The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur... Isn't it funny how we are constantly looking to some milestone that marks when "things will slow down", only to pass the marker at 100mph and tell ourselves that surely, things will quiet down after the next marker?

I just knew that life would slow down when school started back, after we got through September, after the Fall festivities on October...and now, I am resigned to the fact that it will be January before I can savor a taste of boredom.

So, what has been keeping us so busy you ask (or maybe you don't)?

After the dual Pumpkin Patch visits and the Social Security office fun, there was the tour of JP2. We are almost through the application process, we have toured the building, met the headmaster (umm...glorified term for principal, but it does have a nice ring to it, no?), researched electives and began the rough draft of the required "Why I Want To Go To JP2" essay. Forrest tests on the 17th. Wish him and us luck (I've threatened to homeschool him if he doesn't get in...not sure who is more traumatized by that thought...him or me).

Mark and I went on a staff retreat with the leadership of our church. Wow. It was AMAZING. The seminars that were presented, the teaching by Bro. Black from Memphis, planning for next year, updates on the progress of our building program and hearing the vision of our church set forth, all led up to the revealing of our "theme" for next year...Living Beyond Yourself.

One of the cool things that happened was a secret contest. Everyone was given a badge on a lanyard to wear at the beginning of retreat. Four women had stars that they would place on the badges seemingly at random. Mark and I had a bit of a friendly competion going to see which of us would get the most stars. Right before we were dismissed, the ladies revealed what the starts were for...they gave you one when they "caught" you living beyond yourself by being, kind, selfless or thoughtful. The winner received a $50.00 gift card to Outback. Mark came in 3rd, I came in 2nd and a truly deserving guy came in 1st.

Next came Autumn Adventure at church. I headed up the decorating comittee. Lots of work...lots of fun. The theme this year was "At The Circus". Mark, Chloe and I dressed up like clowns, Cammie was our leopard and Forrest decorated a trunk with two of his friends. It was a blast. The best part...seeing my 6'4 husband in an inflatable clown costume. Can you say hillarious?

Forrest and his friends did an awesome job on their trunk. They went with a "Revenge of the Nerds" theme. They were so incredibly funny. People would stand in front of their trunk for 10 or 15 minutes just watching them interact with everyone. I wish I would have taped them. Everytime someone would touch them, they would wash their hands with hand-sanitizer, one of them would get so excited, he'd have to use his inhaler...too funny.

The biggest news...

Chloe, turned six. Unbelievable. Impossible. Unreal. I can't believe that my little Ladybug is big enough to earn her gold belt, to be a Brownie, to have a report card (all E's, shameless bragging, I know), to read, to have sight words, to have a life outside of me, to grow up and begin to pull away. I'm so proud of the big girl she is, but so sad to have lost the little girl she has been for so long. Sigh. Sniff.

She did say however, that she will not "get bigger than 7, and won't ever get married and leave our house". When I asked "You don't want a husband or a baby one day", she replied "Well, I could grow up, get married, have a baby and we could all live here with you and daddy". Um...no.

Since it was her birthday, she got bring home Harry the bear. Harry gets to spend the weekend with a different classmate each week. Chloe loved having Harry at her party (even though he was scared by all of the excitement and hid under the present table) and Harry loved hanging out with her. Other than finding him with an open bag of marshamallows and a guilty look on his snout, he was a good bear.

And all of that (plus other non-noteworthy things) my friends, is why I have neglected the blog for almost three weeks.