Lazy Days {As If There Were Any Such Thing}

The debilitating heat has me dragging my feet around here.....in more ways than the obvious lag in blog post production. But never fear, there's always something to do, always a closet to re-organize, Daddy-work shirts to iron, and a Lego/Polly Pocket pile to be picked up (before I step on one of those wicked little pieces--ouch!). Yes, things are always a-hoppin' in this household.

Summer sunshine and recently, a bit of precious rainfall has produced an abundant garden in our backyard this year. We have bucketfuls of tomatoes to be blanched and canned into spaghetti, pizza sauce, and salsa. Neighbors and friends have gifted us with peaches and zucchini, giving me plenty of goodies to freeze-can and loaves of bread to bake. Never had zucchini bread? Mmm....

On top of that, my 3 children are growing and changing faster than I can keep up, making their Mama very proud:

* Elijah, at 6, is is a very industrious and imaginative little boy. He truly amazes me with the things he comes up with. If he is not creating or working on something, he is absolutely miserable. He can draw or build with Legos for literal hours. When he says, "Mama, come see!" I never know what is awaiting. ;) He is reading far above his level and while we were visiting my parents last week, he found one of my Dad's Civil War history books and read several pages of it aloud to us. Then he sat down and drew pages of battlefields, complete with soldiers, canons, and horses. He loves his little sisters, but often laments that he doesn't have a brother to play with :(. He is at the stage where everything girl-related is gross (it's the funniest thing). A good punishment for a misdeed against his sisters is to make him give a kiss and a hug--pure torture! He wears me out with his non-stop energy, but his infectious grin melts my heart every day :).

*Gracie celebrated her 5th birthday on the 14th of this month!! She is still my Sunshine Girl, and resident Drama Queen. One the morning of her birthday last week, she got stung by a bee at my parents' house. She was so heartbroken that her birthday was all ruined and it took me an hour and a couple teaspoons of Children's Tylenol to get her to stop crying. She spends hours playing with Polly Pockets and her dollhouse. She is a nurturing child with a giving heart, always willing and ready to give anything she has to anyone. She gives toys away to other kids at church, and even gave away some money her Papa gave her during youth camp a couple of weeks ago. She feels and loves very deeply.

*Emma, I often joke, is the child God gave me to draw me closer to Him. She is a handful! She is all priss and sass and busy, busy, busy. She doesn't go anywhere without a baby doll under her arm and a purse on the other. My arms literally ache after wrestling with her during a church service. She is like an electric toy that runs at full blast when plugged in, but when the plug is pulled she is DONE. When she is tired she lays herself down and goes to sleep in just a couple of minutes, going from all to nothing pretty fast. I can't believe she will be 3 in just a couple of months. Where has my baby gone?

Our Daddy has successfully passed the first two sections of the CPA exam. He has worked very hard for a long time and I am so proud of his perseverance and dedication to reaching his goals. Here is a pic from almost 3 years ago, when he first started taking classes to earn his Accounting degree (he had a little help studying).

It really is amazing for someone with a family, a job, and added responsibilities of a lay minister to have tackled such a task and accomplished it so successfully.

As for me, I am most content and happy in my role as mother, wife, and homemaker. I am right where I am supposed to be, and so thankful that God has given me a Christian husband and a beautiful family to love and serve. I can't think of anything more fulfilling. There's really no place or time for laziness in my days :). Sometimes it's good to make it happen though.