Taking A Detour...

I'm finding that after being absent from the blogging world for several months, I've become almost overwhelmed with everything I want to share with you. I know I promised to finish telling you all about our trip to Hawaii...and I WILL! Guess I just feel the need to throw in a few "extras", if you will, along the way. Otherwise, my mind is bound to forget, and I certainly don't want to take any chances of that happening!

I'm still adjusting to the fact that Brittany has moved away to another state and I'm not quite sure when I'll be seeing her, again. We talk on the phone just about every day and text each other fairly frequently. However, I'm slowly learning to allow her space so that she can enjoy this exciting time of independence for all it's worth. That's been a very difficult thing for me. The mother in me wants to do everything for her and make her world PERFECT. Brittany was really wanting to get involved with the Baptist Christian Ministries on campus. Back in my day, it was known as the Baptist Student Union and I spent a good amount of time there. Well, unfortunately, her practice schedule conflicts with the times that BCM meets, which was discouraging for her. So, I went online and searched for local churches that have college ministries. I found one that's only 4.5 miles from her college. So, I requested information from the church to be sent to Brittany. Yesterday, I received a very nice note from the Minister of Students there and he wanted to give Brittany a call and invite her to an event tomorrow that over 100 college freshman will be atending. They'll have the opportunity to check out the church and learn about what it has to offer them. I was beyond thrilled, so I'm hoping (and praying!) that Brittany will make plans to attend. We all know that college can be an incredible time of self-discovery, but it can also be fraught with countless temptations. Being grounded in FAITH gives you that coat of armor to remain strong!

I can hardly believe that Abby's an 8th grader this year! Will I really have to go through the high school years, again, so soon? Don't know if I'm quite ready for this! She loves all of her teachers and declared that science continues to be her favorite subject. She is still involved with her school chorus and recently auditioned for an ensemble group that's a lot like "Glee". She said she was very nervous during try-outs, so I guess we'll have to wait and see if she made the cut . We're keeping our fingers crossed because that girl loves to SING! Here she is on her first day of school (Aug. 9th).

We really have had so much fun together this summer! Probably because we knew that our time together was fleeting. I ended up taking a bunch of pictures...and I'm so glad I did! I'll let the pictures tell their own story...

Ahh, sweet memories...I wouldn't trade them for the world!