Last week...

• We picked 13 lbs of blueberries. My freezer is now awash in them.
• We finished snake-sitting. The pleas for a snake of our own have already begun.
• We bought a new (to us) van. A twelve-seater, it has enough room for us, our junk, and some friends. I can now spend time intimidating other drivers on the road with this beast. Not really - I try to be a polite driver. But we have started referring to the old van as "the little van".
• We got to look after a couple of my friends' daughters for a couple days while she had surgery. We were so blessed to serve this family that has so kindly and faithfully served us for so long. And my kids loved having some extra playmates for a couple days. There were tears when they went home...
• We got to hang out with some excellent couples. One evening went particularly late - I remember looking at the clock and thinking, "It is sooo late, but I don't want the evening to end, so I'll just keep quiet and hope no one else notices." That happens rarely, but it's so fun when it does.
• I've had a growing awareness that the summer is almost half gone (!), I have about six weeks left until this baby arrives (!!), and I have done no planning for next year. I have all of my supplies (I think), but no plan for how to use them. So, I anticipate spending more time this week looking through my materials and coming up with a game plan. That may mean you hear less from me over the next few days, but don't worry - "it's just a break". "It's not you, it's me." "I really need some time to focus on my 'career' right now." "I hope we can still be friends." Really.