It seems every year I get myself worked up in eager anticipation of summer - slow days, night swimming, fireworks, watermelon, light school schedules, even lighter chore schedules. And I love it and bask in all the warm, sunny glory that is God's gift of summer. Then it's August and I'm done. I'm done with the heat, done with being stuck inside from 10-4, done with the world's most boring 7-day forecast and I'm totally over these electric bills! I'm trying really, really hard to be thankful for God's provisions this summer. I am thankful for boardgames, reading Tom Sawyer to the girls each morning (if you haven't read this classic, especially in the middle of a hot summer, I highly recommend doing so), sipping lemonade, trips to the library and the excitement of reading the new books and watching the movies we bring home, and of course trips to the cabin. But I find, as I get older, my enthusiasm for these things doesn't seem to satisfy as much and my longing for autumn, winter and being outdoors grows like a whining child for whom good is never quite good enough. In my home we have a saying: You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. Perhaps I need to take a long hard look in the mirror, appreciate the splendor of summer and stop throwing a fit. So, today it is 11o degrees, I am sipping lemonade, I am writing, my girls are playing nicely, my husband is working in the garage (on our new-to-us minivan) - indeed, life is sweet when I take the time to notice.
Our summer travels are over. Erik attended Christ In Youth in L.A., a summer camp for the teens at our church. It was a profound experience for him and he came back more excited than ever to continue his work in the teen ministry. We tried to go to the cabin for the fourth of July - key word: tried. We were there for one night and we had an, um, issue with the septic system. Nuff said. Anyway, although we were disappointed to come home early, we learned a couple of things. First, we should probably get used to handling this sort of thing if we are serious about entertaining an off the grid lifestyle. Second, a fourth of July spent at home watching the Capitol Fourth and listening to A Prairie Home Companion while eating fried chicken and homemade potato salad is a pretty fine time.
Emma's birthday is this Saturday, and she reminds us everyday and has reminded us everyday for about a month. She will be nine and no, I can't believe she will be nine. I have a nine year old? Am I old enough to have a nine year old? If I say "nine year old" enough maybe it will start to feel more normal, like maybe by the time I'm practicing saying I have ten year old. No big parties this year, something we are all, thankfully, over. She has a sleep over planned at a girlfriend's house on Friday as it is her friend's birthday as well. On Saturday we have a bit of a surprise planned for her and Sunday will be a pizza party with just her best friend. Remember when your birthday was stretched out over a whole week and it was something really special? It wasn't just about the day, it was about every card that arrived in the mail, it was the phone calls from grandparents, picking whatever you wanted to eat all day, hearing mostly yes instead of no for an entire day (or days) and hardly being able to sleep the night before the actual day. I think I would like to recapture a bit of that this year. What if, instead of lamenting turning 32, I woke up on my birthday filled with excitement and shouting "Whoo hoo, I'm 32!!" I could say yes to myself all day. Like yes, you can have a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin muffin. Yes, you can watch another movie. Yes, you can sleep in late and take a longer run. Yes, you can skip doing the dishes. What if we did that all year long? What if we got excited over the little things, celebrated make believe holidays, made cakes with candles for no reason, read our favorite children's book because it makes us smile, had slumber parties with our kids, or made milkshakes, for breakfast, on a Tuesday? What if I recognized every moment was a gift from God and these moments,connected, are my life and I actually stopped to enjoy them and savor them? What if...
OK, I'm done with the motivational pep talk to go recapture your youth. I think it was more for me anyway. Moving on...
I mentioned we have a new minivan. We sold the Mercedes and purchased this vehicle as it is much more practical for our family right now. This was a gift from God and although we weren't sure, financially, how it would all work out, we were able to get a great deal on the van, pay cash for it and put a little money in the bank. Somehow, it always comes back to a trust issue doesn't it?
As much as I looked forward to less on the schedule for summer, I am excited to start up again this year. I begin my work with the mentoring ministry again at church this month and we kick off the school year with the home school ministry next week. I so love my involvement with both of these groups and am truly excited to see what the Lord has in store over the next few months.
So, sorry, no new pictures this time. Mostly because I haven't downloaded them, but also we just haven't had the camera out much over the summer. Until next time...(which will hopefully be sooner rather than later, but no promises...)
In His Service
