The Busy Month of May

It's hard to believe it is May already, and seven days into it at that. So far, it has been a calm month, but it will go by all too quickly. Here is a little update on my month for anyone who cares.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday.....won't say how many years - could get in trouble. :-)
We are all going into PA to Paul & Pam's on Saturday. This is almost laughable. OK, it is laughable: Paul & Pam's church always has a special service on Mother's Day - special singers, something along that line. This year, everyone they tried to get, couldn't do it, so they scraped the bottom of the barrel - they got us. Sigh.

Thankfully, I don't have to do much. I will have to play the organ some, which I don't mind - better than the piano - and I have to sing in a quartet. That should be interesting. My dad, my two brothers-in-law, and myself. The rest of them are singing more, plus my dad is going to play his harmonica some, my niece her violin, etc. I just worry about what I have to do. And no, we have not done this before, and hopefully never again. :-)

I am getting company next week. My best friend, Steven, is coming Thursday afternoon and leaving Tuesday morning. He will get the sofa bed, which is actually quite comfortable - has two mattresses on it - and I will sacrifice and sleep on the couch. I am looking forward to his visit, and wish he could put Cindy & Kristin in his suitcase and bring them along.

Then comes the busy week. Memorial Day on the 25th, my birthday on th 26th - #40, so no excitement there, though getting older is better than the alternative. My niece, Allie, will turn 11 on the next day.

And then we pack. Our whole gang - myself, my parents, 2 sisters, their husbands, and 6 nieces & nephews - are departing for the Outer Banks of North Carolina somewhere around 3-3:30 am on May 30th. I wasn't sure I could pull it off - trying to save money for the trip and for another expense coming up in a couple of months, but I had an answer to prayer there, and the other is taken care of, and my vacation expenses won't amount to much. Need some sunblock for my head........

The house we are staying in looks awesome. It has 5 bedrooms - Mom & Dad will get one, Paul & Pam, and Vicki & Steve will also have their own, I will have my own, and all 6 kids will be in the 5th. The bad thing is, my room & Paul & Pam's room is on the same floor as the kids. Everyone else is lucky enough to be on the other floor. Oh well, who says you have to go to bed early on vacation anyway!

The house also has some other nice amenities which I am looking forward to.

I personally prefer vacations where you go out and do something, though I do enjoy the ocean. I plan on taking several books along. There is Internet service, and we may have a laptop along, so hopefully I will be able to blog some and keep up with my swag bucks.

Speaking of Swag Bucks, I just traded in for my 9th Amazon $5 gift card, giving me $45 worth of credit at Amazon, though I used $20 of it already. I was up to 42 this evening, wishing I could hit 45 - the amount needed for a gift card - then Mom got 3 swag bucks on her computer, which added 3 to mine, making me a very happy camper! There are a couple of books that I didn't tell anyone that I wanted for my birthday, so I may use my credit on those.