Robby's 9!

I can't believe I haven't written about my handsome boy's birthday yet! Robby turned 9 on June 13. His birthday was drawn out a bit, since we had Father's Day the same weekend.
We took Robby to Harbor Inn for crab legs (his favorite) on Friday.
By Friday afternoon, we were on our way out to Mistletoe State Park to go camping. I must say, I was a little wary because of the heat, but God blessed us with fairly mild weather and low humidity. The kids had a great time swimming, playing on the playground, fishing, cooking over the campfire, and, of course, making smores.
We got up early Sunday morning to pack up and head back for church. After mass was lunch under our carport with John's family (FABULOUS steak).
Saturday was my brother, Rob's birthday, so we headed out to his house Sunday evening for a birthday/Father's Day party. We had a cookout and Rob, my Robby, and Dad exchanged gifts amid cake and ice cream.
It was an incredibly busy weekend, but I think after all was said and done, everyone had a good time.
I'm so proud of you, Robert! You have such a loving, kind spirit. You are growing up so fast. I love that you still go out of your way to come give me a hug. I love you!

Thank God for Mom!

Today, I will be going to Charlotte to pick up Fr. Ted, a missionary priest who currently lives in Africa. He has become a very dear friend, and a part of our family. He will be staying with us for the next two weeks (I'm so excited!).

The thing is, since school let out, I have been having an incredibly hard time keeping up with things. Having the kids home brings a whole new dynamic to the whole internship area, not to mention just daily tasks. I barely have time to buy groceries, much less finish my school work and clean the house.

This is where MOM comes in. Also known as Evelyn and Petie, but Nana to most. This is one incredible woman! She spends most of her time taking care of others, and those others include me. She saw that I had a need, and she came and took care of it. My house was a disaster area, and she took three different days this week to come help me. In fact, she ended up doing most of it because I was out running my kids all over town. And my house isn't exactly small, either.

Mom, Nana, wonderful woman that you are, I simply cannot thank you enough for all that you are and do for me. You aren't just my mom, you are one of my best friends. I love you so much! You are a jewel from heaven.

This has been a very interesting week so far. I had noticed recently that, every now and again, I would get a whiff of gasoline when close to my van. I could not figure out where it was coming from, and it concerned me, but I just couldn't pinpoint anything. On Monday, after having lunch with my mom, she smelled it too, and was trying to help me figure out where it was coming from. When I cranked up the van, she said she could see it dripping on the ground. So, I promptly called Rick, our local mechanic and all around wonderful Christian friend, who told me to bring it to him right away. He replaced the fuel filter, which was cracked, and all seemed well until the next day.
Tuesday, the plan was to take Mom's car to Rick to have the air conditioner charged, and I was going to pick her up there, at which time we would head out to the new Aqueduct park for a swim. As soon as I pulled up at the Peach Orchard Tire and Auto, gas started gushing out from under my van. And I mean gallons. I quickly cut the engine and got the kids out while Mom ran in to tell Rick. He and several of his mechanics piled out the front door in a hurry to make sure no one was in danger and get the mess cleaned up. The young man who had actually fixed it the day before was apologizing profusely. He was completely astounded at this development.
Well, it turned out to be something pretty simple. The clip that held the fuel lines into the gas tank had gotten stretched somehow, and the line popped out just when I pulled up in the parking lot. Thank God it happened right there, and not when we were at the Aqueduct park! It could have been a much worse situation, possibly very dangerous. God really protected us. Sometimes His guardian angels are in the form of mechanically inclined friends.