The Itch

I'm getting The Itch for fall routine.

This is both good and bad. Good because some years I've not had It even when I should, and bad because I don't want my inspiration and motivation to climax too soon. Although it's absolutely crazy to me that it's already the end of July and ohmyword we all know this next month will be gone in the blink of an eye, I also have to remind myself that it's only the end of July and that I really need to let these crazy days of summer take me for their ride a bit longer.

Here's the thing: I'm tired of loosey-goosey routines and consequent loosey-goosey attitudes from my children. I know that structure alone won't work miracles, but I also know that we all do a bit better when we know what's expected of us throughout the day.

Here's another thing: it's no longer 95-feels-like-105-with-the-humidity degrees outside (and inside, thanks to central air being a thing that has yet to reach the northeast) and this little reprieve from blazing heat makes me want to bake and light candles and harvest apples. Don't ask how 75* feels like a cold spell to a girl from northern NY who has lived through -30* days plenty of times in her life. It just does.

And here's the biggest thing: our curriculum for this coming school year is trickling in and I am excited! So many fun things to learn and discover! The piles of books for Read Aloud are stacking up and I wish I could just start them all 5 minutes ago. Seriously. I'm that excited!

So watch out, dear family in the little yellow house. This mama is doing her best to continue to let Summer carry her along, but she doesn't know just how much longer she'll be able to resist The Itch. Maybe you should pray for a heat wave that lands her poolside for another week or two!

Home again, home again

We are back in Madrid after our second of three road trips this summer. These past 10 days or so have been a bit of a whirlwind, but a fun one at any rate. Highlights::

:: 3 days with our really wonderful friends in the Syracuse, NY area while Aubrey had a routine cardiology appointment and was declared healthier than ever (!). We splashed in their pool, shopped a bit, ate too much delicious food, and enjoyed lots of conversation.

:: attending the wedding of a graduated student in the Rochester, NY area. It was a brief stop on our way to Pittsburgh, but long enough to catch up with several alumni. Words can't describe how awesome it is to know that the work of God continues in and through them in the places He has brought them since their time in northern NY as college students.

:: lots of visiting with friends and family in Pittsburgh during the week leading up to my sister-in-law's wedding this past Friday evening. We played games, talked lots, went to an amusement park, attended a Pirates game (they won!), ate out, had an early birthday party for Jocelyn and Bronwyn (who are 2 days apart in age and will be turning 6 in 3 weeks) and were generally spoiled rotten by everyone. The week went by too fast and, as always, there were more people and things we wish we'd had a chance to visit and see, but we were thankful for the time we had together celebrating Beth and Mark's marriage.

Now we're in our little yellow house again. It doesn't matter how much there is to do to catch up around here (the gardens, ohmyword!), it's good to be back. I love going other places, but I love coming home.

Lazy, Busy days of Summer

Summer is a strange season. I have a love-hate relationship with it.

Okay, a love-dislike relationship with it.

I love that I don't have to wake up in the morning, ready with a plan for how we will accomplish schooling, errands, chores, and social outings. These months, I greet most new days during the week with more of a Take It As It Comes attitude. It's an adventure all its own, Summer is.

I dislike that the kids are a bit more stir-crazy and that I have to stay one step ahead of them in order to keep their hands and feet pleasantly occupied with chores, activities, and special events-- no matter how much I try to convince them to just Take It As It Comes with me.

I love that it's warm. No bundling feet, hands, faces, and heads up before bracing ourselves for the cold air and wind that inevitably takes our breath away the minute we open the door.

I dislike that I am lazier when it's hot. What little ambition I possess in the cooler months simply vanishes at about 3pm when our kitchen is reaching 85* or more. Needless to say, we eat a lot of sandwiches in the summer.

I love that there are fresh flowers in vases in my house. Flowers I don't pay for, except with a little weeding, mulching, and TLC. My perennial gardens are still in the Development stage and, therefore, their produce is still somewhat meager, but nonetheless they provide us with bouquets that are all the prettier to me because they're mine.

I dislike that we are surrounded by flies and mosquitoes. Blah.

I love that everything seems slower in the summer. We sit on the porch. I don't hurry home to get the kids in bed on time. We linger at the campfire, unhindered by routine. I pause after hanging the laundry on the line just to stare at the sky.

I dislike that summer is so busy! There are always so many things I want to do-- good things, fun things, unusual things, new things-- and somehow I always find myself at this point at about this time in July: realizing the days are slipping like sand through my fingers and that it won't be long before I am putting together and enacting a new Fall Routine.

Really and truly, I love more than I don't. I wouldn't trade one minute of these Lazy, Busy days of Summer, but I'm glad there are only so many each year!

Growing

We are growing together, the seven of us that make up this family in this little yellow house.

Sometimes I give into the pressure that I need to know it all, have it all, be it all for these little people. That's not God-pressure, though. Sure, there's an aspect of parenting in which I require obedience from my children-- and hopefully I am keeping one step ahead of them so that I can point out the way to Jesus-- but it's not about me being better than them or smarter than them or holier than them. The truth is, there are also the moments when I am stopped short mid-sentence, realizing how sharp and hostile my words are-- knowing that I am setting a bad example, instilling fret where there should be security, weighing down when I ought to be lifting up. I get down on my knees and I pull little bodies close to myself.

Children are quick to forgive.
(I am challenged by their example in this.)

Claire is moving around these days. Not crawling, not even scootching. But somehow getting from the spot I sat her down to the other side of the room. And still sitting upright, at that.

We all gather around and cheer her on in each new thing. You should see the way the other kids beam when Daniel starts playing his guitar and she starts clapping her hands: you'd think she was the brightest and most clever baby that ever lived.

Baby

My 8-month-old beauty, Claire Evangeline