Project 365, Week 32

It was a fairly quiet week, with a special celebration honoring my brother. How precious life is!

August 5

The kids help make our place of business shine.

August 6

This was an unexpected Nathanael Appreciation Day. With camp and a missions trip (which is awesome!), he's been out of the office quite a bit. He does his job so consistently and so well and seemingly effortlessly. This day of trying to walk in his shoes was particularly frustrating and it kept reminding me how competently he keeps this place running.

August 7

The girls were working so I took Aiden to midweek. I try not to take our church for granted....what a blessing to have a place our kids look forward to.

August 8

I had blood work and scans to do and Amy volunteered to take me. Its all so annoying, but I was happy for the car ride together. Through really crazy and awful stuff, this girl has been by my side, somehow always knowing just what to do. She has a gift. She IS a gift.

August 9

My brother earned a promotion and invited us to share in the pomp and celebration. Tim is incredibly humble and doesn't make a big deal about what he does, but he IS a big deal and we got to hear a piece of it at a ceremony just for him. The respect and admiration that so many have for Tim was clear.

He is THE chaplain for the state of Rhode Island and is responsible for over 3,000 souls. He was promoted to Colonel, which I learned is a title only 2% of officers achieve. 

The Colonel! 

His kids got to pin him and his wife Elizabeth, in keeping with tradition was honorarily promoted one rank above him, just so he stays clear on who is boss. 😉 She was recognized for the important role she plays in keeping things running at home, which allows him to do what he does. 

Not even half of the room pictured here. The other half was full of soldiers who weren't required to be there but wanted to because of what Tim means to them. What a special thing!

Of course I had to get a picture of the civilian cousins who were there. Avery is always willing but she did ask when I was going to stop doing cousin pictures. I feel like we're almost there. Maybe once Ezra has a partner in the second cousin club? I don't know, but I'm beyond grateful to have such problems.

August 10

It was our first non-rain day in a bit so we enjoyed some time outside. Ginger knows she always has a friend in Jack. :)

August 11

Amanda and I had a pocket of time after church and before she worked, so we did a quick shopping trip. Her college has a dress code of no sweats/joggers, so Amanda's fashion style is going to have to be reinvented. She got a couple pairs of pants (we decided against this dress) and we had fun together. We are definitely in the countdown until she leaves.

It was such a great evening for watching soccer. Aiden played the whole game and then unexpectedly stayed for the game after to play goalie for a team short on players. It was a treat to be joined by Avery and Jack for some of it.