Help! I need somebody!

Would someone please come and tell me what is wrong with my house and help me make decisions? I am so all over the place and like too many thing. Do I paint my end tables black or keep some brown in my living room? What do I recover my chair in? Do I really want a sectional? What is my decorating style? Please, someone, help me. (I guess it would help if I posted pictures . . . )

Life in La Land from A-Z

A-My sweet A and I had a girl's day of shopping and running errands. We so rarely have just girl time--it was a fun day!

B-Our first year to have an abundant basil crop! We are enjoying it very much!

C-Camp is just as much a time of growth and challenges and joy as it ever was--and I'm not even on staff!

D-I sure do wish we had a dog. : ( Unfortunately it is against the rules . . .

E-Eggplant, the. That's what we call our oddly-colored Sienna. It does not qualify as a Swagger Waggon

F-Tuan went fishing and caught some bream which he grilled instead of fried. They were some of the best fish I've ever eaten.

G-Giggling over this YouTube video about "Flea Market/Montgomery/It's Just Like a Mini-Mal"l. Watch the video and then go to a furniture store. Kind of like Napoleon Dynamite: you'll laugh later.

H-I'm thankful for the Children's Hospital and the great care baby O received there and even more thankful to not be there!

I-I love pens with thick, flowing ink!

J-Our J turned four in May. He is a delight. This week, we had a babysitter for an afternoon and took him to play at camp with just mommy and daddy. He was so excited and got to do the ropes course for the first time!

K-The Kammers are some of my favorite people! I've gotten to spend time with Christina and Ashleigh these past two weeks--always a treat!

L-the Living Room is the center of my decorating obsession these days . . .

M-My sister Melissa had gallbladder surgery and I'm so glad she is doing well!

N-Netflix Instant Streaming has been so much fun. The astounding number of movies you can watch on it are astounding.

O-Baby O is recovering well and such a fun baby. He blabbers and drools and stares intently at things. We are enjoying him so much.

P-My husband, Kevin and Aubrey have done a fabulous job with the camp program! The lion's den and fiery furnace are unbelievably realistic!

Q-Quiet Time at our house is a blessing, indeed!

R-Ribs are one of the most amazing foods ever and Rind-On bacon is weird. I'll be sure to not buy that next time.

S-Sugar. I'm completely off of sugar and starches indefinitely. It's been a challenge and there have been lots of temptations, but I feel great! (now that I've detoxed)

T-Tomatoes--in season tomatoes are so delectable!

U-"Uh, what!?" my reaction when I awoke during naptime to find one of our neighbor's kids in our hallway.

V-The Victorian Veronica couch by Bernhardt --I think I've found my couch!

W-My brother, Warren is turning sixteen on Monday--I cannot believe he's that old!

X-X-rays are expensive.

Y-Yes to the Dress-I am utterly addicted to that show and have been watching it on Netflix.

Z-Last week during day camp we had a petting Zoo come for a visit! The kids were enchanted with the baby monkey who wore a diaper. I liked the baby yak!

My Place in this World

I keep hoping I'll find some magical resource for being a camp spouse, you know, "confessions of a camp wife" or something like that. This is my twentieth summer of camping--wow--and I find that "the same old struggles that plagued me then are plaguing me still." Where do I fit? What is my role? Why can't I do job x instead of my own? Contentment in what God has called me (not others) to do is an annual struggle.

Last year was a celebration of relief at not having tons of responsibility at camp. I still lived in the "gates" and was mobile with only two toddlers. This year, I'm a bit further from the epicenter of fun and chaos, I have two ramblers and a baby who is most satisfied and happy at home. This year has been harder in terms of not being involved--because I LOVE to be involved. I also have so much camp in my blood that it is absolutely instinctual to see things and want to fix them. So, I'm learning, struggling, grappling with this new role: how do I best serve my husband? what do my kids need most? what should I really be doing? what parts of the day are the best for us to be involved and what parts aren't?

I'm realizing the benefits of being at home during camp and all the possibilities abounding. The kids are sleeping late which gives me quiet time in the morning. There are no meals to cook, so there is a lot less daily work. My kids LOVE to be outside and I can use their outside time to tackle projects and painting. Right now it seems that the evenings may be our best time to be out and about rather than mornings when quiet behavior is required at assemblies. : ) If I can care for the kids, be cheerful for my husband and make home pleasant for him, then I really am being useful and purposeful at camp. The rest is but icing on the cake and I've certainly been blessed with those bonuses, too these past few days. It's been a tough lesson to learn and I'm grateful for the encouragement, wisdom and experience of those gone before me.

Week one is nearly down. Six more to go!

Strange Things are Happening to Me.

In recent times I've noticed that I derive great pleasure from things I NEVER expected to produce such satisfaction. For example, when Mr. O was around three weeks old, I had to wake up around four or five to feed him and afterwards realized that 1. I needed to go to the grocery, 2. going back to bed was fruitless and, 3. I did not want to grocery shop with all three kids. So, at six in the morning, I left the house with Tuan and the kids still asleep and went to Wal-mart, Kroger, and Sams. I used a coupon on groceries and treated myself to coffee. I was able to shop at Sam's in near solitude at 7:20 in the morning with no lines and got home before nine. It was the equivalent of a spa treatment. I was totally refreshed.

Even stranger (for me) is the complete satisfaction derived from having my floors vacuumed/swept and the tables and counters cleared off and sink empty. It makes me sort of delight within. I never think it would happen! Today, for example, our camp sitter took the big kids for two hours and in fifty minutes time I had the downstairs cleaned. The satisfaction of the job completed was marvelous, but more so was the fact that I got to do it alone with NO INTERRUPTIONS and the house was QUIET! It was utterly refreshing and I was totally ready for them to come home and had energy. Crazy.