Whew

Good grief.  What a week this had been!  Especially in contrast with the lovely, leisurely stay-home-all-week-in-the-snow we just had.  *Sigh*

Sunday - church, which is a good thing :D

Monday - Kerry and Gunnar to Boys' Club, which is also good, but changes our schedule (we all eat our "big meal" together at midday, meaning I need to make something while I'm schooling...)

Tuesday - Wyatt and Tate to CAP, and Kerry to a Creation class, also means "big meal" at lunch.

Wednesday - Wyatt and Tate to youth group.  More about this in a minute.

Thursday - breathe in and out.

Friday - PTO day (yay!) and Wyatt and Tate had CAP activity.  Their squadron met up with another squadron for dinner out (I think Subway) and went to see Redtails, the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.  All thumbs up from the boys :D

Saturday - today was supposed to be all relaxing, but the CAP group has been called into duty.  A local fallen Marine is being brought home today, and they're going out in Dress Blues to participate in some sort of Honor Guard.  (Any military folks out there, forgive me if I'm not using the correct terms.)

Sunday - back to church, and begin again...

Actually, next week should be a bit milder, as the Boys' Club and the youth group only meet every other week, which is fine by me.

I'm just thrilled they got the youth group up and running again.  the Chapel isn't a highly program-driven church, which is a good thing.  I'm as thankful for what the youth group isn't  (a high-octane, three-ring circus), as for what it is - a low-key, every-other-week, dinner, devotions, and games sort of thing.

So low-key, in fact, that the married couple that leads it didn't actually know it was meeting this week, and didn't show up.  Oops.  But no problem.  The gracious hosts jumped in to pinch-hit and everyone had a good time, even the neighbor boy we brought - who realized during the ride home that he had just missed an orchestra concert.  His orchestra concert.  Oops, again.

 We take turns feeding and hosting the group, perhaps fittingly labeled None the Wiser (a pun on our chapel's name).  Our church families are pretty far-flung around the county, which makes just getting there a bit of an adventure.  I don't know about where you live, but finding a house for the first time in the dark (on these short winter days) and on unlit county roads may not be as easy as you think it is.

Kerry drove them a couple weeks ago, but somehow forgot the directions I'd written for him.  And his cel phone.  But no worries!  The Border Patrol helped him find the house after they finished questioning him.  (Apparently his erratic driving and frequent stops along a road just a hundred yards or so from Canada looked a bit suspicious.)

This week I drove.  Stayed to visit with the aforementioned gracious hosts, (since driving home would give me just enough time to say "hi" and then turn around to go get them, 20+ miles away.)  Had a nice chat with my friend.  Then as the group was breaking up, the phone rang.  One of the moms was looking for her three kids.  Yes, they'd come straight from school to youth group, were just leaving, and should be home soon.  She hadn't known where they were.  I think this is only the fifth time the group has met, and she didn't realize it was a youth group night.  Thought they might've gone into a ditch (we have huge ditches here... rain, y'know) and wrecked the car.  There's still some snow out in the county, and she and her husband had been driving various routes between their home and school for hours, looking for them.  Finally, the Sheriff asked her, "Well, it is a Wednesday evening.  Could they be at a youth group activity?"

Ding!


So, low-key is good, but I'm not sure that

Local Law Enforcement involved in 40% of our activities!

is exactly the motto we're looking for.