Thankful Thursday

The past week and half has been a chaotic blur, mostly of fun stuff.  In the last 10 days I helped with AJ's Field Day, had a PTA Board meeting, drove to South Carolina to visit Kara, had Luke's last day of school (complete with stuffed summer bags and teachers' gifts), did a triathlon, put on Audrey's class party, and had her last day of school.  

Shew.  I'm tired, y'all.  

On Tuesday I took a nap and didn't feel the least bit guilty about it.  I hope there are a few more in my future this summer, but I am also anxious to turn my attention back to getting the house under control.  It has definitely been neglected the past couple of months and there will be a number of organization projects on the to-do list this summer! Of course, there will also be a LOT of time soaking up my sweet almost-seven year old second grader (?!) and almost pre-K baby.  

Those two goals are already underway on this our first official day.  We spent nearly two hours cleaning out the garage (still more to do) and then had a relaxing "spa party" (soaked our feet in a bubble bath and painted AJ's nails) followed by lunch the deck.  Audrey asked if our summer motto was going to be "work hard, play hard."  :) She knows me well. 

Here is this week's TT list:

1.  A wonderful first grade year for Audrey.  I think there are several things to attribute this to:  having her Celiac diagnosed and under control, her teacher, her classmates, and her being a lot more challenged than she was in kindergarten.  I always loved school and it made me so sad to think she wouldn't enjoy it, but this year changed her attitude and outlook.  She is experiencing a lot of bittersweet emotions at the end of the school year, but I'm thankful she had such a great year of things worth missing.  

2.  A goal realized.  On Saturday I completed my triathlon and I'm still reeling from it.  I put in a lot of training hours and frankly, a lot of stress and worry about achieving this goal and it finally came to fruition.  I hope to write a full post on it soon.  

3.  A Southern garden.  My hydrangeas are in full bloom (they didn't bloom last year, so it's especially sweet!), as are my gardenias.  The azaleas looked gorgeous a few weeks ago and the crepe myrtles and new magnolia tree will take their turns soon.  I am giddy over a) not having killed everything and b) having it be full of so many quintessentially southern plants.

4.  Kara's progress.  Her official diagnosis is CIPD, which is basically chronic GBS.  BUT, her neurologist fully expects to find a treatment plan that will bring her back to 100% and keep her there.  When I went to see her last week, she was doing amazingly well.  She is driving by herself and even working out at her gym (mostly swimming...she is officially doing as many laps in her workout as I am and $10 bucks says she's crushing my time, too.)  The day I visited marked two months since her diagnosis and admittance to the hospital, and I was just astounded at how far she'd come.  Please pray that continues!

5.  David!  Tomorrow is his 35th birthday.  We may be getting older (thankfully him faster than me ;) ) but he will always be my hard-working, handsome, intelligent, funny, Jesus-loving, baby-daddy, golf extraordinaire and I am so grateful for him.  

Enjoying some Icee treats with friends to celebrate the end of school!  

Happy Summer!