Summer So Far + A Week of ME

June is halfway over (!!) and we've been all kinds of busy around these parts. 

So I thought I'd do a catch-up on me and my crew and how we've been living our summer days so far ~

There has been lots of costume-wearing, including an attempt to act out the latest (AND BEST!) royal wedding (swoon)...

We've indulged in too many of our favorite treats, including cinnamon rolls and popsicles and donuts and several entire watermelons and shaved ice from the sno-cone truck and ice cream and the list goes on and on and on...

BAMMY CAME!

Oh, and since I renewed our membership, that means many more trips to the zoo!

Most waking hours of our summer days you'll find us at playgrounds with friends, playing and riding scooters in the driveway, laughing at the local splash pad, or under water at the pool: 

Lots of daytime fun means evening laziness and tired babies. <3

We hit up the theater's summer $1 movie specials:

And have also been trying to squeeze in some of the local library's fun summer activities!

And #keepingitreal -- it didn't take long for me to wonder how I ever managed to be a full-time, stay-at-home mama for 3.5 years.  Maybe I'm just rusty and out of practice now that I'm back in the working world?!  Anyway, I quickly learned I was going to need some kind of consistent behavior plan, and this :) and :( stick system has been awesome!

We said Ye-Ye-Ye-Ye-YES to V-V-V-VBS!  Best.week.ever.

Sweet, summertime, slip-n-slide playdates with oh-so-loved friends:

Since E, who cannot swim, has no fear and thinks he's Michael Phelps -- we're squeezing in as many swimming lessons as we can:

And oh-so-sweet, innocent, giggle-filled, precious sleepovers with even more precious friends. <3

And then, it was time for me to press pause on our summer fun.  I am still settling into life as a co-parent.  And while it gets easier, it is never and will never be easy.  So, for the first time ever, the kids left to go spend a week with their dad.  It would be the longest we'd ever be away from each other, and I had so many gut-wrenching, stomach-turning worries.  Especially in regards to the way they would be traveling.  But, I soaked them in, prayed over them, shed my tears, and tried to remember that they are God's children, not mine...

And I sent them off with a small gift for each day they'd be away.  Nothing big - just simple things to put smiles in their hearts, knowing they were always in mine.

As for my week of me?  It's been equal parts planned and unplanned, probably too much productivity and not enough laziness.  Lots of smile and laughs and good times and memories - and, in being honest, lots of emptiness and tears and anxiousness and confusion.

I tried to squeeze in a lot of these kinds of moments:

(I'm in a summer bible study group, and we are reading Fervent... y'all, such a praying game-changer!)

I've soaked up some time with dear friends... many of whom immediately picked up the phone and made sure I wouldn't be by myself this week, asking me to breakfast and lunch and happy hour and a concert in Alabama :) -- y'all know who you are, and I am so lucky to have you reminding me that I can do this. <3

I've worked like crazy around the house and in the yard.  FIVE HOURS in the yard by myself.  I literally had dirt inside of my ears.  Who knew I liked being in the yard?  And who knew the therapeutic power of planting flowers?!  That is, until I saw Jake the Snake...

I got lost in Netflix and Amazon Prime TV, including watching the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet... 3 times... (Hey, a girl can still dream?!)

I have worked my butt off, literally, exercising and yoga'ing and running and lifting.  I've tried new classes at the gym, and felt soreness in muscles I didn't even know existed.  And (NERD) thanks to a sweet surprise in the mail, I discovered a pair of running sunglasses I am now obsessed with and want in every color.

This is my sweaty, post-run, ridiculous and embarrassing I-don't-take-selfies-of-myself face.

I participated in my first of several planned rotations as a volunteer in an awesome local community outreach program that strives to make sure NO kids are without lunch during the summer.  How cool is that?  Being a part of Action Ministries' Smart Lunch Smart Kid program is so good for my soul right now. <3

Annnnnnnd I also got a NINETY MINUTE massage.  Because #balance.  That's ninety minutes of me lying still, which is a feat all on its own.  Once I was able to set my guilt aside (for indulging in something that felt so - well - selfish)... it.was.blissful

Last, but not least -- One of the biggest projects I took on this week was painting my front door, all by myself.  Seems easy enough, but there are a lot of steps that go into painting a front door, I promise!  
So - long story short:  back in March I decided I wanted to paint my front door yellow (of course).  The house was now mine, all mine, and it felt like it would be such a symbolic thing for me to do.  I kept thinking I'd hire someone, or get someone to help me... and then this week I was all I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-and-I'm-just-gonna-do-this-myself...
Got all the supplies, took off the door hardware, fired up some Gilmore Girls on Netflix, primed it, left it open for four hours to dry, went to bed (yes, Mom, after I could close the door).  
The next day-- G0t into some more Gilmore Girls, painted a coat of yellow, left door open for four plus hours while working in the yard, painted another coat of yellow, did some more yard work, and then left the door open as long as I could, until about 10:30pm when my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer.  
A trip to Target the next day to get a new rug and some new chairs, and I present to you the before and after...

And on Thursday, when my project was finally all finished, I sat on my new front porch, beside that yellow door... and started sobbing.  I'm still working through and processing what those emotions were... some sadness, some fear, some relief -- a lot of reflection of where I was a year ago, where I am now.  Feeling so proud of myself, but also it all still just feels so surreal, ya know?

But of one thing I am sure - when one door closes, you can paint it yellow.  And whenever I look at my house now, I see strength and I see hope.

Tomorrow... TOMORROW - I cannot wait to see their faces, to collapse into the arms of my kiddos who I miss so much it is physically painful.  And I also cannot wait to show them our new, happiness-filled yellow front door. <3