I know that summer officially started last week. However, I don’t remember the last summer that June seemed this hot and sticky. When Matheau calls from work to see if we are ready to head to the pool? Well, we are not only ready with swim suits, our towels are even stacked up ready for us to grab as we head out the door.
Every evening I set the table for supper. Everything we are going to need or eat goes on it before we sit down to eat. I do that for several reasons, first, it ensures that I get to sit instead of getting up and down the entire meal. Secondly, if I do so, I am visually aware if there is more then one vegetable choice for the kids. Thirdly, we tend to linger longer and enjoy each other a bit more.
I haven’t always done this, and honestly, when there were babies in the house, I was just happy to get supper done! However, for at least the last year, I have intentionally worked at making this happen. So last week when I set up buffet style because we had to be elsewhere soon after supper, and Lizzie noticed and said this, I was pretty stoked. It means that it is custom in our home, not the occasional thing. Yes, there is longer set up and clean up time, and well worth it.
I don’t know if it was more her age or entering public school-or both, but Hannah has spent a lot of this last year struggling with just letting her own-self shine through. After Christmas, we started seeing more of it, and then throughout the spring, a bit more here and there, and the last few weeks-lots more. One of my goals this summer is just getting better at living as family. Not all the stuff we get to fill our schedules with, which I do not have much tolerance for anyway, but the good stuff… playing together, giggling, making cool bracelets and creating new inventions with our minds, paper and colored pencils, reading together, praying together, thanking God more quickly instead of way late for His blesssings-that is my kind of living. And when the silly Hannah presents herself a bit more often, that is just a bonus.
Getting back to the routine has been a bit limited with VBS this week, but we are somewhat getting into a new groove. Time with the new chicks, Matheau’s reading C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” aloud, time with each other, piano practice and lessons, fresh bread and home cooked food, lots of laundry, work in the garden… yes, things are getting a bit more normal.
Normal does not mean were not missing K-Kaua’i, there are lots of photos (and a couple of videos) uploaded here and here.
*And if you are curious about the colors of the photos, well, I’m playing with some actions, please bear with me. 
and we wish we were all still back at Kanakuk Family Camp.
More photos to come soon. If you are impatient, please check out Matheau’s photo album on Facebook. He took lots of super photos and I know they will be uploaded there far quicker then I will get photos up here.