Summer 2010 Recap

Before you begin trying to read this post, I must tell you that this rundown of my summer is the way that I am dealing with the guilt of not blogging about each individual event. It's a quick way to catch up on my family scrapbooking...

Bear with me.

Back in May, it was like I was sitting in my little row boat on the shore, looking out over a body of water...but I couldn't see the other shore.




That's how the summer seemed to me this year.
Big and overwhelming.

Good big and overwhelming.
Fun big and overwhelming!

But still...big and overwhelming.

So...I started paddling, constantly thinking about all the water surrounding me.

June came and so did our vacation to Sheboygan, Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan.






Carrie and William went to church camp.







Vacation Bible School.






Our field trip to the lavender farm.






July came and went as quickly.

The annual Fourth of July party at our house.












My cousin's baby shower up north.






Brandy's (my soon-to-be sister-in-law) bridal shower that Carrie and I hosted up north.












Setting up Carrie's high school schedule and figuring out transcript-keeping.



Joshua's swim lessons.














Then, all of the sudden, it was August!

Carrie and William were fitted for their bridesmaid and groomsman clothes.




The beginning of the new school year for our homeschool group.








Ron and Judy's 50th Wedding Anniversary and party!














Getting ready for Carrie and William's trip to the Grand Canyon with Grandma and Grandpa.






Filing last year's schoolwork away and pulling together the things needed to begin this school year.





Now, here I am, still paddling, but I can see the other shore, with Rob and Brandy waving to us from their wedding day!

I look back at what I thought was one big wave--one that I thought had the power to take me under at times. But now I realize it was really many small currents, steadily pushing me to the other side of the summer.

Enjoyable, calm, warm currents.

Isn't that how life is?
When you look too far ahead, that lake, with its calm currents, looks more like an ocean with hurricane strength winds.

Matthew 6:34
I like how The Message says it...
(emphasis mine)

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

And how many times do I have to read that and remind myself of that?

How much time do I waste in worrying about what is to come rather than enjoying the right now?

Another case of reminding myself that I should be...


Enjoying the Journey,

The Stories Behind the Pictures

I have found, from talking to other people, that you either have a memory like a video camera or a memory like a snapshot camera.

Paul's grandma, Jane, has one of those video camera memories. She can turn on the video player in her mind and tell stories in such detail that you would believe you had been there too. I love listening to her tell stories.

Oh, how I wish I had that kind of memory.

My memory?
It's the snapshot kind.

William used to ask me to tell him stories about when I was a little girl.

I would have to pull out the shoebox in my mind of unorganized, unlabeled photos and thumb through them to find one that would be story-worthy.

The pictures that should be placed together are most often spread throughout the box...or lost. There are a few strips of negatives in there, but you know how hard it is to hold up a negative to the light and tell what that backward figure represents.

I have found that the best way for me to retain any memories is to journal.
Not the "handwritten in a pretty journal" sort of journaling.
Not the "get out my scrapbooking paper and tools" sort of journaling.
Blogging is the best way for me to journal this life of ours so that I can tell the stories my kids crave.

So...here are just a couple of "behind the scenes" stories that I don't ever want to forget.


I think I mentioned that I forgot to pack the can opener on our trip to Wisconsin.




But Paul came to the rescue!




I think that he opened two cans like this before asking William...




"Do you have your Swiss Army Knife with you?"
William says, "Yes. Right here in my pocket."
Paul asks, "Does it have a can opener?"
William answers, "Yep!"
Paul rolls his eyes.

I guess William was having too much fun watching Paul open cans with a screwdriver and ratchet to even think about the can opener in his pocket.

This is a story that they both like to tell...and laugh at.




The other story is one from our Wisconsin trip too.
And...it's one involving Paul and William again.

After visiting the Nature Center, we decided to take a short hike on the Kohler Dunes Cordwalk.






I'm not exactly sure why, but William was a little grumpy about taking this hike.

Grumpy for William is a sort of grumble.

"I don't want to go on a hike."
"Let's turn around and go back."

So...you can imagine how happy he was when he saw that a section of the cordwalk was closed.




"I guess we'll have to turn around and go back now!"
Paul says, "We're more than halfway back to the Nature Center now. We're not going back."
William says, "But it's closed! It might be dangerous! We can't take the little boys across there."

By this time, the little boys were already across.




This is a picture of Paul on the other side.




And the hike continues.




The second half of the hike was quieter.
No more grumbling.




William said shortly after the hike that it was a good hike and that he was happy that we finished it.

William is a bit like me.

O.K....a lot like me.

Apprehensive of the unknown.
Afraid that he and his loved ones might get hurt.

He has the perfect Dad and I have the perfect husband.

He pushes us gently past our comfort zones and into the unknown, reminding us that we are in this together.


Enjoying the Journey,