LONG TIME NO POST

A few pics of the last couple weeks.


The butterfly on Uncle Jeremy's arm in the butterfly exhibit.
John, Titus, and Havilah enjoying life.

Aunt Cj, Uncle Jeremy, John, Titus and Daddy chilling in the pool.
Titus investigating the bee hive at NC Museum of Natural Science.
The butterfly that landed on Aunt Cj's arm in the butterfly exhibit.

Well, here I go trying to get up to speed on this blog. Hopefully the longer I do this the better I will get about keeping it updated. This past month has been pretty busy at times and downright lazy on other days, but I guess that is just how summer should be right? After returning from Ohio we settled back into 'normal' life for the next few weeks. We had to say goodbye to another one of John's friends, which makes either 4 or 6 that have moved in the past year. It has been painful as a mom to watch his face drop as he realizes how far away California is and that he won't be able to play with him. We have had lots of conversations of how much Noah meant to him and all the fun he had. He has also had to learn about not being mean to those around you when you are sad. He has expressed his dislike for military life at the moment. I feel his pain, since I have farewelled friends almost every year if not several a year during our time in the military. I keep telling him and myself that God still allows us to have our family even when no one else is around.

The last weekend of July we were able to attend a marriage retreat courtesy of Brian's unit at Myrtle Beach. They provided daycare for the sessions and we were able to enjoy time in the pool and at the beach. The pool got a little contaminated one night thanks to our newly potty trained boy, needing to go RIGHT NOW but not being quite so clear about that. He shared some 'floaties' in the pool and then we had to vacate everyone. It was the talk of the retreat the next morning! O, the joys of parenthood! Into every life a little embarrassment must fall.

We also got to visit the Ripley's Aquarium and see some beautiful sharks, stingrays, and all other sorts of sea life very closely.

We returned home to enjoy a week long visit from my sister and brother. We loaded up my kids and the extra one or two that I would watch and ran errands, enjoyed Chick-fil-A too many times and even managed a trip to Raleigh to visit the science museum and the homeschool store. The kids had a blast enjoying the exhibits at the museum, especially in the butterfly room. We also enjoyed the pool Aunt CJ bought for the family to enjoy.