Summer is in full swing and I already feel like it's swooshing by. It's almost as if I can hear quiet, little voices saying "faster, faster, faster" each day. Of course, this is ridiculous and I'm probably only feeling this way because this is our first "real" summer where it will end with both girls going to school.
Let's rewind a bit though. We started the summer off with Betsy graduating from pre-school! This was a moment we can't skip over. We are so proud of our girl and she is SO ready for kindergarten! It helps that she's watched Anna truly love school all year long and so has been patiently waiting her turn to go. We attended Wee Care Christian Preschool in Fayetteville for the past 4 or 5 years (I can't remember!) and what an immense blessing it has been to our family.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it-Teachers are amazing, wonderful people and it takes a village to raise our kids! I am forever grateful to the kind and talented preschool teachers that helped prepare my girls for school!
Next up it was time for Anna to finish kindergarten. We had such an amazing kindergarten year! She had the nicest teacher ever, the school year was filled with such amazing learning opportunities and after-school clubs, and Anna learned to read! We certainly do learning time at home and really I consider all of life a teachable moment. But her teacher is the one that helped her learn to read step-by-step. Maybe I should have called this blog post "Ode to teachers"!
The day after Anna finished up kindergarten we started packing for our beach trip and hit the ground running with summer. The beach trip was just wonderful because it did feel slow. We would wake up and our only agenda was to eat, have fun, and maybe do a load of laundry or two. I mean, we vacationed hard and now that we're back home I'm so grateful we did.
Our summer days and weeks are filling up with so many good things. Pausing to photograph little moments here and there are my way of standing in the midst of the busy and laying my claim on what truly matters. I sometimes picture all the duties and responsibilities and activities in my day-to-day life as runners, all pushing and shoving to get to the finish line first. Then I picture myself standing firm, right smack in the middle of them all, big and tall with a rosy life sign. I think we choose how many of life's blessings go noticed or not. Sometimes, the blessings are much more difficult to find. Sometimes the issue isn't in the abundance of blessings, it's in the capacity to see and feel them.
That is where I find myself this summer.
Abundantly blessed and life at full capacity. Yet, if I'm not very intentional about stopping to smell the roses, missing it all together.
I didn't mean to go heartfelt in this post, it's just where I'm at this morning. Yesterday I shared with my mom-in-law that I made a list of all the things needing my attention, or at least the things on my mind on a daily basis. Housecleaning was of course on the list, as was exercising, cooking, gardening, keeping up with my community of friends, helping at church, painting, learning time with the girls, and more. This list wasn't even factoring in the fun outings the girls and I have. All it took was a quick glance at the list to see it was a bit crazy to imagine a person being able to do all that on a daily basis. So I've been trying to pick well.
Stopping for spiderwebs will always, always make the list.
"Don't you think the web itself is a miracle?"-Charlotte's Web
Our garden is producing so much and actually looks HUGE compared to this photo, which was taken some time ago. I'm a bit behind on my photos, as these were taken a month or so ago. Give the garden a bit of sunshine and some water and watch it burst! This week we got our tomatoes (not pictured here) staked and I am already anticipating all the delicious things I'll make. It's like The Night Before Christmas when the children have gum drops and lollipops dancing through their heads at night. Instead, this farm gal has tomatoes and visions of salsa, fried green tomatoes, spaghetti sauce.........
On the rare foggy mornings when we're actually home, there is nothing I love more than to take my camera outside and have a look around. These little webs in the grass always stop me in my tracks.
Especially when I zoom in and see the immense beauty and detail on one single web.
Life, zoomed in, is much the same isn't it?
Beautiful.
Detailed.
We've been having loads of fun filling up our kiddie pool from Wal-Mart and spending time outside. We are definitely outside people and I must type that very same sentence every single summer. Put quite simply, the sunshine just sustains us. There's almost nothing I love more than to have on shorts or a swimsuit, no makeup, and be working or playing outside. Brett and I keep dreaming up ideas for our yard again. We have a side yard that stays shaded all day long which is a slice of heaven in Arkansas humidity! We are wanting a picnic table or something to set in the shade. I am dreaming of string lights, of course. You can never have too many!
A few summer evenings we've gone fishing on our farm pond.
The most hilarious secret ingredient helped us catch some fish.
Gouda cheese!
Anna Ruth suggested we use cheese for bait because she had either read about it or seen it on a show. I said we could, mostly to please her. I was completely shocked when it actually worked!
Our creek is also in fine form this time of year. Of course, we take in the beauty with one eye, while watching for snakes with the other. There is something about the light and water here that is just pure magic to me. It can hardly even be described.
I have been filming my summer some here and there and the creek water definitely makes the cut.
A few other summer thoughts:
We find all kinds of moths and neat bugs outside and our favorite way to identify them is with this book: Nature Anatomy
I am enjoying-
Watching: America's Got Talent and World of Dance
Listening to: Annie F. Downs "That Sounds Fun" podcast, as well as the Relevant podcast
Drinking: Zevia soda-cream soda for daaaaaaaaays.
Eating: Corn on the cob, zucchini salad, garden potatoes, and Chips Ahoy every now and then
Reading: Everybody Always (already read, a must read for all), My Year with Eleanor (just started), and on my upcoming list, Love Lives Here, and Begin Again
Enjoying: journaling, painting (eventually maybe I'll have a sale again), eating outside, evening walks with Brett, catching fireflies with the girls, the sound of the happy birds, wildflowers, playdates with friends, braids, and a big one-my photography.
What are you up to this summer friends?
Is your summer slow or fast?
What are you reading/listening to/enjoying?
Beautiful thoughts and photos....thank you for sharing 🦋
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