Well, what do you know?!

My word for the year WAS "grow!"  I find this both funny and pretty cool, since this is the word that came to mind as I was thinking about summer (see my earlier post from Monday of last week).  I was excited to find that I had indeed written it down somewhere, way back on January 1st!  I guess God had kept it in the back of my mind all this time, after all, and six months later it came back to me.

Wednesday Hodgepodge for June 3rd

I was happy to see that Joyce of From This Side of the Pond has started up the Wednesday Hodgepodge posts, at least for a while!  I'm excited to join in as I have time...I feel like the question format helps get my blogging juices flowing again!  Here are this week's questions and answers:


1. What's something you could do today to feel more peaceful?

Pretty sure one of the best things I could do would be to stay off social media for a while!  Even Instagram has been feeling "heavy" lately. 

2. June 2nd is National Rotisserie Chicken day. Who knew? Are you a fan of rotisserie chicken? You've purchased one at your local market for tonite's dinner. Will you serve as is or make something else using the chicken?

I do love rotisserie chicken, though I don't buy it very often.  I think the last time we got one was not long before Ari was born, actually!  At this point with my kids being older (eating more!) I would probably make something else using the chicken, because one chicken would not feed all of us, as-is.  My family loves chicken-and-cheese sandwiches on homemade buns, so I would probably make those.  Or use storebought buns if I was short on time.

3. I read a list recently (go here to read more) of 20 of the most beautiful places in America. How many of these have you seen up close and in person? Of the sites on this list that you haven't seen, which would you most like to see?

Antelope Canyon Arizona, Kenai Fjords Alaska, White Mountains New Hampshire, Crater Lake Oregon, The Palouse Washington and Idaho, Grand Prismatic Spring Wyoming, Multnomah Falls and Columbia River Gorge Oregon, Horsehoe Bend Arizona, Na Pali Coast Kauai Hawaii, Antelope Valley California, Lake Tahoe California, The Berkshires Massachussets, Maroon Bells Colorado, Angel Oak South Carolina, Acadia National Park Maine, Grand Teton National Park Wyoming, Turnip Rock Michigan, Central Park New York City, Niagara Falls New York, and Skagit Valley Tulip Fields Washington

Let's see...I've been to the White Mountains multiple times because we live nearby.  I agree they are one of the most beautiful places in America!  Pretty sure I have been to or through the Berkshires area in Mass, too, although not for an extended vacation or anything.  I visited Acadia National Park as a kid and hope to go back with my family in the not-too-distant future...and I've been to Niagara Falls.  Four out of twenty isn't too shabby.  Of the remaining sites on the list, Grand Teton National Park is probably top of my list, though I would also love to visit Crater Lake and some of the others.

4. What's one pretty spot you'd add to the list in question #3? Are there travel plans of any kind on your calendar right now? Does that make you happy, anxious, excited, sad, or relieved?

I'd add Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, simply because that's one place we visited that I thought was amazingly beautiful in its own unique way!  These pictures are all from September 2018:

As far as travel plans for this summer...we don't have any at the moment.  I had hoped to take a little camping trip to Acadia this summer for a few days, or even somewhere closer to home, but not sure that will happen.  We have a lot to do around here with work on our house addition, so this summer will probably be a "staycation" for the most part!  We may take a week to go to Ohio in the fall to visit family, but we haven't decided yet.  I would say not having a trip planned makes me both a little happy and a little sad.  I love to go places and really want to take a few trips as a family before Sam is grown and gone...so in that way I'm a bit sad if we don't go somewhere this year.  On the other hand, planning a trip can be hard work and expensive, so it does make things simpler if we stay home.

5. Tell us one un-COVID related thing you're looking forward to in the month of June.

Getting together with friends more often!  We have missed them!

6. Insert your own random thought here.


Speaking of beautiful scenery...here's a panoramic picture that I think Josiah took when we hiked Mt. Cardigan here in NH back in April or May.   It was a beautiful day!  Aren't we blessed to have beauty around us everywhere? We just have to look for it.  And sometimes it's more obvious, like when we climb a mountain. 😊

Intentional Summer: Grow

Well, well!  Long time no post. 😄  I can't believe I haven't written anything here since September!  It's so hard to find uninterrupted time at the computer..."uninterrupted" being the KEY word, of course!

Today is June 1st, and as I've been making some goals and plans for the summer, I thought it would be good to write about them here as a form of accountability and also so I could go back and remind myself of them.

To be honest, I've been feeling pretty scattered over the past few months as we navigate Covid-19 (oh how I hate that word!!!) stay-home orders and a feeling of uncertainty in our world.  My hope is in Jesus, but that doesn't mean that upheaval doesn't affect us or cause us some anxious moments...though I do believe He has a good plan for us through it all!  Now that we've finally reached the summer months and life is starting to feel a bit more normal, I realized it was time to begin again to focus on building good habits and getting into some better routines.  A podcast I listened to on Saturday confirmed this to me and gave me the idea of focusing on being intentional with my time this summer...so, here we go!

This morning in the shower I was thinking about my word of the year, and...would you believe it...I have NO idea what my word of the year even is/was.  I know I had picked one!  A good one!  But it completely escapes my brain at the moment.  I might be able to figure it out from some journaling back in January, or if my mom remembers...hi, Mom?  I think we talked about it?!  That just shows you how much I've NOT been thinking about goals or words of the year over the past few months, ha!  Anyhow.  The shower is a good place for thinking, and even though I couldn't remember my word of the year, I decided that for the summer I would focus on the word "GROW" and use it as an acrostic.  All of these are areas I desire growth in:

God
Relationships
Organization
Work

For the "God" area...this includes my daily quiet time: Bible reading and prayer, and some journaling.  Also hopefully reading a few books to help with my spiritual growth.  More on what I'm hoping to read, later.  For Bible reading I am once again following along with the Same Page Summer and reading through the New Testament.

Relationships includes my family and friends...I really want to enjoy my kids, spend time with my parents, carve out moments with just Jim, invite friends over for playdates and visits and meals, write notes and send texts to encourage others, etc.  Basically just investing in people, the best I can...I've been thinking about how much I want to be a better encourager, and I hope to do that over the next few months.

Organization is a constant struggle for me...and while I don't expect to get my entire life organized in three months, my goal is to tackle some particular areas of my life/home and try to get a handle on them.  One is meal planning.  I go through phases of doing so well with that, and other times I'm totally flying by the seat of my pants!  Meal prep goes so much smoother when I have a plan, so that's one area to organize.  I'd also like to organize all of my kitchen cabinets so they're more functional, and bedroom drawers and closets could use a good sort-out too.

Work...I think overall this is going to be more of a "working" summer and less of a "playing" summer, though I certainly hope to find periods of rest every week.  Jim is quite busy with carpentry, the kids and I planted a garden and more flowers,  we hope to make great strides on our house addition, we'll be helping my parents as we have time, fixing up the cottage next door, plus there is the daily work of the home, and my own need for physical working-out!  So, lots of work...but all good things!

Now...wouldn't it be funny if my word of the year was "grow?!" 😄

Back to School: First day traditions

Do you have first day of school traditions?  Some years I have been way better about this than others. Last year was discombobulated because Sam was on a roof with Jim when the other two kids started school, then we took a 2 week trip to NV in the middle of September, and started in again when we got home.  This year may be similar since we are currently on vacation and may not have all four kids  there to start on the same day when we get back, depending on Jim’s work.

But at least for many years, I would take first day of school pictures, measure the kids’ height to see how much they’d grown in a year, make a special breakfast, etc.  It didn’t always mean our first day got off to a good start, but at least I tried! 😉

A Satisfying Summer

We’re currently on vacation in Ohio, at the tail end of summer, trying to squeeze the last bit of fun out of it before we start back to school.  I’ve decided September is pretty much the perfect time to take a vacation, and am thinking about suggesting to Jim that we plan a trip somewhere every year about this time.  The weather has been great for the most part, not too hot and not too cool, comfortable for sleeping in the camper at night and playing outside during the days.

I wanted to write a bit about how satisfying this summer has been.  Of course, it went by too fast as it always does.  But for me personally I feel like it was just a really good summer, and I got a lot of things crossed off my list.  Before I get to that, though, let’s talk about the things I did not get crossed off!  

• I didn’t accomplish my goal of setting up a chores/cleaning system for our family.
• We didn’t go out for ice cream or eat at the local food truck.
• We didn’t (yet) go canoeing as a family.
• We didn’t declutter/organize the storage bins in the garage. 
• We didn’t finish our camper remodel.
• I didn’t menu plan very well and we often ate supper really late in the evening.

But here’s what I/we DID accomplish!

• I finished Josiah’s quilt, which had been a work in progress for years.  That was one of my main summer goals, and I finished it on July 5!
  
• We may not have finished the camper remodel, but we did replace the canvas, I finished sewing the curtains, we gutted the cabinets and benches, installed new flooring, and were able to actually use it for camping.  So I’m calling that a win!
• We took an awesome family day at Story Land.
   
  
• We (well, some of us) climbed our little local mountain with friends.
• We went to the beach three times and the science center twice (so far...we will go a couple more times this fall).
  
• I deep cleaned some spaces in my house. 
• I made time to read and finished at least five or more fiction books over the summer.
• I started blogging again.
• I exercised 54 days in a row in July/August and have almost completed the C25K program again.
• I am within three days of finishing reading through the New Testament with the Same Page Summer reading plan.
  
• Jim and I made time for a couple of dates, both planned and spontaneous.
  
• We hosted family and friends a number of times, which was so much fun! 
  
  
  
  
• We made it to Ohio to visit family!   
  

Yesterday I took a little time to plan out some school/life stuff for after we get back home.  We have a pretty busy fall schedule coming up, particularly September, between starting school, work for Jim, a ladies’ retreat, revival meetings at church, etc.  And Jim and I still hope to sneak away for a day or two to celebrate our 20th anniversary a little late.  I still am behind on school planning and I really NEED to get back to a good menu planning habit so I can keep that part of life running smoothly.   But I’m feeling energized and motivated as the weather cools and the fresh start of fall lies ahead...I have loved the somewhat lazy lack of schedule through the summer, but am looking forward to jumping into a good routine again soon.  

Stay tuned...I hope to get a post or two written this week for our September back to school theme, also!  I hope all of you are wrapping up a great summer as well. 😊

Blogging Themes: thinking ahead

Yesterday as I was getting ready for my day and thinking about blogging, I had a brainwave.  I'd been thinking about blogging schedules, and planning certain recurring topics for certain days...but obviously I often have trouble sticking with a definite blogging schedule. 😉 So the thought that occurred to me was that I could plan overarching themes by month.  Not that all of my posts that month will necessarily relate to the theme (although they might), but it will give me something to think about and focus on...maybe help me as I look for inspiration here and there, too. 

Being me, I'm not thinking super far ahead, but here's a rough idea of what I'm going to aim for over the next several months:

• September: Back to School
• October: Let's Go Outside/Nature Study
• November: Give Thanks
• December: Christmas (of course 😊)
• January: Heart & Home (focus on goals & habits for both)

Looking at this list, thinking about things I could write about...well, it has me pretty excited, actually!  I also hope to link to some other bloggers along the way who inspire me in these areas.  I hope you'll come along for the ride!

From my bookshelf: Gone-Away Lake

I decided one fun feature I want to include weekly (if possible) is a favorite-book post.  This might be a children's book (picture book or chapter book), a non-fiction or spiritual growth book, an adult fiction book...pretty much anything that's one of my or my kids' favorites!  I have a feeling that the hard part will be just choosing ONE book per week...as I am an avid bookworm, and so are some of my kids. 😉

My choice for this first bookish post is a children's novel: Gone-Away Lake, by Elizabeth Enright.  I don't remember when I first discovered Gone-Away; it feels like this book has been a part of my life forever!  I also don't remember if my mom read it aloud to us, or if I first read it on my own.  What I DO know is that this is a fabulous summer read, and as a family we have read (or listened) to it at least three times over the past few years.  The audio version read by Colleen Delany is beautifully done and we would all highly recommend it!

Synopsis:  Portia Blake and her little brother Foster go to visit their uncle, aunt, and cousin Julian, as they do every summer.  Only this summer, Julian's family has moved to a new house in the country, and there are lots more places to explore.  One day while exploring in the nearby woods, Portia and Julian stumble upon an old colony of abandoned, dilapidated houses at the edge of a swamp.  Only they aren't ALL abandoned...an elderly brother and sister returned years ago to live out their lives in the place they had loved as children, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.  Gone-Away Lake is the story of the friendship that blossoms between Portia and Julian and "Uncle Pin" and "Aunt Minnehaha."  There is also adventure, a little danger, and lots of fun reminiscing and old stories shared from a childhood at Tarrigo Lake (which later became the swamp, now called Gone-Away Lake).

It's hard to sum up this book in a quick synopsis...it probably doesn't sound all that interesting.  But Elizabeth Enright was a master at writing books about everyday life, taking a simple idea and making it come alive.  This book makes the reader feel like you are right there at Gone-Away with Portia and Julian, like discovering an old summer colony is something that might really happen to you.  It plops you right into the middle of a hot, buggy summer somewhere in New York state.  It also highlights the beautiful friendship that sometimes springs up between children and elderly people, and how much we can learn from each other.  I can't recommend this book highly enough...give it a try.  You and your kids will love it!  It is the perfect summer read.  Even though it is more than sixty years old, it has a timeless quality and is just as enjoyable in 2019 as it would have been in the 1950s.

And...if you read Gone-Away Lake, you must also put Return to Gone-Away on your list!  It is equally enchanting and wonderful.  You can often find copies of both books at thrift stores or used bookstores, but they are also available on Amazon or Thriftbooks pretty inexpensively.  Happy reading!