So glad you asked.
We celebrated:
-April’s 60th birthday in Utah
-Quinton’s law school graduation in St. Louis, Hermann
-Memorial Day with my mom and Celebration at the Station- Oakley’s first fireworks!
-Father’s Day with my dad and the first party at our new house: Laura’s birthday
-Drew’s 33rd birthday (karaoke!!)
-Our 10th wedding anniversary (Michigan bliss)
-Eli’s 8th birthday (spins- beyblade tourney, a new ceiling fan, triple party desserts)
-Andi’s swim team spirit award (our first trophy!)
-My 34th birthday (Drew packed a party for me at the park!)
-Family- a reunion for the Henke side over the fourth of July
We got wet:
-Coves Swim Team! Go Crocs!
-Oaks and his water table
-Enjoyed a rainy and cooler June
-Watered the garden often in July
-Swam as a fam and with friends (Thanks for coming to the Coves Jae, Liv, and Hil!)
-That day our neighbors drained their pool and left the hose spraying in the street- too much free fun!
-used the pool as a bathtub for dirty summer kids
-sweaty Crossfit wods
I coached:
-Robyn in life
-Stefani and Darren in raising ministry support
-Olivia in Crossfit 1:1 fitness
-Eli, Andi, and Oakley in how to live out Phil 4:4 and 6-8
We waited:
-for the garden to grow
-for paint to dry (on the stairs, on the chairs, (see next week’s post on: “Paint and [the] Patience [I don’t have], on the wall hole patch)
-for Laura’s baby to grow and get ready to come be our cousin
-for Eli’s teeth to fall out
-for Oaks to wake up from a wonderful 3 hour nap so we could go to the skatepark, the pool, the store…
-for a letter with a name on it- teacher’s for a new year
We bought:
-flowers and dirt that grew beauty and sustenance
-drywall and paint to fix-up
-a lawnmower to last a long time
-1/4 of a grass fed cow (about 400lbs!) to eat for a long time
-car repairs
-summer produce! yum!
-ice cream that kept going on sale
-toys we really wanted: beyblades for Eli and a gumball machine for Andi (with their own money!)
-a vacation
-some childcare
We ate:
-outside on our new deck
-right off the vine! Blueberries from Melissa, cherry tomatoes from our garden, cherries while picking in Michigan
-with friends (Zach’s end of the summer party complete with pinata!, bagels with our bagel fairy Carol, at Westside Local before Sara’s show, at Blue Bird Bistro for my birthday, with the Meyers, the Graves, and at the new GG and Poppy house!)
-Sheridans, Chipotle, not enough dipped cones
-All local while on our annivesary vacay
-Popcorn for dinner last night which totally wowed our neighbor Will- he said he’d talk to his parents about new dinner ideas. I was sure to remind him I had also served zucchini, broccoli, fresh green beans, celery and hummus, and 3 red pepper strips.
We read:
-Eli devoured the How to Train your Dragon chapter book series, more Jake Maddox, and a Barbie book of Andi’s out of desperation while waiting for new ones to come in from our reserve list.
-Drew finished book 5 of Harry Potter and is starting Gone Girl with visions of Ben Affleck in his head
-Andi started sneaking off with books and reading more and more on her own. She will read aloud with confidence and emphasis on the right words
-I’m reading a helpful book on parenting that reminds me to notice and encourage what I see in my kids and avoid anger, frustration, and lectures about what I’d like to see when they’re in the middle of doing the opposite.
-I’m reading fiction and books I’m writing with my aunt on identity.
-Oaks reads books on his own and begs for them before every sleep.
-We read Twitter, the KC Star, Instagram comments, Facebook feeds, some ingredient labels, and more instruction/how-to manuals than we’d like at times.
We adventured:
-bike riding for all! Oaks has a seat on the back of my bike…bless Drew for the hours of fiddling and working and reworking to get it to work.
-Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun- thanks to the most energetic, in shape, and ready to roll Geeg around!
-by learning new things…swimming strokes, names of neighbors, ways to fix walls, doors, toilets, ….
-in building an arcade and creating a restaurant in our basement
-in reconciliation and forgiveness, in messing up and trying to do better
We rested:
-After a hosting-happy June, and a celebratory July, we’ve had some weekends without going or hosting in our house for the past three weekends. Granted we have filled the with some painting, furniture purchasing, re-painting, staining, protecting and re-upholstering…and two Saturday night fun nights with food outside and good friends, we really have chilled out a little bit.
-We’ve said no to mid week opportunities.
-I’ve said no working when there were kids right here and worked another time instead
-We’ve let bathrooms go two weeks between major cleaning and the kitchen floor major mop stayed in a slumber for almost a month
–We had home church yesterday. Drew got out his guitar and songs. We sang “Into your arms” first which Drew sang to me on an early date at a park in college (When were we ever, “take a guitar to a park and sing” kind of people, you wonder? Just that one night!). Then we sang “Somebody’s calling out your name”. It’s a classic echo. After singing it once through together. I asked Andi if she would just sing it with Daddy, believing she would actually find the key that eluded Eli and me in our echo attempt. Sure enough, sweetly and with confidence that sometimes falters, she sang after Drew…”Somebody’s calling our your name…Somebody’s ready to forgive…Somebody knows what’s in your heart..” Precious moment.
Then we read from the Action Bible…at first silly and all 2nd gradey- at one line, when he read, “and with God’s POWER”, Eli pumped his fist in the air. Somewhere in there, he’s grasping towards a God who has energy and excitement to match his own.
We ended with a blessing, a la the Loft- Jacob’s Well preschool style. “God made you, God blesses you, God loves you, God is with you”
We touched foreheads, spoke the words and passed it on. When Oaks had watched everyone else, he got up and touched his finger to Drew’s forehead, then mine, then Andi’s, and then Eli’s. Then headed back to Drew. He was delivering a blessing, with a touch and a smile that sent us out to live, changed by summer, touched by Christ and loved by each other.
Tonight is back to school night and Wednesday is School Day number 1. The first day at a new school, in 1st and 2nd grades, Andi and Eli will adventure out to make new friends and learn new things.
Thanks to summer, I’ve done a little of both myself.
