Our week ~ July 8

The cats were very happy to have us home for another whole week instead of watching us repack suitcases and take off again. :)

I am thankful for creative kids, especially during times like these last couple of weeks, when we have continued to have lots of rain.  They've been crawling the walls a bit without their usual outdoor play every day, but it could be a lot worse!  This week David made a space shuttle.

 This is what he named it...

 ...and this is why!  The "compartment" down by his feet is for space-going cats to ride in, and Mindy is always very accommodating of his ideas.  I think she would be perfectly happy to go to the real moon in a real space shuttle as long as she got to be with her boy on the trip!

 The next day, Molly was grumpy because she wanted a box, but didn't want to be in a box with anyone else...so David made her a house.  She has taken naps in it all week.

 When Abigail needed something to entertain herself with, I went to the basement and dug out my favorite Barbie toy from my childhood -- an island hut.  We used fabric to make 'sand' and 'ocean' and she played very happily!

 Tuesday night, we had a long-awaited break from the rain, complete with a lovely rainbow.

 Wednesday we had hearing checks (both kids were essentially stable).  Since the weather was still nice, we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the splash park afterwards.

This week we also had a milestone moment...David was promoted out of the children's ministries at our church and into the youth group!  It was a weeping, wailing, sobbing, but-he's-still-my-baby and not big enough for youth group yet wonderful -- but always bittersweet -- moment! ;) (I really did behave myself, I promise...and we are thrilled to have him under the ministry of our dear friends, the Kichers!)

On Thursday, Bruce and I got to go on a date (we celebrated our 15th anniversary while we were at the Wilds last month!).  We went to the High Museum in downtown Atlanta to see an exhibit of 17th century Dutch "Golden Age" paintings (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc) that are on loan to Atlanta from the Hague -- and especially to see a painting I love, Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring."  It was even more stunning and captivating in person, of course.  There was no photography allowed in the exhibit (and I forgot to take of picture of us together somewhere else in the museum...whoops), so this image is borrowed from the High's website.

Last for this post, but certainly not least, we enjoyed Skyping with Aria last night.  She and Abigail love to play this "cousin-speak" game -- Abigail pats the back of her hand against her mouth to make the "bwah bwah bwah" noise...

 ...and then Aria does it back to her!

Sometimes I rue the busyness of modern life...but on the other hand, I am very thankful for the technology that lets us "visit" with faraway family!