

That does make for a Happy Saturday morning.  (Now, if I can only keep that perspective!)

It's Addicting

Dates with my hubby?  Without a doubt

Hugs from my kids?  Can change a day

Chocolate? Absolutely

Teenagers?  They make me laugh

Yes, I confess.  I am addicted to teenagers.   You will remember from previous posts that we help out with our junior high kids at church.  And came about it in an interesting way. (You can read about it right here.) 

Well, we are still hanging in there with them.  And this was also part of our crazy busy summer.  One week in particular.  My addiction to them is the only reason why I would wake up early, tote them all over our great ctiy, and work outside with them in the worst heat this city has seen in a long time. 

Instead of going away to serve other communities, our group stays here for our "missions trip".  The kids stay at our church all week, dividing up into various groups to serve several different ministries throughout our city.  It has been a great way to get these kids aware of the world around them, just down the road.

Since we have a child old enough to be on this trip, we shipped her off to the church for a week.  But, never fear, she got to see me and her siblings all week.  She felt blessed, I'm sure. :)  Really, it was only for a few minutes each morning, and maybe a hug in the afternoon if she was lucky.

For most of the week, Jake, Katie, and I woke up at the crack of dawn, packed some lunches and were at the church by 7:45 am.  From there, we heard a devotional before loading up our van as full as it could get and heading to a local ministry to put on a vacation Bible school.  Jake helped and Katie got to participate, and say Bible verses for candy.   After lunch, we loaded up and went to another ministry to do yard and maintenance work.   I sort of floated a bit, having done this trip before, so a couple of days I dropped those two off (with a car full of teenagers),  left them there (yes, there were adults too),
and went to help out somewhere else.

 . 

Oh, yes.  That was the week that the heat index was 121.  Nice.

But I loved every minute of it.

Why?  Cause they are really great kids, my three included.   They make me laugh, make me worry, make my think I am going to pull my hair out if they leave their garbage on the table one more time, make me wonder if they will ever make it out the other side.  They yell "Moose" randomly at each other, hit each other with pool noodles, love to be crazy, love to eat, taught me how to play buck-buck, force me to stay sleep deprived whenever I am with them for more than a few hours. 

But most of all - they need to know they are loved - by God and by those around them. 

 That's what it's all about. 

Making relationships to bring them closer to Christ. 

 That's what keeps me coming back.

I'm addicted.

Swimmers...Take Your Mark

Ever since the summer of '05, our kiddos have been part of a summer league swim team.  With the exception of the summer of '09, that is what makes up the bulk of our summer.  Practices a couple of times each week, meets on Thursday nights, with city-wide championship on a hot July Saturday.

In years past, it worked wonderfully.  We would be up and out the door by 7:30 for 8 swim practice.  When practice was over, we would stay and hang out at the pool, home by lunch.  Lovely. 

As they have gotten older, they are busier, and we are split into two practices.  Yes, the are conveniently back to back, but everyone still has to get up and there by 8.  There is also the option of evening practice as well.. Now that they are older and can stay up later, we did this option much more as a whole family this year.  David and I would get some time with the kids, and some excercise of our own. 

This year, each of our kiddos was the youngest in their age group.  But they didn't let that get them down.  They worked hard and swam so super well.  They each placed in at least one individual event at the city championship!  And all strokes were legal!!  Way to go Pritchards!!

And our team won the city championship in our division!!  Yay, Bluefins!!

The only thing different about this year's swim season- This mom didn't take any pictures.  Sigh.  Katie took this one of herself at practice one day.  The rest is a taste of what it was like from last year. :)