There was an element of Celebration and Community in all the high points of our month.

As I looked at the calendar to jog my memory, I was kind of amazed that we have fit so much into the past four weeks. May is crazy.

Camping trip at Vogel State Park

The highlight of the month, and possibly the year, was our camping trip.

We have vacationed with friends several times over the years. This year we joined three families at Vogel State Park in the North Georgia mountains.

The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the fellowship was life-giving.

There were twenty of us–8 adults and 12 kids–in four tents on 3 camping sites.

We brought smoked brisket for lunch. This is one of Sam’s favorite things to do–and to eat. 18 hours of cook time is well worth the satisfaction of sharing it with friends who enjoy it as well as we do.

We swam in the lake, we took a brief hike to a waterfall, and we trekked to the restroom a million times.

The kids played tag, they made s’mores, they played with sticks…

… and they played with burning sticks, and they played with rocks—this is the stuff memories are made of.

These families are some of the dearest, truest friends we have ever had, and we have share real life in fellowship with them. We are so aware that these relationships are a gift.

 

The others spent two nights, but we spent only one night there. That was plenty for us, being the ones with the youngest baby. Also, we were working around the girls’ dance recital.

Dance Recital

The girls have danced for several years, mostly under the instruction of our dear Miss Erin. She is not just a dance teacher—she is a wonderful woman who cares about character and the formation of our girls’ hearts. Her class is ministry and worship. And it’s fun.

Speaking of the girls…

They finished 3rd and 1st grades.

I can’t believe it.

They have both had wonderful teachers, who have been perfect personalities for each of them—we could not have hand picked a better fit for either of them. It’s amazing what a school year can teach, not just in academics, but in character and perseverance.

E did well in all her classes, was a good friend to all her classmates, and has grown up quite a bit this year. She has learned to own her errors and forgetfulness, which has taught her responsibility that comes no other way. 

K has learned to push through and apply herself in a way she had never been required to before. In fact, her thank you note to one of her teachers expressed appreciation for “pushing me to do my best.”

They are great kids and we continue to be challenged and inspired by them. It was so fun to celebrate their accomplishments with their friends at their class parties.

The littlest one turned 15 months and I can hardly believe he’s only been part of the family for just over a year. He’s too much fun. He’s a boy through and through, he loves cars, motors, sticks, and mud/water.

He pretends he’s driving and pretends he’s playing a violin and pretends he’s … well, mostly just pretends he’s driving. He loves to drive.

He wants to play the violin like his big sissy, but he’s barely allowed to touch it. He hums the songs that K has learned to play—on pitch—and has learned to hold a toy violin and take a bow. It is obvious that our violin teacher is hoping for him to be her pupil before long.

For any mom with a newborn, wondering when that precious little swaddle bug will sleep through the night, none of my children are examples who will give you hope. He’s 15 months and is still waking once or twice or four times, except for on rare occasions. Maybe next month.

T is cutting about 6 new teeth right now, so that may explain it. It’s okay. Sleep or not sleep, we still love him.

At least we have been able to put him in his bed awake, rather than nursing to sleep only and always. This is a huge step… even if I have to lie on the floor and keep telling him “I’m still here, go to sleep, goodnight,” before slinking away after I’m sure he’s asleep.

Baby steps.

Elementary School Play

The girls and I left the boys at home, and got to attend a friend’s elementary school play. Our friend’s daughter played the Sultan in Aladdin Kids. It was so well done for a group of 8-12 year old kids. Having a chance to go out, just us girls, was a treat that we don’t often get.

 

We sold in a community garage sale.

Several other families who completed FPU participated in a church/community yard sale on the church lawn.

Sam was at a seminar that weekend so I got to set up, manage, and tear down our stuff on my own – thank goodness my parents were there manning their own stuff, and were able to share kid-watching duties!

Overall, it was fun and hot and we got some stuff out of the garage. And it was fun because we did it together. Even though the kids wandered to the other sales and spent as much as they made, we did manage to make some money!

Thirteenth anniversary celebration

Sam and I don’t know much compared to a lot of couples, but we sure know more and have practiced more healthy ways of being together than we did a dozen years ago. Being able to walk together in God’s plan for us has been the greatest privilege of my life.

So, an anniversary celebration with three kids, during the last week of school, on a weeknight, is not really a snazzy affair. This event involved me getting the (tired, cranky) kids in the van, after school and a late nap, heading to Aldi, and grabbing the groceries we needed plus the fixings for my first attempt at a charcuterie board.

I sold the idea to the kids by saying it’s like a bunch of snack foods on the table, like fancy cheese and meats and fruits, and even chocolate, for dinner. They were all for it. But as far as I could tell, they only ate a few bites of cheese and grapes and went after the chocolate. They had cereal. Whatever.

Lest you think we are super fancy, this is how we actually rolled.

On the same day we celebrated our anniversary, my brother and his wife welcomed their second daughter. We will always remember her birthday now that we share a special day.

Strawberry picking and making jam

For several years I have enjoyed picking strawberries and making strawberry jam for teacher gifts. Somehow the thought of making something good and sweet for teachers will stand out and be thoughtful and economical. Sure. Whatever. Fact of the matter is, the kids don’t pick berries very well, and it’s not actually economical by the time you add in the cost of driving to the farm, buying the jars and lids, and spending almost an entire day. But the experience, right?

The extra fun part about making jam this year is that our air conditioner quit working.

Thankfully, our neighbor across the street is an HVAC expert, and he’s helped us before, so he was able to set us up quickly. We are so grateful that we had what we needed to pay for it without credit, also. The Lord has been faithful to give us what we need when we need it.

Meanwhile we made use of all our ceiling fans, and we learned to be grateful to God for the rain that came through every afternoon those days.

Home group

During the weekend of no air conditioning, we hosted home group. These wonderful people get extra points for coming to our house while it was so warm indoors.  They also get extra points for bringing ice cream for our snack.

We usually host home group twice a month when it’s our month to host. The time before we met where the kids could play and we were educated in the fine Southern art of extracting honeysuckle nectar.

One of our home group families is among our camping buddies. The other core family is moving away this week and we will miss them dearly.

Week-long social media break

While many of these things went on, I was on a social media break.

It was in response to what I believe God is trying to work out in me as it relates to freedom—for me and my kids. There is more to process, but I know I’ll share more about it before long.

So I deleted the facebook and Instagram apps from my phone, and quietly stayed off from Sunday to Saturday. I did use the computer to pop onto facebook for about 5 minutes on Wednesday to check on an event, and I made sure I wasn’t missing anything dramatically important. Turned out, I wasn’t.

The whole wide world online went on without me and nobody even noticed. It’s healthy to have a reality check on one’s self-importance occasionally.

What I’m reading

Because I was not spending any time on social media, I had time to read.

Maybe you’ve seen the packages for the “Ultimate Bundles” that float around every so often. I bought the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle from Moneysavingmom.com and in it was a three month subscription to Scribd.  

Scribd is an e-book service, and you can access the books from a phone, computer, or ereader with internet capabilities. If you give it a try, you can get 2 months free. If you use my link, I’ll get a free month. [<– Affiliate link]

It has been fantastic. Sam has been listening to audiobooks on his commute. I have finished two books and started another three, just within the week without Facebook and Instagram.

Just Open the Door

I listened to all of Just Open the Door by Jen Schmidt,and I loved every single chapter.

I had listened to her interviewed and I heard Crystal Paine’s wholehearted prerelease review on Moneysavingmom.com, and had heard the book recommended by several people, then started following Jen on Instagram. She is so full of life and encouragement and practical help. The book is easy to read and it was so fun to listen to, but I am pretty sure I am going to need my own copy to highlight and to lend out.

The biggest takeaway is encouragement to “just open the door” as a way of life–to your friends, neighbors, your kids’ friends, and people whom you have just met. You never know what joy and life can be found by sharing your life and home.

Just open the door, whether or not the carpet is vacuumed, the furniture is threadbare (this was balm to my heart… if you’ve seen our couch, which is several years from being replaced, you’d understand), or the blinds are dusted. People care more about experiencing a welcome than critiquing one’s housekeeping. (That’s what I tell myself every time we have company, anyway.)

The tag line is “how one invitation can change a generation.” It sounds so grand and far-reaching, but it is truly the way that the gospel works. If there is something in your heart that wants to be free to have people in your home, this is the book you need to get your hands on and embrace with your whole heart. She is writing a Bible Study companion to this book. I love her heart for community and hospitality, and her desire to share and equip women to grow in these areas.

Screwtape Letters

For some reason my middle-of-the-night-on-my-phone reading was C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. I had read most of it years ago but never finished it. While visiting with a friend, she mentioned that she had read it, and it was significant. Because of what we have been walking through, it was relevant to us, and I was encouraged by it.

The premise of The Screwtape Letters, if you haven’t read it, is that this is an intercepted series of fictional letters written from “Uncle Screwtape,” an elder demon, to his nephew apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to slyly torment and keep his human charge from effective life as a Christian.

It’s full of fascinating insight and it addresses so many of the slick issues we see in us as believers—emotionalism masquerading as prayer life, judgment of one’s fellow believers, and becoming obsessed with the favor of peers.

I’m currently reading:

You Are What You Love

I’ve somehow been included in a small online group of readers from around the country. They are professors, business owners, missionaries (or former missionaries), ranging from boomers to millennials. They think big thoughts and talk about important things like culture and faith and current events and life transitions. They read books and they get together and discuss them. I haven’t met up with them yet, but one of these days I will. It’s enough that I am reading at all, and sometimes participating in the big thought discussions.

One author they have been reading lately is James K.A. Smith. I’m reading his book, You Are What You Love. They’re reading others of his that discuss books by heavier authors, and I’m not ready to tackle them, but You Are What You Love is readable and interesting.
This is a fascinating book; it discusses humans as being not just “thinking beings” but “loving beings.” We are not just brains on legs, but we follow what our hearts desire. This explains why just knowing things doesn’t change us; it’s the power of habit. I’m about one third of the way through so far.

If You Only Knew, by Jamie Ivey.

I am listening to the audio book narrated by the author, and it is so full of honesty and a heart to bring God glory through telling her story. I have kind of a girlcrush on Jamie through her podcast The Happy Hour and following her instastories. She’s the real deal, and fun as can be. I have about 2 hours left to go.

All The Feels

All The Feels is a compilation of “reflections on the emotions of motherhood.” It’s so good. I wish I had the funds to order one for all my girlfriends, so we could read it together and gather over coffee and let our kids run amok while we laugh and sigh over the #momfails and the ups and downs of #allthefeels.

Really, we all need some good mom friends, who can help us navigate the craziness of motherhood. This book is great because it is like a mom group on paper. Oh, and the chapters are all just like three pages long. Because sometimes any more than that is frankly impossible.

It may be noted that I have also read The Pout-Pout Fish about 60 times this month. And that’s with it being lost under some furniture for the past week and a half. Somebody might be somewhat obsessed. T calls all fish, “Blub, Bluuub, Bluuuuuuuuub.”

[Note: If you follow the above links to Amazon.com, and if you make a purchase, I will make a small commission at no cost to you.)

 What I’m listening to:

I want to make note of two podcasts that were significant:

One was Jamie Ivey’s Happy Hour # 194 with Ruth Chou Simons. Again, I kind of love Jamie Ivey. But Ruth Simons is so sweet and so wise and so practical. She is an artist and author, and her heart is to share the grace and truth of the gospel in the practical everyday things. I got a kick out of it because she’s from China (Taiwan), like my husband’s family is—and like them she doesn’t need to use deodorant, and I enjoyed her story of being named by some guy who apparently picked her name, Ruth, out of thin air. Besides all those quirky things, she shared so much of her heart and the way that God has taught her to lean on him.

Another was a really insightful conversation on Mom Struggling Well, about being angry as moms. Mom Struggling Well #137 Mom Anger and Knowing our Triggers

It was so good, and I feel like I should probably listen to it every week, and I’d get something more out of it. If you are prone to getting fed up with people and finding yourself getting mad, angry, frustrated, irritated, exasperated, or any other ‘-ated,’ particularly at your kids, go ahead and give this one a listen. It is full of hope, not condemnation, and I believe I received revelation as to how to better handle my emotions and the way they impact my family because of it. Shoot, I want to listen to it again now.

So that’s what I’ve been up to this month.

No wonder I haven’t had the time to sit down to write more often!

With the kids all home, I’m not sure what my schedule will be like through the summer, but starting in September, T will be in preschool a few hours a week. I will have 8 hours each week without any kids. I can’t wait. Is that wrong to say when the girls have only been out of school for a week?

The next two months are full of birthdays, summer kids camp, and swimming and learning new skills.

 

What will you be doing next month? Was May a crazy month for you, too?

Linking with Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into