Dear Friends,

Of course I have resolved to post more often.  Of course I haven’t.  What do they say?  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I doubt I’ll go to hell for not blogging regularly.  I may, however, slide down that way if I do not follow through on my spiritual resolutions.  At the very least, I will weaken, as I’m sure I have, little by little, without being cognizant of my state.  Which is why I will be attending (FINALLY!) the Spiritual Exercises later this month.  It is important to me to attend once a year as it keeps me striving and alert, like the ten wise virgins.  It really does consist of exercises for the spirit – much like physical exercises which keep your body in shape.  I recommend them for anyone who wants to go to heaven.  I am referring, of course, to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which in this case have been sort of squeezed into a weekend.  As to how these priests are able to take 30 days and concentrate it so, I don’t know.  It is brilliant though, considering our contemporary lifestyles in this country and people’s reluctance to attend retreats.  Find out more here: http://www.mileschristi.org/en/activities/

Now to important stuff!  What happened in August?  Well we had a wonderful visit from the Ariss family!  Was it fun?  I let you decide:

Yall done good comin’ here to visit!  We love havin’ ya!  Now the rest of yall can see how much fun it is . . . so come on over.

Other news for August: Dave, the Millionaire, and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary with a quick vacation to Ft. Davis, TX, a very quiet place.  We sat on the veranda of our B&B and visited for hours.  Next day we went to Alpine, TX where we happened upon a gun show, and I got me a shotgun!  Yahoo!  Happy Anniversary!

My brother told me to go see his rain lilies.  They were stunning, but when I tried to get nice pictures of them, Mesquite the dog and Claudio the rooster wouldn’t leave me alone!  Finally Claudio perched on a boulder in front of me and stayed put till I left.  Vanity!

Becky and Matt are fully entrenched in school now, and thank goodness no shooting for September and October, except for dove hunting.  I am going to certification training in archery with Becky, then the Spiritual Exercises at the end of the month.  Lady still makes milk but less now with the pregnancy.  (And she’s been very ornery.)  The pigs are getting fat and look delicious.  So does Tri-Tip!  It won’t be long before we send them off to freezer camp!  Sarah is also in school and working two jobs.  Motivated!

That’s enough for one post.  I’ll be back soon.  Our prayers and love to all!