Sweet July

Will had the month of July off, and our top goal for our vacation time with him was relaxation.  Last summer we had a rough time of it with the loss of our chickens, our neighbor tensions and the icing on the cake, our kids hosting head lice.  Not to mention, Will totaled out our car in an accident and began the fall hospitalized for ulcerative colitis.  If a summer redo was possible, we wanted this summer to be it.  I am happy to report that our plans went off without a hitch.  We spent as much time as possible in our backyard and sitting on our front porch.  The weather has been mild and breezy and with low-humidity which we have not taken for granted.  Our windows have been open, letting the breezes in and it has been perfect sleeping weather too.  Here we are below, relaxing in the yard.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, Will is painting the girls nails.  In the left hand picture next to it, the girls are painting Will's toenails.

We did lots of slip and slide time, the sprinkler and swam in our kiddie pool.  Violet refers to the kiddie pool as the kitty cat pool and no amount of trying to convince her otherwise has worked.

 We had summer desserts made with our backyard berries and shared them with neighbors on sweet evenings and enjoyed popsicles and sidewalk chalk as well.

We harvested lots of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries from our own backyard this past month. One of my neighbors borrowed my cherry pitter and in exchange, gave me a giant bowl of cherries.  We do not have a cherry tree in our yard (and probably will be content to just lend out our cherry pitter for a free bowl as pitting the cherries took a really long time and I can't imagine pitting an entire tree's worth!) and so I have never had the pleasure of making a homemade cherry pie.  Let me tell you that this cherry pie may have been the best cherry pie we have ever eaten, and it was made sweeter by the fact that we shared it with our neighbors on an easy, breezy, backyard summer evening.

If Charlie could pick a favorite month of the year, I think he would pick July.  All of his favorite people spend almost all of the day outside in July, and Charlie loves being as close to possible with us.  In clockwise order below, starting at the top left - Charlie, staying close to Will while he picks berries, Charlie inhibiting the girl's hopscotch game, Charlie interrupting the girl's jump rope game (he is obsessed with the jump rope and goes into attack mode anytime the girls try to play with it), Charlie being fitted with doll sunglasses, and finally, Charlie, rolling around in the girls' sidewalk chalk, giving himself a nice, pink sheen, and smudging the girls' drawing.

 We spent the Fourth of July at my parents house who had a party to honor my Uncle who lives in Africa and comes to visit us a week each summer.  The girls helped my mom pick blueberries in her yard, and also decorated a Fourth of July brownie cheesecake that we had brought to share for dessert.  We also spent time this past month swimming at our Aunt and Uncle's outdoor oasis, their backyard pool.

We enjoyed s'mores with them as well after a swim, and celebrated the graduation of the girls' babysitter and the birthdays of two of our friends.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, Lucy, Emma and even Violet played an impromptu piano recital for the relatives on the Fourth of July.  This was just days after their piano teacher had passed away, and it was hard to hold back the tears as I thought of my friend and how proud I know she would have been when the girls told her how they played for an audience like that.  Granted, I know she was there, smiling her sweet, quiet smile.

Carrie has been making her presence known to me, as if I am outdoors thinking about her, a monarch butterfly will without a doubt fly past me.  The other day I was driving in the car, thinking about Carrie, and right down the road in front of me swooped and floated a beautiful monarch butterfly.  How unusual for a butterfly to be flying down the middle of a busy road, but I know without a doubt that Carrie was just telling me hello.  It's gotten to the point where the girls will point out a butterfly and say, "Carrie's saying hi!"  On our way to the cemetery this past month, much later than we have ever gone to plant flowers at Luke's grave, we spotted a rainbow and it hadn't even been raining.  I am certain that Luke was telling us that he was with Carrie and that all is well.  At the cemetery by our house that we walk through in the evenings, we have been seeing two mama deer, each with a set of twin fawns.  In the bottom picture below is one of the little deer families.

We had dentist appointments in July, visited Will's work...

...and eye doctor appointments this past month.  Lucy got new glasses (NOT pictured below) and Emma and Violet passed another year without glasses.

The Lavender Festival was this past month, and although it was no where near as stressful as last year when I did the Lavender Festival for the first time, there was still items that needed to be done, including making and labeling lip balm, cutting wire stakes for yard signs, stamping my logo on shopping bags and packing the car for the three day festival.

The girls did a great job helping us set up, and Violet helped me make the lavender cooling mists that we sold as a fundraiser for Ectodermal Dysplasia.

We had friends volunteer each of the three days of the festival, and it really made it fun.  My sister helped all three days and it was great bonding for us.  My kids were there for the food and enjoyed ice cream, kettle corn, French macaroons with gorgeous pictures of lavender hand painted onto them, strawberry slushies and all sorts of other treats too.

Will and I got out on a couple of dates this past month, and one of them was especially my favorite as we started out in our bee hives at the bee yard north of us, picked up a pizza from our favorite pizza place and then ate it by the lake at our favorite metro park before we biked the six mile trail around the park like we used to do almost every day in the summers when we were dating.  It was a perfect afternoon/evening.  We celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary this past month too, and let me just say that I am grateful for the man I married and the life that we have built together.  We are at the point where we have known each other for half of our lives, and I have to admit that in the beginning I was worried that I would no longer find Will funny after years of listening to his jokes.  I am happy to report that I still find him hilarious and that no one can make me laugh like he can.  I remember in a Spanish class in college where we had to write, in Spanish of course, the top three traits we appreciate in a significant other.  I wrote, 1. Makes me laugh, 2. Hard worker, 3. Shares similar interests.  Check, check and check!  Amazing that I had that insight back then, and amazing that it holds true to this day.  Here Will is below, working in our bee hives.  We have reached the point in the season where the boxes are so full of honey, I can no longer lift them on my own.  Will tells anyone who asks that the bees are my hobby, but he doesn't hesitate to zip up his bee suit and bee right there with me for every step and sting of the way.  I truly couldn't do this without him.

 The last week of July we spent up north in a rented cottage with friends.  Four adults and six kids amongst us could have been utter chaos, but it worked beautifully.  We had family meals and family story time before bedtime, and the kids got along splendidly.

We snuck in some relaxing while the kids played together and the littlest one napped...

...we enjoyed watching our brood play with all of their might at some gorgeous beaches...

...and we enjoyed a hiking trip together with what felt like 1,000 stairs and an amazing view.

We took walks and made fairy houses...

...visited a local farmer's market and enjoyed the shops, sights and eats of the tourist towns nearby.

 We were all sad when it was over and that is evidence of time well spent.  July, you were sweet and I am very pleased with our summer redo from last year.  I only wished it could have lasted longer.  Will is back to work and we will be starting school in a few days.  The memories of this past month though are still bringing smiles to our faces and I hope that they can carry us through until next July when we will have the same agenda - to sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Tears and Gratitude in June

Will started off the month of June by slowly passing a kidney stone.  It took about a week of discomfort, until we ended up leaving a friend's birthday party to head straight to the ER.  The kids had never gone with us to the ER for a kidney stone, as we have always had a bit of time to get someone to come over to watch them before we had to leave.  There was no time for that once the pain really hit Will, and so we all took him to the ER and the girls waited with us until my sister could pick them up.  It is very stressful to see someone you love in that level of pain, and our kids all reacted differently.  Lucy was white faced and religious, praying Hail Mary's the entire time.  Emma was white-faced and silent and looked as though she would puke at any moment.  Violet could care less, and asked questions like, "Are you wearing underwear daddy?" while pointing to his hospital gown.  She also made it known that she was upset about missing the cake at the birthday party, and that she was in fact, still hungry.  Here is Will's text message to his family after he passed the stone.

Funny enough, he passed the stone minutes after we got home from the ER.  This was excellent news, as in the past, stones that were this large and painful, usually needed surgery to get them out.  We were so relieved, but no one more relieved than Will, as the very next day he had to give the commencement speech at his high school.  This is something that Will doesn't enjoy, as he is nervous with public speaking, but I think the pain meds still in his system made this his best speech yet.

We have lost count as to how many kidney stones Will has passed in the last thirteen years, but the good news is that his kidneys seem to only have one or two left in them.  The feeling of gratitude that I had the night we came home from the ER, knowing that he passed the stone and that we didn't have the long road of surgeries ahead of us was so great that I honestly can say I fell asleep that night and will always remember it as one of the happiest moments of my life.  Sounds dramatic, but we really lucked out this time, especially comparing it to previous experiences.  To have him next to me, pain-free and not in the hospital but in our bed, with our babies sleeping in the rooms next to us is priceless.  It really is true that gratitude is the surest way to happiness.  

The glow of gratitude persisted for several weeks after that, and we had a lovely month of play.  Below are my kids in their happy place, painting outside with me as their assistant.  Their job was to create, and my job was to make sure there was an endless supply of paint, fresh paper, and a place to dry their masterpieces.  We borrowed our neighbor's clothesline and I think it made his day too to see the artwork.  He noticed that each girl had her own style - one did still life, another impressionist and another, realist.  I had to laugh when I realized he was right!  The girls also enjoyed playing with various measuring cups and beakers with water and colored tablets outside as well.  There was more sharing and patience required for that activity compared to painting, but it was still a happy experience overall.

Lots of swinging, crafts at the picnic table, baby doll picnics, water balloon throwing with the neighbor (adorable because it never occurred to any of the four girls to actually throw the balloons at each other - they were content to see the splashes when the balloons hit the driveway), and popsicles.

We had snacks and meals outside, enjoyed the slip and slide, sidewalk chalk and I even found a mermaid bathing in my bird bath - see bottom, left hand picture below.

We found toads and caterpillars in our yard, and played with the toads and put the caterpillars in our butterfly garden and then watched them turn into a chrysalis and then emerge as a beautiful butterfly that we released into our yard.

Our berries were in full bloom this past month, where we finished off the strawberry crop, and started in on the blueberry and raspberry crops.  We also enjoyed peas straight from the vine, and the kids got a kick out of the cute little peas all in a row when they peeled the shells open.

I did lots of baking including waffles in bulk, strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam (Will mostly took on the jam making), strawberry rhubarb pie, oatmeal cookies in bulk, and my first peach cobbler of the season.

We still had school to finish up in June, and our goal was to end the same day that our friends in the local school district ended.  We made it, but we did have to double up on some subjects to pull it off.  Here the kids are below in clockwise order from top left:  Violet at her very first swim lesson, Lucy holding the certificate showing that she passed a level in swim, Emma and Violet modeling matching swimsuits, Violet in the car excited to go to swim class, the girls doing schoolwork, and Lucy and Emma's last day of vacation bible school.  

Violet took four swim classes this past month, after almost an entire year of watching her two sisters swim and wanting to swim so badly herself.  I wanted her to be old enough to communicate heating issues, as the pool deck and pool itself are quite warm.  At three, I believed she was finally old enough.  Unfortunately, her enthusiasm for swim faded fast, and Will and I are blaming the little boy in her class who was terrified to be in the class, and screamed and yelled for two straight classes.  Violet watched this in horror and decided that she no longer wanted to swim either.  On her fourth class it was all I could do to get her in the pool and on her fifth (and final) class, I gave up when she started screaming in fear herself.  I do not want her traumatized and three is still very young.  We will try again when she is older.  It is just sad to me to see the transition of her being so excited to so upset.

Lucy and Emma had their year end piano recital this past month and did very well.

They had started off the year with my longtime friend who had taught me piano ten years ago.  I stopped when Lucy was born, but promised myself that I would take lessons again - this time WITH Lucy and my friend as our teacher.  Ten years later, Lucy began taking lessons with Emma (budget purposes prioritized Emma over me!) but my friend was their teacher and it was such a great, full-circle moment.  Sadly, after a few months, my friend had to pass our lessons onto another teacher as she was in a battle for her life with cancer.  As much as we missed our friend, we were happy with the teacher we were passed to and developed a great relationship with her.  At the end of June, my friend passed away, leaving behind a devoted husband and three young sons.  The impact that she has had on me and my family is still being revealed, however what a gift to feel her presence every single time my kids play the piano.  She has left a legacy beyond average, and I am so grateful for the time I had with her in my life, and in my kids lives too.  The good news in this tragedy is that her smile is alive and well in her youngest son, the dimples in her middle son and the creativity of her oldest son.  I am honored to be a part of the boys life, and look forward to watching them grow into adulthood, knowing how proud my friend is of them.

Lucy and Emma also had their dance recital this past month and enjoyed taking pictures in our yard before the big day.

They did an excellent job, dancing to an instrumental version of "I've Got a Golden Ticket" from Willy Wonka.

Both grandparents made it to the show, and Violet did an excellent job cheering them on next to Will in the audience.  Added fun was sharing the backstage room with friends, and seeing their babysitter dance for the last time as she graduated this year.

The day after the dance recital was Father's Day, where we laid low and tried to spoil Will as best we could, considering how he never asks for anything and is hard to pin down when it comes to making him his favorite food or doing his favorite things.  He would much rather do for others, as seen below in the right hand picture when Violet yelled out the window that she wanted him to braid her hair.  Keep in mind I was standing right next to her and offered to do her hair, as Will was in the middle of a project outside.  But Will rarely says no to his girls (me included), and so lifted the screen on the window and reached in and braided her hair.  Violet also knows that Will does a better job at hair braiding.

We attended the funeral of my great uncle this past month, and as much as he will be missed, did find plenty of smiles through the tears as we visited with relatives we rarely see anymore.  He and his wife never were able to have kids of their own, but they had over 50 nieces and nephews and countless great nieces and nephews and great great nieces and nephews.  Not only did he know all of our names, but also knew all about each of us and was always a part of our lives.  In the top, left hand picture below is my mom with eight of her sixteen siblings.  Nine siblings together in one place is rare indeed, as they live all over the country and even the world.  My favorite pictures though are my girls playing with rose petals they found outside after the funeral luncheon, and Violet, giving my dad a "squeeze tight", after spotting my dad in a crowd of strangers at the funeral.

We celebrated Will's mom's and Will's grandma's birthdays this past month, my youngest God daughter's first birthday, as well as my youngest sister's (and oldest God daughter's) graduation from high school.

We spent time with friends new and old and I even got out for a date with a friend this past month too.

On too hot or too rainy of days, we played inside.  Below in clockwise order from the top left: Violet enjoying a snack in front of the air conditioner, Violet with her baby on her back, Violet, showing us how she took a piece of paper and some tape and fixed for herself a piece of wood she accidentally ripped off of the foot of our piano, the girls playing Barbies, the girls putting on a fashion show, the girls reading library books on the couch, and the center picture, the girls asking us from the window for a snack or tv - I don't remember which, but those are the things they always ask for.

The girls made a dog house out of an empty box and played dogs for several days, had a tea party, played play doh, cuddled, and listened to audio books together.  Not pictured below is sibling fighting, each girl taking turns being emotionally unstable and all three girls banding together to delay bedtime for as long as possible.

Violet enjoyed accessorizing her Barbie's hair, her hair, and cuddling me.  The top, right hand picture below is a disturbing and hilarious sight I found in our office/playroom this past month.  Evidence of why toddlers would make terrible mothers.

June was my last month to prep for the Lavender Festival I was going to have a booth at in July.  Last year at this time, I was so stressed out with everything I had to do for it.  This year was way better for two reasons:  I hired my youngest sister to help me out making products, and I planned better this year, knowing from last year how much inventory I needed and dividing up the work over the last twelve months.  What a difference it made!  I had to laugh when I texted my brother to remind him to bring a stamp he made of my logo and my sister in law text me back a picture of him driving, with the stamp in his fist - see top, left hand picture below.

Will of course helped with the prep work for the show as well, and even got stung multiple times after moving a wild hive a friend of mine had caught for me.  He was teased at work when during a meeting, coworkers noticed that the sleeve on one arm of his business shirt wasn't buttoned and what looked to be a catcher's mitt was dangling out of it.  His boss told him he didn't know if he was the dumbest or bravest person he had ever met when he found out that his swollen paw was from bees.  In the top, right hand picture below I am enjoying fresh honeycomb from one of my hives.  Truly, this is the best part of keeping bees and I have to say that there is no sweeter taste.

Because of my preplanning and my sister's help, there was plenty of time for fun this past month.  We had our annual tradition of strawberry slushies at the orchard by our house, visits to the playground and the library, as well as shopping at the craft store.  The two, top, right hand pictures below are Violet being goofy - one is her cooling off her cheeks with her cooling towel and the other is her using a carefully nibbled pretzel as a mustache.

We also had time for projects around the house and Will hung maps up in our office after he attached dowels to them to give them a vintage look, and also made me my birthday present from him - a trellis for the climbing rose bush my parents got me for my birthday.  You better believe that if this rose bush takes off like I am really hoping it does, that Harding Honey will have a new line of products - infused with roses!  You can't really tell from the pictures, but the trellis is made of (expensive) cedar instead of pressure treated wood so it will be all natural for my rose bush, but that also the part for the roses to climb on is made out of metal cattle fencing which turns out isn't that cheap either.  All told, this was a very pricey trellis and I am a very lucky girl that I can design my dreams and my husband will finance and build them.

At the end of the month we took a trip to a state park in Indiana where friends of ours were camping for the weekend.  

We had a lovely time, and still found plenty to do despite the intermittent rain showers that our iPhone weather forecast didn't say were going to happen!

One of the highlights for Lucy was finding a nest of baby toads outside the Inn that we stayed at.

They also enjoyed sipping fresh natural spring water from an artisan well in the state park, as well as riding a horse for the very first time.  None of the girls were that enthralled with the horseback ride experience, which Will and I are now saying was the best $12 we have ever spent, as horseback riding is expensive.

We enjoyed lots of yummy food, crafts, s'mores and even campfire pies with our friends as well as hikes and nature walks.

It was a beautiful time and we are so grateful to our friends for inviting us to join them.

This past month has had it's ups and downs and the loss of my friend is still sinking in hard for me.  I'm learning to no longer question WHY human nature is such that it takes suffering to have gratitude for joy, and that it takes loss to truly appreciate what you have.  This is human nature, and so I am learning to take the pain and embrace the joy that it also brings.  I always worry about losing family members, but in my mind, my friends were always safe.  Especially this friend, who was so healthy and strong.  Life is short, precious and not guaranteed, no matter how needed and irreplaceable each of us are.  Thank you to my friend for teaching me so many things, but especially, secrets to a life well lived.  I'm not sure what I will do without your listening ear, your wisdom and your friendship, but I am starting to realize that you have introduced me to so many wonderful people that I now consider dear friends too, and I believe that the friends you have shared with me was one of your parting gifts and I believe we will feel your presence with us each time we are together.

Spending time with the people you love is never wasted.  I am on a mission to reduce wasted time in my life and to increase time well spent.  To be present, to be grateful, to share and to love.  Thank you Carrie for sharing that lesson with me by the example of your life.  I am grateful.