Project 365, Week 26

I've been trying to sum up the week but am unable to give the complexity its due. Blessings and heartbreak ~ both abounded. Life, I guess. 

Look at us, half way through the year. Let's give our all to the day in front of us.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. 

What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. ~Annie Dillard

June 22

My back porch is a sacred place for me and slowly (ever so slowly) God transforms me, renews my mind. I draw strength, hope and life through these times with my Creator. 

Contract signed! Jack and Avery invited us to walk thru the house they are buying. Its going to be such a great place for them once they close in another month. So very proud of them!

June 23

Off to kids camp. Three were on rec staff, one was an LIT and one was in charge of the mini-campers (staff's kids). This week is a highlight every year.

June 24

Happy 21st to this beautiful girl! I didn't have much interest in being a mom, right up until the moment I first held her. She convinced me that being a mom was the actual, absolute best thing. I love her so.

So many brave people with hard stories have come through this room, daring to get up and do another day, despite their desperate situations. This day we said goodbye and I wondered again at how the world works. The weight of it all felt very weighty.

June 25

Pictures came in from camp, where they were having tons of fun. That they get to serve with family is pretty special.

Cousins and more cousins!

June 26

Project get-things-ready-for-the-big-weekend: Amy came bearing flowers and such, Micah and Nathan stopped by to cram in some projects and the concrete guys were sanding off the edges and packing up the last of their equipment. 

In the midst of all that activity, our guests arrived. We laughed because this has been standard practice for us for decades now, wrapping up major projects at the last minute. We think we're done with more properties and renovations and we say we're done, but we're never done.

Due to the chaos, we opted to go our to dinner. There was much to celebrate, above all that nearly a year has passed since my uncle's heart attack. He did the five-hour drive (huge!) and feels "back" and we're just so grateful that God spared his life and has given us the gift of time.

June 27

2000 square feet of concrete complete. I'm so happy with how it turned out and relived because I made many decisions in the process.

And I was filled with glee when I saw that the first thing Shaun did when we had access to the pool area again was to hang my window boxes on the pool house. There were none there before but I felt they were needed. This would have never made his project list, but for love. :)

Shaun and Uncle Lee went fishing on kayaks. Another win!

We took a slow boat ride around the lake and, as a bonus, spotted the local bald eagle.

People filtered in throughout the day.

At dusk, we took the party down to the lake. As it happened, the town's fireworks show was this night. We couldn't see the fireworks from our place, so we borrowed a neighbors lawn and also went in all manner of floating vessels out to the middle of the lake where we could view the fireworks. The reflections on the water and the festive feels made it pretty special.

June 28

Time for the actual LobsterFest day! We hold on to our traditions tightly, and give much care and thought to changes made. Moving it from Labor Day to another weekend made sense, as more and more kids are going off to college. Earlier in the summer also meant we could be at the lake, which was fun for all.

The teen boys slept at the house and were up pretty early with the movement of the house. Shaun took them out for some swimming and boating.

Uncle Lee was the setter upper of things outdoors and the Dakota keeper.

Naptime.

Family gathered throughout the day and the weather was perfect for hanging on the deck and at the pool.

Juliet's boyfriend came for the first time and "made a splash". :)