Waiting... sort of...

Still no Gavin. At least, not a visible Gavin. He's hiding. That's perfectly fine though, 'cause he wasn't supposed to be ready to make an appearance until tomorrow. If he waits 'til Wednesday then he'll share a birthday with his Aunt Becca, (Quinn's oldest little sister)  who's daughter, Ella, shares my birthday. That would be ridiculously funny, though I'm rooting for an earlier date than Wednesday.

He's waited through his Aunt Taylor's birthday, and through Anne and Gary's (practically god-parents to Quinn and his siblings, and at *least* honorary aunt and uncle) anniversary if he makes it through today. Tuesday is his uncle Jason's (my oldest brother) birthday. The 25th is my Aunt Jane's birthday.

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Made half of a grocery run this morning. The weather is beautiful. Definitely summer, but not so hot as to be oppressive. I hit Aldi and Food 4 Less, and this afternoon I'll run to Dillons and the Supercenter. Aldi was kinda a waste of time, but F4L had beautiful roasts for 1.98 a pound. What's sad is how great of a deal that is...

Oh, and I'm running to Harter House too, 'cause they have 8oz Sirloin steaks for 99cents each and buy one get one free Hormel Bacon. Yum. 

And I'm going to Dillons for their "buy 8 items get $4 back" deal, 'cause it's making cheese $2.50 a pound and Pilsbury Crescents $1.19 a can... both of which are great deals. 'sides, I love Dillon's produce section, and it's the only place I'm sure to find fresh dill.

I'm NOT a dill fan. At all. I hate dill pickles. I pick them off of sandwiches and burgers, and have been known to tear away any bread that might have touched them. I'll leave the room if someone starts to open a jar of them...

That said, there's this wonderful, fresh veggie pizza that my gramma has been making for as long as I can remember, that I'm going to make for pot-luck tomorrow, and it has a touch of fresh dill in the spread. In that form, it's yummy. I think that's mostly 'cause it's hidden...

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I'm also making a peach "kuchen."  Seems you can call just about anything a kuchen, if you want to. Wiki says it's a:
-pie-like pastry, with a thick, "cakey" crust and a sweet custard based filling.

-rolled-pastry, with a long spiral of dough filled, rolled, baked and then sliced to serve. (Sometimes known as a nut roll).
-coffee cake-like pastry, with veins and pockets of cinnamon and sugar baked throughout; its primary components are butter and sugar. (Most popular in Southern Indiana.)
-cheese cake-like pastry, specifically called Käsekuchen, with a yeast raised crust, filled with fruit (cherry is most popular) and a creamy custard.
-pie-like pastry, with a thick, "cakey" crust and an apple-pie like filling, often with sweet white icing on the top.

But, this website seems to have the definition that's closest to the recipe I'm using.

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Last night Quinn and I went over to Jason and Antonia's house for scones and coffee and games. (Iced tea for me; coffee is a very bad idea in the evenings if one's name is Joanna, and mine is.)  Josh and Tyana were there with their babies, Eilis and Neddy, and we had an all-in-all wonderful time. We tried out a new game called "Quelf" that Jason and Toni had purchased. It was hilarious, but we girls we're that enthusiastic about acting out some of the cards we ended up with. I, for example, at 9 months pregnant and having contractions every 3-5 minutes, flat out refused to get up and spend a full minute doing a barn dance while shouting out steps.  So I had to go back three spaces.

Oh well.

At one point, Jason was keeling over backwards shouting "You've thwarted us again, you vile beast" every time he was passed by another player, while Quinn was responding to every question with a "You talkin to me?" and I was Darth Vadar breathing through each of Jason's turns.

It was scary.

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Farewell for now. I will update with an announcement and pictures when I have something to announce.

Enjoy your life. Remember that "cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons" as dear old Spurgeon puts it, and find your cheer and joy in Christ. Don't be satisfied with mere moment-to-moment survival, but soak up every bit of beauty, every gentle word, every color in the leaves on the trees, and revel in all that Christ is so that your life can be beautified. Even in the busiest days, take 5 seconds to notice a magnificent cloud bank, or the dimples on your baby's fingers, or the smell of an apple or peach. Don't ignore the blue of the sky, or the song in the wind, but hear and see it all and know that it is creation's acknowledgement of a mighty, loving God.

And the single hawk bursts into flight

And in the east the whole horizon is in flames

I feel thunder in the sky

I see the sky about to rain

And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

I can feel the earth tremble

Beneath the rumbling of the buffalo hooves

And the fury in the pheasant's wings

And there's fury in a pheasant's wings

It tells me the Lord is in His temple

And there is still a faith

That can make the mountains move

And a love that can make the heavens ring

And I feel thunder in the sky

I see the sky about to rain

And I hear the prairies calling out Your name