June is out and here comes July!

Last month was full and busy. Here’s what kept me occupied:

Blogging

The most obvious to you if you are reading this is that I started writing again. I established this site seven years ago, and it just broke 20 posts, so you can see how serious I was about it. I hope I can be consistent, continuously improving, and can produce something worthy of all our time–at least most of the time.

My main goal is to do my best, take the chance to share seriously, and be an encouraging voice on the Internet. I think we’ll have some fun, too. I believe I’m relaunching this venture in obedience. So here I am.

Chores

Since it’s summer, school is out, and I’ve implemented as much of a chore chart with the girls as I can. There are morning minimum actions (get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, etc.), and chores for every day that must be done before zoning out in front of a screen, plus just a few weekly chores. We have mostly stuck to it for the whole month, and it has made our days run much more smoothly. I slid them into page protectors and they check them off with dry erase markers.

My biggest gripe with the kids’ chore charts in the past was they were a) too complicated, b) too incentive-driven and eventually the kids didn’t care anymore, and c) somehow tied to my accomplishing my own chores. For them to unload the dishwasher I had to run it. For them to put away their clothes meant that the clothes had to actually come out of the dryer. That is crap.

So this time I made them only responsible for things that they can do, without being tied to my accomplishments, or lack thereof. Making their bed, reading, sweeping the floor, etc. This summer they are cleaning their bathroom. It’s remarkable. They’re also older than they were a year ago. That makes a big difference.

Play Dates

Having the girls pitch in daily to maintain order in the house has helped me be better prepared for play dates. Toward the end of school I felt impressed to open our home weekly for play dates. It was an open invitation and it was absolutely lovely. We had fun and it was so life-giving to have friends in our house one morning a week. Some friends said I’m brave. I think I’d rather have friends here than drive somewhere else and mess up the baby’s chance to nap. Plus, again, it’s an obedience. It was put on my heart and I found it necessary to do it. It wasn’t hard. It was a blessing.

The biggest crowd we had was the last of our regular dates, and included 6 moms with all our kids, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3 = 16, plus moms. I didn’t take a single picture until someone left a lunch bag so I had to ask who left it. So except for our memories, I have no proof that it actually happened. That’s OK. Despite pop culture’s loud insistence, Instagram isn’t actually the only proof of life.

Lessons Galore

We started the girls in swim lessons at the county pool. The lessons are a good value for the quality. Our oldest, E, made the greatest strides in her ability. So after 2 weeks of daily swimming, she has taken to being able to swim under water. The younger, K, is still struggling with the fear of getting water up her nose. But she’ll get there.

Now K had been begging for a violin since the fall. She held a violin on her shoulder one day in music class, and ever since that day, insisted that she must have a violin.

Because 5-year-olds can be fickle, we did not jump right up and find her a violin, though we did start looking into lessons, renting an instrument, etc. Of course; I can play the piano and Sam can play the guitar, so what does she choose? A completely different type of instrument. Well, after Christmas came and went, then the spring, and finally the end of school and she still wanted to play the violin, I followed a lead from the neighborhood website for a teacher on the other side of the county. She teaches the Suzuki method, which works wonders for young children, and she is a fantastic teacher. K has taken to the violin surprisingly well. She is so pleased with herself, though she’s also self-conscious about it, so it may be a while before she has the confidence to play for anyone beside me.

Her persistence has been a lesson to me in asking, seeking, and knocking. Because even though I wasn’t necessarily favorably disposed to humor her at first, she never let it go, and her persistence in asking has won her lessons and her violin. She’s also the one who has asked to go to the beach for almost two years. We’re going to the beach this summer. Girl doesn’t take “No” for an answer.

Sunday School

With all the scheduled activities, and the unscheduled aspect of summer, plus, you know, an infant, it’s been a little crazy that I was also teaching Sunday School for church all month.

We rotate a handful of teachers, who, for continuity, teach for a full month in a row once a quarter. The curriculum is prepared for us, and has a video and activities, and goes through the entire Bible in three years. We’re half way through, and it’s been fantastic. But it still involves a little bit of preparation, some collection of props or supplies, and a decent grasp of the story.

It’s such a wonderful and fun challenge. That’s probably the best way to describe teaching. There are about 15-30 kids on a given Sunday, ranging from 4 to 12. I am grateful to be part of the team who serves the children.

It was in preparation for this month of teaching that I felt so strongly about the need of our children to have adults who love them and who are committed to walking with them in faith. Not just Sunday School teachers, but parents who pastor.

After 4 weeks, I am glad to have taught, I enjoyed teaching, and I am now looking forward to being in grown up church for the next several months. In the meantime, Mr T has learned how to hang out in the nursery during church. This is a huge deal; E and K were not fans of being anywhere but in my arms until they were about two years old. We’ll see if we can convince T that the nursery is actually a good place to hang out for an hour or two.

Media

The kids love PBS Kids, and their current favorites are Wild Kratts and Odd Squad. I really enjoy Odd Squad, which is reminiscent of the old Square One that I grew up watching. Miss O is great, though, even if she’s not Kate Monday and her partner, George Frankly.

Since Netflix just came out with Trolls and Moana, that’s what we’ve been watching. I was really pleased with the themes of both those movies, even though I did not have high expectations that I would be encouraging my girls to watch them. And that means we have also been listening to and dance-partying to their music. That’s the soundtrack to life these days, plus the Suzuki violin book 1. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is forever burned into my memory, and I’m not the one learning to play.

Confession: I have not actually finished any books yet this month, though I am currently in the middle of A Man Called Ove, and At Home in the World. I am enjoying both of them very much. I have them on my phone in the kindle app, so I have been reading them in the middle of the night, trying to stay awake while nursing the baby.

At Home in the World is so interesting, and while I don’t quite have the wanderlust the author does, I appreciate her view, and I do hope to see much more than my little corner of the world before I’m too much older, especially if we can invest in our kids to gain a larger perspective through setting foot in different worlds.

Ove has been a great character, both sad and hilarious. The writing captured me immediately, and while I’m sure it will be bittersweet, I’m looking forward to finishing it before my loan from the library is up.

 

 

We also read and watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a family. The girls ate it up, and then we plowed through Prince Caspian. We’re looking forward to getting our hands on that movie now and watching it with friends soon.

Finally, I’m reading a little self-published book about leading, maintaining, and growing church small groups. Our pastor handed it to us because we co-lead a group with another couple in the church. It has been good to read, and has offered some good insights that we might not have come to independently.

However, as I read it I realized that you can tell the difference between a book that is self-published and one that has professional editors. I think he wrote a good book, but I also think he never had anyone outside of his circle read it, because sometimes it was very hard to find his point, or it felt like listening to someone who has made something made sense in his own head, says a few things, and then asks, nodding his head eagerly, “You know?” and you realize you don’t know at all what they’re saying. Plus I’ve already found about 4 glaring typos and incorrect word usage.

Now I will be incredibly self conscious the rest of this post, because I’ve said something about someone else’s writing.

Anyway, I have begun to love the convenience of the ebook, and I can’t believe I haven’t taken advantage of the library’s online hold request more. What have you read that is worth telling people about?

Milestones

Our oldest, E, turned 8 this month. She is lovely and kind, a born teacher, and peacemaker. She loves all things STEM and is so creative. Her ability to make things to play with out of pieces of paper, cardboard, scraps of packaging, and string, is both amazing and infuriating. She rocks at being a big sister. Third grade is going to be so exciting for her, and I know she will worthily meet the challenges it will give her. Instead of wanting a party, she asked to go to a bounce house place with 2 friends from school. One was able to make it, and they had a blast running around and just seeing each other outside of school. Her family came along and they were just lovely; the fact that they gave up part of a Saturday to let the girls play demonstrates that they value friendship significantly.

Baby T hit 4 months. He is just adorable and fat and content and beautiful. He’s drooling through his shirts, trying to steady himself well enough to sit, has rolled both front to back and back to front, but not consistently, maybe not even on purpose, and laughs more than he cries. He’s 15+ lbs and solidly in 6 month clothing and size 3 diapers. He has tasted a slice of peach, but has not yet started solids, though we have been given the go-ahead from the pediatrician. He is getting close to being ready, and now watches us with his mouth open when we eat.

A couple days ago I realized my family has lived in the Atlanta area now for 20 years. This means that so many of my friends I have now officially known for 2 decades! I am so grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness to guide us here and to sustain such meaningful relationships.

Sam has been at his job now for a little over a year, and they expanded his responsibility into doing his specialized job as well as project management. This is both a blessing and an opportunity to look for God’s help. That’s a nice way to say that it’s challenging and has been somewhat stressful. We have been praying for wisdom, and He has been faithful to provide.

What I would say I’m learning most clearly is to follow the Lord daily in the daily stuff. He knows what is coming and knows what we need and how to provide. If I trust him, I can get the benefit of that, in preparedness, rest, and confidence that I’m in the way he’s made for me. If I don’t, I can stress myself out, and he’ll still provide. I’d rather go the route of peace.

As an example, in just the first week of June, we had swim lessons first thing in the morning, a baby to get ready (and babies don’t give a flip about schedules), our first violin lesson, our first play date, the regular daily maintenance of the household, my blog that I want to keep current, birthday events and gifts to plan for, and a Sunday school lesson to teach.  It was vital for me to maintain my focus on the hope in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because as I looked at all of those things, I realized that a year ago I would have been entirely overwhelmed, panicked, and become angry that everyone else wasn’t as upset by this list as I was, and then done none of it. Those things that filled that week are all good things, and I’m grateful that we have opportunity for all this. Many people have much more to deal with daily, not much of which is good, fun, or exciting, but this is where God is meeting me this month.

At any rate, I’m here to say that the Holy Spirit is so practical–and so much more responsible than we are. We can trust him to walk through our day, and we will not miss anything that is important when we follow in obedience. It’s not even a super spiritual process, it’s just done in expectation that he will meet us as we do the next thing. Don’t worry about tomorrow; don’t even worry about a few hours from now. He’ll be there, too. Because of the way I sense him leading me, there is so much purpose in each day.

Next month

I need a haircut–and I’m open to suggestions for wavy, thick, fine, graying longish hair; we’re going to the beach for a few days, then we’re hosting my in-laws half the month; we’re getting ready for school; we’re dedicating T at church; and I’m tagging and making a list for the big local kids consignment sale. I can’t wait!

What are your plans for July? Let’s have a great rest of summer!

Linking up with Leigh Kramer