Summer Reflections

This has been a whirlwind of a summer. It's been full of vacations, and while we're home, working hard and fast to get ready to leave again. We have made so many good memories as a family this summer......

We spent 6 days in TN with Leon's family at a big house close to Pigeon Forge. What a wonderful time we had catching up on each other's lives, relaxing, eating good food, tubing, white-water rafting, driving through a scenic state park, and taking in a show at Dixie Stampede. The days flew by!

Jamison celebrated his 12th birthday on July 2nd. He wanted to go bowling and eat at Texas Roadhouse.

Jamie chose shrimp for his birthday meal with black raspberry pie for dessert.

Here's a little bird he found one day, and it perched right on his shoulder.

And then we had our corn day.....(the dog was a real attraction distraction.)

We took off one evening to have a picnic back at our cabin.

 And another evening back at the cabin....

A camping trip with friends....

And a few other special pictures from the summer....

The boys have put in a lot of hours with their Dad this summer (even if I don't have pictures to prove it). I have thanked God for our farm countless times this summer. It really is a great place to raise a family!

The summer days are ticking down and we'll soon be back in school. This has been one of the best summers ever but it's also had some of our most difficult moments. Through all of it, God has been very close. Our lives can be ever so full of pain, but God gently leads us and He has given us so much peace. We can trust Him, no matter what.

I'm reading the book Storm by Jim Cymbala right now and it has encouraged me so much! He says, "Are we content to live without the reality of the presence of God, or will we seek Him for the spiritual renewal that will bring grace beyond our wildest dreams and much glory to God?" I'm all in.....I want that Presence in my life every day! God can do things in our lives beyond our wildest imaginations when we give Him the keys to our hearts......and relinquish our control. Have your way, Jesus.

         

When You Just Can't Blog...

.....but you sit down and try anyway because there are so many thoughts swirling through your brain that maybe if you let just a few out, the rest can keep still awhile longer.

It's quiet in the house right now, the children are enjoying an hour of reading time, the raspberries are picked, the fresh bread is sliced and in the freezer, the kitchen is tidy, and I am at the computer with a head full of jumbling thoughts.

The last month has been an adventure. Leon and I spent almost 2 weeks on a mission trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with our youth group while our 4 children were having the time of their lives with their "South Carolina cousins". The day after we arrived home, the boys went to camp for 5 days. Next week the girls and I go on a 4 day jaunt with my Mom and sisters to Oklahoma, my Mom's old stomping grounds, as a birthday gift for my Mom. We'll be home 4 days and then we all head to TN for a Stutzman family gathering. In between traveling, we have a garden to tend, a yard to mow, and a house to maintain. I'm trying to keep our at-home schedule calm and stress-free.

God did so many amazing things for us on our mission trip. Wow! Just wow! Somehow we thought it would be life-changing for the youth kids, but it surprised us in a lot of ways the impact it had on Leon and I. Random people spoke into our current situation and the Holy Spirit revealed Himself to us over and over again. Right now, most of this stuff is buried inside of me and I'm slowly mulling over it bit by bit.

We are at an incredibly fun stage with our family. We just love, love all the fun things we can do together, and all the crazy laughter, and the deep, serious talks we can have too. Sometimes we say to each other, "Was that too much to share with our kids?"  but they love to be able to sit down with us and hear what God is doing in our hearts and to hear the direction He's leading our family in. Sometimes I think adults take for granted how children think, and brush them off as not old enough to "get it" when in fact, they "got it" a long time ago.






a fun bike ride back in May-

Umbrellas and little girls-

A week before mission trip, I flew to Colorado with my Mom for the wedding of my niece, Naomi. Here I am with my sisters and my Mom.

 And with the beautiful bride.

We celebrated Father's Day early in June because we knew we'd be traveling when Father's Day rolled around. These next several pictures are so true to life for the kind of Dad my children have. Here we are- home from church, so, so hungry for Sunday lunch, and Leon sees a bird's nest way up in the tree. So he gets the ladder and hoists the girls up, one by one, in their Sunday finery, to see the little birds. This is a very normal scene at our house. Our children are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing Dad!

Good-bye, for now.

Thesummerthatflewby

This summer just may go down in history as being our most jam-packed one yet, but wait, I say that every summer don't I?

Memorial Day weekend found us back on our campsite, working on fixing up the cabin and clearing some brush. We invited Leon's family over for a 'trash can supper' the last evening.

 This is how Brooke eats breakfast in the rain.

 It poured rain one afternoon, so the children got to hang out in the cabin and read.

  Corn hole!

And then we had VBS at church, which Leon and I helped plan.

Our family vacation came right on the tail of VBS, then I was home for 4 days before I left for a Stutzman Ladies weekend at a cabin in TN celebrating the big sister's 40th. What a grand time we had!

This was the good group picture.

 This was the funny group picture. See, dear Heidi handles the camera and all, but on her mad dash to join us before the camera flashed, she wiped out on the just-rained-on deck and this is what happened.

 Heidi was the crafty brain behind these lovely wooden signs and Jen and Elaine helped her. What fun to choose our own and personalize them with our own color scheme.

The birthday girl herself, painting her sign.

 Megan baking muffins in the kitchen. This is what she thinks of cooking for her sisters in law. (The lighting is terrible in this picture, but I'm not up to editing pictures right now.)

 My sweet mother-in-law, getting a much deserved foot soak.

The famous game of Blok-us.

 We ate good food, spent a day on the lake on a pontoon, ate at Olive Garden, played games, watched a movie, read, hunted for bears, ;) enjoyed the lovely remote area, laughed at the chicken crossing the road, soaked our feet, and shared encouraging words with each other. It was a treasure of a weekend!

I sent my oldest son to camp the very day after I returned from TN. How can we possibly have a child old enough to go off to camp for 5 days?! We missed Logan so much but he had a fantastic time. While he was gone, I totally re-painted the boy's room as a surprise for him. Jamison helped me with the floor.

Immediately after he returned, Leon's sister and her family arrived and stayed with us for the next 9 days. What fun we had! The children enjoyed their cousins so much! We adults enjoyed some wonderful conversations as well! And I didn't take one picture!

Other summer fun.....

snapping beans, which the children do not enjoy but their Mom is very grateful for their help, and since they eat a lot of food, the Mom thinks it is only right and fair that they help out!

playing Narnia......

Trying out new work shoes and having your Mom laugh at your style...or lack of style...

 taking pictures of the kittens and having Mom delete most of them...

mowing yard, weeding the garden, swimming, riding 4 wheeler, building extravagant creations in the sandbox, playing in the old barn......

Last Saturday, Leon and Annika went to pick up a pony for the children. It is Annika's dream come true. She has been taking very good care of Cherokee ever since she joined our family, even going so far as to scoop up every little pile of manure she drops in the yard.  I hope Cherokee knows how loved she is.

In the middle of all the fun, Jamison celebrated his 11th birthday. Being the big boy that he is, he didn't even fuss that it went mostly un-noticed. :)We are still planning a celebration.

Two and a half weeks until school starts! The children groan and complain but I think we are all ready for a school schedule again.

 The children pulled out the tent again and are enjoying sleeping in the yard. Somehow sleeping outside never gets old.

And that's a quick run down of our summer, thus far.