thimbly things

As the summer is drawing to a close (fingers crossed), I thought it might be nice to reflect on summer adventures of old. This has been a fairly uneventful one for us, especially since we have two little ones. It’s truly difficult to get out and have adventures. Thank you, Dear Internet, for giving us a window to the outside world.

First, let’s look at a typical college summer for us:

Pretty ridiculous, huh? I’m the one at the bottom of the pic, and I’m just not even going to try to explain this. Evan was there somewhere, but I doubt there are any pictures of us together from that particular summer. And that’s another story that deserves its own blog entry. Anyway, this was the summer of 2001.

Continuing with the theme of self-deprecation, here’s what I was doing in the almost-summer (actually it’s dated for spring, but it was hot, I was at the beach, and this is a pretty good indication of my life at the time) of 2004. You can find me on your own if you so desire. There’s no Evan in the picture because he and I were a no-go at the time. And he was in Panama.

Two summers ago, Evan and I joined his family for vacation in England. Here we are with Paddington Bear in, of course, Paddington Station. I was 20 weeks pregnant (which is halfway) with Emily.

And our little family last summer:

This summer, the family is one larger. Evan and I are all grown up… no longer dressing like hooligans and traipsing about Myrtle Beach without a care. We’re focused on our little creative worlds and our babies. We may not be able to travel to Europe or even to the beach this year, but our lives are good. We are content to be in this exciting new season of our lives, teaching our children, writing, drawing, changing diapers, baking granola, staying cool, and loving one another.

Would you believe that I’m alone with just Jacob for a couple hours this morning?  He’s asleep, so this is like a mini-vacation for me.  And when Evan returns with Emily, she’ll probably be ready for a nap.  This may mean that I get up to 5 hours of the previously mentioned alone time I have so craved.

Time to stop and read.  Or maybe just pray and think.

First, I want to share some kindness with you.  Ruthanne, a dear friend I’ve made through blogging, gathered together several books from her personal library that she thought would interest me.  (I was looking for reading material for when I nurse.)  Not only did she send me about a dozen good reads, but she also sent some sweet gifts for the babies (including a Fisher Price radio/cassette player dating from 1991.  So fun!), homemade granola, and a couple books for Evan.  And a very kind letter to boot.

I’ve already read a little in Gift of a Letter, and I can’t wait to read Ten P’s in a Pod, Hidden Art, and Thrift Score.  Really though, it’s hard to know where to begin.  There’s so much variety, and every selection sounds excellent!

And that Little Golden Book… As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a Richard Scarry fan.  I may have to photograph some of the pages a la doe-c-doe and share them with you.  Very cute.  Very inspired.

Ruthanne, you’re amazing.  You are a shining example of what I desire to be as a woman–thinking of others selflessly, giving, extremely thoughtful and kind.  Thank you for being a Proverbs 31 woman and for sharing your godly character with me.

So this is my final May post for A Post a Day in May.  It’s been a good exercise in regular blogging, though it has been difficult at times.  There were a few evenings when I had to fudge my timestamp because my post went through 5 minutes after midnight.  And I actually missed one day altogether while family was in town.  In the future, I’ll try to post everyday, but it will be nice to have more freedom and flexibility with my blog.  I don’t want it to feel like a burden, ya know?  Thank you, Allsorts for the inspiration!  Accountability is always a good thing. : )