Let's Wrap It Up

I'm coming in a little late on this bit but I want to sum up our summer real quick.
This was such a fun summer!
And precious because as everyone knows, little kids don't stay little.
It was fun to share so many new things with them.
I was bummed to see it go.

We didn't get around to doing every little thing on our list.
But the things we did get to do we enjoyed to the limit.

Taking our girls on vacation with us was really awesome.
Spending time with our family, watching the girls play with their cousins, taking them boating and swimming, hiking every day for a week, relaxing the rules and routine...... such a nice breather.

Of course there was swimming nearly every week.

By the end of the summer, we were all nice and tan.

Thank goodness we never had to deal with any terrible bouts of sunburn. 

I was totally blessed to not only visit our student ministry teams at camp but also to fly there in a tiny little plane with some friends. 

We celebrated this sweet little thing. 

She's growing so well.

She's healthy and strong and silly and smart.

Adam took some time away with our young adult group. (Sweetums and I got to tag along along one day)

And I just got tons of time to get around and have fun with my gang while Adam was working.
We visited the library, went to the park, played at new to us splash pad, looked around a local nature center, went to a yard sale, bought groceries (because even normal stuff is new to a couple of toddlers).
It was just really satisfying.

Ours kids aren't perfect and we have struggles (some of them on-going) but each kid is just so uniquely cool.

I was looking back at some of our pictures before we had any of them and just felt struck at how empty it seems in comparison.
I mean mostly how empty my day to day seemed.
Those years before our family grew were filled with going to school just to get a degree with my name on it and hours working at pointless jobs to help get bills payed.
Many days were gotten through with only will power and not much enjoyment other than my wonderful husband.

These kids though have brought so much weight and meaning to my life.
Sometimes the weight of the responsibility can be nearly crushing!
Like oh my gosh.
What have we done? We are going to mess these kids up so bad.
But within a beat, I just can't imagine life if they were removed from me.
My heart would be a cavern without them.

God has used those three little people to knock down false supports in me, add family living spaces, make more room for another person's need, put up hallways of mirrors so that I'm always having to relook at myself and take stock of what God is really asking me to do and what I am just doing because of dumb pride.

I love being a parent, more specifically a mom.
And it makes me ask God constantly to help me be more like Him.
I want Him to always be teaching me how to lead them like He leads me.
With fun, joy, discipline, grace, coziness, encouragement, honesty, truth, courage, and of course, love.