It's late. Matt and I were tired so we went to bed early, a little after 9pm. I wasn't extremely tired yet but we almost never go to bed separate so I went too and read and I haven't been able to fall asleep. I finished the book I was reading which means I read about half of it tonight alone. It was called Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom. I got it as a birthday gift from my mom and it was a good book and a nice change of pace for me. The things I read are usually "self help" books or pertain to some aspect of kids or parenting. This was a just for fun read and it made me realize how much I miss reading simply just for pleasure instead of knowledge.

Since it's late and I can't sleep I figured I might as well blog a little since it seems harder and harder to find the time lately. I was surrounded by laundry most of the day but the sight of full dresser drawers and empty laundry baskets felt so good. Sliding myself between clean, crisp sheets also felt good tonight, I just wish I was asleep in them right now. Maybe I drank that soda a little too late in the day today.

Our 4th of July weekend was a good one. It was a 3 day weekend for Matt and I almost called in uneventful but in hindsight it was anything but. Friday night our small group met here, we reviewed and gave final approval for the new study and we grilled out and played cards. Saturday we ran some errands and found a great local meat market that will likely get a fair amount of business from us. It's been raining so much lately that it was actually cool enough to eat dinner out on our back porch during an evening thunderstorm. Elyse had already gone to bed, we dusted off the patio table and chairs, lit a candle, and enjoyed the storm with our spaghetti. Times like that are my favorite and we stayed out there for over an hour. Sunday the rain continued and poor Matt just about froze in the sanctuary after dropping us off and running through the rain. My umbrella broke awhile back and that reminded me I need to get a new one. I still haven't done that and in Florida during the summer I'm taking a big risk with each day I don't get that done. That afternoon we went to a party some friends (Lasher's)were having and then to another friends (Cirritto's) house for dinner and then yet again moved locations and spent the night at another friends (McClung's) house. We stayed up too late, played Apples to Apples which is a pretty fun game but then again, I love most games, and ordered pizza before calling it a night. Heather even gave me a bag of clothes she didn't want anymore which I was thrilled about. Later on some illegal fireworks of a neighbor woke Elyse and she was in a different bed in a different house so she had a bit of a panic in the middle of the night but settled pretty quickly. I don't have a single picture to show for any of it but we sure had fun.

Side note: Elyse doesn't really say any words but we have noticed lately that she recognizes quite a few. She can point out her toes, mouth, and hair. She can clap, wave, hug, kiss, or pretend to talk on the phone on command which makes me think I should really try harder to teach her more sign language. Days after starting to walk she got her first skinned knee in our neighbors driveway. It was sad and sweet all at the same time because I can only imagine how many times I'll see scrapes and scratches on her little extremities and seeing that first scab sealed the fate that she is no longer a baby, she is definitely a toddler. How and when did that happen?

If I continue to type I have a feeling it will start to make less and less sense so I'm going to attempt this whole sleep thing again.

Goodnight.