Not Flooded + Big May Catch Up

Thankfully, we have not been flooded in Texas's historic rains! We got 6.5" of rain in just a few hours Monday night, (the thunder was AMAZING!!! big storms are my fave,) but our neighborhood section drained really well. We escaped every bit of serious damage, but so many of my Zumba members living in the city are dealing with loss & cleanup this week. Praying for provision, recovery, and comfort...

So rewind back to last week, pre-deluge:

I am so blessed by my Zumba members who share their lives with me. It is an honor & a privilege! This is my friend from Kuwait, and she comes & rocks out every week while still staying within her cultural norms of being covered. Not in a full abaya, but always hijab (veil) - sure, not your typical Zumba wear, but I love how her joy & spirit are not the least bit inhibited. She's one of the most enthusiastic dancers, radiating light & love! Travel mercies for her as she heads back to her country to visit for a couple months...

I taught all 5 sessions of Junior Achievement in one day to Will's 5th grade class last Thursday. I taught the program JA Our Nation. It was much more focused on work readiness than Annelise's class program, which was more focused on financial literacy. This one was heavy on STEM: "Students learn that businesses are actively seeking workers with skills in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). They'll understand that people who have these STEM skills benefit from a growing number of opportunities in what are called high-growth, high-demand careers." I so regret not getting a pic of our global economy business web made of twine around the room!!! :-D I wish I could have had the time to come in for longer on 5 different days like I did for Annelise's class, to get to know them better, and for the info to sink in over a longer period of time, but Will said they loved it. [HUGE DEAL to have his approval, as tween-ness is making my presence at school a less-desirable, more "embarrassing" phenomenon. :-P]

A *MAJOR* household deal occurred last week, as well: I broke down and agreed it was finally time to replace our falling-apart couch. Our family couch is our #1 most used item in our whole house, so I took replacing it very seriously. We like a sectional, so the 4 of us are a little more connected when we're all having family time, but this one is bigger than the last and will easily hold 4 adults + 2 kids + 1 dog = no problem. :-P Seating had been a little cramped when grandparents came. :-D

We did not do very much for Memorial Day weekend (thanks to the forecast rains) except for Saturday, we drove down to Surfside:

So thankful to be able to hop in the truck & be on the beach in just over an hour... The sky was really beautifully blue with puffy white clouds - totally not grey, like it looks in that pic!

These skies are more accurate: my view in front of me, behind me, & of the best beach sleep you can get...

(PS - the one place I forgot sunscreen...was my KNEES! What?!?!)

Random deliciousness: I finally got to try "The Tonight Dough": Caramel & Chocolate Ice Creams with Chocolate Cookie Swirls & Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Peanut Butter Cookie Dough. Ice cream can heal sunburnt knees from the inside out, right??? Thus began my ‪#‎4dayweekendbinge...

So, fast forward back through the torrential rains to the present. I'm on Praise Team this week, and we certainly made rehearsal fun last night! :-P No real reason to share these, other than they made me smile. :-D

Ahead: kids' end-of-grade celebrations, 7-on-7 football finals tomorrow night, & our last big in-person registration event for our youth football league Saturday...