The REST of summer?

August 10, 2014 by alanandjuli 5 Comments

Did I end the last post with something about the “rest of summer”?  Of course, I meant the remaining part of summer.  Rest as in the sense of restful would not describe our time.

The arrival of August has brought the first reminders that summer will end all too soon.  Yet in the busy, chaotic days there is a sense of hope when I think of the return to routine.  In the past four weeks we have devoted a lot of time and energy to settling in to our new house.  Most of the boxes are unpacked and a large portion of the thistles have been cut in our backyard jungle.  While we do not yet feel that we actually live here, we do have a sense that this is home base.

Eric, Darin and Ryan have been settling in, too.  Darin’s room is neatly arranged.  Ryan’s is comfortably full of his collected stuff.  Eric’s is…well, to quote our beloved teenager “Why do I need a dresser?  I have a floor!”

For the last several days Darin has been away at summer camp.  During this time, Eric has been suffering intense feelings of the “b word” (can’t say it or there will be more chores to do); perhaps he has even had fleeting thoughts of joining band so he could be with all his local friends at band camp.  Ryan has had several great days playing with friends.  When we finally sat down to supper with just the four of us, Ryan asked “Where is Darin?”  We all laughed and reminded him that Darin won’t be home for a few more days.

Has life become less exciting?  Not yet!  While describing our garage sale finds and backyard work may not sound thrilling, God is working in and through us.  Friends are listening and encouraging us.  Slowly, we are beginning to feel more at peace with living on this side of the world.

Since I don’t have a recent picture to share with this post, here’s a fun snapshot of today.  When we finally arrived home from Saturday errands and garage sales, we had a van full of treasures.  Once everything was unloaded and the groceries put in the fridge, I ran around the house to Eric, Ryan and Alan and shared a special treat with them.  Today is my birthday and I got a free piece of pie at a local shop.  Since it was only one piece, the best way to enjoy it was immediately, in fun bites with everyone in the midst of whatever they were doing at the moment.