Taking Time to Live!

        I come to my blog home every day. I open up the browser, click on the tab for my blog and boom it's summer time again. As my girls have gotten older, the activities they are involved in have ramped up to the point that we seem to be on the go, go, go, all of the time. In many ways it makes me sad to have so much to do all of the time. But I have been trying to carve out space for just rest, just quiet, just family time together in OUR house. In our constantly busy world, it's important to truly stop and just be still.

 With the end of summer occurring in the second week of August, school has started and all the activity that goes with it has also ramped up. It seems sometimes that I hardly have time to come up for air. But I stop. And a sit. And I remember. It is important to be still.

  I want to carve out that time where my thoughts are just my thoughts and not interrupted by my to do list for the day. I want to allow that space in every day where my thoughts may become inspired thoughts and I hear God's Spirit whispering to me.

 I want to sit and truly enjoy the breeze swirling around me, the birds in song and the laughter of my children as they swing on their swing set in our back yard. Simply put, I want to see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and truly live all of life instead of being distracted by the speed of the world that is just going through the motions.

         Ironically, it takes intentional effort and it takes work just to be still. All in all, it is worth the effort and is something that makes me know why I am here and what is truly important in this world.

Fourth of July Fun!

Summer is flying by! I can not believe we are inching towards the middle of July and one month from today is the first day of school! I feel as if we have been just as busy with summer time activities as we are with school activities. Although I truly am thrilled for my girls to be so involved with swimming and tennis this summer, I need to carve out some time for just rest. Our annual neighborhood fourth of July festivities were wonderful with lots of fun, neighborhood fellowship and the most perfect weather!  I am leaving this post with a photo recap of our 4th. Happy summer y'all!

Laurel Falls, Great Smoky Mountains

We recently had a visit from our niece Lori who lives in Brooklyn, New York. We wanted to take Lori into the mountains so we decided to go to Laurel Falls which is a nice easy little hike to a beautiful waterfall. I could absolutely stay in the mountains forever taking in the beauty of God's creation. We are truly blessed to have the Great Smoky Mountains in our very own back yard!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Our sweet Sophie turned seven years old today. In planning her party Sophie decided that she wanted to have a party at home so that she could invite all of her neighborhood and school friends to join her in celebrating turning seven. We have done several parties in our home in recent years and it has been so nice to return to celebrations that remind me of birthdays of my youth. As a child, I think I had two birthdays that were celebrated in a place other than my home. I always enjoyed having my friends over at our house for cake and ice cream and fun and games. I'm glad our girls are experiencing the same throw back to yester year in their own birthday parties. We had 21 girls join us for a wonderful afternoon of ice cream sundaes, cake, a piñata, games, and more. Sophie enjoyed her birthday and being able to entertain all of her friends. Here's a photo recap of her special day!

Dance Performace 2014 at the Tennessee Theater