Project 365, Week 18

Our first week post-tax season, post-vacation. We hit the ground running with soccer and school and work and house hunting. May is always such a fun, intimidating, lovely, packed month. Its one of my favorites but I feel like I always finish it like I finish a race...bent over with my hands on my knees, desperately trying to catch my breath. :)

April 29

Even though vacation was great, we were all happy to be back home. We hit up two open houses...one was a no, one was a maybe.

April 30
Back to real life...work, school and this homework scene that happens at the kitchen table most afternoons.

May 2
Spring is springing and New England does it especially well, I think.

May 3
It was warm enough to be out on the porch in the early morning hours. Amanda was asking me why so and so doesn't read their Bible or pray and they are fine and I have to spend SO much time with God. My answer to her was that I'm extra sinful. I'm not entirely sure why, though since cancer, I need more quiet and time with God than ever. Its also possible its because I'm currently raising a house full of tween and teen girls. ;)

I hold eternity close to my heart and just need to spend quiet moments with my God. I tell Him I love Him and I need Him...to serve my family, to be excellent at work, to be a friend, to do the next hour of getting kids off to school. I'm so aware of how little I can do in my own strength and efforts. Left on my own, I am selfish, greedy, critical, impatient, just to name a few.

We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength when we wake up in the morning. And we are to prepare ourselves to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–40). Very few of us wake up with our whole soul spring-loaded to love God and love people. This disposition takes some refocusing — to put it mildly — by means of the word of God and prayer. -Tony Reinke

I need quiet and stillness and noise-less-ness to be a regular part of my day. I need to refocus before I greet my family and the unlovely people out in my world. But also, I believe God goes with me into my day and is present when my kid is talking back, when I'm working on something at the office, when I'm chatting with another mom on the sidelines of the soccer field. He's in it all. But I gather the strength I need to respond to a friend's hurting and desperate text or the power to hold my tongue with a family member from my time in the morning getting to know Him, and little by little getting to be more like Him.

May 4
"May the fourth be with you!" As luck would have it, the kids had a half day on May 4th...Star Wars Day. And they just happened to be playing all the movies on TV. My crew was super excited! :)

On the way to youth group, we HAD to pull over and closely check out the neighborhood tulips.

May 5
My sister is a Crossfit junkie and Avery and I got to go watch her compete. She is a beast!! So proud!

After a quick stop at home to drop Avery and gather presents, I went to the baby shower for Ray and his girlfriend. Baby Dakota is due the end of June. They have their own place and Ray currently has a decent job, working about 55 hours a week. Two good things!

Our daughter J is a huge Tauren Wells fan. Hills and Valleys was one of the first Christian songs she latched onto when she first came to us. He's not doing his own concerts yet, but when I found out he would be joining Chris Tomlin for Worship Night in America in Hartford, I had to get tickets! At the last minute Avery and Amanda's friends joined us and we had SO much fun!

May 6
After church and before Avery's soccer game, we stopped to watch Maddy perform in her competition. Gosh, she's amazing! The siblings have done a competition or two in their day. :)

Avery got quite a bit of playing time and it didn't start raining until the game was over. Good for us, unfortunate for Shaun and Amanda, whose game started in another town just as it started to rain. They came home soaked! :)

My sweet buddy. I love hanging out with this kid. He's funny, tender and fascinating.