hello July

I feel confident that July has answered me back with a lovely, "hello yourself". If a month could be a person, July would be the fun friend.

Our boys had an absolute blast at Word of Life camp this summer. Their camp week started in June, but finished in July. They post pictures on their accounts of the activities, so I stalked the posts all week long looking for pictures of my boys. I love getting to see what they are doing.

Meanwhile, Matt & I were still in Key West celebrating our 15th Anniversary. I loved my needlepoint hat & our view from our balcony.

Last choice of the trip was Cuban for lunch with some chicken friends. So many chickens all over the island.

We were so excited to pick up our boys, but we went to see them at their final rally on their last night. I love getting to watch the rally in person to have an idea of what they experience.

As soon as we picked up our boys, we drove straight up to Grammy & Papa's house to celebrate Grammy's 60th birthday! We had planned this party for a few months, and we thought it would work well. Unfortunately, James got covid at camp, and we took him straight to a family gathering. He wasn't very sick until the next day after the party, but I felt really badly about exposing my family. Thankfully, all the adults had gotten the vaccine, and no one else got sick. I thought that was really strange considering we were in a very confined space for around 8 hours driving, but none of the other boys got sick.

The other big news was that Michelle got ENGAGED!! 

Happy 40th Anniversary to Grammy & Papa! Happy 60th birthday Grammy!

Michelle made the cupcakes! So beautiful and my Mom could eat them which made them absolutely perfect. 

My beautiful Mother.

We got my Mom and Dad tickets to the Jags and Broncos game in Jacksonville! :-) 

It was really great to be all together with my family. It doesn't happen very often, so we try to enjoy it when it does!

Our girl missed us while we were gone. It was lovely to be home after being away.

We got some shocking and truly sad news. My former brother-in-law Paul passed away unexpectedly. He had a genetic condition that flaired up and caused a heart condition. I looked for the last time he was at our house with our boys. I can still hear him playing music for the boys; he was an incredible musician among many other talents, and he will be missed.

We live in such a beautiful place.

We found a bird's nest in our Japanese Magnolia! I was excited to see their progress, and I was super sad when they were gone before I had gotten to see them get fluffy.

An evening at the beach for momma to find some shark teeth!

Part 2 of the Prose-Zepp sleep over swap! We met up at the Kennedy Space Center. We both had passes, and it was the perfect place to meet up. Its always a great time when we get together.

Our last time visiting Nana's house. James finding a tiny frog at the front of the house.

A little birthday celebration for Hayden.

One of the most special days: Hayden and Calvin got baptized by Grandpa at his church. Jim did a great job, and he made it through without crying too much. It was truly a beautiful day.

Some special dishes from Mimi to me!

We took Hayden and some friends to the rock climbing wall for his birthday. His brothers and I all climbed too! 

We said goodbye to our dining room buffet that I bought off craigslist when we first moved into our house in 2012. It was a great piece of furniture, but we had to make space for the new cabinet we are getting from Mimi's dining room.

Happy 10th Birthday Hayden!!

Hayden lost his drone one day while flying it, so Matt decided to buy him a really nice one. It is actually more of an adult one. So, he and Matt took it on a test flight, but realized it was a bit advanced for him to enjoy playing with. In the end, we 'gave it' to Matt for his birthday and got Hayden a replacement of the same drone he had before.

I can't believe my Hayden is 10!

One last Zepp-Prose swap photo! These two are at the best age & seem to be good friends. I have loved how our friendships have grown even though they moved away.

My favorite vacation! Our annual beach trip! We were just getting started.

Thank you Lord for this month. So many wonderful memories, but not all. Some carried sadness, worry, grief and loss. Those moments are powerful reminders as well of your faithfulness. Help me to be be reminded of the peace you bring. Amen.