It’s really, really quiet around here without Kaylin. I knew I was going to miss her, but I didn’t realize how much a part of my life she’d become. I got used to having her around.

I’d forgotten how old David and I are, and how boring. =)

We’re also starting to think about moving, and that’s put [slight] a damper on my spirits (and so my exuberance). I’m not moping about, but I have started thinking of things in a Last Time Bell light.

The Last Time Bell – I read a long time ago in some silly book about a character whose childhood was ripped away from her when her parents were both killed in an accident. She was the oldest and had to grow up quickly as she raised her siblings. She felt the loss of her childhood and regretted not making the most of it (what child would know to do that?)… so she invented the Last Time Bell. She’d mentally ring it when she might be experiencing something for the last time. The bell helped her consciously absorb everything she could about the experience.

Nothing else from that book stuck with me (like I said, it was some silly book), but I think of this bell when I approach the end of a personal era.

Anyway, it’s quiet around here. David’s playing Kingdom of Loathing and I’m left alone with my thoughts, without a teenager to shake me out of the doldrums.

I’ve not blogged for a number of reasons, and won’t be doing much more than posting pictures for a while.  But, hey – at least I’ll be posting again.  =)

I wanted to post about our vacation, so I’ll write a few lines and then get with the picture posting.

It’s been a rough couple of months.  Fast-paced, full of big, personal decisions and stressors.  Things have been building for a long time – no breaks from the everyday worries can build, and when you start dealing with bigger things, stress and exhaustion can overwhelm you.  It was perfect timing for a vacation.

We went to Myrtle Beach, as we have done every summer for the past few years.  This is always a wonderful trip – not only do we get to be right on the beach for a week, we also get to reunite with good friends and with my family.  Bill and Georgiana are two of the most generous and loving people we know – they open their home to 6 noisy and messy invaders every summer.  Now that Melissa’s overseas and we’re out here in Indiana, my immediate family is rarely completely together.  This is one of the few times a year that all (or most) of us can be found in one location, and it’s a much-needed reconnection.

For the first time in years, I completely relaxed.

David will laugh – being with my family can be anything BUT restful because we’re a lively, merry, and flat-out loud bunch.  But there’s always been a strong current of satisfaction with one another, of joy, that flows through every interaction we have.  Even the spatting.  =)  And then there was the calming influence and peaceful energy of good friends – Bill and Georgiana – to round out the atmosphere.

I didn’t work at all – on every other “vacation” I’ve taken in the past 3 years, I’ve had to bring work as a condition for getting the time off.  Now that I’m in a new environment, I was able to actually disengage from the work for a week.

I left behind the weight of recent weeks.  Heaviness, even while mostly balanced by peace (a true gift of God), has been my constant companion for two months now.  While I was gone, I just… rested.  And I was able to talk to my family about some of the things that have been weighing on me – having that support is already making a difference.

I came back to my life rested, more optimistic, and ready to face facts and challenges.  But in this world, there’s always sadness waiting to temper joy.  Friends are losing their jobs while I’m thanking God for my own.  People who work very hard and manage money carefully can’t make ends meet, and can’t get help from the state or the government – while people who wallow in their own laziness and selfishness make choices that harm their own families – and get paid to do it.

It’s hard to maintain cheer and optimism when so many are battered so roughly by life… I am grateful to have a well to draw from when I’ve reached the end of my strength.  How can people survive without a faith in something beyond circumstance and surroundings?

Starting to get my life back under control… or at least that’s how I feel right this moment. Come back in 5 minutes and I’ll be quietly panicking.

Today’s accomplishments:

• I got my email inbox down to 98 current personal/client emails (down from 240-some). It’s been months and months since I’ve been below 100 – and that’s with filters set up so that many emails skip the inbox entirely! This is what happens when you try to keep in touch with people and keep up with a web business in addition to volunteering.
• I’ve finally made contact with Beth, the woman fostering a Ridgeback we are thinking of adopting. We started planning a meet-n-greet in… June? But there was tonsillitis (Beth, not the dog), then natural disaster – she lives in Cedar Rapids, IA with all the flooding, then family crises, then a month of family reunions for us, then VBS, then vacation… I think we’ll finally get to meet in August. Maybe. Hopefully.
• I’ve finally got my Tekyn stuff together – I’m up-to-date with all of our clients, and have even picked up a new one over the weekend. That one will be fun – he knows his stuff, and knows what he wants while still being willing to listen to my suggestions. Refreshing. =) I got the go-ahead to start building a framework today.

All that despite working a full day and nursing a very ill (bronchitis, folks, mixed with some acid reflux) husband to sleep (not to health – his body has to do that). I’m feeling pretty good. =)

.. back to life, back to reality… isn’t that from a song from the early 90’s? Well, whenever it’s from, it’s stuck in my head.

We’re back from another action-packed weekend. Another weekend, another reunion, another bout of illness from these Aukerfolk. Dave’s ill and I’ve been experiencing stomach distress. Enough distress that while I DID participate in and lose the Schrader classic [mini-golf game] as is my tradition, I did NOT ride the carousel or join the cousins at the batting cages this year. Instead, I took pictures and then crashed on a picnic table bench.

Fun reunion photos are here.

Also, it’s VBS week at Woodruff Place Baptist. I may post a few funny pics, but I probably won’t blog too much this week. Maybe.

I can’t believe it’s been three years!

My husband is so sweet – makes me feel like a mush (and those of you who know me know what an accomplishment that is…). On our first anniversary, David gave me a red rose and a white rose. Red for the year we’d been married, white for the year to come. He told me he’d do the same thing for as long as we lived. =) This year was the three red roses year.

I love you, D.

I’m looking forward to spending this next year with you. =)

I went from one insane, politically-charged project with a super-tight deadline to another. Hence the lack of posting. I am, in fact, actually working on said project right now. Well, to be absolutely precise, I’m taking a break for a few minutes. There’s only so long you can stare at an electronic medical record before you stop seeing detail and start making mistakes.

So, Leah’s gone. Her visit was so wonderful – we adore that girl, and I just LOVE having her around. We have a lot in common, so I didn’t feel like she was a guest I had to go out of my way to entertain… it was just easy to be with her. We didn’t do all that much – just lived my life together and hung out – but it was so much more fun than it normally is! We keep ourselves very busy with people and events – Leah knows now that I’m not exaggerating when I say things never slow down. =)

For example. Just this weekend: I will be working 10 hours of OT, a couple of hours for my contracting company (Sedona Learning Solutions), an hour or so catching up on some web admin stuff for NADDI, AND preparing for, then hosting Zach (the teen boy who’ll be “living” with us for July starting this weekend). Then we have a birthday party and an open house.

But, things are starting to get back on track. I’ll have the time to do the things I need to once this project is finished and stops invading my personal life. Maybe I’ll even have a chance to get out there and take some pictures before it’s autumn.

To those of you who’ve stopped reading this blog because I haven’t been posting: I’m sorry. I miss you. Come back! I’ll be better to you!

Leah’s been visiting for the last few weeks, and I have a hard time spending time at the computer when I can hang out with her. And there’s been precious little time for even that because of recent events.

A sampling – in one weekend, we went to 3 cookouts. That week, we had a teen from our church living with us while his foster family took a road-trip. The next weekend, we went to a wedding and our car was totalled. That week, Leah and David bought Rock Band (so we played quite a bit). The next weekend, we almost got another dog, and instead bought a new car. All the while, I was involved in a politically charged project at work with a TIGHT timeline. Meaning I was working OT.

Anyway, stories and pictures are forthcoming. I don’t have time right now, but I’ll start posting again in small bits soon.

I’m back.

I’m also working four weeks of 10 hours of overtime. That’s 40 hours at time and a half. At my consultant/contracting rate.  =) That sounds pretty danged good to me. (I’m not usually that girl, but just think about the shoes I can buy!)

So. Not a lot of time for posting and taking pictures (sorry, Leah). But I’m dropping in tonight to ask two things:

1. What is UP with my husband’s fascination with Deal or No Deal? (It’s my personal opinion that there is no worse example of the degredation of the entertainment industry. )
2. Why is it that I haven’t thought of high school in years and years and all of a sudden it’s on my mind now? (Answer: Facebook. They’ve found me.)

… and that’s it. We’re done with the traveling for [hopefully] a long time. =)

This time, the drive didn’t seem that long. It was only 6 hours to WVA, and since we hadn’t driven a long distance in over a week, we were ready for a road trip. Seriously… I felt kinda weird staying home last weekend. It was the first weekend since the beginning of December that we didn’t travel out of the state. I’m starting to feel at home in my car.

I always enjoy going to West Virginia. My folks out there are the neatest people… and I got to see an uncle from Ohio and an aunt from Idaho while I was there. We always have a grand ‘ol time, squeezing as many people into the house as possible (we had 10 people crashing at once, this time). We’ve done the same thing – cramming folks in and spending a whirlwind couple of days together – for as long as I can remember.

These last two trips (one in August, one this weekend) have been different from years past. I hadn’t been back in several years before the August trip, so when I did go, it was an interesting experience. I was seeing all the things and people I’d grown up with through my adult eyes. I noticed things I never saw when I was a kid. My favorite change: I’m starting to get to know my cousin, Robin.

We’ve always been pals – we’re Hestle’s (my dad’s mom) girls. =) That means, among other things, that as the oldest girls in our respective nuclear families, we’ve inherited some interesting traits – a propensity for sass being high on the list. But now that I’m not much of a kid anymore, I’m starting to appreciate Robin. She’s just… NEAT. I like her a lot, and each time I visit lately, I’ve been looking foward to spending time with her. And watching her tease my mother. =)

Anyway, I do believe we’re done with the traveling for a little while.  Maybe things will settle down enough that I can get back into some kind of a routine.  My house really needs a little bit of attention – and we have work to do!  Our next project is the downstairs bathroom.  David’s torn the cabinets out, and we’ve started stripping the awful yellow paint from the beautiful original wood.  Pictures soon.  =)