No More Children in the House

August 23, 2010.

Outside my window...rain for the third day in a row. So far this is turning into a rainy Carey Conference. At least we got wifi hooked up today and have been having friends in. The preaching and singing are great, as usual.
I am thinking...we just paid tuition for both girls in full. It was hard to do, but I'm so thankful if they could get through school without any loans to pay at the end of it.
I am thankful for...the Carey Conference. It's our 18th year. The main speaker is Bill James from England. He's very good. You can hear the sermons on-line at careyconference.net The singing is phenomenal. Coming from a small church where we only have a musician a few times a month, to hearing hundreds of people who really know how to sing is a little foretaste of heaven. It gives me goosebumps. I close my eyes and just drink it in. The theme song for the Carey is O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing with a tune where men and women sing different parts. It was taught to everyone years ago by the late Pastor Bill Payne. We also sang And Can it Be? which is my favourite hymn. Lovely.
From the kitchen...soup, BLT's, greek pasta salad, blueberry pie with ice cream.
I am wearing..jeans, a long sleeved purple top, and a black jacket. It's cold out.
I am reading...The Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen, founder of the International Justice Mission. My youngest wants to work with them, one day.
I am hoping...this will be a restful, spiritual week.
I am hearing...people passing by outside the cabin.
Around the house...my eldest just texted that Oleksandr, the Ukrainian goldfish, has died. She's had him for two years. He was currently with her up at camp, since we're away from home. She didn't seem too distraught. I think I loved him best, since I overfed him all the time. My youngest will be 18 on Thursday. She wanted to buy a blender to make her own lattes. I can't believe my babies have grown up. The painters arrived the day we left for Carey. They'll have to do it without my micro-managing. It'll be like being on a design show, coming back home to see the transformation. My mom left for Finland. This is our last full week of vacation for the year, except for Christmas, I guess.
One of my favourite things...campfires. The smell of the smoke, the taste of hot dogs, the stories, and the familiar bad jokes.
Some plans for the week...listen to twelve sermons this week, read, catch up with friends, have the speaker over on Wednesday, go home Friday, unpack, go to a soccer game on Saturday. I heard my favourite band, Casting Crowns, is in Toronto on Saturday, but we already had tickets to this game, and it's in the evening, which is a surprise. I guess I have to wait till the next time.