Summer is Here.

Chocolaty two year old eyes peaking through the window of his new barn. Photo by Ashley, the big sis.

It finally seems like summer around here. Of course, that has nothing to do with the heat. It's been hot for a while. I was so eager for summer, but when the thermometer inches up past one hundred degrees, I lose my enthusiasm. With the morning sickness finally subsiding I am ready to focus on enjoying this summer with my husband and children. I just want to soak up every moment with them. Last year was a blur. My dad died in May and we all just got by the best we could. It is still hard. Some days it's actually harder than when it first happened. I frequently hear, "I miss Grandpa" from teary-eyed little ones. One of the blessings is that it affords us many opportunities to tell stories and remember. Some days are better than others.

We are in the midst of birthday season around here. And, yes, it is a season. All five of our children were born in June and July. Our oldest just turned sixteen, the baby just turned two, and by mid-July we'll have a fourteen year old and two nine year-olds. This new baby will be our first autumn baby. We are all so excited. The children are clamoring to know what it is. They can't wait. There's a certain girl who keeps telling me that she has things to sew, so she needs to know.

So, we are finding many things to celebrate and enjoy this summer. Expecting a new baby, warm weather birthdays, home grown tomatoes (not yet, but soon!), fresh goat milk, a kind and beautiful girl with a growing interest in photography, a son who barbecues at least as well as his daddy and grandpas (and loves it!), almost nine year olds who are full of wonder and who keep bringing me rocks and bugs in jars, and a lovey little two year old who asks for his daddy, his sissy, and each one of his brothers every day when he wakes up. And we all especially enjoy that when you tell him daddy is at work, he insists daddy is, "mow lawn!" Life is good.

Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above , and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17 the Geneva Bible