It's a Secret, Shhh!

Buckle up. This may be a long post. Somehow I neglected to post about the 4th of July this year! We enjoyed uncle/cousin time in the pool around mid-day on the 4th. Plus, we also had a lovely time with family & friends in the evening (it poured rain right around dinner time!) But with rain, inevitably comes a beautiful promise. Actually, I hung out with my brothers and their families while the boys spent time with their friend a few blocks away. I know they blew up a lot of fireworks (and I observed many explosions at my brother's house.) 

We each got some new toys in July. I finally have a fitness watch, compatible with my phone, to count my steps and alert me if I'm getting a text/phone call. It's not an Apple watch, but only cost me a about $35 once I paired that with an Amazon gift card from my birthday. It comes with a variety of interesting watch face designs that I've played with. I love it! Keaton bought himself an electric guitar and is learning to play that. Cole bought an inflatable raft and some Star Wars collectibles. I think I was ruined as a child dusting every week around my mother's collectibles such that I did not want to collect anything as an adult. Thus, I think Cole is the opposite, and cherishes his collections: Legos, stuffed animals, Star Wars figurines, etc. 

I read the most interesting book in July. Recently I'd read a fiction book where the main characters end up in Italy tracking down some stolen art. And that got me on an Italy kick. I started day-dreaming about traveling to Italy someday. So I went to the library and picked up several books on Italy. One was a travel guide, one was a geological guide to Rome, and the 3rd was Two Nuts in Italy by Sue Ellen Haning. 

This is a non-fiction travelogue of a 50-something mom who traveled to Italy with 2 of her adult children. Her daughter had just turned 21 and wanted to go to Italy, so the mom (Sue Ellen) said she would go too. Her 24 year old son also tagged along for awhile, then split off and went to Paris, and eventually came back to Italy. At one point, mom and daughter also split up as mom went to Switzerland and spent a couple of weeks there. Yeah, yeah, just a travel memoir, right? NOT AT ALL! This is the interesting part. Well, two things: 1) This lady Sue Ellen Haning happens to be from my hometown, where we are living now, and homeschooled her kids for a time. I did not know that when I grabbed the book from the library shelf. ha! and, 2) They went to Italy without cell phones, without credit cards and only a limited amount of cash. They did not have set places to stay. They would just end up at the house/apartment of generous locals who, obviously thought they were nutty, seemed impressed by their bravery enough to help them out. I think it also helped that her 21 year old daughter was an attractive, extroverted, red head. They each carried all of their belongings in giant backpacks for the 3 months they traveled the country. Nuts. For sure. Very zany read.

Here's one more thing I wanted to share about Sue Ellen Haning. No matter where they went, what predicament they ended up in, what joy or disappointment they experienced, she carried this quote on a 3x5 index card to remind her who was really in charge.

CTS (changing the subject, kinda, but not completely). This blog post is titled "It's a Secret, Shhh!" so I want to get on with that story. The last week of July I went to California to spend time with my in-laws. I planned to stay a week or two. My mother-in-law, broke her wrist really good (or really badly?) about a month prior, so I figured since I can really work from anywhere I would go and check on them and see if I could help with anything. The first day my sister-in-law picked me up from the airport and spent the day with us. A couple of days later, Mom/Carolyn and I boxed up unwanted books and games to give away. One day I drove Mom to a doctor's appointment. One day I drove Mom to the coast. Okay, yeah, mostly it was I who wanted to see the ocean because it's been awhile! But generally speaking, my in-laws and I just spent a lot of time together chatting, watching TV and sharing meals together. I took out the trash, fed the hummingbirds, walked the orchards, and (drum roll) shopped for a 2nd vehicle.

I tried to walk the orchards every morning BEFORE it got over 100 degrees!

some items for donation

at our favorite beach

Had to stop at In-N-Out

A Tesla Farm behind In-N-Out

Widely known to those on the Neufeld side of the family, my father-in-law Roger is a car hunting expert. According to him, he has made some mistakes over the years. But the way I see it, he's purchased and sold so many vehicles that his track record is really pretty solid. He had in mind a Ford Escape for the boys and had offered to let me drive it, check it out, and then take it back to Texas if it suited our needs. I never told the boys about this when I flew to California. I had only purchased one-way airfare, so I really hoped the car thing would work out. Turned out to be a little more complicated. There was some soul wrestling, prayer, and hard decision-making. I decided the Escape was not the car I needed to take back. I was so sad. I really wanted that car to be it! But I continued to pray something would work out. 

NO, not the one

If you ever doubt the Lord will provide, I hope this story encourages you...please re-read the above quote that Sue Ellen Haning carried around with her through Italy...!!

When I told him the Escape was not going to work, Roger offered his own pickup truck. And I drove that around a few times too. But lo and behold, he also had another car to choose from, a little Mazda CX7. After getting the seat set up so I didn't hit my head on the ceiling, the Mazda seemed the better choice. It had also driven to Oregon and back, so I felt safer taking it on a long trip. In my mind, if Keaton was too tall to drive this Mazda, he could use our other car for his weekly commute to work and school and I would drive the Mazda. We agreed on a price and Roger transferred the title to me. After he had the tires checked and added some gifts for the boys (golf clubs, binoculars, a portable air cooler, and various awards their dad had won over the years) I set out for home. After a minor hiccup in Albuquerque (the car was broken into that night at the hotel, binoculars and air cooler stolen-- though it is possible I did not lock the doors because no windows were broken??) I made it home and texted Keaton and Cole to come outside to help with my bags. They assumed I had someone else pick me up at the airport. HERE IS THE VIDEO LINK to see their genuine surprise. It is a HUGE blessing. And Keaton does fit. He loves the car. Drove it to work the next day. THANK you Jesus. THANK you Roger & Carolyn. THANK you boys for holding down the fort, feeding the pets, washing the dishes, keeping the house clean, and tending to the pool chemistry. 

YES, this is it!

One final photo. My new favorite screen saver from my friend Steve. The verse speaks for itself.