5 Things I Learned in July

I came across a blog post this morning on one of the daily ones I like to read (Modern Mrs. Darcy), and I was inspired to do the same type post myself.  The idea originates with Emily Freeman, author of Simply Tuesday.

Here are five things I learned in July.  (I could list way more, but I'll keep this short and sweet.)

One.

I really, really enjoy teenagers, most of the time.  With so much of June spent with Graham and Drew gone, our house was so very quiet.  I was thrilled to have them back home for the remainder of the summer once they got back from their last stint, which was a week spent as staff/counselor for a camp given for foster kids.

About this, oddly enough, our house has remained kinda quiet.  There has been major friendship drama at our house, and it's been a rough few weeks for most of my boys.  One doesn't care, one cares too much probably, and the other two just don't have that many friends that are close.  I love the teenage years, but I was in no way whatsoever prepared for the drama these years ensue.  I have prayed for so long for God to send them just ONE good friend, even it's just one, and the Lord has been faithful to do just that.  This is a weird season, and one that I am seeing repeated once a teenager hits the senior year.  Normalcy has been the theme for three years, and then BAM!  The senior year hits, and things begin to unravel.  I realize it's all just part of growing up, but it is not easy, and it's especially difficult watching kids suffer through.

I spent even longer in prayer this morning about all of this, and I trust that God has it all under control.  I trust His plan in their lives, but sometimes I forget to fully surrender my worries and cares to Him.  This morning in prayer, I committed all of this to Him again.

The theme in all this is that I prefer lots of life and laughter in my house.  The quiet we've experienced lately has not been fun.  I already knew this, but I learned it again during July.

Two.

I love the friends that God has given me, and this months was based upon spending time with them.  I did not have a ton of friends during my teenage years.  (Hmm...maybe I need to remind my boys of this, and how normal it is after all.)  I always had one or two around, though, that were really close to me.  With seasons of life, this has changed drastically.  I've let some friendships go, and I've gained others.  Life, and friendships, has an ebb and flow that is oddly beautiful.

Right now, in this very season, the Lord has given me four beautiful and dear friends that are more like sisters to me.  They're all my very best friends, and I don't love any one of them more than I love another.  They know who they are, so mentioning their names is pointless.  They're the ones I am with at least one day every week, the ones I pray with, the ones I am always making continual plans with to put a girls night out with on the calendar, and the ones who know that my home is always always open to them to come and visit and just sit and drink coffee.

I have other friends, don't get me wrong, but these are the four that pour into me, and that I pour into them, and their friendships are life giving to me.  They point me to Jesus.  They inspire me and push me to be closer to Jesus in my daily walk.  They do bible study with me.  They know every little nuance about me, and they love me in spite of my (many, many) flaws.

I am so thankful to God for these dear women He has given me.

I have spent much of this month with them, in one way or another.  Also, I have to brag on my sweet husband, who encourages me to spend time with them.  I don't ever want to take away from him, and I don't think I do, but he never minds when I run out with them for dinner, or to return something, or just go sit and talk on the phone with them for an hour or more.

Three.

I do not like to cook in the summer.  When it's hotter than Hades, who wants to add degrees to the indoor temps by turning on the oven?!  My family is AWESOME, though, and never complains over easy and quick dinners.

Four.

I love traveling, and am so thankful I was given the chance to go visit with my Colorado family, but there is truly no place like home.

Five.

I love summer time, and I love not having structure for a while, having a break from our routine of the school year.  But at the end of July every single year, I am ready to resume normalcy and order.  I love the structure we have with homeschooling, and I love the routine of it all.  The older the kids have gotten, the more order and routine we've had to adapt, but I do really enjoy it.

One week from tomorrow, Drew starts a class at a nearby tutorial, and two weeks from today, we will begin the 2017/2018 school year.  I'm spending part of this week planning out our curriculum, and registering with our umbrella and cover schools.  Also, our first box of curriculum comes in today.  I need to order some more, but will wait until next week to do that, thanks to our love (addiction?) of Amazon Prime.

Well, it was fun looking back over my calendar and remembering some of the things I had written down so I could remember them.  This is just one small reason (out of a million) why I love planners, and writing down every little thing that happens.  My Big Happy Planner contains the fun stuff, the sad stuff, the good stuff, and the bad stuff.  I will file it as a journal on the bookshelves in our room at the end of December and will start a new planner of the same kind and sort in January.

Here's an old picture of mine.

Thanks for reading my blog!  I might do this every month from here on out...it's fun to look back.

Love to all!