Sweet Summertime

It's SUMMER VACATION!!!

I love summer break and the opportunities it brings to spend more time with family -- both near and far. We've planned a few opportunities for seeing our far-away family this summer, and I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone. We also have some things we want to tackle together, too.

We've been out for just shy of two weeks now, and it's been busy! The first week was full of meetings, an out-of-town conference, and tying up loose ends on the classroom management front. I've been working on a few other projects for school that I've been itching to do -- whew, what a blessing to have the time to work on them!

Tim is keeping busy working on our basement project. I'm so thankful for my husband's dedication and his skills to tackle these handy-man projects to make this home fit our visions. We're looking forward to getting the tile for the bathroom so he can start that soon. The next step will be picking the paint color. So far we've agreed on most things for the bathroom on the first try, so let's hope this unprecedented renovation trend continues!

Tim and I worked on our garden this weekend. I learned how to use the tiller -- and guys, I felt like I could take on the world after tilling the garden. Power tools are SO FUN. We got everything planted, including some herbs in containers this year. I've only tried growing dill in containers last year, and it didn't really end well. Hopefully it will all go better this year. More on the garden later.

It's also been great getting to spend more time playing with the dogs. The weather's gorgeous again, and that means we've gotten to break out the bubbles again. It's also nice just letting them nap in the grass while we're working out there. The warm weather also means lots of shedding -- and more brushing. I definitely appreciate having extra time for that. Squirt may be small, but dude seems to have no end to the fur that comes out when he gets brushed.

To be honest, Squirt gave us a scare in February when he got very, very sick. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and put on meds, and he's been doing well since then. It has brought him to a whole new level of Old Man Dog, complete with doggy diapers and his own pill organizer. There's no set timeline with CHF, so I am savoring each day with my "first baby" and being grateful for how well he's been doing on his medication. I don't mind having extra time to snuggle with the little guy, though!

We've also been getting things squared away for me to have my tonsils and adenoids out. I'm so not looking forward to the surgery or recovery, but I'm really looking forward to no longer constantly having a sore throat. I think my hubby will be glad not to hear me complaining about my sore throat and asking him to buy more Fudgesicles. ;)

It's a blessing to have time to slow down to truly experience all of these things and truly enjoy the little things. It's a nice change from running on Survival Mode and moving down the checklist of things that must get done. This is what summer is for - being truly present in the moment and savoring it all. I used to think it was the sunshine and heat that made everything seem sweeter, brighter, and better in summer -- I realize now it's how summer's longer days give us more time and energy to enjoy the life we're in.