July 27

Isaac left for an overnight trip to Napa with his pals this morning so it was just me, Abby, and Brady today.

Brady returned to his recent kitchen-related hobby by air frying another potato dish. (He followed the same basic recipe as one of last week's experiments and changed up the seasoning a little. He said he definitely preferred them with panko.)

Abby, meanwhile, went for her run, then showered and emerged wearing her giant pink fuzzy thing. As she was putting taquitos in the oven, she crab-skittered across the kitchen floor with oven mitts on her hands. I asked her to do it again; she refused, but she posed in crab-position.

She will probably dislike this image, but it made me laugh so I kept it. I love her silly side. She hides it much of the time, but it's pretty funny when she lets it go. So for the blessing of lighthearted moments, I am thankful.

July 26

Isaac had some of the guys over late this afternoon.

They rumbled up the front steps and through the front door and deposited their shoes in a pile before hanging a left into the living room. (They've been here frequently enough now that they know and respect the no-shoes-in-the-house rule, and I appreciate their collective conscientiousness.)

And then the usual chaos began as they gassed up the gaming system and got down to the business of playing Mario Party, I think it was. 

Although I'm definitely sensitive to noise, their cacophony is always kind of beautiful because it symbolizes that good, safe fun is happening. And I'm grateful to God for providing us with a home that can accommodate that kind of fun for my kiddos and their friends.

July 25

It's so weird that my baby has a permit and is actually learning how to drive. On public roads where other people are driving.

I mean, isn't he like five years old?

But he's not five. He's 15. And Adam took him out for a few hours this afternoon to practice, just like he did so many times with Abby and Isaac. (I'll have my turn when school starts up again next month and he drives to and from Amador with me as his co-pilot.)

Although I truly do wonder where the time went, I'm grateful for this milestone. Although he doesn't exactly love driving just yet, I know that he will come to appreciate the ability to get himself from point A to point B. And I know that he will (probably silently) appreciate the general sense of freedom and independence that having a license gives teens.

So for the blessing of being witness to yet another milestone in his life, I am thankful.

July 24

Today was Isaac's last shift at the Dairy. (I know I said it was yesterday, but he initially had the wrong date in his head.)

Anyway, after Adam wrapped up his workday, Abby, Brady, he and I piled into the car and headed over for some ice cream. Luckily for us, it wasn't super busy and Isaac was running orders and not taking them, so he was able to bring us our treats.

When he appeared holding Abby's milkshake and the three cones we'd ordered, I spied a hand-written sign taped to his shirt that read "It's My Last Day." I pointed it out and snapped a pic, and he half-chuckled and said he wasn't thrilled about wearing it.

But I'm glad he did, because it's right that he should be recognized in some way on his last day. He's had fun working there over the past year-plus. He's made some friends and learned a bit about how a business runs. And he's had the opportunity to talk to probably thousands of people. That job has been a great match for his personality, allowed him to build up some savings, and taught him about responsibility. Although he doesn't like it when I say this, I'm proud of him for taking it on and for doing a great job. 

So for all of those good gifts, I am grateful. 

July 23

I don't particularly enjoy cooking, probably because a handful of picky eaters who shall remain unnamed didn't care for culinary variety during their early years. But I did have more fun than I expected helping Brady make dinner today. 

While he was trying to figure out what he wanted to eat this afternoon, he pulled a box of Bisquick out of the pantry with an eye toward preparing pancakes. (With chocolate chips, since we have a big bag on the shelf.) 

But a recipe for cheeseburger pie printed on the back of the box caught his eye, and he decided he wanted to make that instead. Since it was a multi-step process, I suggested he wait a few hours and make it for dinner, with an assist from me. He agreed, so off to the store we went for ground beef and an onion, the two things we didn't already have on-hand.

When the clock struck 5:45, we got to work. We walked through the steps of the recipe together, and he did most of the actual prep and clean-up, from dicing the onion (with sunglasses in place) to washing the dishes. I was mainly the supervisor who cracked the eggs and carefully slid the very full pie plate into the oven. And told him how "brown" was "brown enough" for the cooked beef and which knife he should use to cut the onion. (And many other little details that I've had filed away in my brain for years that he didn't yet know.) And the final product? I thought it was pretty tasty, so it was a win.

It's such a gift to be able to spend quality time with my kiddos that doubles as education. Of course, I try to "teach" them every day with how I react to them and to others and to situations, but to be able to share knowledge I've acquired over my own lifetime that will expand their own bodies of practical knowledge feels special. So tonight I am grateful to God for the time with Brady and for his willingness to listen and learn.

July 22

Isaac's last day of work at the Dairy is tomorrow, and since Abby has evening class, she wanted to be sure she got to see him on-shift one more time.

So she, Brady, and I loaded into my loaner car (because two and a half weeks later, my car is still at BMW waiting for its new hybrid battery) and headed over to get some ice cream early this afternoon.

Isaac was working the register so he wasn't able to make our cones for us, but he did see us in the walk-up line and waved animatedly in our direction. And when he had a free moment, he did come over to say hello and to introduce us to one of his co-workers. 

He's a good kiddo, and I'm grateful that he's had the opportunity to work this job. I know he's enjoyed the experience and I appreciate how it's taught him more about financial responsibility than he ever could have learned from school alone. So for the blessings of first jobs and for the taste of fresh ice cream on a summer afternoon, I am grateful.

July 21

As I left the house to pick up Brady from church this afternoon, I spied a plume of brown and white smoke as it rose above the nearby hills and into the blue sky. Although I had an inkling that it probably wasn't a good thing to see smoke on a very dry 100-degree day, I didn't think much of it at the time.

But then I checked the Watch Duty app and saw that the smoke I saw was from a wildfire that started in nearby Sunol. And I watched as, over just a short period of time, the fire spread from 75 acres to 150. And then to 400. And then I watched as mandatory evacuation orders appeared on the map. And I listened as helicopters and planes flew by overhead, providing air assistance to the ground crews.

When Ruby Hill --a community a few miles down the road from us-- received evac orders, I calmly told the boys to gather up their irreplaceable prized possessions just in case. And I texted Abby (who was at school) and Adam (who was at work) and asked them if there was anything they wanted me to get for them, too. I packed up photo albums and mementos and important documents, and watched with interest as my kiddos chose their own irreplaceables: Isaac picked items from my grandma's house and Bibles and things he'd handwritten over the years. Brady grabbed BearBear, Chub, Bagger, and Froggy, who are his four favorite stuffies, and the ring he got for winning a baseball tournament last year. (I almost cried when he plunked them down on the dining room table and declared "just about everything else can be replaced.") Abby wanted Pilly and Blankie (which, quite obviously, were her childhood pillow and blanket), and Adam requested a book of pictures Logan drew.

The fire grew to 950 acres and the evacuation line came within a single street of our house, so we literally sat around waiting for directions. Isaac meandered between the deck outside --looking up at the sky and the helicopters and the planes-- and inside. Brady followed me from room to room. Eventually, I sat down on the steps near the front door, and Brady plunked down nearby while Isaac settled into the dining room across the way. I prayed aloud for the firefighters and for everyone affected by the fire. 

The evac line hadn't moved in a few hours, so Adam and I decided over text that we'd offer to take the boys to dinner with us. And they agreed to go. We packed all of our irreplaceables into the Explorer (just in case something changed), and went downtown to Strizzi's.

Since then, the evac lines have been pulled back, and we're no longer on the edge of the danger zone. I'll still probably sleep with one eye open and I'm not in a hurry to unpack my irreplaceables, but I'm grateful that the immediate threat seems to have been resolved.

Although the experience stressed me out, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to see what my children view as their prized possessions. And I'm grateful that they --at least in my opinion-- chose well: they went with sentimental items like photos and writings and things that hold special memories for them. (And I'm also grateful for the reminder that I should get to work on digitizing all of my old film photos.)

And beyond all of that, I am grateful to God for being with every single person who is out doing hard, demanding work in hot weather to keep the rest of us safe. I am thankful that He gave each of them the desire to serve and the bravery to serve well.