Project 365, Week 39

What a gift this September has been! The weather, the pace, the happenings. I'm grateful for it all.

September 23

This has become Aiden's spot for homework, snacks, screens...Ginger is usually close by.

September 24

My favorite goalie had a seat on the varsity bench this game.

September 25

What a gift to have a church where we all love to be and I'm so thankful for this group of boys Aiden has grown up with.

September 26

After seeing Aiden off to school I went down to workout and saw he had left an expansively strewn mess. I sent him this reminder to use good gym etiquette and he apologized but also felt like I still had plenty of room to do what I needed.

September 27

In preparation for a Guys Night Nerf War at church this evening, Aiden had his best guns and ammo packed up. What a delight that we're still in the stage that I find nerf things in our front entry.

Little C was back with us for a weekend of respite and she wasted no time settling in. Either her body or her mouth is moving at all times and she is just such an engaging kid with a fighting spirit.

She was happy to find Avery at half time and before long, Avery and Jack were deep into one of her coloring pages. :)

September 28

Five minutes into my time with coffee and Jesus I had more company than I wanted. Some experts will say its good to model devotional time to your kids, but believe me when I say my heart is sinful enough that I can't read my Bible and talk to Jesus for show. I actually need that time in order to face my family and the day with important things such as love, joy, peace and patience.

We stopped to spend some time with Nana, and the cousins were so sweet to jump right in entertaining C.

Then we stopped at a couple soccer games on a beautiful fall day. I am a firm believer in the value of kids getting outdoor move-their-body time.

We got a surprise call from Amanda, who had her phone for the day while they did an outing. It was soooo good to see her face and C was thrilled, too since the two of them really bonded when she was at our house in July. She misses home but is thriving where she's currently planted.

Aiden got to hang with his bros at a birthday party.

September 29

I was beat from my active Saturday but C was able to do most of the playscape while I watched from a park bench. She's not at all shy and loves dogs so imagine her delight when this sweet puppy happened by.

 

September's 10 on 10

10 pictures on the 10th day (Tuesday) of the month! 

{Document a snapshot of your life...find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

I did a screenshot of this teaching I was watching to show Aiden, whose middle name is Samuel.

He's very disciplined to get up at 5 AM each weekday morning and we quietly co-exist as the day slowly wakes up.

All standing, no jumping, no bending, no lower body, no repeats, no problem...even with my limitations, there are plenty of videos I can follow to move my body and keep me strong.

Hands down, Ginger's favorite part of the day is mornings, when she gets fed and walked.

Sending out some love...

We met with a client who had just lost her husband unexpectedly at the age of 60. We are not guaranteed tomorrow....we hear it all the time but seriously...don't wait to get your finances and soul in order.

It is my great joy to be transitioning from mom-I'm-not-your-friend to mom-friend.

Just a few days into their engagement, Jack and Avery dove in to planning mode.

Aiden didn't get called up to the varsity game, so he watched some of the game and he and some friends played some sort of soccer/pickleball combo.

Jack missed playing baseball so he decided to join a men's softball league. He connected with our friend Adam who was the pitcher for the team Shaun coached for years. Adam is still pitching and was kind to make Jack feel welcome.

Avery and I watched the game together and my brain was having trouble reconciling the fact that this girl cheering on her fiancé is the same girl who played in the dirt at her dad's games.

Project 365, Week 37

We're settling into September, finding the rhythm that the school year brings. I'm not sure there's a better place to be this time of year than New England. I'm constantly amazed.

September 9

It was a lovely early morning on "our" trail. Ginger loves to slosh in the water right before getting in the car.

After the proposal over the weekend, Avery and I took a lunch break to begin all the wedding talk. So exciting to think about all the possibilities. She's happy to have me involved and that makes me happy.

September 10

When done right, youth sports is first about building character and some of the best and hardest lessons are learned from the bench.

September 11

Nana and I had a lovely afternoon in the sun, enjoying the last hydrangea bloom of the season. She was happy to look at photos from the proposal and she told me some of her stories from years gone by.

September 12

What a treat to see this pretty face at 6 AM! Her entire class took a bus trip to New York City to attend a conference for the day. Leaving campus meant she could have her phone, so we chatted despite the background noise of a loaded bus.

Amanda, Shaun and I were swapping sunrise photos.

Right around the time Amanda sent this photo of her with her roommates, this photo below popped up from the same day many years ago. It is exactly as they say...one day they are riding their pink and purple bike with freshly shaved hair and the next they are out in NYC with college roommates. It happens in a blink!

September 13

Avery loves, loves her babies and jumps at the chance to help when possible.

Earlier in the day, Shaun invited me to go to a Phil Wickham concert with him at the Big E Fair. Everything about it was so out of character for us, but we did it anyway and had the best time. We arrived an hour or so early to experience the fair (and remember why its really not our scene). It was a great concert and we had so much fun!

Headed back to the car but feeling obligated to get funnel cake before we left, I expressed my surprise that I had not seen any familiar faces the entire evening. Shortly after, we bumped into Nathan and Laryssa!

September 14

We got home around midnight and my alarm went off early to catch a 6 AM flight. Amy organized a trip to Sioux Falls, SD where our good friends are living and ministering. We had not seen the most recent production, Parables & Proverbs so we went to see the show and catch up with Brent and Tami.

They had two shows on this day and one the next, so we knew we were on our own until Monday. Once we got checked in, we found a spot by the river for a leisurely meal.

What a beautiful theater and amazing cast! Being in the technical booth and back stage felt like being home. We are forever grateful for the many years, together as a family, we did ministry alongside Grosvenors. They have remained faithful on and off the stage and are such good stewards of the ministry and the people it brings them in contact with.

Back home, Shaun was giving Jack a little practice in softball since he just joined a men's league. He's very athletic but needed help translating baseball to slow-pitch softball. Avery and Aiden were there to assist. It brought Shaun and I back to that time in our lives.

September 15

After my workout, I stepped outside to take in the wonder of a new day with open sky.

We went to their church then stopped for brunch, enjoying the scenes of a pretty downtown. Brent invited us backstage pre-show, so we got to the theater early and got to meet some of the cast and hear their stories. The cast is hugely talented and represent 11 different churches.

September 16

(Its so nice when a hotel provides sufficient and working equipment.) The day started slow, with plans to meet Brent for lunch. 

Its a tough life when you spend your day lingering at one cafe and then another.

We stopped to see "the" falls, as in Sioux Falls. It seemed really low to us and my plane buddy on the ride home said it looked more like a lake earlier in the season.

By the time we were done with our sightseeing trip, Tami was off of work so we went to their house for dinner and more catching up. Then they took us over to their rehearsal space. Its large enough for the stage dimensions to be laid out on the floor and for storage in an upper loft area. We are so happy for them to be settled in their community and in a thriving, secular theater district.