This Summer has been one of my busiest ever, so I opted to let it all happen first whilst taking a break from writing… (Hopefully everyone was out enjoying the summer as much as possible as well!) It made me realize how much I appreciate school and just the rhythm that is inevitably forced upon us who are not otherwise naturally scheduled in a disciplined, predictable way =) At the same time, it was nice to have the time to do all those things you can only do when the sun and school are out at the same time!
Here is a quick list of my highlights:
(1) Surprise appendectomy first week of July! (not sure this is a highlight per se, but it was a pretty signficant event)
(2) Attempting to make the most of summer program activities with the girls throughout July (summer camps and swim lessons, 4 weeks straight!)
(3) Turning 35 and actually truly happy to be alive! …which maybe is not the biggest deal to everyone, but for me it was a distinctive first! (Last year I was decidedly not unhappy about being alive, which was significant as well, but there is a difference between that and truly wanting to celebrate and enjoy being celebrated by close friends). I think I can also finally say, at 35, that I feel like I`m really a grown up now…and this is something I am glad to say I am happy about too =)
(4) Went on my second “no kids, no husband” trip since becoming a mom beginning of August, and got to spend good quality time with beloved girlfriends, as well as attend a revelation-full Women’s Conference at HRock (got insights and clarity into Supernatural Provision from Patricia King, which I hope to summarize and present soon!)
(5) Celebrated our 10-year Anniversary on my first Cruise and first trip to the Carribean with my amazing husband, Ivan! This was the first time since we became parents 6 years ago that we’ve spent a whole week alone just the two of us, with nothing to worry about except resting and have fun together =) Another big highlight from this trip was just feeling so incredibly supported by our community back at home as playdates and rides to Church and birthday parties etc. were arranged for every day that we were gone (to lighten the load on my mother-in-law who graciously stayed to watch our 3 kids!)
(6) Getting back into teaching…. Yesterday I wrapped up my first round of classes on an Introduction to Christianity at my church, New Joy Community Church (6 classes in total). During the summer, I also began teaching our weekly community group about Inner Healing, and introducing them to strategies of identifying and breaking off generational curses and word curses, as well as un-Godly beliefs (or lies) that hold us back from living lives of breakthrough and freedom to the extent that God. I also wrapped up my Bible Study on James with my good friend, Joanna…and have just been told that a couple other people may be interested in going through it together as well. My efforts at teaching have been far from perfect, and a challenge in that somehow the thinking and planning and preparation all had to happen in the midst of raising 3 young children, but it has been good motivation to find the time to pull together all my thoughts into note- and presentation- form, that hopefully I can sort through refine further for a second round.
Now that the school year has begun, I am busy getting adjusted to the new school schedule (although my Olivia is still in gradual entry so won`t be full time in her half-day preschool classes until next Monday), trying to continue getting the house organized and clean (a number of to-do list items in this arena have been neglected much too long!), and preparing for having the household to run on my own starting this Wednesday when my mother-in-law leaves for a month-long trip to China…
Hoping I can get the house in order sooner rather than later so I can begin some regular schedule of play dates for each child (and for myself!), but also realizing that I may need to be more willing to just prioritize and take things one step at a time, and be okay with having people come over when the house just isn`t quite up to par….
Anyhow, just wanted to share briefly about what`s been going on, and what is going on… even as I`m trying to reflect more also on what I want to be writing about more (besides just learning to share about my own life and thoughts etc). I have been thinking a lot about what I really want to do with this website, and also even what I want to be doing more now with my life as my kids are all starting to reach a stage of not needing my 100% attention anymore. Nothing is super clear yet, but I`m excited that there is finally time and space in my life (and in my mind and heart) to be really thinking about these things! =)