Oh, July, how you’ve been fast, hot, and fun. In fact, as the school supplies sit on my kitchen counter, that’s how summer pretty much has felt. But here we are, at the end of yet another month. Of course, I’ve managed to learn some things …
1. Rachel can climb out of a pack-and-play.
She first performed her new trick while we were staying at our lake house for Fourth of July weekend. I knew exactly what had happened as soon as I heard the door knob moving from inside the room.
We were in a hotel in St. Louis a few weeks later and she climbed out of the pack-n-play so many times I lost count. But for three nights she was much more interested in jumping on the king bed than sleeping in her own confines.
2. When it’s really hot, lines are shorter at an amusement park.
Honestly, armed with our spray bottles and pocket fans, I would take the heat with no waiting at Six Flags with the heat index of 111 degrees. We walked right up to roller coasters and rode every ride we wanted more than once. I’m sure there were plenty of lines at Six Flags’ waterpark, but we didn’t even venture over there.
Of course the next day, which was equally as hot, the indoor Magic House was busting at its seams.
3. Lingering longer really is good for my soul.
Give me a vacation, and I can plan every minute of it. But when we recently spent a long weekend in St. Louis, we weren’t rushing from one place to the next and it was so nice. I browsed Target with my oldest kids while Greg sat with a napping Rachel in the car. We played cards in one room of the hotel suite while Rachel delayed sleep with her hotel acrobatics in the other room. We took our time walking through Soulard Market with friends. We ate at some favorite restaurants with no agendas.
The concept of lingering longer applies to my whole summer, and not just that one weekend in St. Louis. I do hope I can carry the slower pace – at least the pace inside myself – into other seasons.
4. Editing my own book (again) really does speak to God’s faithfulness to write the best stories.
I’m working to publish an updated “Peace in the Process,” which will be available in paperback and ebook on Amazon. This self-publishing process has been a good one, and I’m excited to share more about it – and my actual book! – with y’all this fall.
I love the cover, the contributions from other adoptive moms, and how God’s faithfulness is woven throughout my soul-baring story. I’m putting together a launch team now to help me spread the word when “Peace in the Process” is self-published in mid-September.
I say self-published, but, let’s be honest, it’s taken more than just me. I’m grateful for my graphic designer and photographer friends who helped make the cover exactly what I wanted. I’m glad there is an internet full of resources, including Fist Bump Media, to help me get my story – which is actually God’s story – bound up in a book.
(If you want to join the launch team, click here to let me know.)
5. Documenting a hard time is bittersweet.
Using the Project Life app, I made some photo collages of Ben’s burns to include with the journaling I did so he can remember the experience as he gets older. Granted, nobody wants to remember the pain of second-degree burns, but God showed up in Ben’s healing and the community that helped care for our family during that time – and that’s certainly worth remembering.
How was your July? Also, if you have figured out how to slow down time, please let me know.
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