Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy. Sometimes they are awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
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We are getting back to our new normal after two weeks of summer break. A few house projects are underway and the kids have mostly adjusted to the tv not going on until after naps. The big boys are begging to read Harry Potter as often as possible and the little ones are relishing in the freedom that is no more baby gates. It’s a new stage of parenting!
1. Day Camping
At the end of every June my parents go camping about an hour away from us and we try and make a day trip out of it. Last year the big boys weren’t around so I took the little three by myself. This year we went on a Sunday so Micah could join us. All the kids were fascinated and excited by fishing. Every one of them caught at least 3 fish with Mercedes being the winner at ten or so! She even caught one off the dock while waiting for her turn on the boat. We also got a treat of ice cream at the local parlor and stuffed our bellies with s’mores. That’s a good day of camping!
2. Date Night
No picture 🙁 Since my parents were so close they offered to babysit so we could get away as a belated anniversary gift. We saw the new Transformers movie and hit up our favorite all-you-can-eat sushi place. It was amazing. I’m so thankful for the eleven years we’ve been married and pray for the lifetime ahead of us!
3. Running accomplishment
These last weeks of the Couch to 5k running program have been a cloud hanging over my head. I have never been great with endurance. I’m a burst of energy type of person, not a long haul one. My other two attempts at completing the c25k program all ended around week 6 when I had to really commit to long runs because my body simply wouldn’t do it. It was probably more my brain, but still, always a struggle.
The consistent long runs started in week 6 but I still wasn’t doing them. I would go as long as I could and then walk a bit before running again. As of 6/26 my longest run was 13 minutes and the last few minutes to get to that point were a STRUGGLE but I wanted to beat my previous record of 10 minutes. On 6/28 I decided to pray during my run rather than only listen to worship music. Y’all, I ran the FULL 25 MINUTES. I talked with God and it was like chatting with an old friend. I poured out my heart and it got my thoughts off my breathing, off my legs, off my distance, off my pace. Even though I love worship music while I run it wasn’t enough to fully engage my brain and turn it to Him. And I did it again on Friday. This coming week I have two 28 minute runs and one 30 minute run. I’m ready, bring it on.
4. Card Games
Last weekend I taught the boys how to play spoons (without spoons) and Jamison has been begging to play again all week. It’s not easy with less people but that didn’t stop him from trying to teach Mercedes. She couldn’t really understand what she was supposed to do but he was so patient with her and reminded her about the rules each time she would forget.
5. Backyard Gymnastics
Anders started showing off his tumbling skills and as soon as I pulled out the camera the rest of the kids needed to join in and demonstrate their sweet skills as well. Enjoy the hilarity in the video below!
Where did you find joy in your chaos this week? Do you do any camping during the summer?
