July 31

After church, I met Grandpa and LuLu south of Indianapolis so they could have Elliott and Lucy for the week. I got caught it traffic on the interstate twice. The first time was for about an hour and a half. The helicopter (second pic) was a medivac. The second time didn’t last too long. We had to merge into one lane because a moving truck was on the side of the road and had major fire damage. Not a good day to travel. 

July 30

This sweet group of 5th graders had their last Sunday morning in Kids Worship. Next week they join the youth group. Gulp. My baby is now in youth group. My firstborn will be dropped off at college in 15 days. Pray for this mama! 

July 29

Clay and I took the Toyota to a different body shop yesterday to get an estimate. The first body shop’s estimate was high, plus it didn’t include everything they might encounter once they got the door off. Unbeknownst to us, Clay knew the guy at the second body shop (from jiu jitsu). He told us that most body shops aren’t going to touch the Toyota because it’s not going to make them money. He gave Clay some suggestions and told him if they didn’t work, he’d have his guys work on it. Well, his suggestions worked. So we now have a functioning door. The guy  recommended not painting it because they would have to paint the whole side to blend in the paint (cost more than the value of the car). So it looks like the girls will be driving a car with character. 

July 28

Brady and Caleb had one thing on their bucket list for their visit to town: go to the zoo with childhood friends. We had a really good time, despite it being unbearably humid and hot. The kids indulged me with a photo on the rhino. 

They had so much fun together that Kat made plans for the five of them to go bowling last night.

Elliott got his hair trimmed (only an inch, Grandpa Tim) after the zoo. We went to a salon since I was told a barber generally does short hairstyles. He got his hair washed and blown dry. I may have giggled a little at him sitting in the chair with this towel on his head. Isn’t he cute?

Lucy comes home from camp today!

July 27

Elliott and I had fun at the cat cafe yesterday.


Then we headed to a nearby cemetery to feed the ducks/geese. This duck decided it needed to let me know it was hungry.

Colonel Sanders and Muhammad Ali are both buried in the cemetery.

Lucy appears to be having fun at camp.

July 26

Lucy is off to Kids Camp. She was really excited about going.

July 25

We took Bapaw an apple pie for his birthday. He was “blessed” with our singing.

Lucy has a new hole in her head. 

July 24

Happy Birthday Bapaw!!!

Lucy sewed a pillow and a scrunchy at Mamaw and Bapaw’s house Saturday night.

Elliott had a baseball end-of-season party yesterday.

July 23

Clay and I attended Christian and Rachel’s wedding last night. All these kids I used to babysit are now giant! It was fun hanging out with old friends yesterday. 

July 22

Phil, Scottie, and the boys are in the states again. Brady and Caleb are giants now. Hard to believe they were ever shorter than me.


I also babysat Ethan (green shirt) when he was a baby.

Mrs Sharon was Clay’s children’s minister. She hasn’t aged! 

July 21

We had plans today to swim at a friend’s house, go to Elliott’s Bible study potluck, and then to a swim party. Elliott tripped on a water bottle and then then jammed his toe into a metal bracket this morning. He has a good little meaty flap of skin that we are hoping will stay attached to his toe. So we changed course for the day and stayed home. Well, Lucy and I stayed home. Elliott hung out at a neighbor’s house and played video games. Shoes aren’t comfortable for him right now. He definitely inherited my gracefulness!

I got the kitchen cabinets organized, cleaned the front of the cabinets, and organized the trash closet. Lucy tackled the art drawers in the dining area.

I also got another module in Chemistry read. Wild Friday night! Julia was out with her boyfriend (they are official now). Kat hung out with Mamaw yesterday. They had fun bowling. Clay went to the movie “Sound of Freedom” because we were all supposed to be gone at a swim party. He said it was powerful. 

This is Julia’s boyfriend, Ayden. 

July 20

Mamaw took Lucy, Abbie, Elliott, and Brock to KY Kingdom today.

I intended to get the entire kitchen deep-cleaned. I was apparently overly ambitious. I got the fridge cleaned out, and I am embarrassed to say how long I spent doing it. Nevertheless, it’s clean. Hopefully I can tackle a lot more tomorrow.

I took a break from cleaning to take this girl out for ice cream. She leaves in a little over three weeks! That’s crazy talk! 

She has begun making dorm room decor purchases.

July 18

I haven’t been keeping up with my goal of deep cleaning a room each week. However, I did get the living room done yesterday. It. Was. Gross. I had emptied out the vacuum canister before cleaning the room, so all that hair/fuzz is just from the living room. Barf!

Lucy playing Roblox with Abbie (chatting on the phone). It’s a weird world that these kids are growing up in!

Julia spent the day with Mamaw. Elliott and Clay went to the gym and then to a movie last night. Kat worked. 

July 17

Clay and I spent two hours at the junk yard yesterday finding a Toyota with the same body style as ours. We removed the door and brought it home. Clay then spent hours upon hours trying to get the new door to fit. The door didn’t fit properly because the door jam isn’t aligned. So we have made an appointment at a body shop for next week to see how much it is going to cost.

Lucy spent the night with Amelia and Sarah last night. That didn’t stop a herd of children from hanging out at our house with Elliott.