New niece & what's going on around here

The most exciting thing that is happening in our lives right now isn't actually happening to us, except indirectly. Chad's sister Emily gave birth to Lucy Adele Myers yesterday, and we are so excited to meet her! I know I've said this before, but nieces and nephews are so fun to have. Erin will have another baby girl in August, and that will make 8 for us. That's a lot of kids born in less than 4 years to our siblings! It's fun being the youngest.



Some other less important things are going on lately, such as me remembering why it's a bad idea to run at night. Chad and I went running together after playing volleyball up at church last night, and on the very last stretch my foot caught on an uneven part of the sidewalk. The irony is that this part of the sidewalk is painted YELLOW with reflective paint, and I've noticed it many times when I run during the day. But, it doesn't show up at night. Anyway, I caught myself with my left shoulder and elbow, followed by my right knee. All day my kids were asking, "Why are you limping?" And they got a kick out of the story. Glad it was amusing to someone.



Another thing going on in my life is journalism stuff. Our regional competition is this weekend, and two of my three kids advanced from the district competition, where our school took first place for the first time since the '80s. I'll let you know if either of them advance to state, which buys me a free trip to Austin and a day off school! Sweet!



Also, a few weeks back I chronicled the beginnings of our garden. Well, planting herbs from seed is not for the faint of heart, and I've already caved and bought herb plants, which were still cheap and are doing GREAT! I've already used some of the dill, and I've harvested some basil and Italian parsley. I've been reading about how you can turn fresh herbs into a paste and freeze in ice cube trays to use as fresh, so I think I'll do that to preserve what I've already harvested so I don't feel like I have to use it right away. I have two tomato plants that have sprouted and seem to be doing very well, although I've read a lot about how finicky tomato plants can be, so we're taking care not to disturb them too much while they're gaining their strength. Chad's garden is taking shape. He's already got two rows of spinach coming up, and he's planted tomatillos and a couple other things from seed, and the tomatillos come to mind because some of those have sprouted.



And finally, Chad applied today for his clinicals. This is what the long wait is for. We'll let you know when that happens. Now, it's sit and wait time.