Pensive.......

Well dictionary.com (I love that site) says that pensive means, dreamy or meditative thought, sometimes preceeded by sadness....... I have definitely been pensive lately. I don't really think my "pensiveness" - is that a word? - was brought on by any real sadness, just a lot of busyness/stress. It was the good stress of lots of visitors, but stress nonetheless.

It started with a weekend visit from some "new" good friends, Jay and Kelly Richardson from Houston, TX. Jay and Kelly are moving to Naples to help us grow the Naples campus of Summit. They are young and energetic. They love the Lord and they have two beautiful little girls. The kids and I got to babysit while Jay and Kelly looked for houses over the weekend. Kendall is 4 years old and she is a petite princess, full of girly enthusiasm. She was a joy! Hope is 4 months old and she was a chubby little ball of absolute "cuteness" (man, I'm going all out making up words today). Anyway, she was absolutely precious and we just held her and loved her for hours and hours. She put up with all my kisses and squeezes, and was so sweet tempered the whole time. It's been a long time since I had a little one to squeeze! I only get to really snuggle Graham when he is asleep!

Soon after the Richardson's went home, we had a quick overnight visit from Mr. Bryan Davis, the author of the Dragons in Our Midst book series which our family loves! Mr. Davis has written 6 books of Christian fantasy so far and his writing career has taken off! Bryce participates in a message board that he moderates and she invited him down to speak at our Book Club meeting. We were so blessed that he said yes and he brought his wife and three of his daughters with him. They spent one night in our home and we were privileged to be able to talk more about his writing, his faith, and their family. It was great.

The same morning the Davis family left our home, my parents and two dear family friends (Aunt Ju Ju and Uncle Dennis) arrived!! They were with us for a week and it was a whirlwind of activity that went by way too fast. We spent time in the Everglades, at the beach, at the baseball field, the tennis courts, and the mall!! The kids had such a good time. And Graham even convinced Uncle Dennis to put up a tent and sleep outside with him one night so they could go "camping." It was great!

The day after they left for NC, we welcomed more friends for the Florida State Communicators for Christ speech and debate tournament. We got to visit with "old" and "new" friends for a few days. Mardy Freeman and two of her sons, Patrick and Joel returned to stay with us for the second time and they brought with them some friends of theirs, now friends of ours - Wendy Holland and two of her sons, Chris and Nick. For those of you who homeschool in Flordia, you may have heard Mardy speak at the FPEA homeschool convention or read her books Raising Children of Character. If you haven't read them, you should and can order them at - www.thefreemans.org -. I met Mardy five years ago when she approached me in the jacuzzi at the Gaylord Palms hotel during the convention. Mardy has a spiritual gift of encouragement and just being in her presence is amazing. Stan and I were sitting in the jacuzzi and several FPEA leadership members were there as well. Mardy and her husband Bill were among them. Stan got up to get a towel or something and she came over to me and just introduced herself and began to encourage me as a young mom. I will never forget it. We kept in touch by e-mail and only saw each other at the convention over the next couple of years. Then last year, Naples hosted a Communicators for Christ conference and her boys wanted to come. She called me as asked if we would host them. I was thrilled!!!! So, when it came time for the Spring tournament, I called her and asked her to please allow us to host them!

Mardy is the type of person that makes you feel good just to be around her. She is loving and complimentary and she makes you feel like you can tell her anything. I find myself pouring out my soul to this lady the minute she walks in the door. Stan happened to be out of town two of the nights they were here, and on the second night Wendy, Mardy, and I went out to dinner. I can not remember the last time I have laughed so hard!

Her youngest two boys, Patrick and Joel are amazing as well. (All of her children are, but these are the only two I know personally). Bill and Mardy have raised seven godly children and they truly live out the things they talk about in their books. My kids love to be around these two boys. They have such a great time just playing and hanging out. They really enjoyed the Holland boys as well. And they were all so mature that we left all 8 kids at home alone while we went out and the house was still standing when we got back! And I kid you not, it was not really all that messy. They even cleaned the dinner dishes up! (Yes, I left them paper, but hey - sometimes my kids can't seem to find the trash can, even with paper plates!)

Anyway, now we are trying to recover from our month of company, but I have to admit, it is way too quiet around here! I love the "revolving door" and I miss each and every one of the guests we had the past month. So, if you are looking for a place to stay - The McLemore Bed and Breakfast is always open for business!

I am also pensive because my "baby" will be turning six in two days!!! But, more on that on Thursday!