The Month of June

I think is the longest blog absence I’ve had since I started blogging almost 7 years ago. Life has been busy and we’ve been enjoying summer to the fullest! It’s a short season so we try not to stay inside the house too much. :) Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve were up to earlier this summer: We went out for gelati Wore sundresses Saw the Stars helicopter take off Wore braids with sundresses

We went out on a couple of dates

The kids helped Jared assemble another dresser since the girls each got their own room Blake entered the police force

We enjoyed an indoor school picnic as it started raining right at lunchtime

We went to a few different community fairs

Enjoyed the summer sky

and a rainbow We went to our church’s annual picnic and Kiera got her very first horse ride They got their faces painted Kiera went ziplining as well as Jared and Blake and Haley who was 2 years old at the time 5027 Haley’s favorite outdoor activity: swinging

We celebrated the last day of school

This was technically in May but Blake graduated from Preschool :)

The kids demonstrated their artistry with sidewalk chalk

There’s been some bubble blowing and Jared with help from his Dad insulated the walls of our garage! My Grandpa hand built this grandfather clock…SO INCREDIBLE!!

I got to see him hold his newest great-grandchild

I got to see my cousin from B.C. who was out here visiting his fiancee and we had an extended family get together for lunch during that time. Blake was asked to be the ring bearer in their wedding next month which is exciting! :)

Driving down a familiar country road I hope to get to July and August photos at some point this year but for now we are enjoying the last 2 weeks of summer before school starts!

Going Deeper in the Word

I recently started a new way of reading and studying the Bible that I am super pumped about, so I wanted to share it with y’all (sometimes I like to talk like an American).  I tend to be a very goal-oriented person and for years, since I was a teenager, my goal has always been to read the Bible from cover to cover each year.  I don’t think there is any right way or wrong way to read the Bible but I recently decided to change it up.  My friends were telling me a few weeks ago about this website called http://ifequip.com.  It’s just one short passage of Scripture every day (right now we’re working our way through Acts) Monday-Friday and at the end of the passage there is the same daily question:  If you believe this is true, what does this mean about:

God?

You?

The world?

I read the passage along with the footnotes of my study Bible so that I can get as much out of it as possible and then I journal the answers to those questions.  At the end of it, there is a 2-minute video clip of 2 Christian women discussing what they got out of it (example: Matt Chandler’s wife, Angie Smith, Lisa Harper who is a Christian author, etc.).  I am getting SO much more out of it than trying to read 4 chapters of the Bible every day without stopping to think about what I’m reading or how it might apply to me.  The whole thing takes 10-15 minutes, so it’s very doable time-wise.  I still am reading other parts of my Bible some days, especially on the week-ends, but I feel like my soul is being fed in a different way by chewing over small pieces instead of trying to inhale huge chunks at a time.  There are several of us ladies from church that are doing this but it is open to any and all! :)

Iowa Days 6 + 7

It is taking me far too long to finish these vacation blog posts. Our last 2 full days in Iowa we did a lot less, so I didn’t take as many pictures. This was on the way to Spirit Lake from our resort (a 5-minute drive) There was a family staying a few cabins down from our’s who we connected with.  They had 4 boys who our kids played with.  On Friday afternoon, Jared and the other Dad took the kids swimming while I went down to the beach and chatted with the Mom while relaxing on loungers. They have quite a life story and they ended up praying for me, too, which I appreciated. A house in Spirit Lake on the way to the park There were some big houses right by the lake close to our resort They had their own private canal in their backyards to get to the lake This is a gift shop where I picked up a couple of Mother’s Day gifts. Being in a gift shop on crutches was not incredibly easy, especially while trying to carry the gifts. Another view of the lake while driving around it We went back to the park at the school that we had gone to earlier in the week. I loved capturing the big houses and the scenery we saw along the way. We didn’t want to have a whole bunch of dishes to do the night before we left, so we went to Los Pueblos Mexican + American Grill. Everyone who worked there was Spanish (we were thinking it may be family owned and run) and their Mexican food was SO good. Everything was under $10, too, which we also liked. I enjoyed the decor, too. I thought the clouds looked cool. Iowa was a really random place to go but we all had a great time.  We had a good mixture of relaxing, going out and doing things, enjoying the resort and spending time together as a family. It was a gift from God to be able to get away and have that time together. :)

Iowa Day 5 Part 2

Here are the rest of the pictures from that day that didn’t fit in my previous post. Before we left Sioux Falls, we stopped by Once Upon a Child so I could buy a few things. Our niece, Jade, was born while we were away, so I found some cute outfits for her and a couple of t-shirts for Blake. There was a big excavated canyon right along the highway when we were leaving Sioux Falls that was absolutely beautiful! At first I thought this was a farm but then we looked closer and we’re pretty sure it’s a church There were hundreds of windmills off the highway I missed this sign the last time we passed it because it was night, so I’m glad I got it this time even though it was raining. I love when the sun’s rays shine through the clouds like this.  I can’t help but think about God’s glory every time.