This and That (and some more pictures, too!)

I realize that I have not been in this space very often lately.Mostly it is because I have so much going on that I just don't seem to have the time to sit down and write. It is also because I have so much going on that I don't know where to begin.

Our New Mexico move is progressing. Bob is handling everything for me so that I can focus on homeschooling and being a mother/wife. I appreciate this as I think my head would blow up if I also had to deal with all of the bits and pieces of that whole shabang. We should have our house on the market the week of Labor Day. We have had two Realtors come out to the house to take a look at it. We will be choosing one of them in the next few days. We are looking online for houses, and I am planning on taking a house finding trip sometime in the middle to end of September. My goal is to stay in Ohio long enough that my boys can finish their soccer season with the middle school team.

Speaking of soccer - the boys had their first game this evening. They won 8 or 9 to 1. Josh scored one of the goals, and it was a beauty of a goal. I have been waiting years for this team to make it to this point. I know that sounds silly, but I just love this group of boys. They have been playing together for years and years. The reason that I have been waiting so long for this team to get to this point is because both of my sons are playing on the soccer team together. I love watching my boys play together. They seem to have a rhythm and style all their own, and it makes my heart swell with pride to watch them. I so look forward to watching them play this season. I cannot wait to see what they can accomplish together with their other teammates. I really think it is going to be a magical season.

On another note - school started today for my kiddos. It was nice to get back into the swing of things, and it was also nice to have them all of myself all day long. Sarah did amazing with her schoolwork, and with a few modifications we were able to get through everything I had set out to get done on her first day.

Speaking of Sarah - she has a pretty long MRI scheduled for Friday along with a spinal tap (or Lumbar puncture). Then next week she has 4 days of IVIG scheduled. The MRI will show us how her lesions are doing and if there are any new ones. I am also going to see if there are any on her spine. She has had a couple of issues as of late that have been a bit of a concern to me, but they could be nothing so I am going to wait and see what the MRI results come back with. One of the issues she had was a bladder issue and the other was a tingling/numbness in her leg issue. I try to allow those isolated incidents pass like a grain of salt, but given the nature of Sarah's disease and how devastatingly quick the damage has been done to her eyes I cannot help but be nervous that the same is going to happen to her lower body.

I know that there are many of you who have prayed for my family this past year, and I ask that you do me a favor and pay doubly hard for some friends of mine. They are going through an extremely devastating time right now with their daughter that makes Sarah's issues look like a walk in the park. I know how hard this past year has been for me with everything that has happened with Sarah - I cannot even begin to fathom what my friends are going through. Please just pray for me that everything will be okay for their daughter in the end.

We took another trip to NY last week only this time we went to upstate NY. We were in the Saratoga/Lake George area visiting family. We had so much fun. The pictures below are from a boat ride we took on the Minnie Ha Ha. (A.L. - I could not find the red roof ice cream shop you mentioned to me. I wonder if it still is open?) Lake George is very beautiful. I love upstate NY and could imagine myself some day living in that area or its neighboring state - VT. While there we also went on a 4 hour zip line obstacle course up in the trees. It was an amazing adventure. I was pretty scared as I have a fear of heights, but I had to go as Sarah wanted to try the course. Except for one part - she made it through the whole thing with flying colors. Elizabeth too did a great job with her harness and hooks. I was very proud of both of my girls.

Elizabeth celebrated her 8th birthday. She had a great day. I took her to get a mani/pedi and also to an arcade and to the store to spend her birthday money.

The garden is doing well. I have a ton of cucumbers. I am looking forward to having another garden when I get down to NM. Their growing season (I believe they have 2) is set to being around the time we should get down there at the end of September/beginning of October.

I think that is almost everything. I hope your summer ended well and that your transitions back into the school world go smoothly.