This Week

These were the big and small things that made up our family life this past week:

• A skype call with my 89 year old Grandma who lives in an assisted living home in Portland, OR. Her heart is weak and hospice has been called in, so she is likely living her final days. It was a sweet, memorable conversation, speckled with the marks of her Alzheimer's. It warmed my heart and broke it all at once.
• An utterly horrid experience with Chili's "To Go" service. I wrote a letter and was told we will soon be mailed a gift certificate to use at our leisure, though I can tell you we won't be inclined to use it anytime soon.
• A sweet moment, shared with our older neighbor, standing in the backyard chatting over our fence. We shared some personal life stories and struggles, but we mostly bonded over our shared love for Jesus Christ.
• Excitement that I did not have to report for jury duty this week
• Rediscovering my love of amaretto-flavored coffee creamer
• The moon shining directly down onto my pillow through our skylight for a few nights. It was actually really lovely.
• The victory of Makenna finally asking me "please" {eeez} when she wants something, after months and months of prompting her to use this phrase! She also started saying "Peppa" {paw pa} to request her favorite show "Peppa Pig"
• Feeling fall weather upon us but a few lingering warm spots still to be enjoyed
• Another health hiccup for Makenna--this time a cold with lots of congestion. I'm choosing to believe that we will get all this illness out of the way before actual cold and season hits, rather than believing this is a foretelling of all the illness that will befall us this winter
• Enjoying one of our favorite dinners: taco salad and homemade guacamole, also two of Makenna's favorites
• And finally, because we had free tickets, a trip to Michigan's Renaissance Festival: