1000 Gifts, Vol.5, #70

691.  God's sustaining grace through this month of July

692.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

693.  a cool spell mid-summer - aaah!

694.  quiet afternoon

695.  time for Jim and me to talk

696.  children napping well

697.  looking out at the lush green in our yard, after 

698.  a good (& needed) rain

699.  comfort food (spinach stroganoff for lunch; Boom Chicka Pop for snack)

700.  Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think

7-week summer

Our brief summer has already been so rich and full (and promises to continue that way until after school starts).  Despite needing the mental health benefits that come from writing posts here, this will most likely be my only post this month. 

We're alive. We're enjoying many wonderful visits with family and friends and times away ... some just our family and some with others. 

I can't wait to write here again after school starts!

Slow Summer Morning

Rare morning when the Farmer was up and gone long before any of the rest of us woke up. 

Corn about to tassle.

Heat wave about to come ... and stay.  :-(

Leisurely morning on our first "official" day of summer.

Sleeping in.

Sipping hot tea (while it's still hot!) and indulging in gluten-free fig cookies.

Little Guy dancing to the radio (Tim Zimmerman & The King's Brass).

Little Miss hanging her plastic key ring over the toy stroller handle, while she pushes a baby doll around the living room.

22 library books stacked up in our living room, and 5 more on our hold, more being added every day. :-)

Little Guy sitting in an oversized chair, leafing slowly through Peter Spier's "Noah's Ark," while studying the illustrations. "My favorite is when Noah had to pull the donkey in."  Aah, yes, ... but, well, that's not included in the biblical account. ;-)

Dishes and laundry and unpacking and copious amounts of paperwork for next school year will wait. We are sitting and being and enjoying.

PS - and the day will no doubt include easel time (see last post) -- painting or writing (yay for fine motor skill development!!) or teaching school to the rest of us.  :-)

New week

The week has started with two children afflicted with a (hopefully) 24 hour virus.  :(   The youngest spent the day playing, and giggling, and exclaiming, and saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" repeatedly just like normal. The oldest curled up on a chair and slept for hours.  When he woke, Mom let him watch Daniel Tiger for hours as a sick-day treat.  And then he fell into bed, too exhausted for stories or songs.

An angel in disguise came this morning (before we knew about the bug), and  ... where once the counters and sinks were full of dirty dishes, now they are not; where once the stove top and oven door were D-I-R-T-Y, now they are cleaner than ever; and where once the front room couch and floor were home to piles of clothes (winter clothes, outgrown clothes to hand down, and garage sale clothes for the next size), now one can actually sit on the couch!  Life is MUCH less overwhelming now.

We've acquired two new toys in recent days via facebook sell groups.

This musical set in a drum (see here) is a great hit (pun intended). 

I have passed by many easels waiting for the perfect one, and this weekend it popped up on our little village's sell group.  Melissa & Doug Standing Deluxe Easel - whiteboard on one side, chalkboard on the other, tray to hold paints, brushes, crayons, etc.  And roll of "butcher" paper in the middle.  I'm excited for some {?quiet} creativity to happen.  :-)

Bucket Lists

One morning at breakfast Little Guy, with a gleam in his eye, said, "Mommy, sometime we need to go skydiving."

This isn't my first experience with statements out of the blue, so I've learned to ask what it means.

"You get in an airplane. First you pay money. Then the airplane goes alllllll the way up to the sky.  Then you jump out."

And, so, that's on one little person's bucket list!!

My bucket list, on the other hand, is a little simpler... or maybe not. :)

* figure out how to print [Something changed, and I can no longer print from my phone or my laptop or Jim's desktop... 1st world problems!]

* figure out how to play Seeds Family Worship, Slugs & Bugs, and other songs on my phone in the car [maybe we just need unlimited data?!]

*figure out how to keep crumbs from getting on the floor during meals [a girl can dream!].

MIA

I didn't mean to go MIA.  We are in "keep your head above water" mode.

Today is a rare day where we're home for at least half the day.

Little Guy is in the back yard (in something like 150* heat). Earlier he had his vintage red wagon (with wooden sides) turned upside down and was "fixing" it. Now he's on his balance bike, holding a spiral bound booklet that lists the stations where he's taking his class (on a field trip, possibly?).

Little Miss is sitting looking at books.

(And there you have it ... boys & girls are different!) ;-)

It's summer ... but LG's school is still going strong. So, we're juggling summer Bible study at church, family reunions, trips to Wisconsin, later evenings, summer reading program, and the desire to go to parks & pools ... along with early mornings, packing lunches, and homework.

Our guest room is almost at full occupancy for July, so we're also in major house readiness mode!

Things we're enjoying:

• all-school field trip day (so much fun!),
• library summer reading program,
• our Friday mornings with Grandma,
• air-conditioning (after a repair this week- hurray!),
• summer fruit, and
• our first family swim night at a pool next to cornfields.

Day in the life

6 AM - stumble out of bed

6.30 AM - toddler wakes up crying (rare); sleeps on my shoulder for 15 minutes

6:45 AM - change & dress her

6:50 AM - tell 4 yr old over monitor to wake up

7 AM - negotiate because he is "so tired, Mom!"

7:20 AM - get in van, with both children (Congratulations, mom!), backpack w/ lunch, diaper bag, etc.

8:05 AM - when friend texts that they are running late, fill up with gas for $2.67!!!

8:20 AM - carseat switcharoo complete; pull out for errands

8:45 AM - Chick-fil-A breakfast with Little Miss (who could have eaten my whole breakfast!)

9:30 AM - appointment at Honda for routine maintenance

9:45 AM - free manicure because it's Ladies' Day

10:55 AM - pull up to Walmart's pickup zone

11.30 AM - pull into garage w/ sleeping child

12-12.40 PM - various texts and phone calls related to childcare for summer Bible studies at church

2 PM - lunch eaten, nap strike by LM going strong, dishwasher loaded, washing machine going, this week's boiled eggs in InstantPot, and ready for MY nap - ha!!

3 PM - due to today being the school carnival, we will leave 30-45 minutes late for pick-up