BOOKS I FINISHED - AUGUST 2026

The Backyard Bird Chronicles, written and narrated by Amy Tan with foreword written by David Allen Sibley and narrated by Evan Sibley

This "skip the line" option on Libby is slow-moving, a five year journal of bird watching. I have some feeders and enjoy watching the birds that show up in my yard, but I have no interest in identifying them or spending any more time, money, or energy in feeding them than I already do. However, I could relate to Tan's enjoyment of nature. Although I chose it only because none of the other available options appealed to me, this ended up being the right book at the right time. Her gentle voice and cadence (even at my preferred 1.25 speed) were soothing when I needed to listen to something calm. The print version includes her bird drawings, so I may grab a copy at the library. The descriptions of her bird-friendly home also intrigued me and I'll probably check to see if there are pictures online.

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, written by Katherine Rundell and narrated by Bianca Amato 

I discovered this novel while searching Libby for books narrated by Amato, as I recently enjoyed her narration of another novel. Technically a middle grade book, which I didn't realize until I'd finished it, I think readers of all ages would like it. The protagonist has spent her childhood living pretty wildly in Zimbabwe, blissfully enjoying nature, space, freedom, and the people in her life. Against her will, and during a traumatic time of loss and change, she's sent to a boarding school in London. Needless to say, that transition doesn't go smoothly. Resourceful, courageous, and very much alone, she does what it takes to save her sanity and keep moving forward. I loved this story.

Coconut: A Black Girl, a White Foster Family, and the Search for Belonging and Identity, written by Florence Olajide

Born in London in 1962 to parents from Nigeria, fostered by a British family from ages one to six, moved to Nigeria with her family, then returned to London many years later, the author dealt with an expected and overwhelming amount of culture shock and struggles with identity. This memoir is one about loneliness and belonging, how both governments and citizens can be either blessing or a burden to immigrants, a fierce commitment to education, and the struggle to find a balance between confidently holding your heritage close while also happily embracing your present situation. While some of her experiences were obviously difficult, the story itself is hopeful. A friend passed this book to me after she'd read it and, as always, I enjoyed reading about the life of someone whose experiences have been very different than my own. 

p. 371, "My son is always in trouble at school, so I have taken all his toys and TV away permanently," one parent said.

"Since his punishment is permanent, what incentive has he got to behave better?" I asked.

p. 374, I didn't know what my future held or how many more proverbial glass ceilings I'd happen upon. But I knew if I hit my head against glass hard enough, it would crack, and my bruises would heal. 

Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, written by Eliot Stein and narrated by Danny Hughes

I learned about this book from What Should I Read Next?, episode 491 - Our team's best books of summer (Part 2) and thought it was really interesting. Each chapter highlights a rare and specialized custom or tradition, one that's on the verge of extinction, from somewhere in the world. The reader learns not only about the custom or tradition, but about the country it's from, the history surrounding it, and the person keeping it alive. A few examples are the people paid to read novels to cigar factory workers in Cuba, the mail carrier for a tree in Germany that has its own address, makers of a soy sauce method that spans several hundred years in Japan, and a man in Peru who regularly rebuilds a woven grass bridge. 

Home Front, written by Kristin Hannah and narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed with an author interview at the end 

Despite Hannah's popularity, this is the first book of hers that I've finished. I started one several years ago, but quit because I wasn't enjoying it, and the others I've avoided because of all the hype. This one, however, was unfamiliar to me and came up as a "skip the line option" in Libby. It's a story about a marriage that's falling apart, the wife being deployed to Iraq, and her husband continuing to raise their two daughters while keeping up with his work as a lawyer while she's gone. The couple's relationship and the radical sacrifices that military families make are at the center of the novel, but it's also about the impact of people in our lives who both show us compassion and push us out of our comfort zone, the importance of dealing with traumatic experiences and negative emotions in a healthy way, and the brutal reality of PTSD, specifically for soldiers. I really enjoyed it.

12:20:04, "They are heroes, our soldiers. The men and women who go into harm's way to protect us, our way of life. It doesn't matter what you think of the war, you have to be grateful to the warriors, of whom we ask so much, to whom we sometimes give too little."

The Mad Wife, written by Meagan Church and narrated by Susan Bennett 

I learned about this novel from a friend who showed me the list of titles her book club was considering and it intrigued me. Set in the 1950s, it's the story of a woman buckling under the weight of her own experiences and society's expectations. It's about marriage, motherhood, guilt, suspicion, mental health, medical care, friendship, and women who either don't have the freedom to be honest about how they're doing or who aren't taken seriously when they speak up. The subject matter is heavy and trigger warnings apply, but I enjoyed the book.

Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children, written by Mac Barnett

Our children's librarian was telling me about this book as she returned it to the library, so I immediately checked it out. It's a short book, written with humor by a prolific author, about how important books are for kids, the fact that every aspect of children's book publishing is controlled by adults, that children's books don't need (and shouldn't always have) a point to make or lesson to teach, and the joy of imagination and entertainment in books.

p. 9, Our definition of children's books must be expansive, encompassing works as varied in subject, style, and viewpoint - and even quality - as we find in books for adults. Really, children's books must be as varied as the lives of the children who read them. 

p. 10, The best children's writers tell the truth in a way that is recognizable and authentic to children.

p. 54, Even a story with a lesson should always be judged by how effectively that lesson is conveyed, not how worthy its message is or how important we think it is for kids to hear it. We can agree wholeheartedly with a book's lesson and still deem it an artistic failure. 

p. 60, ... amid the acrid smoke of a failed experiment, you can always catch a whiff of genius.

p. 85, Fiction is a kind of game, and reading is a way of playing. 

Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness, written and narrated by Gretchen Rubin

I'm naturally wired to choose order, cleanliness, efficiency, and so on, and my environment absolutely impacts my mood and energy. So this short book, which was a "skip the line" option on Libby, felt like a reminder of things I already value or do. That being said, I think it would also be excellent for people wired differently or who are anywhere on the spectrum from mildly annoyed to greatly overwhelmed by the state of their home or workspace. Like a couple of other people I follow, Rubin acknowledges that there's no one level of organization or system to acquire it that matters or works for everyone. Instead, this book reads more like a kind and understanding brainstorm of practical ideas and questions for you to sift through, starting with small steps, and doing only what works for you.

16:04, At the same time, it's important to remember that outer order isn't simply a matter of having less or having more; it's a matter of wanting what we have. 

17:21, Consider the three big questions of clutter. When trying to consider the fate of a possession, ask yourself: Do I need it? Do I love it? Do I use it?

1:30:08, The best guide to the future is the past. If you haven't used that thing since you acquired it, it's unlikely you'll start now. 

1:41:15, Accept yourself, and expect more from yourself. Or as writer Flannery O'Connor put it, "Accepting oneself does not preclude an attempt to become better." We can accept ourselves and acknowledge what's true about our nature and habits, and we can also ask ourselves to try harder in our approach to clearing clutter and for everything else. 

The Second Story Bookshop, written by Denise Hunter and narrated by Kim Churchill

This book showed up in a Libby search for something else and I checked it out because I enjoy a story set in a bookshop. I liked the premise of a grandma partially bequeathing her beloved bookshop to her granddaughter, the surprise of a high school boyfriend who broke the granddaughter's heart being giving almost equal ownership, and all the small town drama surrounding their relationship, his imprisoned dad, and the shop's financial struggles. It worked for a light read, but felt too much like a predictable Hallmark movie in book form for my taste and I was distracted by all the similes. 

1:14:41, "A good novel is like a vacation for the mind."  

The Summer of Yes, written by Courtney Walsh

Recommended by a friend, I enjoyed this light read. The novel centers on two women in New York. One is in her early thirties and focused entirely on her career. The other is old enough to be her mom and has built a famously successful business from the ground up. They meet by chance in a shared hospital room, the younger there after being hit by a car and the older because of kidney failure. Although their interactions are strained, they end up spending a summer together, saying yes to things they'd normally say no to. It's a predictable story of friendship, sacrifice, love, fear, regrets, and second chances.

p. 1-2, "You're in the hospital." She smiles. "I'm Cecilia, and I'll be taking care of you."

Thanks to my parents, her name triggers an automatic Simon and Garfunkel response, and I find myself trying hard not to get down on my knees to beg her please to come home. 

p. 16, Regrets are more in focus when hindsight is twenty-twenty. 

p. 63, Daniel Strong is the male equivalent of a burger from Five Guys.

Great marketing, but up close he's pretty greasy and horribly overpriced.

p. 191, Saying yes to simple pleasures might be even more important to me than saying yes to big things. After all, it's the little moments that make a life. 

Uncluttered Faith: Own Less, Love More, and Make an Impact in Your World, written by Joshua Becker with Eric Stanford

I've been following Becker for many years, have quoted him often, and appreciate his gentle, humble, and practical advice for people wanting to be more intentional about what they own. A pastor before he started advocating for minimalism full-time, his work has never been faith-centered. This book, however, combines two parts of his life, minimalism and Christianity, and shows how the two are intertwined. I obviously don't need my all my books to be faith-based, but I want the ones that are to have plenty of Bible verse references to support what they're saying. This books has tons. Lest any potential reader think he'll tell you to get rid of everything, he won't. His definition of minimalism is "the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it." If you don't share his religious beliefs but want to learn more about his approach to minimalism, check out his other books or his site, Becoming Minimalist. 

p. 18, Even though we now live in homes with four times more square footage than that of our grandparents, 11 percent of households rent storage units to hold on to extra things.  

p. 18, Americans buy an average of fifty-three new items of clothing each year, or about four times as many now as in the year 2000.

p. 26, Entangled by American materialism, we're spending more money on comfort and luxury for ourselves than on the basic needs of the poor and the expansion of God's kingdom.

p. 42 (speaking of John the Baptist), Everything he told the people to do to get ready for Jesus focused on their money or physical possessions. <snip> In other words, his advice to the people - the one thing at the top of his mind when he thought about preparing hearts for Jesus - was this: "Get rid of the stuff you don't need, and be content with what you have."

p. 61, According to one online calculator, if you make $50,000 per year, your income puts you in the top 2 percent worldwide for income. Even an annual income of $20,000 puts you in the top 10 percent. (These numbers vary slightly based on household size, but the point remains.)

We live in a world where half the global population lives on less than seven dollars per day. That is lower than the hourly minimum wage in every state in America. 

p. 78, Greed says, "Eat, drink, and be merry!" Worry says, "Protect, guard, and control." But the result is the same: unnecessary and harmful accumulation of stuff. 

p. 124, Recently I spoke at a local university. During the Q&A portion, a professor in the back raised her hand and asked this question: "How do we keep our kids from always wanting more and more stuff?"

I answered, "We model that for them. If our kids are raised in a home where Amazon is delivering a package every couple days or we have so much stuff in our garage that we can't park in it, the message will be received loud and clear: Keep on buying!"

p. 138, So are you becoming more like Jesus in love, in relationships, in word, and in actions? Do you prioritize conversation with the heavenly Father as He did? Do you speak the truth as boldly? Do you go to the needy as readily? Do you have a similar humility? Do you hold the world as loosely? 

p. 174, Our state of contentment or the opposite is not based on our circumstances, but it is exposed in our circumstances. For those who are poor, discontentment means envy, and for those who have wealth, it means excess. 

p. 176, There is simply no joy to be found in constantly desiring things we do not have; joy is found in appreciating the blessings we already have around us. 

p. 179, Enough is more than too much. 

Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver, narrated by Sophia Bush and Mary Oliver, along with Kazim Ali, Elizabeth Bradfield, Summer Brennan, Susan Cain, Cathleen Falsani, James Ishmael Ford, Ross Gay, Mushim Ikeda, Aidan Kingwell, Carmen Maria Machado, Laurette Nicoll, Samin Nosrat, Busy Philipps, Matt Pillischer, Emily Popek, Danya Ruttenberg, Omid Safi, Claire Bidwell Smith, Lisa Starr, Alexander Westphal, and Rainn Wilson

Except for a couple friends who sometimes post her poems on social media, I wasn't familiar with Oliver's work, but that limited exposure led me to choose this "skip the line" option on Libby. This is a collection of over 30 poems read by both Oliver and others, as well as firsthand accounts about how she and her work impacted friends, students, neighbors, and readers. I love that she was a noticer, someone who intentionally paid attention to and valued nature and life. It was neither her perspective nor that of those who contributed to the book (although many did find a sacredness in nature), but I think much of her poetry points to a creation that's so beautifully intricate that only God could have been the creator. I enjoyed listening to this short audiobook as I went on walks and worked in the yard. 

17:35 (from It Was Early), Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.

40:57 (from Mindful), Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight.

OFF TO THE ZOO

Tim is virtually gone all weekend because of an officiating camp, coming home only to sleep. Silas is gone today from 8:00am til 8:00pm on a church outing. My friend Denise is in town for a family member's graduation. A mutual friend had a free morning. Today is the first warm and sunny Saturday in several months.

What did all those things add up to? A zoo trip with The Devs and Nomes-a licious that was also a meetup with friends.

We looked at animals. We ate food. We chatted. We got elephant ears. We ran into Erica, another mutual friend, who recognized Naomi, looked around for me (I was off purchasing deep fried, sugary treats), and ended up finding our whole crew. We ran into a couple from church (they're technically on vacation, so they'll remain nameless in order to make people believe they're actually out of town) who willingly took our group picture on three different cameras. We stayed an hour past naps. The offspring are napping late and I am blogging in a quiet home (tried napping, but it didn't work).

Denise, myself, and Heidi - simply because there has to be picture of the amigas

Three silly W faces - simply because that's the pose the little Ws are most fond of making

The mob - simply because a group picture is mandatory

From left to right - Denise & her crew (two offspring, two bonus kids), three Ws (the child behind a balloon is mind ... no surprise), Heidi & her crew (three offspring, two bonus kids), Erica & one offspring (stopped by long enough to hop in the picture with us, as we needed proof we saw her)

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HOWDY

Feel like I haven't blogged in a while. All my posts from last week, except for the update on Denise, were all typed and post-dated last Sunday, which means I haven't blogged in over a week. I miss it!

The weekend was a whirlwind. Silas had an outing on Friday night. Saturday morning I spent four hours raking, mowing, and hauling about twenty wheelbarrow loads of leaves to the compost. Then I had a two hour commute taking Silas to a birthday party. It was actually nice to sit and chat with him the hour there and drive in silence on the ride back. Then we did a little turn and burn, heading off to a birthday party at Lee Farm. Friends, cake, candy, animals, jump houses (well, it wasn't really a house, but whatever) and doughnuts. Good times!

Sunday morning was stressful for reasons I won't elaborate on. Really rough morning. In fact, I was in a horrible mood all day long. We met Silas at church (the birthday boy's family offered to let him stay the night to spare us another two hour round trip picking him up). By the time we headed home Silas was in tears with a headache and fever. We guessed it was probably stemming from exhaustion - four nights in row of being up late and some really busy days. Some Tylenol, one nap, and an early bedtime later he was back to normal. Sunday afternoon was errands and trying to get our pig sty of a house back in order.

Today was better. I kept reciting Philippians 4:5 to myself - "Let your gentleness be evident to all." I just had to have a better attitude than I did on Sunday. No school, lots of playing. Some laundry and cooking. Tonight we had company for dinner. They entered our door as strangers and left as friends. We'll definitely hang out again. It was a good day.

And that's what I've been up to. I promise to do some posts this week that are more than documentation of my schedule. In fact, I have a bunch of freebies to get posted in the next few days. Stay tuned!!

In other news, Denise was discharged from the hospital today and will fly home on Wednesday. So awesome!

WOO HOO!!

I found out at 7:30 last night that the last attempt to break through the clot in Denise's leg was successful!! The last 3mm involved the doctor running a wire around a blind corner in Denise's vein. Needless to say, that was a very risky procedure.

The vein that was clotted from pelvis to ankle has been completely broken through and stents are being placed today. This ordeal was expected to take three days. It took ten. She's still in the hospital for a couple days, but her future is looking brighter than it was a couple weeks ago.

I hadn't updated since the weekend because I really didn't know if she was going to survive. In fact, last night I was on the phone with the other friend that's been posting Denise's updates. We were concerned that more than seven hours had passed since she entered surgery and were discussing how we'd break the news of a possible bad ending to everyone. It's not fun to have to hash out what you'll do if you find out your friend died in surgery, but the possibility existed. In the midst of that discussion a message came through that Denise's final surgery had been a success. Praise God!

Anyway, thanks again to all of you who prayed for her and asked how she was doing. If you are interested in joining her DVT information page on Facebook, then let me know.

UPDATE ON DENISE

Remember Denise? She's the one I told you about earlier in the week. Can I ask you to pray for her? The last couple updates have not been good. Here are some clips so you know some specific things to pray for.

FRIDAY NIGHT
Today was a discouraging day for her. She actually had 2 procedures done today. 5 surgeries in 4 days - wow. Very little progress was made today; in either procedure. She was under heavy sedation, and they went through her groin for the 5th procedure, because the doc wanted to try a new approach. It was not successful.

Her doctor remains upbeat and optimistic. She has more tricks up her sleeve. They will not be operating over the weekend; but will resume next week. Denise will not be discharged on Sunday as she had previously hoped; and she is pretty bummed about that.

Her pain level is not managed; and she has significant pain in her back, abdomen and groin. They are giving her dilaudid via IV for pain; but it's not sufficient. Her pain level has increased today; despite the meds.

SATURDAY MID-MORNING
Last night, her breathing became labored, oxygen levels dropped, and she was put on oxygen. For you medical types, she is not sure her what sat levels were; but I asked. She is having some issues with bleeding, and also received a blood transfusion. She is coughing a lot more - and this is getting increasingly irritating for her. She is also still spiking temps up to 102. Her pain remains unmanaged and her heart rate in increased.

She will not have another surgery until Monday; and the good news is; that means she has an unrestricted diet. She said that she is starving, and looking forward to eating.

They have discontinued to clot busting IV medication for now. There are many concerns, with the primary one being her lungs. C/T scans and chest x-rays are being done to watch for pneumonia and an embolism. She has not gotten the results from the CT scan, and the chest x-ray had not been done yet.


Her husband was able to extend his time with her, after much haggling with the airline. So, in addition to praying for Denise's health, please also pray that the airline is cooperative with other flight changes they have to make. You can also pray as they have to coordinate extended childcare, pet care, etc.

This is a kinda scary time for her, her family, and her friends. Please just keep her in your prayers. I'll post updates if there are any significant changes.

Thanks to those who have told me they're praying, asked me for updates, and joined her Facebook update page.

DENISE

I got to spend last night with Toni, Cheri and Denise, some girlfriends who I love to hang out with. Every time we get together we spend a lot of time laughing, talking, laughing, eating, and laughing some more. Did I mention we laugh a lot? None of us live in the same town. In fact, we cover three states between the four of us. So we only get to visit a few times a year.

Four friends getting their picture taken by a very friendly and cooperative stranger. Notice I'm wearing my Sachi bag?

This particular visit was to send Denise off on a trip. It's no vacation though. She's going to be checking into a hospital tomorrow morning to spend three days in the ICU with an IV dripping meds in her that another hospital wouldn't do give her for more than 15 minutes because it's considered too dangerous. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place - do nothing and risk having blood clots kill her or do a very risky treatment that has worked for some others with her diagnosis. Here's what she has said online, including a link for information. Please note that the links she mentions are accessible from the Facebook page she has dedicated to her journey with her illness. If you would like access to that page, then I'll give you her contact info.

I am including links with information on DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) and PE (Pulmonary Embolism). The fact is that I was in the best condition of my life when all of a sudden I found myself critically ill. I was doing regular weight training, was in training for a marathon, had excellent nutrition, and was living a very healthy and active lifestyle. I did not have the stereotypical risk factors yet I got what the doctors describe as an acute and massive case of solid blood clots from my pelvis to my ankle. In that process a rare anatomical disorder was also identified, May-Thurner Syndrome which is where the artery compresses the iliac vein. In my case my iliac vein had been completely crushed. I am extremely blessed and grateful to still be alive.

While I lived a healthy lifestyle, in hindsight having the knowledge that I do now on simple actions of prevention, risk factors, and the symptoms of identifying a problem would have very likely prevented me from getting this 'sick'. As a result I will deal with this condition for the rest of my life.

Please educate yourselves regarding DVT and PE. If this can happen to me, it can happen to ANYONE. It has no limits of age, gender or race.

Several articles by multiple sources and statistics indicate that DVT kills more people every year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Many people die instantly without a chance to fight it. By God's grace I do have that chance and am fighting. Good health should never be taken for granted. On that note, I have been told by multiple doctors that the fact that I was in good health and condition when this happened that it 'paid it forward' regarding my surviving so far and the extreme of the disability I am facing being less than what it would have been. You never know when you are going to need your health and strength in a time of trauma, that was encouragement to me to continue to be as healthy as possible.

Are YOU at risk for DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis - aka BLOOD CLOTS) & PE (Pulmonary Embolism - aka clots that go to your lungs, heart, brain)?Are you SURE?

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Can you be praying for her over the next few days? I'd love for her to be one of the few that survive this diagnosis and to go on with life free of blood clots! I'll be sure to give an update later in the week.

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Making the best of a lousy situation, "The Clotter" gets to ride in style through Target because walking is slow and painful. I'm pretty sure we're the only shoppers in our 30s and 40s who have someone riding in the cart, which would be why the guy behind us is gawking.

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LOTS OF GIRL TIME

I was supposed to head out with Naomi (the male Ws all had plans) about 3:00 on Tuesday to spend the evening with some friends from the Sonlight forums, two that I've hung out with several times before and one I'd only met online. Some last minute car problems made those plans fall through.

At least I thought they fell through. I got a phone call a little before 5:00 from another forum friend who hadn't planned on going to the meetup. Turns out she made a last minute decision to come into town and offered to pick up Naomi and I. We live more than 20 miles in the opposite direction of where everyone else was, so she went out of her way to pick us up and bring us home. She not only got my "best friend for the day" award, but will probably get to keep the title for a few weeks.

Anyway, we met up at Ross, where the rest of the group was finishing up several hours of shopping. Naomi was happy walking through the store with a hanger she found on the ground. The hanger, however, was quickly ditched once she found the shoe department. We spent quite a bit of time watching her try on different pairs of boots (her word for high heels) and walk up and down the aisles. I wasn't sure whether to be scared or impressed by the fact that she could walk around in 3-inch heels. All I know is that she really liked them!

After Ross we all headed over to Stanford's for dinner and spent about 2 1/2 hours giving into gluttony (they have some honkin' onion rings that are fabulous), chatting and laughing. It was a wonderful evening!!

Cheri, Naomi, Toni, Denise, Erica and I strike a pose before heading home.

But the girl time didn't end on Tuesday night. Naomi had her annual pictures scheduled on Wednesday morning and we planned on bringing my grandma with us. Well, the car, which ran beautifully when I walked to the mechanic's to pick it up first thing in the morning, wouldn't start when it was time to head out. A quick call to Granny resulted in her driving her car over to our place and then me taking over the wheel.

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We ended up spending all morning together. First we swung by Dollar Tree for a photo prop that we needed. Then we got Naomi's pictures done, including a special bonus picture that I'll have to share with you in a couple weeks. Next we were off to WinCo to pick up some groceries for Granny, who was thoroughly enjoying being chauffeured around town in her own car. After dropping off the groceries at her place she treated Naomi and I to lunch. It was such a fun morning!

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Family or friends, all the girl time was really nice!

E-MAGINARY FRIENDS

Do you have any? If not, then I highly recommend that you get some!!

Don't know what they are? They're friends that you met and developed a relationship with online.

I have a lot of e-maginary friends from the Sonlight forums, though over the last three years I've met many of them in real life. We've had meetups, they sent baby gifts to Naomi, some threw me a surprise baby shower, I spent a weekend in Huntington Beach with several of them, I've used tons of their recipes, prayed for each other, sent gifts back and forth, laughed about stuff, and on and on and on. When I first bought curriculum from Sonlight I had no idea I'd gain so many friends in the process!!

Anyway, one of them was going to be visiting from Idaho this week. So a meetup was planned for tonight. I was totally excited to go and have some girl time. Then, due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to cancel. I can't tell you how bummed I was. I've been grumpy, royally grumpy, about it all week. I was ready for some girl time anyway, plus I was way overdue for some time with these girls specifically.

So, I was at home tonight. Tim's gone. Silas was at a grade school event. The other kids were sleeping. It was about 10:00. There was a knock at the door (actually, there was someone doing a dance outside my front window) and all five of the meetup crew were at my house!! And they all came in jammies, knowing that's how I'd be dressed. And they brought candy.

We spent 2 1/2 hours laughing and talking and laughing and eating and laughing. Did I mention that we laughed? I love these girls!! I'm so blessed that they went out of their way to include me in their post-dinner portion of the evening, knowing how bummed I was to have to cancel my involvement in the meetup.

So ... Robin, Denise, Cheri, Toni and Heidi ... THANKS!! You truly made my day.

And now it's 1:00 in the morning. So, I'm going to bed.