Hi!

I can't think of the last time I did a real update.

Jon is still in love with the new (to us) organ at the church (we just got one in PA a few weeks ago--he's been praying for a new organ for years!). He fixed one of the pedals (it kept sticking) and figured out how to get the chime unit to work. OH! I keep forgetting to mention this! A few months ago, we got hand chimes (similar to hand bells, but way cheaper). We just have two octaves right now, but Jon'd really like to have three. Anywho, we played a couple weeks ago and it went really well! I was super nervous (my stomach was in knots), but I prayed and prayed and only made two mistakes (and both of those were not playing as opposed to the worse crime of playing the wrong note at the wrong time). It was the best I'd ever done, and I really think it's because God helped me. The piece we're working on now is easier, at least for me. I'm enjoying it.

Speaking of playing, I'm almost done with my piano book! My friend Kerrie encouraged me to finish it, so I told her I'd be done by her birthday (late next week). I have three songs left and I think I'll be done. It's just that the last two are really hard for me. It's going to take some real practice. I'd love to play in church before the end of the year, too, even if I am just at a beginner level. Maybe a duet with one of the girls?

Writing is going okay. I've been sending 500-ish words a week to a friend, and I think my story's coming along better than it would otherwise. I'm also doing it differently; every story I've ever written has been written from beginning to end, but this story, I'm skipping around in. I'm still writing the events in chronological order, but I feel less pressure this way.

The past few days have been hot, hot, hot! I guess a lot of the country had a major heat wave. Jon and I were given a a/c unit (just a window thing), and we used it every day for three or four days! So while the upstairs was baking, we enjoyed being cool downstairs.

Oh, and we signed up for huluplus. I don't like it as much as Netflix (it's not as user-friendly [should there be a hyphen there?]), but it has shows Netflix doesn't. And it's the same price as Netflix, so we're paying about $16 or $17 combined for a ton of shows and movies that we could even get if we had cable. Also, we're thinking of getting a good antennae and seeing what we can pick up. I would love to have CBS!

Anyway, so Jon had vacation these past few days. We took the girls to the beach (it was crowded and I discovered I'm even more introverted than I used to be) and they had a blast. I discovered I put on sunscreen better than Jon, though. I coated Kate, but he did the other two. Jill didn't burn, but Beth did on her shoulders, and I did all on my shoulders and back. It wasn't too bad, but I think I'll be doing the applying next time! :Þ

We've decided not to get a wading pool this year. Instead, I'll just take the girls over to Mohegan Park's beach two or three times a week. I know they'll enjoy that. :) And we have a sprinkler and a Slip 'n Slide for when we're home.

Next month promises to be crazy busy. Jill has camp, and there's also VBS (I'm super excited about that--we didn't do it last summer and I really wish we had).

Oh, and I just made a pudding pie with the girls a few minutes ago, but that's one of the 31 Days of Fun, so there'll be pictures later.