Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Psalm 107:1-3
Even though this summer has been quieter event-wise (no VBS, summer camp, etc.), it still seems like there’s a lot going on. That may be in part because we had almost nothing going on for a couple of months in the spring, but it has been a summer of milestones, especially for our oldest. And while I am sad to miss our trips to Canada (and holding my new little niece 🙁 ), there is much to thank God for.
I was so happy when our church opened up for in-person services again! Yes, masks and social distancing are uncomfortable – some of us make a beeline for the door when the service is done so we can talk outside. 😉 But it’s worth it to be able to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we pray that those who still cannot attend for various reasons will soon be able to.
Our eldest has graduated from our homeschool, and we celebrated on July 11th with Cane’s chicken and one special guest (her boyfriend). I ordered her a diploma from homeschooldiploma.com, and they did a beautiful job!
She now has a job at the nearby grocery store, filling orders for the grocery pick-up service; and she has also started the online Worldview Intensive Year from Boyce College. These are both things she really wanted to do, but getting into a new routine is hard, and she’s already facing some challenges – prayers would be appreciated!
These two make me smile. 🙂
I’m thankful for the hours they could spend on the phone during lockdown (not to mention unlimited talk/text plans! 😀 ), and thankful that they can see each other again. And I’m thankful for new friends – his parents – and that my husband and I could meet them for dinner at Olive Garden last week. They love having Aria visit, and we feel the same about having their son over, and truly that is a blessing. ♥
We are grateful for the things we can do this summer. We’ve enjoyed many hikes together, both at nearby parks and farther away, like our outing to beautiful Hocking Hills last month:
Today, the older two boys had some paintball fun in celebration of a friend’s birthday. My middle two have enjoyed camping out in the backyard with each other or with friends. Mr. E has also literally been biking around town with, or to meet, friends. It’s a summer where the “little things” mean a lot. 🙂
