It's Been a Heckuva Week =)

It has been a really tremendous week for me.  The weather has had that "bite" that indicates the seasons are changing....starting and ending briskly, but topping off in the late afternoon in the high 80's.  Blue skies, radiant sunshine - and brilliant colors everywhere.  I LOVE this time of year.

So, I'll do a kind of P365 blog post today.

MONDAY:  Well, this day wasn't so spectacular.  I spent the majority of the day alternating between the bed and the bathtub, trying desperately to relieve a sinus infection/headache.  It finally tapered off by about 8pm.  I guess when you start the week that pathetically, it makes every day that you feel "normal" shine that much brighter.  At least that was the case for me.

TUESDAY:  The day of redemption - at least in terms of claiming the joy this time of year brings for me.  I took my time cruising the aisles of TJ Maxx and Target - gathering ideas and trinkets for harvest decor.  It's kind of an annual tradition for me to do once the kids return to school - to just savor some alone time and take it all in...smelling every seasonal candle, listening to the geese honking overheard, gazing at the tree leaves ebbing towards crimson....it was a GREAT day.  Sydney and I even had the opportunity to take a walk along the river.

WEDNESDAY:  This was Lisa Q's birthday - happy 45th sweet friend!  It was also my return day to Group Power - (first time since June).  The next morning I assessed how my body felt...um, my toes didn't hurt?!! - Everything else, oh yeah, super sore!  But, a good sore - getting back into routine sore.  Which, I'd take any day over the un-productive pain I'll often feel in my neck/head.

Brayden also ended the day feeling sore too.  He got tackled in his evening game by a kid quite a bit bigger than him....but that was AFTER making a point-after score!  He'd already had a couple of pass receptions, but this one was more significant.  

The pass:

The catch:

 

The SCORE!:

 

That all happened on the endzone where John had the camera and just moments after Kenjon had showed up to cheer Brayden on.  Well-done Brayden!!!!  I think we are all very encouraged with how the team is playing, unified and on the same page.  We definitely see Brayden stepping it up too - sometimes it takes him getting ruffled up a bit by a guy nearly twice his size to ignite a "don't mess with me" fire in him.  

THURSDAY:  The day I chose to decorate.  I took my time, tried to be very methodical and organized - so that the day would be fun and not stressful.  The kids have been nagging me about getting it done, but appreciate that it's a surprise for them to come home after school and see it all transformed.  Even Brayden told me the other morning to "not forget" to do it sometime.  =)

When they were both home, Mikayla begged for me to read this book to them.  I guess that's a new tradition now.  Brayden asked that I not read it after he left for practice, so I chose to sit down with them and read this sweet story book to my attentive 10 and 13 year old children.  They chimed in with the repeating line "And the bear felt scared"....  If you've never seen the "Bear" series of books...they are PRICELESS.  My favorite is the Christmas version.  Needless to say, my heart was overflowing that my kids still wanted to be kids with their mommy for just a few moments that afternoon.

Originally, I had planned on decorating on Friday, but when I found out I'd be hosting those of the "Thursday Night Ladies" that could make it to honor Christi and her looming move to California, I chose to bump up my schedule.  Christi made a point of letting me know how much she appreciated the harvest decor, so I wanted to have one of her last visits to our home for a while be one she remembered fondly and oozing with coziness.

Christi got "special status" in having lots of time to hold Whitley.  She earned it to, we nicknamed her the "Baby Whisperer" as she had just the right sway to stop Whitley from crying and keep her happy.  In case I haven't mentioned it before, Christi is VERY READY to be a mom...once she reunites with her hubby, Tyler, down in California - I wouldn't be surprised if that family wouldn't be on track to start expanding its size.  

A couple of slightly-color-skewed pics of those that were able to show up Thursday night.

I'm purposely choosing not to elaborate right now about how much I'll miss Christi since I get to spend some quality time with her next Friday and will devote a post about it then.  It makes me really sad to consider her leaving even as I'm typing this... =(

 FRIDAY:  Yeah for Friday!!!!  After logging in some time in the gym (progress is happening in that aspect of life, but I sure wish it went faster!) - I went for a walk with a UO senior named Julianne.  She worked out at Harlow this summer and has lived in Trinity since she started college.  In fact, she was the first counselor Traig was paired up with this summer - his favorite, actually.  I quickly realized why, as she was a delight to spend time with.  We opted to do the river loop and conversation flowed easily.  At the end of our visit, she asked if I would consider mentoring her.  After clarifying what my version of "mentoring" looked like, she and I made plans for another hang-out the first week of October.  Hopefully, the weather will hold and we'll get some more time outdoors.  I'm really trying my best to soak in every ray of sunshine and embrace this perfect weather.

By Friday evening, the Schillings (sans Michael who is hunting) and the Whites were gathered at our home to celebrate our first "Friday Night Whites" back at our home with Whitley in tow.  All is well in the world now... =)

John took on a special project for me.  Here's a little secret - he's the "seamstress" in our family.  Me and sewing machines don't mix all that well (at least based on my past) - but, he has a way with the machine and has tackled little projects here and there - as well as tutoring Mikayla on the basics of this machine, last year's Christmas present to her.

The project at hand was custom-fitting a #24 jersey (Kenjon's #) to be more of a womens' fit.  Nike sells a #6 womens' jersey, but #24 only comes in mens' fits.  That won't do....there's no way I'll be buying a different player's jersey this year - so we made a plan to modify the one John purchased before the Rose Bowl last year.  Since then, John splurged to buy the newest version of #24 jersey for himself. =)  

I also asked Kenjon to sign it...  Shameful, I know.  It's the first thing I've asked him to sign for our own family - but hey, he's not just "any guy" on the field to me, and I kind of felt like asking him to prove it.  =)

Finished product- here's a comparison with John's - his current version is a MEDIUM, mine started out as a Men's LARGE. 

And here's what it looks like on.  As I've mentioned before, I still have a lot of work to do on "my end" of the look - but what John did is downright amazing....thanks honey!!!

Some special time with Whitley also transpired....

This is her with me....I can't even tell you just how priceless this time was for me.  I was so very much in my "happy place" last night!

So, that about sums it up....it's Saturday morning right now as I'm typing.  I'm drinking my Russian Tea with John on my right side and Michele on my left - with the kids all very loud and happy in the other room.  Game Day is playing on tv....yes, indeed - I think today is sizing up to be more of the same of this "Spectacular September" week....