July....wow!

Ok...time won't stop moving. July has been filled with adventures, laughter, relaxing cups of coffee, late nights and (thankfully...)sleep-ins....it has been wonderful, but, it is going too fast. My mind continues to wander to September and I am not ready for that yet! School supplies are out in Wal-Mart already, that is certainly not something we are ready to think about! Tyler, Abby and Grace have found a nice flow together and, with a few bumps and fights, have been getting along and sharing some fun times. I loved listening to them chatting while we were at the cabin. Telling stories, laughing, and re-discovering their DS's...funny what will happen when there is no WiFi and their iPods only play music! Playing on the beach, watching the amazing Manitoba sunsets, sharing each others space...it was wonderful. We have had many bike rides to Mama and Papa's pool, time on the trampoline, swimming lessons for Tyler, dance camp for the girls, football practices, a trip to the hospital emergency room for Abby (and follow-up physio appts for her neck, she calls them her 'therapy' appts!), Big Brother and Master Chef marathons, visits with friends, driver's ed sign-up for Tyler, a garden that is growing wonderfully, VERY HOT weather (thank you air-conditioning!!), grass that won't grow (which, thankfully means not too much time spent cutting the grass!), a bit of yard clean-up, wildflowers on the kitchen table, Abby almost able to do the splits, finished the book Wild (a wonderful and very inspiring read)....wow....a full and amazing month! I am so grateful for the time I get to spend with my family...so thankful to have the summer off to enjoy a relaxed routine and watch them more closely, to really see the people they are becoming. I am amazed by them every day. Sometimes the little things that are so important get lost in the shuffle of our busy daily schedule. I am thankful for the summer months and how they remind me to pay attention...slow down and pay attention. Time is really going fast, and there is so much to enjoy along the way. Murray is on holidays now and tomorrow we leave for Minneapolis! Cheers to family time and paying attention!