I’m still mad that it’s no longer summer.

Fall is my favorite time of year but I wasn’t ready for it this time and I’m still digging in my heels and pouting a bit. It’s running all over me. That, and a ton of other stuff. And since I can’t do anything about it; since it is bullying me into submission, I thought I would document my surrender here, my “So Long” to summer and my “Hello” to fall.

The summer of 2013 was pretty good for me. I only had one trip to the beach, back in May, and I typically take one long trip and a couple of smaller trips throughout the summer if I can. Other than more beach trips not really working out, we had several things going on and a fair amount of relaxation. The May trip was great. We usually take the family trip in September so the time of year and location were a change but we had a great time. The only sad thing was that now that most of the children are in high school and above, schedules become harder to adjust and not everyone one was there for the entire trip. So as the week went on, more and more of the family left and that was a big bummer, especially for my kiddos.  But we still had a lot of fun and made some great memories.L
Like this, Lindsay’s gift from the seabird. Sometimes you’re just taking a swim in the pool, minding your own business and some bird flies over you and offers you their leftovers. It’s cool. You can imagine Lindsay was completely ok with this. She did not freak out. At all.

In June we made our way to Kings Dominion for Kings Fest. This is an annual Christian music festival that lasts 3 or 4 days. Outside. In the heat. I know August and September are the dog days of summer but I’m convinced those dogs make a visit to  Virginia in June. We make this trip with some close friends that Mike grew up with in Virginia. Our kids get along swimmingly and we have a blast watching tons of bands, riding rides and walking our butts off. This year Toby Mac was in the house. Also, Skillet, PETRA, (yep, Petra, and they were getting all kinds of love from the other bands because they were such an early influence on the industry), Tenth Avenue North, Sanctus Real and lots of others were there. Here we are with The City Harmonic. They were the B.O.M.B!

The most meaningful thing my family did this summer was host two boys from Uganda for about six days while they toured the area with their children’s choir. They come to the states each year to promote awareness for their school/home for orphaned or vulnerable children. They are absolutely the most loving people I have EVER encountered in my life and we all fell completely in love. It’s hard for me to admit that I have never had any real inclination to go on a long distance mission trip, but I have such a heart for these people that it gives me a heart for their place and their people. I do hope to one day go to Uganda and help these precious people in any small way that I can.

One night we were out late running some errands. We stopped to get some ice cream and on the way home I heard Juma start “singing” this song. It wasn’t really singing, he was making a funny noise in a musical way, kinda like…”Wha, wha, wha…”. Anyway, as he “sings” along, my boys and Samuel all join in with him and suddenly I realize what I’m hearing! He was “singing” that sad music theme from LOST! FOR REAL!!! I didn’t know but some time previously in the week Jonathan had been humming it or playing it on the piano and apparently Juma caught on. Now, ya’ll know how much I loved that! It was down right hysterical! And c’mon, I mean….LOST! (If we didn’t ruin those boys in the six days they were with us, they stand a pretty good chance of making it in the world. You know?)

There was more good stuff this summer. My boys did some cool things like Narnia Camp, Logic Camp, and they participated in the Jr. Police Academy and loved it. I did a fair amount of reading. One of the books I started is so massive that I don’t think I’ll finish it until Halloween. But I did complete some others, two of them VERY good.  I didn’t sleep in much but I enjoyed time to myself while my kids slept in. The only TV we all watched purposefully all summer was Under the Dome.

It was all good ya’ll, all good, till it came to an end.

And now I must greet fall with some grace and humility.  This is the time to get back into football, cooler weather and memories of heading back to high school and college. This really is the season I love most, even though I dread putting on long pants. (Did I ever mention how much I hate the transition from shorts to pants?) Ugh. But I love the cool weather foods, the football games, the fairs, the bon fires and all that. I start planning my fantasy Thanksgiving Dinner in my head that I will probably never host. And I always tell myself that this is the best time of the year to get out more and exercise, even though I don’t.

So come on into my life, fall. I saw you gently and secretly releasing leaves from my back yard trees yesterday. I saw them floating away while I made preparations for some homemade soup and my kid was leaving school preparing for his JV football game. Your autumnal sunrise is lighting up my kitchen this morning, inviting me to breathe, pray and jump into this season with joy, like a kid jumping into a big pile of leaves.

To everything there is a season…..I will rejoice in it.