Soaking up Summer - Part Two.

Here are a couple more ways that we are soaking up summer around here....

Fresh local raspberries.

Beth has loved playing Lego Friends and Polly Pockets this summer and on most days, my living room looks like this (often on a larger scale)!  Super cute.  I love to listen to her singing and talking while she plays.  Imagination is a gift and a delight and I am treasuring hers this summer.

One evening, Grace and I drove down to the Lake to watch the sunset.  It was so breathtakingly beautiful.

Eva had a great week at camp and check out the letter she mailed us:

We have definitely gotten use out of our summer membership at our local pool.  We no longer have to bring our membership card with us.  Most of the lifeguards know us by name :)  We are a regular fixture at the pool and wouldn't have it any other way.  Our local pool has been a lifesaver for us on this hot summer!

lazy mornings.

We discovered at the beginning of the summer that Wendy's has their small Frosty's on for 99 cents all summer long.  Now it seems that we can't drive by a Wendy's without swinging by the drive-through.  Again, a lifesaver on this hot summer! 

To be continued...

July Links

July has been an awesome month and I am soaking up the last few days.

For me, some hightlights include: weekend at the cottage, local fruit, membership at the local pool, no more school lunches to make, happy kids, lazy mornings, living in our bathing suits, new blackberry (LOVE) -  there's no question, this summer is off to a great start!

I haven't had much time to be reading on-line, which is the way that it should be in the summer.  However, from what I have stumbled upon....here are a few of my July faves:)

Bangs - this was super helpful as I got bangs cut recently.

Swimming.  This post was timely for me and solidified my commitment to getting wet and swimming often this summer with my girls.

I keep meaning to listen to this podcast on how to maximize vacation time.

As the Mom of a new teenager, I resonated with this post.

One of my all time favourite posts on marriage.

This is my new favourite summer salad..

I appreciated this parenting reminder.

Classic Donald Miller.  Simply fantastic.

And lastly, I loved, loved this post:)


Enjoy the last few days of July!  Are you reading anything good on these lazy, hazy summer days?

Soaking up Summer - Part One.

Summer is already going by too fast.

Anyone else beside me want to press "pause"?

Lately, I've been imagining Labour Day weekend and all the feelings and traditions that go along with that in my house.  I've been thinking about how I don't want any regrets come Labour Day weekend.

So I'm intentionally soaking up summer, even if it means that my house is messy:)

Here are a few ways we've been soaking up summer:  beach-time, boat-time, sister-time, new-garden-time, picnic-time, birthday-time and cousin-time:

To be continued...

Thirteen

Yesterday was a big day for my oldest.


This girl turned me into a Mom 13 years ago and changed my life forever.


On July 15, 1999, I was young and had no idea what I was in for.    Grace turned our world upside down so quickly and had us wrapped around her little finger in no time.  Steve and I were head over heels in the worst way.  Nervous too.  I honestly thought my heart was going to explode with love for this wee girl.


There are a couple of moments from that summer that are etched in my memory forever...


I'll never forget one thick humid summer evening.  I was sitting on our under construction front porch staring at her lying in the pale blue basinet  All of a sudden I was aware of what a gift she was to our family and I felt a peace and a happiness and an awe that I can't even to this day put into words.  At that moment, there was no where else I wanted to be and nothing else I wanted to be doing than being her Mom.

Another time, I was driving our 1990 blue and grey striped F150 truck along a country road and she was right beside me, facing me in the cab in her carseat.  I wanted to have her as close to me as possible and so she was in the middle seat.  These were before the days when there were front air bags!  I remember this wave of love and gratitude coming over me.  I remember vividly, like it was yesterday.  Feeling like the luckiest, most blessed person in the world.  I remember feeling rich.  Thirteen years ago, we were living on hardly anything.  I was on maternity leave and Steve still serving his apprentiship and at night school two evenings a week.  We were living on very little.  But on that summer day.  On that country road.  With my baby girl beside me, I felt like the richest person in the world.


These days, she is not so wee.  Yesterday marked her thirteenth birthday.  I am so proud of her and delighted to be her Mom.  She's becoming her own person and blossoming into a lovely young adolescent girl.
Hang in there Mom's of toddlers....all that hard work pays off :)


These past 13 years have been an adventure.  I love being her Mom.

Happy 13th Birthday Grace!  

Just a girl on a dock

This past Sunday morning, I had some time to sit on the dock at the cottage and be still.

 Truly, a taste of heaven.

Just what my soul needed.

Mornings are my favourite time of day at the cottage.

The fresh air.  The quietness.  The constant, soothing sound of tiny waves gently touching the shore over and over again.  Time to breathe deeply.  The smell of freshly brewed coffee.  Vast blue endless sky.  The warmth of the morning sun on my skin.  Call of the loons.  Feeling small, knowing God is big.

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10


I want to seek out more of these quiet moments this summer.   Hope you can too.