12 Weeks of Summer

I'm sure that many of you feel that summer has just flown by. Just twelve weeks ago we pack our bags and headed south for the summer. How does a person share twelve weeks of her life in a short blog post? Well, I thought I'd share twelve pictures that sum up what we did this summer.

1. Grady's riding without training wheels!! He had been asking us to take them off while we were still in Jackson, but we said he had to wait till we got back to Bluffton. On the second day we were home, Kent took them off and Grady was off and riding in five minutes. It was pretty cool to see.

2. We celebrated Gracie Bee's birthday. She was so fun to watch as she opened each present with care.

3. We enjoyed a Tin Caps game together with the tickets that the kids got from the summer reading program. Their favorite part of the entire night was  "Ernie," but most of you will know him as Johnny.



4. Our Family Vacation to Florida. This picture ended with two kids in wet clothes. They couldn't resist getting into the waves!

5. I was able to spend a lot of time with my sister Brandy this summer. It was such a blessing. She even took me to share in her spa day that she had received as a gift. I'm so thankful for each hour I get to spend with her and will miss her this school year.

6. We had a garden at the community plot this year. We got a lot of produce but had to leave a lot of it there, as we have now returned to Jackson.

7. My dad broke both his ankles and shattered one of his heels. He seems to be healing well, but I know he's antsy to get out and working again.

8. We were able to spend time with all of our parents and cousins. We're thankful that when we go home to Bluffton that they're all in one town. The kids enjoyed this outing because it involved Lala and ice cream!!

9. Grady was very brave during our vacation and learned how to swim. He's very good and its amazing to watch him. He loves the water!

10. Grady was able to enjoy his first race. He was telling Kent that he would like to go back to the races again.

11. At the age of 5, Grady got his first professional hair cut. It looked amazing. So good that someone told me that I should have it done professionally from now on. Hmmm, maybe I didn't do as well cutting his hair as I thought I was doing.

12. This summer we did a lot of babysitting. I babysat two kiddos two days a week up until the week we watched two foster kids. The week right before vacation we babysat for two foster kids for an entire week. It was exhausting, but God gave us the grace to work though it.

There's a lot more I could add about our summer, but I'll leave it at that for now. When we were leaving NTBI in May I knew that there was going to be a lot I was going to need to trust the Lord with over the summer. He was faithful to carry me through. Reminding me that he's faithful no matter of the outcome. I'm thankful for everything that we were able to do, work through and enjoy.