Update on July Dreams and Goals

 

            How is it the end of July??? This month flew – probably because it was so very busy! I wanted to circle back and reflect on how the dreams and goals for the month ended up panning out!

ONE. Finish my study in Exodus and begin working on Leviticus. Accomplished! I ordered my Leviticus study in enough time for it to arrive to start studying at the beginning of the month, but then the shipping was delayed. BUT! In a last-minute God-twist, it arrived on the very day I needed it. I’ve been working my way through the sacrifices and remaining extra grateful I do not have to offer those in my day and time!

TWO. Keep our godson for an overnighter. Done! I hated it that the weekend we had him was one of the uber-busy weekends, so I felt like he didn’t get the rest and fun time that we normally try to give him, but we had a great time with him. He went to Ryan’s nephew’s birthday party with us and then hung out at our small group with us. He had fun at church, and then it was time for him to go back home! I’m not sure when we’ll have him back for another weekend, but we sure loved the chance to have him this month.

THREE. Enjoy some fun date nights. Indeed, we did! We went to the fish boil on our trip to Michigan, had that picnic beside the bay in Traverse City, went to the flower patch date night here near home, and this past weekend, we explored a local festival! Super fun outings that all happened to fall on perfect weather days.

FOUR. Enjoy my work trip. I haven’t had a chance to tell you about this yet, but it is done! I missed Ryan like CRAZY while I was gone, and the days were long and exhausting, but they were also so good. I was able to meet coworkers in person…I met one of you, my readers, in person…and I had my first Graeter’s ice cream, so it was a fantastic adventure.

FIVE. Schedule fewer things to make more time for rest. Fail. I knew it was going to be a busy month, and I had every intention of not adding more to it, but it’s possible we added more to it. A few times. Thankfully a new month is upon us. If at first you don’t succeed…right?

 

In addition to these goals, we had a few other things happen this month too!

·         Some of my garden produce was ready to harvest, and we LOVED IT! We’ve had a lot of summer squash, a few tomatoes, some lettuce, and just most recently: peas and green beans! When I started this garden adventure, I had no idea if I would succeed at all. To see actual harvest from my efforts is not just the accomplishment of a goal, but it’s a great encouragement to my heart!

·         We had the opportunity to help some friends move to a new home. They were on the crew that helped us move back in February, so we were glad to return the favor!

·         We put up a new mailbox, which has delighted my heart far more than it probably should have. The old one was…old and full of issues. I love the new one and how it shines!

·         We tried our first carrot dogs! I am pretty sure I mentioned this on the Saturday Suggestions one week. We had dinner with vegetarian friends, and they had carrots that really did taste like hot dogs.

·         We had fun on our vacation, and we tried new things while gone – like climbing lighthouses and steep dunes. And we went to the fish boil!

·         I accomplished some new things at work – leading some meetings for the first time. I still have much to learn, but I’m excited with all I’ve learned so far!

·         I fully finished crafting my sessions for the women’s conference next month. I am excited for how they turned out!

·         I tried something that was outside my comfort zone, and even though it didn’t go exactly how I hoped, I was proud of myself for trying. Risk-taking is not my first love or gift!

·         Ryan the risk-taker entered his first brat-eating contest and came in second. I was super proud of him for that! 😊

Sunday Sentiments

 

This. Month. Has. Been. So. Full. Fuller than I like, truly. Most of it was out of our control; it was the sort of month when all the things just fell at once. But even though the month has been full, and we’ve scrambled every turn to try to stay ahead (or even just caught up…) I have reminded myself over and over that it’s still good.

            Yesterday I talked to a gentleman who lives at the retirement community where Ryan works. He told me about some of the (very serious!) illnesses and health battles he’s battled over the years. He shared the frustrating struggles ahead of him right now. And then he said, “But I’m really thankful because God has been so good to me throughout my whole life. I’ve had hard things, but I know there are people who have had harder things than I have, and they wish they only had to worry about my problems.”

            It’s all in the perspective.

            The month has been full, but it’s been full of good things.

First harvests from the garden.

Sunset upon sunset upon sunset.

A weekend away.

Fellowship with our small group.

Parades and birthday parties.

Meeting new friends.

Dates.

Watching TV shows together.

Studying the offerings of the Old Testament.

Reading books.

Having company.

            The fullness of the month represents the many beautiful gifts from God, and I’m grateful for each one!

Saturday Suggestions

 Hello, Friends! Happy Saturday! I am so grateful to be home after a few days away at a conference. I am so grateful to have water after we were under a boil advisory. I am so grateful to have air conditioning after ours broke for several hours. (Just a part that went out…easily fixed.) Hope all of you are having a great weekend and are staying COOL AND HYDRATED in this crazy heat. As you keep cool, here are some ideas and inspiration for your day!

ONE. 

This week, while I was out of town for work, I visited a local coffee shop and had a buckeye latte. It was so delicious. I found a copycat recipe and wanted to share it with you in case you ever want to try one at home. So good! If you love buckeyes, scotcharoos, peanut butter cups, or any such deliciousness, you’ll love this one!

TWO.

So it turns out I’ve been pronouncing IKEA wrong all this time. Have you?

THREE. 

One of our someday travel bucket list items is to RV up the Alaskan highway and through Alaska itself. This itinerary looks pretty sweet! (Is Alaska on your list?)

FOUR. 

You know we’ve long dreamed of running a coffee shop. There are some pretty sweet ideas on this list. I’ll tuck it away on my Pinterest board for “just in case.” I think my favorite one is the secret menu in front of the mirror!

FIVE. 

The town where we grocery shop has a pretty nice Goodwill. (Just visited it for the first time a few weeks ago.) And last week, we visited the home of one of our small group couples, and she told me almost everything she owns is thrifted. You can imagine how these two pieces of news married in my mind, and now I’m in a “find a good thrifting deal for anything I could possibly need for home” sort of headspace. I found this home tour of a house made up of almost entirely thrifted items. The owner did repurpose some of them, but goodness, I think it’s all so beautiful!

SIX. 

I’m typically not mesmerized by architecture, but there are certainly some amazing creations in this list. My traditional-loving heart picks #18 for the win, but I appreciate the work and design in all of them!

Date Night at the Flower Patch!

 

This month has been crazy eventful, and it’s going to take me a while to catch you up on all that has taken place! Today I want to tell you about a date we went on last week!

            Ryan so sweetly bought us tickets to date night at the flower patch not too far from us! I saw on social media that they were hosting a date night event and thought it would be so much fun to attend, and he agreed! (The flower patch owners are friends of ours.)

            The night before our date was so stormy, but we had the perfect weather night. It was warm (but not breathtakingly hot like it is right now) and sunny.

            We started our night with dinner, which was from a local café. Neither of us had eaten their food before, but we loved what we had! We ate at picnic tables overlooking the flower patch, and we even enjoyed live music while we ate!

            After dinner, we made our way into the patch to choose our flowers! There were so many gorgeous blooms out there! (We actually made two arrangements – one to keep and one to give away, so we did lots of picking!)

            Then we arranged our flowers in our vase(s) and had our photo taken with the old truck.

           There were other couples there too, but it felt like a private date, and we had the best time! (And we’re still enjoying our flowers!)

We Need a Parade!

 

Our July has been wildly crazy. Has that been the case for you?

            The day after we came home from our Traverse City getaway, we joined our small group for a parade-watching evening of fun!

            Parades always remind me of my days at WBCL. Ryan and I had the chance to be in a handful of parades during those days, and they were fun! (Very hot, sometimes, but fun!)

            This parade night was actually most pleasant!

            Fire trucks, marching bands, floats…it was a fun evening.

            Wouldn’t it be nice if Ryan had some personality?

            Glad for a fun night, good food, and a little parade candy! (We donated most of ours to the kiddos in our group.)