Summertime Potpourri

Good ol' summertime! Supposedly it's a time to relax and enjoy the sunshine, and when we've been able to handle the local mosquito population we have enjoyed the sunshine and various outdoor fun that lends itself to this time of year. But, we also manage to stay busy with a variety of other odds and ends - usually involving our dear growing family. Over the last couple of weeks, much time has been spent on Josh and Abbey's house which is quickly approaching a state of move-in-ability.

We are also drawing near to the time of year known as harvest - and some crops are already begging for attention. So we've made our first applesauce of the year (actually, Jeanine made it, but used our kitchen), and yesterday we (or rather, Sara - but again, it was in our kitchen) put up a few cases of peaches.


We don't have any pictures of it, but on Friday night a colleague of Nathan's had arranged for a group to attend a concert at Ravinia. As they had an extra ticket, N&J invited me to go along with them. We got in shortly after the gates opened and reserved a very nice little spot in the shade and enjoyed conversation and sophisticated snacks while we awaited the rest of the group. The concert was all John Williams music and was very enjoyable - and the rain and lightening that accompanied the second half of the concert were unable to dampen the fun. And 9 hours together weren't enough for Nathan, Jeanine & I to run out of conversation.


With fans blowing on high in an attempt to ward off the clouds of mosquitoes, Jonathan and Luke VH worked together on some engine conversions... but you can check that out on Jonathan's blog if you are interested in details!


Summertime is a good time of year for little people to get a little bigger! She isn't walking yet, but boy, she would sure like to be!


We've also had a few ensemble rehearsals of late. Mr. Y, Dawn B, Ethan W, Tom D, Anna VH, Joanna and Josiah are working on some pieces together - just for fun, and to share at our church's upcoming 10th Anniversary celebration.

Last night during some storms that came through, we entertained the little people (J&S were here for dinner) with some music in the living room. It started with Sara on the piano, Mom on guitar, Joseph on banjo, but things evolved from there...


Also last night, after the storms finally blew past, Jonathan and Joanna drove down the road (where there are fewer trees in the way) and grabbed a few pictures of the sky and sunset.




One last note: We've update the Liberty Day site with just a couple of details for LD'09! It will be held on March 21, 2009, at Medinah Baptist Church, Medinah, IL, and Dr. Paul Jehle will be our guest speaker!