Summer is Coming to an End!

I cannot believe it - tomorrow I'll surrender my freedom and set my alarm for 4:30 am.  Where did the time go?!  Summer has officially come to an end.

I was thinking back on this summer and it was a really weird one.  I feel like I didn't really do anything, but I was somehow always busy.  Except for those 3 weeks where it rained every single day.  I did a lot of sleeping then.  It was honestly refreshing.  I totally needed that.

We had a lot of company come to town, I spent a lot of time with friends or by myself at the beach, I spent a lot of time by myself (with the exception of my two crazy hounds), I spent a lot of time with God, I grew another year older, I worked out and tried (am trying) to get back in shape, I had awesome evenings of walks and meals with my hubs, and unfortunately I dealt with death a lot.  That pretty much sums it up.

Since I last posted, I celebrated a birthday.  We had a big family cookout, which was nice to have everyone together.  I felt very blessed to have this year BEHIND me - it was a tough one, but one I look back on with a huge smile.  I grew so much spiritually and personally.  I really needed the valleys I had to walk through because God showed His grace and perfect plan through it all.  He really causes all things to work together for good.

I feel like a summer recap might be best shown through some random pictures....so here we go!

My and the Hubs on my birthday :)

After one of our 2 mile walks with our crazy dogter #2

Doing one of my favorite things - SWIMMING

Did a little crafting - made a new wreath with help from my awesome SIL, Amber.

Celebrating an addition to the family - Congratulations Jon and Lauren!

Celebrated my Tinky girl turning another year older.  Love her SO much!

Got to see this view as often as I wanted.  Blessed to live where I do!

I also got to cook a lot, which is always great.  I made some new recipes and hopefully I'll be sharing more of those with y'all soon.  I'm so into smoothies for breakfast right now and have made a list of my favorite concoctions that I've come up with.  They're fast, easy, and super healthy.

My Bible reading has been coming along nicely.  I'm almost done with the 90 day challenge, although I likely won't finish in 90 days.  Mine will be more like 100.  But hey, I've read the whole Old Testament through, which I had never done before.  Reading the Bible in chronological order has been amazing.  It's like I get it.  But I have SO MUCH to learn.  It's awesome to see God's plan for His creation.  When it all ties together, it makes incredible sense.  I've seen things in a whole new light.  This has definitely changed me drastically.

While we're on the topic of The Lord, my sweet Aunt Margaret went to be with Him on July 28th.  It was so hard to watch her suffer and we just prayed that God would call her home.  He did and now we mourn here for our loss.  She was an incredibly kind, humble woman.  I hate to see my mom hurt so bad, along with my grandpa, uncle, and cousin.  Our family has had so much loss in the last year.  

The was the last photo taken with my Aunt Margaret before she went downhill.  This was her birthday celebration back in March,

My beautiful mom.  The strongest woman I know.  I look at her with a whole different admiration for all she's gone through.  Losing her best friend wasn't easy, but God gave her a lot of grace and strength. I hope I can be more like her.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. -Matthew 5:4

All in all, it's been a good summer.  I'm blessed to live in a place where I can just hop in my car and drive to the beach.  It's so peaceful and soothing to be next to the water.  I've thoroughly enjoyed my quiet time.  BUT, I'm looking forward to this school year and all it has to bring.  I'm just praying over my class I'm about to receive and asking for wisdom to embark on these sweet, young lives.  I hope I can always be a light to these kids!  It is truly a blessing to be walking in God's Will for my life and doing what I was called to do.

I'm off to finish up supper - ribs, fried cabbage and roasted broccoli- YUM TO MY TUM!  I'll be bringing back Meal Plan Monday (it's been forever!) to hopefully give y'all some ideas and hold myself accountable.  

I hope you have an incredibly blessed week!