Summer Recap
So, weather wise, I feel like I could call this 'the summer that never was.' There was one day in July that was like 85 degrees. And other than that it has been in the low seventies and quite cloudy most days. Or raining. Lots of raining! I'm okay with it, I just think that it has to be a little frustrating for tourists and those that rely on tourists to pay their winter bills.
In other news...
We have stayed busy.
Miss E turned five in May and we celebrated with like four celebrations. Life was a little crazy that week and that's just how it turned out.
We didn't get to do our traditional family camping at Barakel over Memorial Day weekend. That was a bummer for three of us - Smiley Girl didn't have a clue that we were missing out on any type of tradition.
The week before Memorial Day it finally quit raining and TDM became so busy that none of us were sure whether he was coming or going. The girls struggled a little bit with whether or not Daddy was coming home each night because there were a few days when they literally didn't see him. He definitely put in some long hours for a few months. That was a hard season but we made it through.
Late May / early June brought a rush to sort, pack and get ready for my parents to move as well as a house hunt. And then nothing happened. The buyer had a hold up and plans were on hold for what seemed to be f-o-r-e-v-e-r! Days turned into weeks and then weeks turned into months of uncertainty. Finally (!) closing day came for the sale of their house and they had every intention of leaving the closing and putting an offer on a house that they had looked at weeks before that was still available - except that someone beat them to it and they were back at square one.
Moving day for them came at the end of July and then an intensive house hunt began. So far it has yielded nothing. It's been a frustrating time for them. Pray for them if you think of it ~ they have a budget to work with and it would seem that they are in a good position - with cash ready in hand ~ but nothing in their price range that meets their needs is showing up. We are confident that God didn't bring them to this place to leave them hanging, but in the mean time they are pretty frustrated as you can imagine.
Our office showed up in my living room one afternoon ~ that's been an interesting feat. Thankfully we aren't super busy and it has worked well so far, but wow, trying to keep two monkeys out of that stuff on a daily basis is interesting!
I shared earlier this summer about my decision to leave the business that my mom and I have had together since 1999. At this point September 30th will be my last official day but I know there will be a few paperwork details to deal with after that point. I know that this is the right move to make but it has been a little bit on the bittersweet side thinking about this transition.
TDM spent several Mondays and Tuesdays driving the luggage semi for Camp Barakel. He would leave our house way too early on Monday morning, head over to camp, load luggage and then travel south. At the end of the day he and several other guys would stay overnight and then reverse the process the following day. He really enjoyed the work, window shopping for busses, eating out and getting to know the guys from Barakel in a different way.
And I really enjoyed not making his lunch Monday and Tuesday mornings!
The girls and I have stayed busy park hopping this summer. We like the blue park the best, but we have hit the green park. And their favorite park. And the across the bridge park. Tonight we hit the fun park. They have names for all of them! Smiley Girl wakes up at seven most mornings. And most mornings by 7:30 am she has declared that she wants to go to the park! My forehead has sported more than one sunburn this summer as proof of our park days.
The last week of June I spent working out of town. We rented a farm house so that the girls and my sister in law and her kids could join me. That provided childcare during the day and a vacation feel in the evenings. All six kids (age 12 down to 2) had a blast around the farm - collecting eggs, push mowing the lawn, playing in the play house. And the moms enjoyed a little more carefree approach to the days and catching up with a mutual friend one evening.
We enjoyed the fourth of July with a cookout, fireworks and then a parade and fireworks with family the following day. Miss E was pretty pumped about 'Merica's Birthday this year. Smiley Girl liked the candy. I enjoyed catching up with a friend over ice cream. TDM just seemed happy to be with us - which we enjoyed an awful lot too.
We spent a good portion of last week at the county fair and have spent several afternoons in the pool since that is one of the amenities at my parents current digs.
The girls and I said goodbye to friends, which Miss E dealt with in a pretty factual way. She had a friend move away last fall and at that point we kind of avoided the subject until she brought the friend up and then we just told her that he didn't live at his house any more because his daddy got a new job. I think because it had happened before she had a little better understanding and knew that she wouldn't be seeing this friend again. Daddy's get new jobs and kids have to move. Her maturity about it was impressive.
Fall brings harvest season and Kindergarten, days at home for me and Smiley Girl. Family time and hopefully some ministry opportunities. As always, it will be interesting to stand on the other side of this season and see where we thought we were going and where the Lord actually took us.
In other news...
We have stayed busy.
Miss E turned five in May and we celebrated with like four celebrations. Life was a little crazy that week and that's just how it turned out.
We didn't get to do our traditional family camping at Barakel over Memorial Day weekend. That was a bummer for three of us - Smiley Girl didn't have a clue that we were missing out on any type of tradition.
The week before Memorial Day it finally quit raining and TDM became so busy that none of us were sure whether he was coming or going. The girls struggled a little bit with whether or not Daddy was coming home each night because there were a few days when they literally didn't see him. He definitely put in some long hours for a few months. That was a hard season but we made it through.
Late May / early June brought a rush to sort, pack and get ready for my parents to move as well as a house hunt. And then nothing happened. The buyer had a hold up and plans were on hold for what seemed to be f-o-r-e-v-e-r! Days turned into weeks and then weeks turned into months of uncertainty. Finally (!) closing day came for the sale of their house and they had every intention of leaving the closing and putting an offer on a house that they had looked at weeks before that was still available - except that someone beat them to it and they were back at square one.
Moving day for them came at the end of July and then an intensive house hunt began. So far it has yielded nothing. It's been a frustrating time for them. Pray for them if you think of it ~ they have a budget to work with and it would seem that they are in a good position - with cash ready in hand ~ but nothing in their price range that meets their needs is showing up. We are confident that God didn't bring them to this place to leave them hanging, but in the mean time they are pretty frustrated as you can imagine.
Our office showed up in my living room one afternoon ~ that's been an interesting feat. Thankfully we aren't super busy and it has worked well so far, but wow, trying to keep two monkeys out of that stuff on a daily basis is interesting!
I shared earlier this summer about my decision to leave the business that my mom and I have had together since 1999. At this point September 30th will be my last official day but I know there will be a few paperwork details to deal with after that point. I know that this is the right move to make but it has been a little bit on the bittersweet side thinking about this transition.
TDM spent several Mondays and Tuesdays driving the luggage semi for Camp Barakel. He would leave our house way too early on Monday morning, head over to camp, load luggage and then travel south. At the end of the day he and several other guys would stay overnight and then reverse the process the following day. He really enjoyed the work, window shopping for busses, eating out and getting to know the guys from Barakel in a different way.
And I really enjoyed not making his lunch Monday and Tuesday mornings!
The girls and I have stayed busy park hopping this summer. We like the blue park the best, but we have hit the green park. And their favorite park. And the across the bridge park. Tonight we hit the fun park. They have names for all of them! Smiley Girl wakes up at seven most mornings. And most mornings by 7:30 am she has declared that she wants to go to the park! My forehead has sported more than one sunburn this summer as proof of our park days.
The last week of June I spent working out of town. We rented a farm house so that the girls and my sister in law and her kids could join me. That provided childcare during the day and a vacation feel in the evenings. All six kids (age 12 down to 2) had a blast around the farm - collecting eggs, push mowing the lawn, playing in the play house. And the moms enjoyed a little more carefree approach to the days and catching up with a mutual friend one evening.
We enjoyed the fourth of July with a cookout, fireworks and then a parade and fireworks with family the following day. Miss E was pretty pumped about 'Merica's Birthday this year. Smiley Girl liked the candy. I enjoyed catching up with a friend over ice cream. TDM just seemed happy to be with us - which we enjoyed an awful lot too.
We spent a good portion of last week at the county fair and have spent several afternoons in the pool since that is one of the amenities at my parents current digs.
The girls and I said goodbye to friends, which Miss E dealt with in a pretty factual way. She had a friend move away last fall and at that point we kind of avoided the subject until she brought the friend up and then we just told her that he didn't live at his house any more because his daddy got a new job. I think because it had happened before she had a little better understanding and knew that she wouldn't be seeing this friend again. Daddy's get new jobs and kids have to move. Her maturity about it was impressive.
Fall brings harvest season and Kindergarten, days at home for me and Smiley Girl. Family time and hopefully some ministry opportunities. As always, it will be interesting to stand on the other side of this season and see where we thought we were going and where the Lord actually took us.
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