The smell of new carpet...

You know that feeling when you walk on velvety-soft sand in your bare feet? Well, my new carpet isn't quite that nice, but is a considerable step up from the well-worn and rather stained former carpet that I happily saw ripped up a couple weeks ago. It's amazing how lovely, new carpet can make a whole house seem so clean and fresh. I occasionally sprawl out on it and enjoy not wondering about the origin of that mysterious yellow stain from the previous home owners. I think we also felt better about plopping a new little human life down on a fresh canvas. All for the peace of mind... oh, and because it looks pretty. :)

Aside from smelling my new carpet, my days are spent (already!) wrapping up the summer here in the next couple weeks- although you wouldn't guess that from the consistent 100+ temps lately. (Yuck. Bun in the oven + walking around in an oven = very high electric bills. TXU, you're welcome.)

Here is the family pic from our "Homecation 2008." Please note how adorable my grandad and his girlfriend are- and yes, that is my parents' dog in a t-shirt.

AND- camp was greatness. It was a special week for our kiddos and I LOVED the incredible times of worship. (Although I did get attacked there by a 2-lb chihuahua that tripped me while I was running- I almost crushed his little body into pieces but saved him by dive-rolling into the mud. He thanked me by trying to bite my neck.)

Summer Daze...

Do you remember those summer days as a kid that seemed to drag on and on with lazy mornings and afternoons of swimming and lounging? I miss those days. Summers are nothing like that in the youth ministry world- quite the opposite, in fact. There is much to love about a youth ministry summer, but I sometimes daydream about what it would be like to have the gift of unscheduled time. I would start by swimming until I got all pruny. :)

Since my blogging is chronically sporatic, I'll give you some all-important life updates.

1. I am in my 26th week of pregnancy- ALREADY. Wow. That is 6 months according to "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and 7 months according to Babyzone.com. I am completely confused by the whole system anyway, so it's no surprise to me that there is no consensus on the month-thing. Maybe I'll just start counting down the actual days. We have 105 of them until Baby H's ETA.

2. Last week I accidentally kicked a dead rat covered in maggots with my bare toes. It was as gross as it sounds and I am forever scarred.

3. I leave in 5 days for one of my all-time favorite summer events: CAMP! I love it despite the vicious wasps and balmy east Texas weather.

4. I just got back from the Blanks Family's 2nd annual "Homecation." The motto for our event: "Less fuel. More fun." We played games, ate until we were stuffed, and laughed at our own dumb jokes for 3 whole days. Awesome.

This is my cutie group of 7th graders on our mission trip in June. They were so much fun.