The Simple Life at Home

Well, it's the midst of summer here in the Persian Gulf and that means hot and boring. Not much to do around here, particularly when most of your friends have packed up and left town for the summer. Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to:

** We've been busily thinking/preparing about our upcoming trip to Jordan. Well, maybe not so much the Jordan part as much as the "trip" part. That drive through Saudi Arabia is going to be a 3 day process (well, two half-days and one full day). That's a long time to be cooped up in the car with two kids. I'm thanking my lucky stars that we got a car with a DVD player in it and we'll be stocking up on movies to watch on the way. Any recommendations?

** Yesterday we met some friends at a local cafe where you can purchase ceramics and paint them. They'll glaze and fire them for you and you pick them up in a week. We had a nice time and are looking forward to collecting our new works of art. And speaking of ceramics, yesterday Emily gave Hubby and I a gift which she had made from some clay that I bought her last week. It's a set of salt and pepper shakers. We watched "Fireproof" a few weeks ago and in one scene, a character explains how he and his wife are like salt and pepper. Different, but complementary and always together. It was sweet of her to think of us like that and to make a concrete reminder that, though we are different, we are better and stronger when we are together.

** We went to the mall on the 4th of July. I think we were all a little homesick, so Hubby decided to treat us with dinner out and ice skating for the kids. (The rink is inside the mall.) Several months back a teenager committed suicide there by jumping from the fourth floor onto the ice below. Some say it was over a girl, others say it was over a bad school report card. As I stood there looking down, I was overcome with emotion thinking about how vulnerable teens are to their emotions. We are having Emily read "Preparing for Adolescence" right now and she came down the other day in tears. She told me she couldn't finish the chapter she had started because it was all about emotions and depression. I remember vividly the wild swings that my moods put me through when I was a teenager. I pray that Hubby and I will have wisdom to guide our kids through these turbulent years and that they will learn to turn to God when it's too overwhelming.

** I have self-diagnosed myself (Dr. Lori at your service!!) with PCOS. I have many of the symptoms, none of which I particularly want to go into here because they aren't very attractive honestly. Anyways, I picked up a book about dealing with PCOS and it seems that the best thing is to eat a healthy diet and exercise. Dang!!! That just keeps popping up in my life. But seriously, women with PCOS are more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease so it's something to take seriously. I'm working on making healthier choices and have begun to take a multi-vitamin and saw palmetto, which I understand can reduce some of the effects of overproduction of testosterone in women. I'm making changes slowly and deliberately rather than just rushing into it, hoping that it will be more long-lasting change if I take my time.

Well, that's about it from here. Hope you are enjoying your summer and relishing these days!!