Team- “Plan a Wedding in Forty Days”

So, I was making dinner just now, and we just completely ran out of water. Like I turn on the kitchen sink faucet, and nothing. This is the second time this week, because we apparently live in olden times over here where our well runs dry quite easily.

It is because it is Africa hot over here and everything needs water. Cows, chickens, gardens, people, washing machines-everything.

So. No water left. I cannot make dinner under these conditions, so I shall catch up on this blog.

Since, I last posted . . .

HD turned 16 and bought his first car. He is working full time this summer just doing odd jobs for people in our area with LD. Both boys leave the house everyday by 6:45 am and return filthy and sweaty and rich.

Hadley turned 19. She finished up her first year of school at our local community college. For a little summer adventure, she and Lily moved in with Alex (David’s brother) and his wife and are working over there. They are on a landscaping crew and chose that career so that they could, and I quote, “get super tan.”

Here is a picture of Hadley and Lily the night before they moved.

This picture was taken by me as David and I were sitting in our camp trailer, which, at the time, was conveniently located in our driveway.

You may ask, “Taylor! Why were you living in a trailer in your driveway?!”

Well, we decided to embark on a remodel journey of our home, complete with new sheetrock texture.

So that has been fun, as well as inexpensive.

We did get the house put back together “enough” to move in, but our remodel is far from over.

The school year ended, and Friends, this year was a doozy for me. Hardest year yet. Wasn’t sure if I could come back to teaching, I kid you not. But I got through it, and had some happy moments. And, of course, I double love my students and I do love teaching, so. I will probably continue. And at this moment, I am slated to teach a k/1 combo, but I will bet you one crisp dollar bill it will change to straight first grade.

My little Urkanian girl who started the year knowing ZERO English, wowed our entire classroom and began to read, speak and write like a total champ. She loved me, and the feeling was quite mutual, and she started writing me lots of precious notes, and also told me I was “cute” every day. So. Extra credit for her.

I wear earrings everyday, and she would always draw pictures of me and put earrings on me. The last week of school, she brought me a gift-a three pack of earrings. She asked me to wear the very sparkly diamond ones at that very moment, and sparkly diamond earrings went perfectly with my shorts and t-shirt that I was wearing that day for field day.

She would point to my shorts and say “shorts!” and then pointed to my earrings and said “ears!” then she would step back and smile and point to me and say, “cute!”

She pretty much won my heart.

LD turned 15 and we did the KitKat cake per usual. He loves getting his picture taken-especially with his mom.

And now for the most exciting update of all-

Kate and Caleb are engaged! We are very happy for them both, and we really like Caleb!

Now for the tricky part-

From the time she got engaged to the wedding . . . 40 days.

That’s it.

40 days to plan a wedding.

They have asked to have the wedding at our river property-which is all fine and dandy, but we had some damage to our property from the spring flooding. We have been working very hard to try and get our bank repaired and we had to plant new grass seed. David and I have been driving to the river about every other day to keep the sprinklers going and to try and make this all happen.

Friends.

I do not know if this is going to happen.

We had to dig a trench and bury some rock to build up the bank. Do not ask me why, I simply do not know. And then we put dirt over it and planted grass seed.

Those pictures were sent to Kate and Caleb a week after their engagement. I was trying to prep them for the possibility that we might need to have a “Plan B Venue.”

Their reply?

“Nope! That looks great! Let’s have it at the river!”

So, they are basically lunatics.

I am happy to report that the grass is starting to pop up here and there. It is not a beautiful, thick, lucious lawn. It would be best described as something akin to my boys’ growing facial hair.

There is no rhyme or reason. It is growing in patches. It is noticeable, but isn’t amounting to much of anything.

Needless to say, I am a bit worried.

Will this grow into something of note in time for this wedding?

May the Lord bless me and keep me.