Oh woe is Lolli

I am a spoiled brat that God is attempting to make stronger. I know this because my family got to be together without me for the first time this past week, and it hurt. It hurt a lot. I had never even considered the possibility of that happening. I've ALWAYS been there... and I have ALWAYS taken it for granted. However, the positive side is that challenges like this teach us to never take things like seeing family for granted again. The negative side is that I MISS THEM. I told my BFFFRMI (Best friend forever for real, mean it) Mary, that they were in Searcy without me, and she said "Is it okay if I drive down and see them? Because your family is legit." I agree. They are, in fact, legit. Anyway, my reasoning for writing this is to say that though I complain, I am glad that they got to spend time together and I realize that this was a lesson that I would inevitably have to learn. .. but I was still sad. In fact, it made me paint this:

Not a great picture, but hopefully it still captures the turmoil I was feeling at the time.

Today, I went on a girls from church date to Oxburgh Hall (which we will have to go back to because the inside was occupied), a pub for lunch, and a few antique shops. I bought a very large glass bottle that I will, at some point, find a good use for.

An aerial photo of Oxburgh hall. It has a moat!!

Tomorrow will be exciting because Kyle is competing in the Liberty olympics! He is competing in the 100m relay, and Ultimate frisbee. I'll try and take some action shots while I play cheerleader. :)
 We love you all!

Time is going by entirely too fast

   Poor Tesla was stung by a bee today. She sported a cartoonish fat lip for a good five minutes before looking normal again, and continues to try and catch bees in her mouth every chance she gets. I took a page out of "Marmie knows how to fix everything 101" and rubbed a baking soda paste on her mouth, which made her look a little rabid, so I tried to keep her indoors after that.  A woman who was shopping with her son yelled at me to get the stinger out, or Tesla would die... I tried to tell her that not many dogs are THAT allergic to one bee sting, and that it was a bumble bee.. its stinger has no barbs, so it gets to keep it after it stings you.(Thank you, Harding biology dept) She then left me alone and went back to yelling at her son. He and I shared a sympathetic look. 
    Two weeks ago, Kyle and I went to Great Yarmouth for our anniversary, and the first day was AWESOME. We walked on the pier, shopped,  rode rides, saw a movie, had dinner, took a carriage ride, and played in one of the many arcades on the promenade. The next day was not as awesome, however. I woke up at 4AM with THE PLAGUE, which I had apparently gotten from the two girls I babysat on Friday. I hung out on the bathroom floor for 2 hours, pondering my mortality and trying to give Kyle more time to sleep before I woke him up and asked him to go to the drug store. Super fun times. I won't get into all of the wonderful details of my anniversary stomach bug, but it definitely made me grateful for modern medicine. When we got home, Tesla instantly became worried that I was dying and would not let me out of her sight. She cuddled with me for 8 hours straight, until I started to act a little more alive. Hopefully soon, Kyle and I can go out to eat or something to make up for me being dead on our actual anniversary. :-/
     We are celebrating Kyle's first year in the Air Force this week, which is hard to believe. It has been a busy year and we are incredibly thankful for the opportunity and adventure! We hope and pray that everyone back home is happy and healthy. :)