family

Happy July!  Yes… these are precious days with life being lived and memories being made.  Today, this little girl celebrates her 15th birthday.  Truly, it seems as if she should still be five years old.  Happy birthday, dear Abigail!

Among other things to celebrate, we’ll be heading to the driver’s license place later today for that all important permit!  It makes me think of that commercial where the dad is seeing his little girl ask for his car keys, when she is actually a grown up teenager.  {I can see you now… many of you are sweetly shaking your heads and thinking of your own grown up little babies, aren’t you?}

Speaking of grown up little babies, I “accidentally” heard the MOST CONVICTING radio show the other day.  And did God ever speak loudly to me! I downloaded the show’s podcasts and since Saturday, I’ve listened to it THREE times already!  It’s on the difference between a wise parent and a worried parent – especially in dealing with our older children – teens to adults – those who are out there making decisions on their own and how we, as parents, are to react and treat them.  Oh how I need those timely words!  {Let’s just say that I’ve not been doing so great a job in this area lately.}   It was the Weekend show of ParentingTodaysTeens.org, and the show was entitled, Parents Moving from Worry to Wisdom (you can listen to it here).  The whole website {articles, videos, advice, much needed topics, and radio broadcasts} is an amazing resource… and I have bookmarked it and will be visiting often!  In fact, I soaked in words of wisdom toward many of the questions that have been rambling around in my mind over this past year – just from their website’s front page.  I can’t recommend it highly enough!   Let me know if you already know of this ministry and if God has used it in helping you parent. 🙂

Yes, these are precious days in which we are living.  Not always easy ones… but valuable ones.  As Summer speeds by, our days have been FULL of activity ~  but I’m noticing that at the end of the day, even the mundane busy-ness, done together as a family, weaves into a precious memory.

I had no idea how crazy summers could become, with the aging of the children.

Back when the children weren’t old enough to have their own lives, we would awaken and dress in our swim suits and cover-ups, do our “morning routines,” then spend the rest of the day in summer bliss.  Swimming pool, afternoon naps, play dates, reading, movies, and early bedtimes.  Man, those were the good ole’ days of Summers past.  Though I love our lives now… I’m afraid that those slow Summer days have “Gone with the Wind.” 😉

Nathan is now driving & by the end of the day, Abigail will have her permit.  Ahhhh… Teen Drivers!

In the past three weeks, Nate has been to two college football camps, James has been to Africa & back and Nashville & back (more Africa pictures later… but this amazing one was taken by our friend, Jackie),

Abigail has finished Drivers Ed, I’ve been back & forth to my mom’s (my sister is visiting from CO), we’ve completed VBS, trained (partly – haha) a new puppy, I’ve started teaching Kelly Minter’s Bible Study, Ruth (and love it, btw), we’ve had all kinds of spend-the-night-company, and last week, we hosted “Coco’s Daycare” (what the little loved ones in my life call me.) Coco’s Daycare consists/consisted of swimming, iPads, Netflix, Cleveland’s train museum, iPads, Netflix, doughnuts, cookies, iPads, Netfilx, hotdogs, pizza, iPads, Netflix, tissue flower crafts, milkshakes, iPads, Netflix, playground time, laughter, tears, board games, iPads, and Netflix.  Don’t judge. 😉 haha  After the first day, “whatever it takes to keep everyone happy” was the mantra!

It really has been a crazy few weeks – that’s why ye ole’ blog has been on the quiet side lately.  July seems to be a little emptier on the family calendar and we’re hoping to get some sleep, and sun, and at least of a few days of that lazy summer lifestyle we all so fondly remember. 😉

So this past weekend, when Nathan and Abigail went on a youth white-water rafting trip, James and I slipped away to a beautiful cabin on a private lake.  Some blessed and generous friends loaned it to us, and for the first 36 hours, we did absolutely N.O.T.H.I.N.G!  Nothing but sleep and watch TV and enjoy the beautiful scenery around us.  Our cell phones didn’t work too well out there, and we couldn’t get internet at all.  It was wonderful.  James finally caught up on his missed sleep from his Africa/Nashville trips, and me?  I just enjoyed “being.”  We both spent sweet times with the Lord and each other,  and returned home rested, rejuvenated, and ready for whatever God has planned for this coming week and month.

Whether your days are busy or restful, you’ve been on my mind and in my prayers, and I pray that you are walking out each day with the Lord, deeming whatever the days hold as precious to both Him and to you.  Ttyl, my friends~