I realized a few years ago that summer is a different kind of busy than the school-year. It is less organized, but it seems I am pulled in just as many directions if not more. Then we have a mini-crisis like Jeff's car! Last week he was in a fender bender that the insurance decided was not his fault, but because his car is so old we have to decide whether it is worth it to fix it or not. The trunk leaks, the gasket around the windshield is pulling up and leaking, has been bumped twice in hit and runs (once in a parking lot and Jeff didn't even see who it was) that caused some minor body damage, the air conditioner is broken, the radio is broken, it has a small oil leak and the belt squeaks. And that was all before this accident that broke the driver's side headlight and turn signal and bent the hood up a bit - oh and of course, the registration is due today and the car still needs to go to DEQ! I don't know if DEQ will pass it with the damage or not. On the plus side, Jeff's dad (who is in CA) says he will give Jeff his Ford Taurus when the new car comes in (probably Sept). There may be something wrong with it that he will have checked out, but if it really happens it will be great for Jeff to have a newer car! Of course we would have to figure out how to get the car - Charles said he may drive it up for a visit and then fly back, which would be nice we will just have to see.

So that was last week, this week Jeff's Mom is coming for a visit (she gets in Weds) and that will be fun. Thurs we are getting pictures done with her because I have a good coupon and we sorta didn't send anything for Christmas last year so I feel guilty and I want to make it up to her. Plus, when the pictures on the wall are so old that 2 of the children are not even in them, it is time to update. Also during her visit Damien will be training to be an alter server! Yea! He has been looking forward to this for over a year. We are also planning to go to the zoo, maybe Blue Lake park and I hope to see King Henry IV at the free Shakespeare in the park this weekend. I missed the others because I forgot to put them on the calendar, so I really want to make it to this one. We will see.

If I can manage to get up at 6am, then I may even be able to post some of my thoughts on the last few books I read that are very interesting. What Americans Really Believe and The Rise of Christianity are the ones I recently finished and now I am working on a lecture series called the Decline and Fall of Rome and reading No Logo, which is about the changes first in the advertising industry and then in jobs
over the last 50 years. I have all kinds of fascinating thoughts on these books and have had no one to share them with! I only have 3 days left before No Logo has to go back to the library, so I hope I can finish it. Once I am done with No Logo, I have a Steven Hahn book that was loaned to me as well as Ugly as Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again. I only get a chance to read when I am putting the baby down for a nap or if I go to bed early, so I guess it is a good thing that I read quickly! I love reading, maybe a bit too much.

Amazingly all the kids are up, but are letting me finish this post! I should get breakfast started though as well as dinner. 10 hours is long enough for crockpit BBQ ribs, right?