Gracious we have had a busy summer!

Let us offer a brief, yet hopefully informative summary of our activities and adventures these last several months.

First, our garden! In the spring we decided to attempt an adventure in gardening. (Which you can read about  in more detail here.) Our garden encouraged us to be intentional about spending time outside and working around our family compound. The summer brought weeds and bugs and we got a bit behind in the upkeep but have faith that we will reclaim our ground as we prepare for fall planting.

Soon after our tomato plants were starting to bud, we enjoyed a weekend at the beach with our dear friends. This was the first time since we were married that we had gone away for time to just REST. We had been out of town many times through the fall and spring, but each trip had been for the purposes of being somewhere for an event, or to visit friends. By early May we were desperate for some time to be away from the chaos of life and simply rest and recuperate. It was a great time to connect intentionally with each other as well as to enjoy some fun time with friends.

Tom and Chris were very devoted to this puzzle…. at the beach!?!

A fun boat ride with the cousins!

One night the boys made brownies for us.  🙂

The weekend we were there we enjoyed the “Super Moon.” This picture doesn’t come close to capturing it’s gorgeousness!

Charissa and I enjoyed multiple cups of coffee (and long chats) on the front porch.

The weeks flew by and it was soon June! My parents and sister arrived for the summer and the pace kept quickening.  🙂 We were able to enjoy a summer full of family. And it was wonderful!

Part way through I took a last minute trip up to VA to visit my dear friend Elizabeth. Such a fun and refreshing 36hrs with an amazing woman!

I also had many adventures in cooking this summer. I very much enjoyed being creative and preparing fun treats! (After productive trips to the farmer’s market of course.)

Used some previously made cinnamon rolls as the pie crust!

Added some apples….

… and a crumble topping. Yummy Apple Pie!

Eggplant Parmesan yumminess

Our summer was full of weekend trips with the family and late night visits with brothers and sisters who were in and out through the months. A family vacation at the beach house, and nights spent around the dining room table. And the “family time summer” culminated in a lovely week in Ohio celebrating the marriage of David and Courtney! So very fun!

We’ve been readjusting to the grind of life these weeks. Looking at opportunities and  praying through various decisions.

Our tomato plants haven’t produced like we’d hoped but we have had all the tomato’s we could use all summer (and then some) and were able to put away several jars of sauce as well. We’re reading and researching and looking forward to learning more about the possibilities of growing our own organic and nutritious veggies.

More updates to come soon about all that God is teaching us. Thanks for praying for us and with us as we face each day full of new adventures!