As The World Turns- Nassar Style (Part 2)

So, my mom is off today with her care helper and the house is all quiet. I am evaluating my 'summer to do list' to see how far I've gotten since I only have 3 weeks left before I go back to work. Here's the list:

1- paint foyer table- done
2- make file organizer in office- done
3- clean up Fred’s closet- (doing it today maybe)
4- organize pictures in tubs
5- transfer Andy’s videos- done
6- transfer Steph’s videos- done
7- make folder of Mom’s important numbers, dr., services
8- paint family room
9- paint bedroom
10-clean out patio room - (almost done!)
11-deal with pinball machine- FIXED
12-clean patio room windows
13-weed out backyard- probably need to do it again
14-learn to play racquetball- had 1 lesson with andy, need more :)
15-read 3 books- on my 5th one now

Fred wants to wait till oct. to paint. He said it will be less humid then.
And I have also worked in the guest room and office, and that wasn't on the list... so, over all, not too bad, I think.

Andy is at camp. Before he left, he wanted to talk about moving back home. We sat with him and discussed what would be expected. Nothing new, really. Like Fred said "our expectations in this house haven't changed". Of course, now that he's 18, he will have more freedom than before. But we will still require the courtesy of him telling us where he will be and what time he will be home. We told him that we want him to come home because it will be the best thing for HIM. But we want a son NOT a tenant, and if he's only coming back because it will be cheaper for him, then he needs to not come back. We told him to seek his heart and pray about it while he's at camp. So, we are cautiously optimistic.

We desire our kids to know that this home is a sanctuary for them. We don't want them to come home for OUR sake. Honestly, Fred and I have grown accustomed to just the 2 of us here (besides mom) and we are ok with it. But the kids will always be welcome back if they need refuge.

My brother and his family are coming in 3 weeks. They are going to Puerto Rico for vacation (SO jealous!) and are stopping here first. Well, mom's birthday is in Sept. and she is turning 80, I thought she deserves a party. And since they wouldn't be able to come back down, we decided to really surprise her and celebrate her birthday a month early. My sister is also coming down from Ga. and mom doesn't know about that either... We are all chipping in and getting her a 26in flat screen for her room. Right now she has a 19in and she can't see the menu since her eyes are so bad. Fred and my brother will put together a delicious Puerto Rican meal and we'll have a great time of reunion. I can't wait! We are going to have a house full for the weekend, but I am actually looking forward to it. Steph is hoping to come down, and Andy is looking at his work schedule to be here as well. Now, if only Freddy was here, life would be perfect!

I have some video we took at the beach with our new video camera, but I don't know how to upload it, so I have to get on Fred to help me... by the way, we got the video camera for FREE! I have 'points' from my credit card that we have never used, so we looked at the site and were able to get the camera with the points. It's normally $579, so that makes me double excited about it! :)

So stay tuned for some home videos soon! hehe