Last night, we went to a shrimp and seafood boil at our friends' house. It was so much fun!  Lots of good pinot, lots of shrimp, crab legs, grilled veggies, brownies with raspberry sauce, lots of berries, Mmmmmmmmm  The food was amazing.

But the companionship was better. These are people who have become special to us over the last couple of years. It was a blast listening to good music, dancing a little, and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Darren was pretty exhausted and zonked out in one of the wooden adirondack chairs. We ended up leaving earlier than planned. It's going to take a while for him to regain his energy, I'm sure. He slept until 11:00 today.

        

This little girl is too cute!  Look how she's absolutely communicating with her daddy. *I* think she's telling on Mommy. Listen to her say, "MOMMA," in just the most tattle talish way!  Anyway...enjoy!

        

I know, I know. I promised to be better at blogging. But somehow, some way, life got in the way again.

It's good though, and here I am, back behind the keyboard.

I know I have a lot to catch up on. Here are some highlights. I will expound more in the future...

1)  I got a long term teaching assignment that lasted from March 22 through the end of the school year. I taught French at Liberty Junior High and South Valley Junior High. I learned a lot, and feel a lot more confident taking my PTK in the next few months.

2)  I wasted half my life not teaching. Good thing I have the rest of my life to rectify that mistake!

3)  Darren is doing well. He still gets exhausted. But he just went through hell and back so that's to be expected. He has a follow up MRI next Friday.

4)  We are in full swing of baseball / softball season.  Emily goes to softball conditioning every morning at 6 am. Her dedication blows me away. I talked to a coach today about private coaching sessions.

5)  The dance recital was phenomenal.

6)  Family camp was amazing.

7)  Then there was the cat on the roof...

8)  Matt's now in middle school.  Emily is now in high school.

There are some highlights. More details to come!

        

I know it doesn't seem like it over here, but I have been blogging a lot this year. However, unfortunately, the majority of my blogging has been done at Darren's Caring Bridge page. Don't get me wrong. I am forever completely grateful for that blog site. It got us through the most horrific month of our lives, uplifting us, and keeping us going. I just wish we never had to go there.

Now that Darren's doing so well, now that he's moving back to normal, now that he's becoming OUR Darren again, we haven't blogged nearly as much. Not at Caring Bridge, and rarely here. I just lack the motivation to write these days. I have a lot to say, but I just find it difficult to write it.

So, as I typically do when I can't think, I will do a short list entry just to update everyone on how we're doing. I'll do an individual entry for each family member, then I will hopefully be more motivated to blog for real.  I'll start with oldest and move to youngest. Heh. I guess that means I start with me, huh?

        

Boating and Alcohol Don't Mix As part of my 14 year old daughter's 8th grade health class, they learned boating safety. Their test was to pass the Missouri State Boating licensing exam. If they passed, they were eligible to receive their boating license. In Missouri, if you were born after 1984, you must have a boating license in order to operate a boat on Missouri lakes, rivers and ponds.  I am thrilled with our school district's initiative in showing students the dangers of operating a motor vehicle, whether that vehicle is a boat, scooter or car.

Part of my daughter's test included the instruction not to drink and boat. The number of alcohol related boating fatalities is rising every year. Half of all boating fatalities involve alcohol. The state of Arizona Game and Fish Department is developing an education program aimed at educating the public about the dangers of drinking and boating. They are taking their campaign to the internet, with online videos showing alcohol and boating education. This is an example of one of the spots:

        

It seems as though we're on the other side of the hill now. Darren's healing from the surgeries, and Wednesday was his radiation treatment. He seems to be doing very well. He actually drove yesterday, and is now into being bored and restless. I just hope he really rests, and doesn't overexert.

Thank you all for the support lent throughout the past 2 months. We couldn't have gotten through it without that!

        

Is anybody else a big American Chopper fan? If you don't know what I'm talking about, it is a series on TLC featuring a fairly dysfunctional, loud mouthed, crass and redneck family that builds amazing choppers For years, I've adored Paul, Paul Jr. and Mikey. Especially Mikey!

I love the choppers they build. But dang, they're expensive! But did you know you can customize your own cruiser bikes? That's FAR more affordable, and it's a lot of fun, too.

Visit metric motorcycle community to join a friendly and fantastic fast growing community dedicated to customizing your cruisers or choppers. Dream a little, update a lot, and talk to other people who enjoy doing the same thing. Watch helpful (and sometimes funny) videos, create events on a community calendar, share stories about your bike, and make new friends. It's fast, easy and FREE to join!

    

        

Imagine having this power, this grace, this LOVE OF GOD, at the tender age of 3.  This will send shivers through you.

        

There is a reason I haven't blogged lately.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/darrengallup

        

Way back in September, Matt won a goldfish at our town's fall festival. Darren and I were enjoying wine with friends at a local store, when Matt came rushing in with the bag containing the goldfish firmly clasped in his hands. We all ooohed and aaahed. Matt immediately took this fish, whom he named Swimmy, home. We didn't have a fish bowl, so he put Swimmy in a big vase.

Later that evening, we explained to Matt that carnival goldfish usually die quickly. We decided not to get a fish bowl, because chances are, Swimmy would never be able to enjoy it for long. Matt was fine with that, so Swimmy took residence in the vase, on top of Matt's dresser.

Lo and behold, we had the most amazing carnival goldfish in history. Swimmy now permanently resides in the vase on our hutch in the dining room. Matt is very steadfast in caring for Swimmy. When we went to the Bahamas last week, we explained that Swimmy may not make it, but when Matt came back with Gigi Sunday night, Swimmy was swimming around, happy as can be.

This morning, poor Swimmy was on his side, laboring for every breath. Matt was pretty upset. He came in my office crying. "Mom, Swimmy's dying. Come say goodbye." So I went into the kitchen where Darren had just switched the water, and there was Swimmy, laying on his side, gills flashing. I started crying, too, because my little boy's heart was breaking.

Then something amazing happened. Swimmy started bucking back and forth. Within a few minutes, he was vertical again! Before long, he was swimming around his vase, like nothing had ever phased him. We had been sad a few moments before; now we were stunned at this fish's will to live!

Swimmy is back in his spot on the hutch now, swimming around, taking in all the sites. We got some pretty sweet pictures of him "just in case."  Looking at him now, though, you'd never guess anything had ever gone wrong.

Matthew 17:20

"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."