My heart

The kids in the house have been fabulous in the days leading up to dear friends, The Dursts and the Thompson's coming to visit for a night before heading on to Sacramento to see the rest of their 'forever' friends. Much gets left until 'later' when it comes to housework and organization, and later seems to never arrive,(or budget does not allow for proper tools) so there was MUCH to do.  Stuff probably no one else cares about except me, but it's the way I'm wired. (thank you Mommy for that particular gene) One of the kids even cleaned the rock fireplace for me and braved a rather tall ladder to clean the paddles of the ceiling fan. (there's a family story in there my mother in law would tell and I live in horror of it happening to me!)  Many did mudane things like clean the wrought iron bannisters and scrub the bath tub.  Most was done with a cheerful heart. (this is the single most thing I appreciate!) And major kudos to ALL my 'kids' who pitched in. Steven, Brannon, Bradley, Liana, Shauna, Mikey, Sarah, Jared and Shawn.  If I've forgotten anyone, forgive me.... I thank you too!

So with the grocery shopping done, the food prep began.  Mike wanted a stuffed pork tenderloin w/apples, onions, garlic, golden raisens, almonds, italian parsley and fresh basil, a simple meal, but requires quite a bit of prep. It's always my struggle to get the house in order with enough time to do the food without coming across like woman who just ran a marathon, though it's often what happens!  But, everything was ready by the time they arrived.  Pork stuffed and ready for oven, corn on the cob in the pot ready for cooking, rice with toasted pasta and almonds in the rice cooker only needing to be turned on.  Only the salad left to do and I enjoyed having Allie make it while I finished a few other details, like frosting the cake.  Lemon with cream cheese frosting. And yes, it was as good as it sounds, all of it, if I do say so myself!

 

Lots of visiting... Mike and David out in the gazebo, Allie and I in the kitchen, Mikey and Allie in the kitchen, Paula, Sarah and I in the kitchen, babies here and there, Matty in one room, Benny in another, naps, time to wake up, time to eat.  A full table with people I have loved from the moment we met, literally. Twenty years or so of friendship with many years to come. This makes my heart happy.

The contrast to this joy is the bittersweet of today being the one year anniversary of Lisa Lioness moving to heaven.  Again, the remembrance of how fragile life is.  Playing with Steve and Cassie's boys brought such bittersweet joy.  I'm glad they were there, but it did make the saying goodbye again a bit tougher. And I miss my cousin. What an amazing heart she had. A great pre-school teacher who blessed the lives of many of her students and their families. Knowing her memory lives on in so many young lives brings such honor to her and who she was.  This makes my cousin heart joyful for my memories of her.

One more day of work and Mike, Jared and I leave for Texas to see Joe before he deploys in August.  Mikey flies out same time to join the tour again, and they are playing Fort Hood on the 4th of July. That will be fun. Mikey will get to spend extra days with his brother.  This makes my mommy heart smile for sons who love each other.