Countdown is on...

Last night was one for the books. Erik and I decided having a small last-minute cookout was a great way to relax on a Saturday night. It was a beautiful day (despite some much needed rain), Erik decided to enjoy a drink while cutting a neighbor's lawn, and we were thrilled about the lifting of the rain just in time for the event. Little did everyone in our neighborhood know, Erik had alternative plans for the quiet evening we all assumed we were going to have... Really not taking much more than the mere mention, the several pallets we've enmassed between the sod and retaining wall supplies, we were on our way to having a bonfire. In the area, we are in a drought status. Under drought warnings one usually does not pop up with the idea to have a fire, that is unless you are my husband.

Here is the Georgia fire:

I really believe Erik has been missing his time spent in the great Up North this summer. Wanting to expose our dear neighbors and friends to what we do for kicks UP there, Erik cultivated quite a fire for everyone's enjoyment. At the beginning of the evening, he was breaking apart the pallets and adding the planks to a portable fire bowl some neighbors provided. By the time we really got going, there were full pallets stacked upon this bowl as it warped under the heat. During our recovery efforts this morning there were a few discoveries: easily a hundred or so burned nails, the morphed frame of the fire bowl... which I believe to be a nice sculpture at this point, and a huge burned circular pit in the middle of my lawn. All in the spirit of a good time. Selfishly, I have to say I think we did. My poor neighbors.

17 days until the departure. We have begun talking to the kids a bit more about the upcoming event. The little ones seem to glaze over a bit, but Wes has been making tons of inquiries and making very appropriate comments and discoveries about Iraq. It is a confusing time; so busy with daily life yet needing to make necessary preparation without losing any precious moments. The days are escaping us quickly and we must make ourselves pause and appreciate the small, quiet, mondane minutes that really do dictate our days.