My Precious Adorable Nephew, Gray Grange

Check this little cutie pie out!! I stole these pictures from Mary's Facebook page...
So precious!!!

How It Is

So what's going on with the Cases lately?

Well... changes are happening now, and more are on the horizon. Jeff's second eldest son, Dan, is staying with us for a few weeks (he's been here for two already). He's almost 26 and just moved back east from Arizona where the economy has been hit pretty hard over the past few years. He lost his job and was unable to find work, so he had no choice but to relocate. Thankfully, he immediately found a job here doing various kinds of outdoor work for a private contractor (the same guy Phil works for). Soon he will have enough money to move out - probably by the end of August. It does his dad's heart good to see him working and earning money again!

And, by the end of the month, Phil will have moved out too. He is renting a room in a house near George Mason and, although his lease began August 1, he'll move in closer to August 29 when classes begin. We are so proud of him, how he's working hard over the summer, and gearing up for another grueling year of engineering studies.

Kiff, too, is signed up for classes this fall. Woo hoo! She had dropped out last fall semester, but after a year it seems she's matured a bit. She wants to be a nurse, and will begin prerequisite classes this semester at our community college. We're glad she's on a good road now. Nursing school will be a tough road, but she knows it and says she's ready! Yay Kiff.

The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer seem to be winding down a bit. Hasn't it been horribly hot and dry?! It has been getting somewhat better over the past few days, but our lawn has been brown more than it's been green this summer. I haven't had to mow in weeks ~ but will again tomorrow because the weeds make the lawn look unruly. I've had to replace a small boxwood shrub which gave up the ghost last week... as well as most of my potted flowers on the deck... :( I guess I didn't water them enough, but the heat sure hasn't helped either.

I'm still digitizing all the Enlow family pics! I'm on the homestretch, though. And actually I'd like to chip away at it more today, so I'm going to go do that.

Nice chatting with you all!

A Fun Poem

I learned this from one of my elderly friends at the retirement home:

Lord fill my mouth
with worthwhile stuff
and nudge me
when I've said enough

I'm wondering how it would go over if I tattooed this on my arm or maybe on the inside of my eyelids...

Happy August

First, the bookshelf project status... This was taken a week or so ago, actually, and since then a few new touches have appeared. It's going to be so gorgeous. :)
And here are a few shots of me and my adorable nephew! I went out to Mary's (an hour's drive from us) for a spontaneous visit last Friday, so I got some good bonding time in with little Gray, who is sporting a really cool mohawk these days. Mary can't get his hair to lie down flat! It's so funny.
Yeah. He fusses. :(

Naps

That's my new hobby: naps. :) I'm reading a book that was recommended to me by a friend. It's called Take a Nap! Change Your Life by Sara Mednick and Mark Ehrman. I'm only part way through it, but what I've read so far has been captivating.

I'm learning more about why our bodies need sleep, and all the necessary things that go on when we're asleep; for example, our brains synthesize things we've learned while we sleep in a way that can't be done while we're awake. The author says that if you take a nap after you learn something new, you'll retain that knowledge more thoroughly than if you stay awake. Isn't that fascinating? The author says that getting a good night's sleep is important, but taking a nap is just as valuable. She says it's actually very healthy for everyone to take a nap in the middle of the day, even if it's brief; it helps with energy and alertness and just general health.

So, I've taken her advice! Not only because she says it's healthy, but because I have been so incredibly tired lately, and usually right around 1:00 in the afternoon, sleepiness comes over me - which can be very inconvenient depending on what's on my schedule for the day. (I know what you ladies are thinking... 'Ooo that could mean she's pregnant!' I was hoping that was the case myself, but, alas, I am not.) So, when I'm able to, I lay down at around 1:00 and just sleep until I wake up. Sometimes I sleep for as much as an hour and a half! I wake up sort of groggy, but then once I'm fully awake again, I can handle the second half of the day with more energy - and that alone makes it worth it for me.

I like how this book validates my giving in to my daytime sleepiness. :) And it's just a good reminder that it's good to give our bodies what they need. God made us with limitations; he made us with a daily need for rest. Respecting that need is respecting the way God made us.

*update*
I'm actually learning now how it's possible to schedule your naps so you don't wake up groggy...

Catching Up

Hi all! Just a little update on new happenings in our lives...

First... I'm the proud aunt of an adorable little baby boy! I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet!! What's wrong with me? George Robert Grange IV, aka Gray, was born on June 9 to Mary and Rob, his loving adoptive parents. Mary was privileged to be in the delivery room when they were performing the c-section and was the first one to hold him! He was born in Kansas and they now have him home and are madly in love with him! He is a handsome little guy and his Aunt Sylvie loves him!


You vegetarians out there will be sad to hear that Jeff and I have decided to eat meat again. ;) We discovered that eating a vegetarian diet doesn't help at all with weight loss; in fact, it seemed to cause a little weight gain for Jeff. We were confused about that until I mentioned it to Mary & Rob who said, well yeah, if you're not eating as much protein, then you'll be filling up on carbs... which are fattening if you eat too much. Duh! We thought we had been eating enough protein through sources like beans and fish and eggs, but I guess it just wasn't enough. So besides the weight gain thing, we just missed eating meat, and I felt like my body needed it. So, Jeff and I decided to introduce meat back into our diet. This was a while ago, and we feel good about it all. We only eat organic meat, though. I don't want to support the mainstream beef and chicken industries, considering they way they treat their animals and the junk they feed them and inject them with. And we don't eat a lot of meat... only maybe twice a week. We still have vegetarian meals and fish every week.

I'll tell you what.... taking the initiative to make sure the food we're eating is actually healthy takes more time and energy than I would have expected! I'm so glad I don't have an outside job. Just meal planning alone is pretty time-consuming, let alone grocery shopping and meal preparation. I am trying to make things from scratch to avoid preservatives and, especially, MSG and its cousins. Bread (just got a Breadman bread machine)... bread crumbs from leftover homemade bread... salsa... spice mixes... I haven't dived into making things my own applesauce or jam yet, though. One thing at a time! But even though making things from scratch and being generally healthier takes a lot of time and energy, I enjoy every minute of it! I love having the freedom to focus on things that I'm passionate about - taking care of my home and my husband. And I'm so grateful that Jeff not only is okay with my not working outside the home; he prefers it! :)

In other news.... Phil is heading off to George Mason soon. We're really proud of him and are excited for him as he takes this next step into his future. He'll have three years there, probably. He's currently looking for a place to live but hopefully will be able to line something up soon.

Jeff and I are tossing around and praying about and discussing the idea of moving to Denver at some point. We aren't making any rash decisions and will take the next twelve months or so to really look into it and see how God might lead us. There are some solid reasons we feel it may be a good and healthy thing for us to relocate to Denver, but there are also some good reasons for us to stay in Virginia. So, we need wisdom and are looking to God to lay the path before us.

That reminds me of another thing I'm grateful for: having a partner to help make these big life decisions - and not just a partner, but a wise and loving husband - a provider and protector and leader. Now don't get me wrong ~ I do make my opinions known. I'm no doormat! But Jeff is wise, and I'm learning that God's design for marriage really is the best way. There's so much safety in staying under Jeff's leadership. Yet we do make these decisions together; and I'm just grateful I don't have to make them alone.

And the shelves...... Do you remember that shelving project we started last winter? Yeah. They still aren't finished. I know, it's taking a long time - much longer than Jeff anticipated. But he continues to chip away at it, and the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely visible. They are going to be gorgeous. He's going to take a few days off sometime soon and hopefully knock it out. I'm excited to get all our books and decorative things up there! It's just going to be stunning. We might even have a bookcase-warming party when it's all done!! That was Jeff's idea. All the guests have to bring one book, new or used! Fun idea, right? :)

Oh, and I don't mind sharing this, especially because I'd love to enlist your prayers for us: Jeff and I would like to have at least one child and are praying for God to give us a baby, but in the two years we've been married I haven't gotten pregnant (obviously). We began going to a fertility clinic in Fairfax, VA, a few months back, and our test results were all basically normal. I'm currently on some mild fertility meds to just increase the chances. So... we'd greatly appreciate any prayers for a pregnancy! I know God is in control and I know his timing is perfect. I'm starting to get a little concerned, though (naturally).

Last but not least, we have (sadly) decided to leave Blue Ridge Bible Church (we will miss our dear brothers and sisters there) and instead we've begun attending St. Peter's Episcopal Church, also in Purcellville. We love it there, and we're excited to experience Christianity in a context entirely new to us (well, it's new to me anyway). We so appreciate the reverence in worship, the genuine Christ-centered love, and their doctrinal depth and integrity. It's so refreshing to broaden our horizons!

So I guess the little update turned into a big update.... :) That always seems to happen! Thanks for reading!

My First Parade

Yes. That's right. I had never been to a parade in my entire life until yesterday. I think I need to have a little talk with my parents about that one!!

First, here's my new homemaker responsibility:
And I actually enjoy it. It's a zero-turn mower, and it's quick and easy. It only takes 2 hours to do our 3 acres, whereas with the old regular riding mower it took maybe twice as long. I just put on sunhat and ride!

Now for the parade. I wanted a shot of Jeff and me, but I didn't know the camera was zoomed in that far.... :) Cute anyway, I think!
The parade begins.

See how this boy is waving? Too cute. It's like he's a politician in training.
Check out the patriotic horses and dog.






Here's a truck full of matchbox cars. Rows and rows and rows of matchbox cars.
And it ended with a few soldiers from the Revolution.
I love my country!