The summer is going by quickly. Mike and I have been praying and talking about some pretty serious life changing things lately and it seems with my older 2 girls getting busier...and my younger 2 being needier(I think that must be their ages), there has not been a lot of time left for blogging. I do miss it....BUT, one of the things I try to do, and I don't always do it successfully, is to manage my time wisely...with appropriate time on the most important things in life. Hence, that is why I have not had many blog posts lately. Other more important things have needed priority.

Also, we have been having some summer fun! We spent a wonderful, but rainy week, at the beach with lots of family members. I just love the beach...it shows the majesty of God every where you look! I could sit and walk along the beach for hours, just admiring the beauty and the greatness of a God who created it all. We went to a low country shrimp boil with family, looked for seashells, ate some delicious seafood dinners out(Stinky's, Cafe 30 A (love their arugula salad and grilled Hawaiian butterfish!), Louisiana Laginappe, and Angelina's), shopped a little, and enjoyed our cozy beach bungalow when it was rainy. Our family is unique for quite a few reasons...1) My mom is one of 8 children so we have a large family 2)Even though we live all over the place, I am close to my aunts and uncles and cousins 3) We get together every 3 years for a week long vacation. This week at the beach was very fun mainly because all of the second cousins spent so much time together...it was as if they were all best friends! Fun times, indeed!

An accomplishment that I am very excited about is getting my running back(almost)to where it was pre-injury! I am upping my mileage these days and even had a longer run(8.2 miles) on Saturday with no injury pain in my hip! I am so happy about that! I was exhausted for about 24 hours, but I am not injured anymore! Yea! I am still planning on running a half marathon sometime and have been looking into which one I want to try. I may do a local one, but am also open to traveling out of state for a fun one. Trust me, though...I am taking it slow and am not even trying to work on speed this time...nope...just the distance and hills only...slow and steady.

About school for our children: We will still be homeschooling full time our youngest 2, but Abigail will be going to a classical preparatory school part time and home schooling the other three days. I think it will be good for her while Gracie is gone. She is going to miss her!

Gracie will be moving into Union University on August 20th which is coming up soon! With the day approaching we have a lot of things to do...shopping for the dorm room decor, making sure we have all of the basic necessities for Gracie to live with out us close by, and imagining what our home is going to be like without her in it every day! But, I have to say that I am doing fine....actually very well for someone who cried at the kitchen sink when she was in 9th grade thinking about letting go. How am I handling it you may ask? God's grace in my life--that is the only answer. In my own flesh I would be hanging on and thinking about how all of this would affect ME...How sad I would be and how OUR home would change so much. Well, God has so kindly shown me since that crying fit at the sink that it is not about me and what I want and what I think. God has a plan. He is enough to meet all my needs through this change as well as anything else that should come our way. He has so graciously given me three other children to care for and a wonderful life that I can only say thank you for. What blessings! And...I am excited and joyful about Gracie's future. God has replaced my sadness and insecurities with joy and thanksgiving!