Present Participle List - July

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I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. 
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy. -Psalm 34:4-5

I am desperately behind in blogging because summers are bananas. What happened to lounging around? Binge watching your favorite show? Eating ice cream every night.? Okay, we've actually got that one down.

I'm just going to hit a few summer favorites and call it good.

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Eating . . . Anyone else having a hard time cooking in this heat? We've been pulling out cheese, summer sausage, crackers with some fruit and veggies multiple times a week. And Rory is baking.

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Babysitting . . . As a thank you to some friends, we've done a little childcare these past few weeks. Our kids have had a blast playing and so have we. It's also a good reminder that I'm not sad we're past the younger stage.

Camden couldn't be there one night so he left out his legos for the boys. :)
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Surviving . . . We're on the other side of a week of VBS so it feels a bit like we survived a war. I was on the treat bag/attendance team so I only spent one night battling 3 4-year-olds.

Tanning . . . I've started using a self-tanner for the first time since my teenage self used to lather up in an orangey mess. I'm happy to say that self-tanners have greatly improved!

Reading . . . Three really good books since my last post: The Book of Essie, No One Ever Asked, and The Ensemble (content warning on this one). Here's what's sitting in my "to read" basket right now:

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Listening . . . to the Goodbye Road EP with JohhnySwim and Drew Holcomb and the In The Dark season 2 podcast.

Working . . . Brian is spending about 65 hours worth of training in 2 weeks in order to take his bus driving test on July 27 in addition to running VBS and becoming pastor. This is contributing heavily to the life is bananas comment at the top of the post.

Watching . . . Kids are burning their way through The Flash (the adults have even been known to go to bed early this summer leaving the kids to watch alone - something new for our family). Two of our summer family favorites are America's Got Talent and World of Dance. The new season of Somebody Feed Phil was a very welcome surprise (all of the Phil shows are our FAVORITE travel/food television) and we're savoring the episodes instead of binge-watching.

 Debuting . . . I have officially given up hats/scarves. It's been about 2 weeks since I started going out in public with a bare head, and it makes me feel incredibly vulnerable. Just like when I went through this experience 7 years ago, random strangers stop me to give me a high five, thumbs up, or a "rock it, mama" comment. It also produces A LOT of staring, which is difficult to ignore.

Week 1
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Week 2
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Celebrating . . . Camden turned 15 on July 15 (WHAT??) so he and a friend went to The City Forum for the afternoon; we celebrated with the grandparents Saturday and then spent Sunday afternoon eating his favorite meal (Italian Drip Beef Sandwiches) and watching the World Cup championship game. Brian also took him out for his first driving lesson. He received everything on his birthday list: money (he's saving for a PS4), a pull-up bar, and cologne.

First driving lesson
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He's been saving this Mt. Dew since May to drink on his birthday. Notice the French flag in the background.
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Praying . . . In addition to losing a young father in our church this month, we are surrounded by friends and family who are walking through incredibly challenging circumstances. There is absolutely nothing we can do but pray for God's continued work in their lives.

Pressing on . . . In just 10 short days, the kids start school and Brian begins his new full-time job as pastor. We're making a quick 48-hour trip in the next few days and then I hope to fit in some last minute fun and relaxation before those 10 days are over.

Happy weekend, friends.

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