Dog Days Continue...

The dog days of summer are hanging on.  

I realize that I am going to soon be complaining about how long winter has hung on and how I am longing for spring!  But really, fall is now officially here and it is 90 degrees!  The air quality is also suffering, so the windows are back to closed tight.  The worst part is that all the pools closed weeks ago.  

But, you probably are not here to listen to me complain about the weather!  

We took our first college tour this week!  I was brave.  I really think I am going to be able to let him go.  It doesn't matter if I am ready or not, but I am proud of myself for getting to this point.  I liked the campus, except for the liberal influences.  I wish he wanted to go to a God-honoring school.  Again, it is not about me.  He has his life to live.  And I am proud of his commitment to getting through college with minimal debt, so a state college makes sense.  Especially if one is considering a Music Education degree.  Teachers don't get the big bucks to repay those big school loans, sadly.  

In other news, 

We had a great family reunion this year.  The kids enjoyed playing board games with one another, and I brought my coloring materials,too.  

We had fun despite the heat. That has been life lately, living despite the heat.  And, I am so grateful for the life I have.  

September Favorites

September has always been one of my favorite months.  The weather is still summery.  The family celebrations flow, and the natural beauty of late summer is a sight to behold.

In Indiana, September is still warm, maybe too warm at times, but it is usually less humid, so I can deal with it.  For instance, it is going to be in the 80's today, but right now as I write, I have the windows open and there is a lovely breeze flowing through the house.  I am thankful for a lower electric bill, too!

September is the month of celebrations.  It is so special that my parents and Jeff's parents celebrate their birthdays this month.  Besides birthdays, my family has our family reunion in September. I have such a fun time with my cousins.  As I get older, this gathering becomes even more important.  I appreciate my family all the more, too.

 Finally, late summer is just a beautiful time of the year here.  This year, we have had plenty of rain so plants are still blooming and the grass is bright green.  There is the bountiful harvest, too.  Gardens are bursting.  Well, not mine, I kind of lost interest during the heat and humidity of August.  But, the farm markets will be awesome this month, another thing to be thankful for.

What is September like in your corner of the world?

When Plans Change

Hello Friends, 

We usually go away for a long Labor Day weekend, but this year, we decided to cancel our plans and enjoy life around home.  It is a new stage of life that we have entered with three kids in high school.  We decided that it would be best for our youngest, the newest to high school rigors if we did not stress him out by asking him to finish his school week a day early so that we could go to the lake.  He also had 7 tests and a paper to write that week.  We all agreed that staying close to home was more relaxing.  

Of course, we did not just sit around the house.  We enjoyed a LONG bike ride with grandparents and a big lunch at a buffet afterward.  The next day we took a day trip to the above farm.  We met another set of grandparents for lunch and then a stroll through the farm.  

Times change.  We adapt.  We will get up to the lake next month during fall break for my birthday, LORD willing.  

~Jenn 

Looking Back

It occurred to me recently that I have been in a LONG season of loss.  I did not "feel" the weary weightiness of these losses until the other day when it "dawned" on me that this was what was happening.

Moving three years ago was a big loss.  I moved away from my church and family.  I am fortunately able to still go to our church and see my family, but it is an hour way on a busy highway that really stresses me out.  Of course, I am blessed to have a house and I am thankful.  I plan to make the most of living down here, but I do long to move back home one day soon.

A year after we moved, my maternal grandmother passed away.  She was such a pillar of my life!  I had already lost my maternal grandfather a couple years before her, another severe loss.  They were part of the air that I breathed! They were a big part of who I was!

Another year passed, almost exactly a year later, and my paternal grandmother suddenly passed away from cancer.  I spent the next year mourning, but accepting God's timing of this devastating loss.  She was the kind of grandmother who was also a good friend.  I looked to her for guidance as well as love.  She left a big void.

I feel these losses very deeply. And now, we are ramping up to experience another kind of loss, our oldest is about to go to college next year.  Every day he separates a bit more than the day before.  I worry about his heart and I see him make decisions that do not honor God.  I have fears and worries that I need to give up to God and trust that he will not depart from the truth that he has grown up in.  I know that this is just part of the normal progression of growing up, and it is hardest the first time that parents go through this life change.  It still brings up a lot of questions like, "Did we do our best?"

These are all natural part of life losses and they are hard.  I thank God that I have put my faith, hope, and trust in Him.  I pray that through these losses I can hold fast to my faith and bring Him glory.  It is hard.  I want to pout some days and cry on others.  I am writing this to be transparent.  Life is messy.  Life is hard.  No one has it all together.  But there is hope!

Lately

We finally got a short break from the oppressive heat and humidity, but it is on the way back.  That is the nature of late summer.  School is back in full swing, so it seems as if the weather should turn to more mild temperatures.  Fall is still a while away.

Our herbs are doing rather well at the moment.  We are enjoying fresh herbs in bread and sauces.  I am thinking of how I want to dry and store some for the winter.  These herbs are the only plants the bunnies did not destroy.  It also helps that we have had some wonderful rain recently.

This week is our first home football game for our local high school student.  I go to hear him in the band, of course.  It is a quite festive event.  This week they play the nearby rivals.  It is sure to be a crazy time.

Our State Fair in Pictures

Oh, my.  Time certainly flies when school is back in session.  We went to the state fair just before we started back to our lessons.  We had a wonderful time.  I really love our fair.  It is too bad that schools start back so early now.  Most people have to go on the weekends.  I do not know how the 4H kids do the fair at all.  We were very fortunate to be able to go early on the first Saturday.  The weather was warm, but not terrible, which was another mercy.  We also basically ate our way around the fair.  I am glad we also walked over 4 miles.  :)

Early August Blessings

August has begun and life is full.  I feel so blessed!  And it is just starting.  School for our oldest is going well.  The younger two start this week.  We are looking forward to a return to the children's ministries at church later this month.  Youth group activities will begin soon as well.  Summer vacation has been wonderful, now it is time to get back to it.