If you keep up with my Flickr account, you’ll notice that I’ve started posting Ireland photos. Not too, too many, but enough to give you an idea what we’ve been doing and what it looks like over here. =)

I’m going to back post what we’ve been doing so you know what day we did what. I was writing in a journal-type book because I didn’t have constant computer access, but I think I can start posting. I’ll probably finish after I return to the US, though… Fair warning.

We got both Jake and Lindy through the Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue. For a long time now, I’ve wanted to get more involved with this organization – after all, two of our family members came to us because other people volunteered their time and lives.

A couple of weeks ago, we heard about two dogs who were purchased at an auction. They were puppy mill dogs – dogs that came from a place where they were caged, mated, and bred to sell. One, Mac, an adult male, had been so neglected that he was covered in ticks. Thousands of ticks. The organization picked him and a puppy, Buck, up in Missouri. They medicated Mac, who was so miserable that he wasn’t active and wouldn’t eat.

RRR got foster homes set up in New England, but needed to get the dogs there. A bunch of folks started planning the transport, and asked for volunteers to take legs and keep the dogs overnight as needed. They coordinated a crazy caravan of folks.

David and I just drove a short piece of the trip – Indianapolis to Columbus – but it was a neat experience. For one, we got to meet some of the folks we’ve been talking to over the past couple of years. There’s another woman in Indianapolis whose home is a foster home for local rescue dogs – we met her and her husband (they kept the dogs overnight before we took them).

We also met Carol, a wonderful woman who lives in Ohio – she’s the one who arranged both of our adoptions. We left Mac and Buck with her. She was a delight to meet, and just the kind of person you’d think would open her home to hopeless dogs.

Being involved in this transport has made me realize that I enjoy doing things that matter. Getting involved, even in small ways, with things and groups that make a difference. I hope we get a chance to help out again – some day, I think I’d like to foster dogs – but Dave’s still getting used to our two. =)

A couple of (bad) pictures:

Our summer has been incredibly full.  We’re about to be back to life as usual (or a new kind of life as usual, one where David is working and I’m not…) – the school year starts August 31, and that’s only a few days away.

In our summer, we:

• Went to Myrtle Beach, SC (which I mentioned in the last post)

so very relaxing…

don’t they look SO happy?!

graduation party glasses. =)

• Went to the Aukerman family reunion

me and my D

a really great picture of Randy (rare to see him really smile on camera)

D playing like a little boy

• Saw three Indians games

the obligatory “us at the pro” photo

beautiful park!

the Aukerfamily in front of the Pro

• Went to Canada, first to visit friends Jim and Jessie in Kitchener, then to Bethany’s family’s cabin on Aylen Lake, then back to Jim and Jessie’s. No pictures from the lake – I left my camera at J&J’s! – but a couple of photos from the border and Toronto…

Dave’s first time over the border – he was giddy!

interesting city, Toronto. we walked for a while after an Indians/Jays game
we won, father-in-law! seems like it’s you, not me… =)

• Drove straight from Kitchener (in ONTARIO) to Shawn and Lauren’s rehearsal (in TERRE HAUTE)..
• To watch dear friend Shawn marry his Lauren  =)

here’s the hall and his folks

• watched cousin Greg marry his Val

didn’t get any pictures of the bride and groom!
got a pic of Randy and Carrie and their Garrett, though…

the ymca – a new party tradition, it seems =)

the brothers Aukerman

• Had my whole family visit (last time for a while)

melissa, hamming for the camera

daddy, clowning for the camera

Grandma Dee =) our visit with her and Brad was so sweet!

me and melissa =)

• Watched my littlest sister start her first semester of college
• Waved goodbye to my middlest sister as she left the country for another 2 years, just when we were starting to get used to her being back…

… and that brings us to this week.

I’m about to wave goodbye to my littlest sister – she’s headed for a semester in Ireland.  And I’m about to wave goodbye to the job I’ve had for almost a year – my contract at the hospital is up on August 31.

David’s about to start adjunct teaching again as he begins the pastoral candidating process.

Lots of changes have happened already, and lots more are about to come.  Stay tuned.  =)

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?

Day 3: IKEA, Kristen’s Baby Party

Busy day. We went to Baltimore, met up with friends from Hawai’i, who now also live stateside, and make my first trip to the wonderland that is IKEA. Those guys are SMART. They make it really easy to spend lots of money. Babysitters, in-store cafeteria, pencils and pads of paper… It’s amazing. I found myself getting seriously sucked into the gotta-have-it American materialist mentality.

We’re going back tomorrow to maybe get some furniture. =)

Then, we went to a party Kristen’s parents threw for her and her hubby and their new baby. They’re in from TX, and all of the family friends and old friends were invited. (Kris and I were friends in high school and after.) I got to do a little catching up with her and her brother (my only “little brother”), and with an old friend from high school (Sara!), as well as with other friends of mine (actually, my friends’ parents, whom I now consider friends). A good time until I started dying from cat exposure.

So, home we went. And I coughed up a lung.

That night, Grandpa (who had been refusing to go to the hospital) expressed a need to see a doctor. So Mom and Dad took him. He was admitted with low blood pressure and renal failure. They hooked him up to lots of antibiotics for a respiratory infection, and he started getting better right away.

Day 4: Melissa’s Birthday Party

I coughed all night. David even considered moving out to the couch, it was so bad.

Grandpa’s situation improved.

David and Leah made Melissa’s cake, and we had the afore-blogged party.

Day 5: We didn’t go to the beach.

Between me being sick and my Grandpa spending a couple of days in the ICU (thanks, all you well-wishers), we decided not to go to the beach.

So, we stayed home and played games instead.

Day 6: I have bronchitis.

Seriously, that was the big news of the day. I stayed home coughing and coughing, then went to an urgent care clinic and got my Dx. Then I went to a drugstore and got my drugs.

They moved Grandpa to a regular hospital room from the ICU.

Left just after work on Thursday.  Had a meeting with a… difficult… colleague, then a “touch base” (bizspeak drives me crazy) meeting with my managers.  Then, off to Pennsylvania.

Day 1: Driving.

We drove for 8½ hours.  There’s a whole lotta nothing between Indy and Blue Ridge Summit, where my folks live.

Day 2: Hershey Park.

Dave’s first time at Hershey – Leah and I took him.  It’s been 8(?) years since I’ve been to HP, so there was a lot of new for me, too.  Turns out Dave’s not a fan of the “scream coasters” – kind of a bummer for him.  We avoided riding them during the day to save him the waiting in line, but Leah and I wanted rode a few late, just before the park closed.  Thankfully, the longest line we waited in was only half an hour long, and Dave rode a tame coaster twice while he waited.  =)  My favorite: the StormRunner.  That’s a fun coaster.

Here’s us on the Chocolate World ride (which, since the last time I rode it, has gone from educational and borderline boring to being on multimedia steroids):

Only a few more days until we drive east! I’m pretty darned excited for a change in location, if not an actual vacation. I’ll have to work (the deadline’s so tight that my team leader canceled her vacation), but dangit! I wanna visit family. I wanna go to the beach.

We’ve been reunioning this month.

Weekend #1: Dave’s dad’s dad’s family (Aukermans)
Weekend #2: Dave’s mom’s mom’s family (Schraders) <- this weekend
Weekend #3: Dave’s mom’s dad’s family (Funks) which we’re missing for…
Weekend #3: Dave’s 10-yr high school friends reunion

David has a lot of people to reunite with… =) I enjoy these reunions, though. This is something my fam doesn’t do.

I’ll take some pics this weekend and post ‘em so you can join in the reunion festivities (now that I’ve figured out why my photos weren’t transferring from my camera and fixed the issue).

Here are some random (and I’m not kidding when I say random) photos from the few days it’s been since I blogged. (sorry, no fun stories this time)

David got a few things done around the house. He fixed the trash can. It’s one of those with a pedal, and the pedal hasn’t been lifting the lid. It’s been like this for a month or so, and I was STILL stepping on that pedal. He finally fixed it for me and it works like a dream. Yeah, coat hangers and electrical tape:

He also mowed. It was time:

We’re trying to teach Jake to fetch (consistently). He’s got the idea – we throw, he retrieves – but he gets tired of it after two throws. On the third, he settles down to chew whatever it is we’ve thrown:

We went to Elayne’s second wedding (to the same guy). They were married quickly and rather privately in March because his visa was expiring and he didn’t want to leave her to go back to Colombia. They had their [already planned] and big wedding this past weekend. Elayne and her dad:

On the way home, the clouds were crazy interesting:

And… the ongoing saga of the bathrooms. So, here’s what the paint looked like when we moved in (it’s HORRIBLE):

And here’s David mixing paint just before we painted the room a solid, non-barf-inducing color: