Summer Joys

The heat & humidity of a Gulf Coast summer has finally settled in the Houston area, meaning more indoor play time and lots of pool time.

Levi had fun taking swimming lessons in June, and conquered his HUGE fear of getting water in his face. He now jumps, slides, and any other way he can think of, makes huge splashes in the pool. Still not completely swimming on his own, but getting closer and closer. He also has gained several pounds and grown out of an entire size of clothing, which God provided for by an awesome summer clearance store. He is now restocked with running shorts, tshirts, and a few short sleeve dress shirts.

Eliana is just about as adventurous in the pool, trying to keep up with everything big brother does. She daily amazes me with her curious, active, adventurous little personality. Well, big personality in a pint-size body. She is getting taller and slimmer, but still in the same clothing size, so we also went shopping for some new clothes during the summer clearance for her. Her other summer clothes are getting so faded and stained being worn for so many months (and were from garage sales themselves).

Nathan has stayed very, very busy working as a manager at Chick-Fil-A, mowing a few yards, and leading worship several times a month at the church we're attending.

This summer we have had fun as a family visiting the local Houston zoo (pictured below), attending the Ringling Brothers Circus (courtesy of ChickFilA), picking fresh strawberries at a local farm, and over course, eating & playing at Chick-Fil-A! :-)



And I have stayed busy keeping up with those three! Last week Nathan and I had the joy of a 48hr. getaway to the "Hill Country" of Texas (about 3 hours away). We celebrated both of our 30th birthdays this summer by visiting a winery, going to a huge waterpark for a day, touring a cavern, and tubing/floating for several hours on a river! The kids got extended time with my parents while we were on our adventures. And we just had a wonderful time. So, so good. Just a refreshing time for our marriage & friendship! We both agreed it's one of the best trips we've ever been on.

This is Canyon Lake, the beautiful lake we stayed on (thanks to a Groupon voucher!)



These are just some samples of the blessings we've had as a family this summer. Our continued focus has been building memories together. And we definitely have built some to last for a lifetime! Can't wait to build some more!