I remained silent yesterday in posting as it was a day with not much good to say.  Not a bad day, just a bad mood and a bad back that left this mama grumpy and short tempered.  Add in another day with a heat index of 110+….. It was best to just remain silent.

About lunchtime the dog did something humorous and I laughed in spite of myself.  It felt good and I realized it had been a while since I had done that.  I doubt that I should let myself go so long without smiling or laughing.  (My husband is nodding his head as he reads this.)

In spite of all its ups and downs and interruptions, it was a good week, because life is a gift and God doesn’t give bad gifts.

We went to the dentist

And found out Emma needed a filling replaced.

We served others

And bought groceries

And did school.

Our oldest lost her first dog to xylitol poisoning.

**Please keep chewing gum away from your pets.**

I discovered a family of flies living in the basement.

And immediately panicked.

We bug bombed the house.

Emma got her filling replaced

And we tried to find ways to stay out of the house for four and half hours in 105 degree heat.

We cleaned the house

And finished off the school week.

I read Ann’s blog

And decided that regardless of how bad I may feel, I needed to gather up the fleeting moments of summer and take them to the lake beach.

The sun and the sand worked their God-given magic and my children spilled their energy and I laid down my burdens and we enjoyed just being.

The weekend awaits.  I must steal away and find time somehow to string together a lifestyle and ideals into thoughts and words that encourage and strengthen.  And then I hope to steal more moments of time with my husband and my children.  Because summer is fleeing away.  I always welcome the return of routine and schedule and order when fall comes (and yes, this year at least, temps back down in the double-digits).  But I always mourn the end of summer:  the freedom, the warmth, the slowness.  But it is the coming and going of the seasons of time and of life that teach us to appreciate them all for what they are, unique blessings from the heavenly Father’s hand.  I will see you on Monday when we count them again.

Have a blessed weekend, friends!

By His Grace ~

~ Sara