Between Here and There

A few weeks ago we had just come home from a Bible conference and suffered a bad case of "Brain Drain." This is curable, but only with massive doses of sleep and totally mundane activity! I've been getting lots of both and am finally on the road to recovery.

But somewhere between here and there, the following things have happened:

I looked up to see that our River trip in France was just four weeks away, so Graham and I began the task of preparing, packing, and purchasing for our trip. This will be our first river trip and our first trip to France. We'll spend our 43rd anniversary in Paris! Our final papers came on Saturday and we'll be traveling with 115 other folks, about a dozen of them from Texas. And 42 will be on our pre-trip in Paris. We are so looking forward to this adventure.

Somewhere along the way Andrew turned a half-year - six months old! And he's a real cutie with two shiny teeth and a big smile. He's a very happy baby under the guidance and protection of a super big brother.

Who, by the way, has become the King of jigsaw puzzles. I can't get ahead of him in finding more challenging puzzles. This box holds four separate puzzles that he keeps in perfect order. Getting all the puzzles put together is always the first order of business when he comes to my house.

We also celebrated a very big event with Cristian's graduation from UTSA with a Master's degree in Engineering. He has studied so hard over the last several years, carrying a full time job, having two children, and making top grades throughout. We are so proud of him, and proud of Meredith too. Being the wife of a serious student isn't an easy task either. Cheers to them both!

Today, Treasure got her hair cut. Lest you think I am back in the mundane, let me just say that every haircut she gets is a milestone in our fight against her cancer. It's just a reminder of the grace of God and the power of prayer and the support of friends.

Now we are two weeks out from our trip. Graham has packed and repacked several times. He may be ready, but then again, he may need to repack one more time! I lay my things out on a table where I can look and count and muse over each item. We'll be living in a small cabin on a river ship so our bags must be compact. I'm trying to follow Rick Steves' sage advice - to pack everything once and then take half of it out! Somehow I know we'll be ready! Now, to brush up on my French!