Hi! Remember me?

Goodness, I've been delinquent here this week! It's not been for lack of something to blog about, I assure you. Quite the opposite-- there's been lots happening here, so that sitting down in front of the computer to compose a blog entry has been something that moved down the priority list.

A short summary:

• Soccer Camp. The Boy signed up for a day camp through our town's soccer league. For 3-4 hours every afternoon this week the kids ran, dribbled, passed and kicked their way around the field, under the auspices of coaches from the Chicago Fire. He had loads of fun with it, and we could actually see some of his skills improving as a result of all the practice.

• Yard Work. A goodly amount of weeding and maintenance happened this week, mostly at the hands of The Teenager (who has been diligently working to pay off some accumulated family debt). She's made a great start-- the house actually looks like someone might live here, which is an improvement over its appearance a few weeks ago.

• Sewing. I've been catching up on a serious backlog of "Sure, I can do that!" projects so piled up that my sewing table was well-nigh invisible under the mountain of assemble this and alter that laying forlornly upon it. I'm not through yet, but I have begun to see wood in spots, below the faux suede, denim and broadcloth. It's consumed enough time that it was almost beginning to feel like work! However, The Boy now has new shorts from old pants, several old friends have new clergy shirts, and a personal project or two that needed to get done pronto, did.

• Planning and scheming. Carol (the priest-in-charge at St. A's, and my new boss) and I spent an overnight at a cottage she's caretaking for a friend. It's on a little lake, and we had a ball swimming and kayaking around and about; but we also spent some serious time in bringing me up to speed with the congregation's mission/vision work, and fleshing out things for the upcoming year. Christian Ed, a new healing service, and an upcoming worship music seminar we're hosting (likely the first part of October), all got their share of attention. Oh, yeah-- and a possible website for the parish!
  

• Vacation! Last, but far from least, we are headed out of town in a few days, for the first real vacation our family has had since before I started seminary. We're gallivanting west: stopping to see family in Minnesota and South Dakota, and then on out to visit Rev. Ref. and The Lovely Wife in Big Sky Country! I purely can't wait; but the preparation for an extended absence has naturally resulted in a list-making and chore-doing frenzy, as we try to get everything ready.

Now you're all caught up-- and I need a nap!