Highlights of the summer:
**We moved into Jamie's house at the very end of May and celebrated Bennett's first birthday with friends and family in our new house. The space and the deck and the yard and the easy in-and-out has been such a blessing. Our tenants are awesome and it's awesome that we didn't have to move far.
**The boys were home with me and we had passes to Tweetsie, the children's playhouse and Blowing Rock pool. So we stayed at home all day maybe 2 days this summer and instead met friends wherever we could! We played hard most mornings and took long naps in the afternoon.
**In June we had friends from my mom facebook group come up and we met them for a day at Tweetsie. It was a perfect day spent with all our (almost) 3-year-olds and our families.
**Grayson took two weeks of swimming lessons with his friend, Addie Rose. Each morning I got to hang out and chat with my friend, Amy while the kids learned to blow bubbles and "reach and pull."
**We went fishing with Dad (Grandpa) and friends several times. The best trip was with Aunt Kirbi when everyone caught LOTS of fish and Grayson got to scoop them up with the net!
**We spent several Friday nights at Valle Crucis park for Music in the Valle with friends soaking up community and watching our boys play.
**Brandon and I got to go on a kid-free trip to Nashville in June for a couple days. We met up with old friends, drank lots of coffee and stayed in the cutest little bungalow.
**We went with family and friends to see Horn in the West. It rained and wasn't nearly as good as it used to be but it was still family time and Grayson did talk his grandpa into buying him a stuffed bear. (winning!)
**We went to the beach over and over: We went to Holden for long weekends in both June and July and spent time with Brandon's family. We went out on the boat, ate ice cream from Beaches n Cream and had slushies from Sunset Slush. We spent a morning with Boone friends on the beach and Sunday evenings under the bridge listening to music! We played in the pool daily and Brandon's parents kept the boys a couple times so Brandon and I could have walks on the beaches together.
**We had a couple evenings with friends and a firepit. Nothing better than s'mores, good conversation, and people you love.
**July 4th weekend was filled with friends and family and fireworks and parades and good food at Bethel Blast. We wore a ton of red, white and blue and ate way too much candy from the parades.
**We went to Ocean Isle with my family in July for a week. We had the perfect condo with an amazing view - coffee on the porch every morning and family swims most evenings. I actually read a whole book. We rode the ferry over for music and fireworks and Britt's Donuts and we had the most amazing weather all week. It was a dream for us all to have a beach week together!
**In July we celebrated Grayson turning 3 with our families. We decided not to have a big birthday party but just to celebrate with presents and a big dinner at home. And it was perfect. Grayson ate more cake over the course of a week than he should have and he loved telling people that he is now 3!
**Also in July we spent a week of evenings at Brushy Fork's Vacation Bible School. I helped with the 3-4 year old class and it was a week of fun (and exhaustion). Grayson loved going each night and I loved seeing all those kids learning about Jesus and serving one another. The music teachers even found Grayson a song about God making the dinosaurs and it was a huge hit with all the kids!
**Aunt Christi came up for a few visits and Grayson loved having her "live with us." We even talked Aunt Megan into driving up for a sleepover at the Queen Street house.
**Now, here I am, sitting at the lake with some of my best friends, on our last trip before we get back into the routine of work, and I am overwhelmed with how blessed I am. We were joking sitting on this giant porch with a breeze and a view of the lake that we could almost just cry at how perfect it is. I am so thankful to my husband and parents for making it easy for me to leave the boys and come play for a few days. I woke up this morning, spent time with Jesus, drank coffee, jogged (and walked) 3 miles and got to sit down to type this up. Today we will ride on a boat and talk about kids and school and Jesus. We will laugh and cook amazing food like barbecue chicken and s'more dip. We will soak up the sun and each other. And all I can think over and over is how blessed I am.
I am blessed that I was able to keep my kids home for the summer and use the money from daycare to play and make memories with my family. I am blessed to have friends and family that love us and will spend time with us. It's not necessarily about the things but about the time. I am so thankful for the gift of time I was given this summer.
Being a teacher is definitely hard work and it really doesn't pay all that well but it really does give the gift of time. I had a whole summer (and I will again.) I will have breaks and snow days and I get off at 3:10 every day. Even if I may not leave at that time every day - I still have the gift of my evenings with my boys. And in two short years Grayson will be at school with me. So today I am even thankful for my job as a teacher and the kids that I will get to love in a couple weeks.
Today, I put aside the things I could be complaining about. Just because I had a "perfect summer" doesn't mean that my life is perfect. Nor does it mean I will always be feeling the good emotions of a fun weekend with friends and an awesome summer. Brandon and I are praying hard believing for some things in our life and feel overwhelmed sometimes. We are in a season of transition and sometimes it brings sadness but we trust in a God who works all things for our good. We have seen his faithfulness and will trust Him in all things. And instead of dwelling on the hard - I will praise Him today for all He has blessed me with - especially for the perfect summer and these last few perfect days on the lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment