In the Midst of Summer

July came and went all too quickly... The hubby and I celebrated 13 years together, the temps started to rise, and it felt like summer all of a sudden. The month of July brought the start of lots of visitors coming in and out of the house... the start of our guest house being built... and the start of birthday celebrations for the kids (We have birthdays from July-October, between all the kids)...

It was the month that we introduced our kids to "car washes"... not really sure why we hadn't thought of that sooner... and quiet time book reads (we've implemented that multiple times in the past, but we always derail from it). We ate up all the gluten (pizza parties at the beach) and sugar (introduced the kids to pixie sticks) before we decided to take some time off from it... It was also the month I found out I have Hashimoto's disease (my thyroid is still functioning, I just have antibodies against my thyroid that showed up on my blood panel)... so, doing all the natural things necessary to help fight this autoimmune disease (gluten free and dairy free actually started before the diagnosis). 

It was the month of planting gorgeous blooms and picking them for bouquets... crafting with God's work of art, is good for the soul. We grew tomatoes only to be eaten by the deer... and transplanted black eyed susan's only to be gobbled up by the bunnies. Collections of seashells and other gems from the beach joined up with treasures from past visits... and we had too much fun letting off poppers and other festive noise makers for the 4th of July (one year, the kids will be able to stay up to view those gorgeous fireworks... but for now, sleep is just too important).

July... you were good to us... so so good to us.