Summer

Oh my

Has it really been over two weeks since I've posted... or should I admit... even thought about this space here? Not surprisingly, life is busy right now and I don't have the fortitude to remember everything I like keeping up with. So little tiny places get neglected... like here. But I want to keep posting. I'll just have to settle for little bits here and there.

Our June is going good even though we all still feel wet from this rainy season that just won't end. I have all of my canning and jam making supplies ready to go, I'm just waiting for two full days of sun so I can pick my strawberries (did you know? pick your fruit after at least two days of sun because the sun brings out their natural sugars and makes them oh so sweet).

And I've been bookmooching like crazy. It's been a fun way to get rid of old books and get new (to me) books in return. Plus, I love knowing that some of my books are headed across the country, or even to a new country, to a new home. I find the thought of it a bit... romantic. That something I read in my quiet time is now being read by someone else and tucked away on their shelf at night. Between that and my library holds that keep coming available, I'm reading quite a bit.

We finally made it to the beach and rented a cute little cottage right on the water. It was perfect and cozy and made me so glad we decided, spur of the moment, to go. The boys loved it of course... we all did. And it brought on more conversations of traveling and how we just need to get up and go if that's what we want more of. It made me excited about schooling at home because it leaves us more time to travel and gives us a lot of potential learning material. Maybe not right yet... but Scotland... we have our eye on you first.




Gavin is sweet and beautiful and amazing and everything I love about babies and everything I love about my babies. He's two months old (I KNOW!) and he's taking naps during the day now and smiling all the time. He recognizes voices and responds to us. He endures his brothers' bumps, hard kisses, and smothering hugs. And we love his bright eyes, cooing noises, and bubbles he blows.




Right now, Gavin is sleeping upstairs and Jeremy and the two older boys are playing XBOX Lego games. I'm sitting in a darkening office listening to them talk and reason and strategize with one ear perked for Gavin's first whimpers to let me know he's waking up. My days are busy just like most moms with little kids... filled with errands, cooking, cleaning, diffusing arguments and fights, doing laundry, and taking a break on the couch regularly to nurse a little one. But it's good. So very very good. Some days are really hard. Some days I wonder if I can do it at all and then I pray, quietly to myself, for the stress to stay away, for grace to come in it's place, and for only kind words to come out of my mouth. Most days I succeed... some I don't. But it's getting better and I'm getting the hang of it and I feel like we're all in it together which is what I want most of all. Life is good.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

"No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne -- everything -- to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is -- it's true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle -- the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture. And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend. This is the Child who would one day -- but wait. Our Story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning..."

Excerpt from the greatest children's Bible ever written. Beautiful, simple, honest and makes me fall in love with Jesus over and over again. I highly, highly recommend it.