Summer 2013 - Short and sweet...and sometimes stressful

Summer has been a whirlwind for our family with our trip to Ireland, the kids' trip to the beach with Grandma and Grandpa, multiple trips to Nana & Pops' house, selling the house, moving into an apartment, and beginning construction on our next home. 

Speaking of building a new home, aren't you impressed with the progress they've made since we signed our contract with the builder five weeks ago?

Me neither.  While we have purged the house (giving away over $10,000 worth of items to charity while selling another $1000 worth), packed up boxes to fill two PODS, an extra large storage building, and a 3-bedroom apartment, moved all these items, completed the rigorous process of applying for a new private school that made college applications seem like a cake walk in comparison, set up the new apartment, and selected every last detail and option for the new house, the builder has done...well...nothing except to apply for a permit.  Apparently the town administrators really took five weeks to issue a building permit.  We meet with our builder on Friday and are eager to see some real progress on the house as we deal with one maintenance issue after another in the tiny apartment.


Despite all the changes, the kids have squeezed in some fun along the way.  Both kids took golf lessons this summer.  Our daughter doesn't love it, but she will learn to play golf if she wants to keep her surname.  And she plays quite well for her age.

Our son enjoys golf more than his sister does, and I look forward to seeing him on the golf course with his dad, both grandfathers, and three golf enthusiast uncles in the future.

The kids attended a fabulous VBS program near our house where one of our neighbors served as our son's teacher. She has a boy our son's age, and they live only a few houses from us.  They are a precious family who ended up buying our piano before we moved.  Oh how I wish we could have met them sooner instead of just two weeks before we moved out of the neighborhood.

The theme for this year's VBS was trusting God.  The kids learned to overcome fear by trusting God and to embrace the changes life in this roller coaster world brings.  The messages each day were perfect for our kids as they faced the changes associated with moving into a tiny apartment temporarily and then into a new home in a new town and moving to a new school for our daughter and back to homeschooling for our son.  The final presentation ministered to my heart as well as I have struggled more emotionally with this move than any other (and I have moved MANY, MANY times in the past).  God's way of giving us the precise word we need at the moment we need it most astounds me and reminds me of His nearness, faithfulness, and love.

Our son's class performing for the parents

Our daughter's class performs for parents

During our daughter's class song, our son sang along with them using his hands and voice.  His teacher (our former neighbor) sent me this video:


The kids' shortened summer also included play dates, slumber parties, pool outings, and community group gatherings..

Our daughter's new school operates on a modified year-round schedule, so their summer was about 25% shorter this year.  Even science camp will be truncated next week since school starts next week!