~This summer has flown by this year, yesterday I was out buying school supplies, I couldn’t believe it. We have been able to do a lot of fun things this summer, and I am sure that my boys have grown a ton.

• Blue learned to swim and has been jumping off tall places into the pool, and is about to turn 8!
• Aiden learned to ride a two wheeler, has a wiggly tooth, and is about to enter kindergarten!
• Cooper has gotten taller, and has learned to swim in a pool (with arm floaties) but without a parent holding him- which is huge for him, because he would usually scream his head off if I let go of him in the pool!

I love the summer, the time that we have with the kids, and the time that we have as a family.  This year has been the first year that Brody hasn’t had to travel all summer long, and it has been wonderful to have him home with us.  The time is flying, and it makes me realize how I don’t want to take this time for granted, or to miss a moment of it.

Awhile back Brody and I read Donald Miller’s book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.”  He talks about the concept of what a good story is, and that we have the choice to make good stories out of our lives, and mostly that requires being intentional in how we live each moment.   Between the choices we make, to how we respond to the hard times in life, to the big things that we decide to do.   The book really inspired us to try harder at making our lives into better “stories.”  So, we’ve spent the summer trying new things, and going new places, and this summer for us has been a really good “story” so far.

~”Sorting and simplifying Life’s Daily Endeavors” ~

The Simple Day, is a new blog, that my friend(s) have started, and has various contributors! It’s a fun, and encouraging read, and has everything from simple recipes, simple organizing solutions and fun ideas for kids, so go and check it out!- “The Simple Day”

 Then, on my birthday we went down another section of the same Duck River on a 5 mile trip.  It was so much fun.  We saw all kinds of wildlife- fish that would come up and eat chunks of bread, lots of turtles that would sit on logs and as we floated by they would jump in, birds, ducks, frogs, and we did see 2 snakes, after which I did not get into the river after that!

It is so peaceful and beautiful to be at the river and spend the day floating down.

~ I had such an amazing birthday, I loved spending so much time with my family and loved being at the river all day!

• Blue was out sitting in the street in a folding chair, eating a popsicle, the other day, and when I asked him later what he’d been doing, he said he was watching the neighbors TV through their window!
• Cooper is always the “ham” of the family and has something to say that makes everyone laugh.  The other day after church, the kids were talking about the songs they had sung, listing off “fishers of men,” “Thanks to God,”  when Cooper yells out, “Lord, we give you our tacos!”
• When we shape Cooper’s hair into a mohawk at bathtime, he says, “Look at my Tony Hawk!”
• Cooper was talking about our vacation to the beach, and described it as- “when we were at the sticky pool…”
• At bedtime we ask the boys, “How much does Daddy/ Mommy love you?”  and they usually reply, “bigger than the world!”  The other night, Cooper replied, “bigger than Disney World!”

~We went on vacation to Florida, and got to spend some time on some beautiful beaches. The boys had fun running, and digging, and swimming, boogyboarding..

We also were able to go crab hunting with some friends, which was such a fun and new experience. All these little crabs come out at night, and you can go down on the beach with your nets and flashlights, and catch these little crabs as they run across the sand.

All in all, it was a great vacation that went by too fast!

It was so hard to leave Aiden the first few days of school. He was so sad, and this was the picture I recieved of him from his teacher on one of the days that first week. It took a while for him to warm up to school, to his teacher, and to make friends, but as the year progressed he grew in every way. A lot of that has to do with his teacher. She was amazing. She juggled a whole classroom of pre school children, and payed attention to each child and gave them what they individually needed. I am so happy for Aiden’s growth this year, and so happy that he had such a good year, made so many good friends, and had such a wonderful teacher. It was an awesome way to start his schooling. Here he is on his last day, of Pre-K!

It was so beautiful, and a place we are sure to camp at this summer!

The falls themselves were gorgeous…

The boys and I at the top:

Hiking down to the base:

The suspension bridge that went over the river..

Me and Brody…

…And my favorite picture of Brody and Cooper…

It was such a wonderful Mother’s day, just to spend time with my family, and enjoy the beautiful nature. The only thing that wouldv’e made it better would be to have our moms there too! I feel like a very lucky girl to have my husband and my three little boys in my life.

After a lot of work for a lot of people, and many months of anticipation, Mercy Me’s “The Generous Mr Lovewell” is officially out! They have an awesome new site, and an extra site as well. The album itself is also awesome, and available at itunes, walmart, Christian book stores etc. etc.

There was much worse flooding in Nashville due to the Cumberland river overflowing:

(this picture is from another source)

The Tennessean site has set up a special page, with a lot of pictures and information regaurding the flood. I know that there are a lot of people that have lost homes, including a homeless community called “tent city,” in Nashville. The Red Cross is helping and needs donations. Also if you are local, there are many churches banding together to send volunteers, and supplies to the area to clean up the mess left behind.