San Francisco, Charlotte, and Happy Feet

Twinkle toes has new kicks- all ready for drama camp

 

B is obviously too busy to communicate with his mother on a guys' trip

living the life- take out and wifi as A's sidekick on a work trip to the west coast

Man food

This scene reminds me of the sea lions in Finding Dory. They are uber-possessive of their sunny rock and bark "OFF OFF OFF" when anyone creeps on their space. I feel the same way when kids want to camp out on our bed after 9pm!

(Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Grandmama takes W and MJ to see the new sea lion exhibit.

This makes my heart smile. We used to watch some polar bears in a similar exhibit when we were kids.)

Road trip to Charlotte to celebrate a friend's birthday with afternoon tea at The Ballantyne

I always appreciate little touches of beauty.

 

Bible Study Birthday Sleepover

This summer it has been my delight to gather some beautiful young girls together for Bible study. We have been looking at the truth of God's word, and trying to identify any lies that we may have been telling ourselves.

Yesterday, as the theme was on friendship, the girls met at the mall and watched Finding Dory together. Dory's spiraling in and out of anxiety and experiencing both triumphs and setbacks was a good springboard for discussing who we are in Christ, and managing the brains and bodies that we've been given.

In the first episode of Brave Girls, Jen Hatmaker used the illustration of God inviting us to sit at His big table in Heaven. She made the point that your place is reserved just for you, and that you don't have to shove someone else out of her place in order to have a place yourself. This gave me the idea of extending the concept by setting the table for tea. Tiffany's bakery, some name cards from Michaels, and some vintage things handed down to me by my grandmother made a sweet evening where we could enjoy one another's company and reflect on the individual women that God has created us to be.

Pink fizzy fizzy lemonade

"

Reflecting on truths we know about ourselves, and truths that we know about God

After Bible study, the girls burst out into spontaneous Broadway and Taylor Swift songs, ping pong matches, and makeover parties. I retreated to my introvert den for the night to recharge my batteries.

 

VBS, Orchestra Camp, Crab Crack, and Father's Day

Enjoying the camaraderie of team-teaching with friends

Trying not to wonder if my helper-aged son learned anything besides how to make loud gas noises using a straw and an armpit on the day he served at Bible school - wondering how long the emotional metamorphosis from goofy boy to man of valor will take

 

Rejoicing with a treasured friend

A house-warming (emphasis on warm) on a triple-digit-SC day

Studying to better understand my three introverted babies (and myself) - praying for discernment of when to challenge our kids to step out in faith, and when to let them just be.

A game we play driving from the lake is "Guess how many deer we'll see on the way home?" It's almost like counting the bison in Yellowstone, but more bon marché.

Glad that the family enjoys looking through the photobooks.