Life Trumps Blogging

Sorry I've been absent for a while. It's been busy around here!

With our travel plans meaning our absence in the month of June, we decided to enroll Leah in Driver's Education classes last week in order to finish them up early. That means I've been taking her to Stillwater for a three hour class, Monday through Thursday. We had Friday off but we're back at it for the second week now.

Just to add to the fun, the Stillwater bridge may be closing, increasing our drive time from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. The St. Croix River is flooding in Stillwater but the cooler temperatures have actually helped with the flooding so I'm not protesting our cool spring too much.

Once the bridge is closed, it will probably be closed for a while so I'm glad we only have four more classes until the classroom portion is completed. The behind the wheel doesn't begin until Leah turns 15 1/2 and gets her permit and that's not until July 29th so we've got a little time before we'll have another driver in the family.

I've been doing a ton of research for our trip. For all the hours I've spent on it it doesn't seem like I've accomplished much but I have been working on firming up the itinerary. We will be spending a week in Paris, France and I located and secured an apartment in a wonderful location right off the banks of the Seine River near the Notre Dame cathedral. We will be within walking distance of so many sights, shops, cafes, museums, gardens, etc.

I just purchased our Eurostar tickets on Saturday. The Eurostar is the train that goes under the English Channel from London to France. It's just over a two hour trip with 19 minutes of it being under the channel. I am slightly claustrophobic but I can do this. I plan on seeing my doctor to obtain some anxiety reducing drugs to help me in my quest.

Now I'm trying to figure out how we will spend our two weeks in England. We will be staying with my niece and her family just south of London. They live in a spacious old estate and they've got room for us. We are very fortunate to have this home base to explore from although we may venture out and stay in the Bath area a couple nights. Decisions, decisions...

We will be doing a lot of walking on this trip so the girls and I need to get our walking shoes on and get outdoors. Actually, they are doing a better job of that than I am. Between my busyness, the snow outside and this cold I picked up, I haven't been exercising much. Gotta work on that.

That, and, oh, a million other things. You know, like feeding my family, time with my husband and children, homeschooling, planning Emily's graduation party, trying to keep this place in order, dealing with the endless paperwork and paying the bills. The normal stuff of life!

I hope the stuff of your lives has been fulfilling and brings you joy and satisfaction. I love how God is at work, in even the mundane areas of my life. When I'm feeling burdened and the endless wintry weather is depressing and I'm fighting a cold, it's a good thing to remember.