The Middle of August!

Well, here we are at the middle of August and the "end" of summer!  It used to be that summer lasted until September.  I loved those nice long lazy summer days!  I still do - there just don't seem to be as many of them!

This has been a glorious summer!  The kids have LOVED being in the pool this summer.  It has all connected and they have learned to swim and jump and play in the water.  That is a major break through!  Watching them play and swim and get so excited is what we dreamed of when we got the house with the pool. 

It is hard to believe that they start back to school already!  One starts tomorrow and 3 start on Friday!  We have 2 First Graders, 1 in Kindergarten and 1 in K-4! That leaves 3 that still are not in school.  It's nice to have them all close in age and living close to us. 

Summer meant travel.  Summer meant projects.  Summer meant lots of activity.

We put sod in the back and side yard AGAIN.  Since the last 3 years things have happened to destroy the sod, we figured we would replace it one more time!

Then "we" (as in Hugsum) resurfaced the pool deck with concrete and paint.  What was to have been a fairly easy, inexpensive job took a nice turn.  As my sister once told me, "When doing a project calculate the time and cost then double that and you will come close to about half what you can expect to spend" ... turns out to be accurate.

We also re-carpeted the patio area.  It is a nice covered porch right off the living room.  It sure makes it look much nicer.  When we moved here the rained caused a river to ran right through it.  Hugsum worked and figured and dug (a french drain) and now the drainage issues are solved.  The carpet that had been there was very old and dirty and rotten.  So, it's nice to have a clean area.

I think the next project will be to screen in the area.  That will make it nice in the fall and spring to eat outside.  Also, it will keep the leaves from blowing through to the pool.  What I'd LOVE to do is make it a sun room and put windows all around.  Then, we could use it year 'round.  What a nice addition that would be.

So many plans... so much we want to do...  so many dreams ...

This summer has brought it's challenges.  It has brought it's accomplishments.  It has brought it's fun and excitement.  It has brought it's rewards.  It has brought it's travel.  It has brought it's changes.

We have had much family time.  We have had a good summer.

Now I'm looking forward to fall - not to cold weather, but to what the future holds.

Father's love and His mercy and grace have abounded toward us this summer.  His goodness never fails.  His blessings are evident.  We are more than thankful!  We are overcome with gratitude!

What does the future hold?  Blessing!

What are you looking forward to the rest of this year?