Sweet Days of Summer

Every summer for the last decade, the girls and I have compiled bucket lists of things to do, food to eat, and places to visit to make summer a little more fun!  Do we finish everything?  Nope.  Should every family do a summer bucket list?  No way.  This is not for everyone.  But there may be one or two things that others may glean from and enjoy too!  So here it goes...

✓  Try 2 new ice cream stores

✓ Memorize Psalm 15

✓ Go bowling

✓ Summer reading program

✓ Backyard Movie Night

✓ Pick blueberries and tomatoes

✓ Spend a day at Botany Bay

✓ Baking Contest

✓ Roast smores

✓ Try 2 new coffee shops

Harken (on Queen Street)

✓ Shop for crafts at Hobby Lobby

✓ Eat supper from a food truck

✓ Ultimate Donut Tour

✓ Play tourists downtown and visit the aquarium

✓ Ice cream from Vincents Soda Fountain

 ✓ Night swimming 

✓ Thrift Store Day

✓ Gibbes Art Museum

✓ Freshfields Outdoor Movie &/or Drive In

Our summer basket has evolved from a summer cooler to even a summer "bag" aka Ikea bag.  It marks the beginning of summer with fun things like water balloons, new goggles, snacks, chalk, smores stuff, sunscreen, water bottles, and a volleyball (since someone likes to eat all of ours.)

A Cozy Covid Charleston Christmas

Even though the Christmas season is looking a little different this year, there is still such hope for the future with so many special memories of the past.  Many traditions have been canceled, parties minimized, and family gatherings simplified.  It's ok to mourn the loss of these special events, but also find joy in the original purpose of them.  Do you love the Christmas lights and festivals?  Find ways to still enjoy them!  Do you savor family time?  That can still happen!  Do you love finding opportunities to serve others?  People need encouragement more than ever!  Check out some ideas for a cozy Covid Charleston Christmas...

Things to do around Charleston:

- James Island County Park Christmas Lights (This may seem obvious, but spice it up.  Pack a thermos with hot water, hot chocolate, marshmallows, & disposable cups or everyone's favorite mugs.)

- Breakfast at the beach (Swing by Chick-fil-a or Baguette Magic, grab some coffee, bring a blanket, and watch the sun rise or at least the waves.)

- Drive-in Movies (The Terrace Theater, Holy City Drive In, Hwy 21 Drive In are some of our favorites showing Christmas movies.)

- Christmas Downtown (There are so many beautiful decorations!  I honestly would love to do this twice: once during the day and once at night.  If you haven't been to Christophe Artisan Chocolatier, it's must for a mid morning treat.  The coffee shops are too many to mention.  But we do love Bakehouse Charleston for its taste and proximity to the waterfront.  This year we are going to check out the lights at the College of Charleston one evening, maybe even for a datenight!)

- Also through tomorrow, December 12, the City Parks Recreation have an amazing scavenger hunt in Hampton Park called Holiday Reindeer Bell Hunt.  It's free and a challenge!  Here's the link: https://www.charleston-sc.gov/2477/Holiday-Hunts?fbclid=IwAR2oc-M37XYBHFySwVChMLQPuxP4jefxFjTjiouwLgXGENokGdiHLkHTI6c

                                                 

- Farmers Markets (We are biased, but our local Johns Island Farmer's Market is our favorite!  Through the month of December, they have a night market as well every Saturday.  Check out Sea Island Farmers Market.  https://www.seaislandfarmersmarket.com/

- Ice Skating

Things to do at home:

- Gingerbread Houses (aka graham crackers, frosting, and leftover Halloween candy). This is our favorite Christmas advent activity!  https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a83319/how-to-make-royal-icing-without-meringue-powder/

- Smores outside with a Christmas movie

- Put together a Christmas play (Our girls have had the best time reenacting the nativity story and recording it.  We have some treasured video footage of a shepherd quitting, Mary sitting on the kitchen table, and Gabriel singing the praises of God from our backyard swing.)

- Make Christmas garland (It could be as simple as just threading popcorn and cranberries or adding dried oranges.  Add a Christmas audio book and you can count it as educational!)

- Bake Christmas cookies (Even a simple tube of sugar cookie dough and sprinkles can get you in the Christmas mood.)

- Make Christmas ornaments for grandparents & neighbors

- Make snowflakes for the windows

- Read Christmas books on the screen porch with hot cocoa

Things to do for others:

- Take coffee to our favorite librarian

- Make cinnamon rolls for neighbors

- Leave a box of Peppermint Joe Joe's in our mailbox for the postman

- Leave snack box outside for delivery people

- Fill a blessing box (put encouraging notes on the items)

- Christmas wreath delivery

- Pay for the person behind you in the drive-thru line

Some of these things we've done in the past, some we hope to do, but we never try to do all of these things in a Christmas season.  These are just ideas if you're looking for something new to do or need a reminder of something you used to do.  No matter what, remember the reason for celebrating Christmas in the first place.  If we get so busy trying to do Christmas and forget why we are celebrating, it's all in vain.  

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Summer Tradition - The Bucket List

Every summer for the last several years, we think through all of the things we want to do over the couple summer months of no-school.  It's so easy for boredom to creep in by the first week, but having a bucket list helps us avoid binge watching shows or going to the beach every day (which my girls wouldn't complain about...)   

Our lists have been carefully thought through for a while now, but I'm finally getting around to writing my "annual" blog post about it.  These lists are not set in stone, nor are they attached with guilt over not being able to do them all.  But they are filled with fun, family memories, and a little bit of frivolity!  

Mom's Bucket List (with some of their ideas sprinkled in)

• Be a visitor at the Charleston Visitor Center
• Summer Reading (If local, sign up for the library summer reading program, plus the Barnes and Noble one.)
• Outdoor Movie with neighbors

• Blueberry Picking
• Try a "new to us" ice cream spot

• Bike around Kiawah
• Bike the Greenway
• Day trip to Beaufort or Hilton Head
• Riverdogs Baseball
• Summer movies at Freshfields and Folly

• Visit 2 state parks
• Charleston Museum houses
• Breakfast on the beach

• Shell crafts
• Memorize a Psalm together

• Drive-in movie theater
• Biscuits at the Battery

• Take each girl on a date
• Anne of Green Gables Marathon
• Make hair bows
• Visit all the SC lighthouses

  

Last year, I heard about another fun idea called a summer basket.  This year it was more like a summer cooler, but the same concept was there.  Around the last day of school/first day of our summer, I pulled together some simple items to go along with our bucket list.  Reading lists, candy for the movies, fireworks, chalk, mosquito bracelets, and a new SC puzzle (the inspiration for our lighthouse hunt.)  Not a lot of money invested in it, but a fun start to the summer!

 

Here's a link to last year's bucket list and some from the past.

- 2018

- 2016

- 2014

A great resource for making a summer basket! Click here.

It's a new year...

It's a new year...

New years resolutions, new goals, new desires, new books...

I love the reset of January 1st, looking back and learning from the previous year, yet looking forward to the upcoming one with renewed hope.  New years resolutions can get a bad reputation and honestly this year, I've wondered what's the point?  Every year I try to get to bed earlier and it never seems to happen.  Every year I try to do this and that, and it may get done until about half way through the year, if that.  

Over the past couple weeks, I've taken some time to assess my life using this printable as a guide and really seeking what the Lord would have of me this year.  I really enjoyed looking back at my favorite moments of 2015 (lot's of travel and change!) and yet was challenged by the things lacking in my life - better health and exercise! 

Some of the areas I desire to improve upon are:

 - prayer - My prayer life has been lacking for some time now.  A friend gave me a great spiral journal for my birthday and I've loved filling the front of it with prayer requests, verses on prayer, and literal prayers as I feel the need to write them out.  

- health & exercise - With traveling to two continents last year and moving houses, exercise & eating naturally were put on the back burner.  So this year, they've got to become more of a priority. Specific desires include less carbs & sugar, run two races, and more green smoothies.

 - books - I love to read!!  Yet why do I struggle to finish books? Part of the issue could be due to the fact that we read throughout the day as a homeschool family, but I think one of the biggest culprits is my phone that travels with me everywhere.  It is huge temptation for me to quickly check Instagram, spend who knows how long scrolling through Facebook, read that email really quick, and just browse Pinterest because I'm bored.  I've felt more and more convicted about this.  No concrete ways to remedy this issue yet, but where there's a will there's a way.  

Here is a Reading Challenge put out by Anne Bogel with Modern Mrs. Darcy that I hope to follow and use for accountability.

For those of you with kids, Sarah Mackenzie at Amongst Lovely Things and the Read Aloud Revival podcast has really inspired me and my girls to read aloud more during the month of January.  Just 15 minutes a day!

New books from Amazon always give me a thrill and I'm looking forward to getting to these titles over the next couple of months. 

- Fervent by Priscilla Shirer
- You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan
- The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner 
- Finish The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- Currently loving Simply Tuesday by Emily Freeman

Lastly, I'll leave you with the words of one of my new favorite songs, This Year by JJ Heller

This year I'm not looking back to who I was
Because I'm going to be someone I've never been
This year I'm not focused on the cracks in the walls
Not keeping tract of all the times I fall
This year
So long to last year
It's all becoming so clear
There's no use living in regret
Let's fight a good fight
Train our eyes to see the light
And make this year the best one yet
Starting right here, Happy New Year!

What I've Learned This Summer

It is simply hard to believe that it's already August!  I knew this summer would fly by, but now that we're on the count down to school, the reality is hitting me.  I've spent a lot of time reflecting, processing life in general, and looking ahead, seeing a new season with the middle school years approaching.

Blogger and writer Emily Freeman, from Chatting at the Sky, blogs at the end of each month different and often random things she's learned.  Since I fell off the "goal" bandwagon for a while and didn't even get our summer desires blogged, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned over the summer.

1.  Charleston is an amazing city!  We've loved visiting it for over ten years now, but this was the first time I've stayed there alone with my girls (since Marty was in North Charleston at camp). I literally drove past the church affected by the shooting rampage only thirty minutes before the shots were fired.  Fear, questions, apprehension immediately filled my mind after hearing about it. But to watch the city continue to move with such grace and love was a testimony to the many churches and the people within that city.  I learned a lot in those few days.

2.  Blueberries always taste better straight from the bush.  While Chloe and I continued to pick that hot Saturday morning, my younger two literally sat under the bushes and ate to their hearts content.

3.  My baby is growing up!  I know I didn't learn this over the summer, but it's becoming even more real as she's learning to swim and ride a bike without training wheels.  Shhh!  Don't remind me that she's almost ready for kindergarten.  Thank goodness I finally finished her baby book!

4.  Even though it's easier now that our girls are older, I learned that I still really miss my hubbie when he's gone on mission trips.  I just really like having him around! 

5.  Having a dog can really cramp my traveling style!  This was our first summer having Samson (whom we love very much!), but it's tough when you want to travel and you have to make pet arrangements.  Oh well!  First world problems!

6.  Focus on the blessings, rather than succumbing to the loneliness. This is an area that God is still teaching me.  There will always be a measure of loneliness in ministry, but I felt it more than ever when Marty left on July 4th.  Family being so far away and memories flooding back from the previous summer with my sisters and their families brought me to tears more than once.  But my girls can make any day interesting and we embraced the sprinkler and the sparklers, making the day memorable in our own way.

7.  Family is important and worth the effort.  Since Samson cramped my traveling style, we enjoyed #campcousins week instead!  My sister graciously took my girls for a few days.  Then, we enjoyed a day at the zoo, and a few more days with them at our house.  It was a fun full week!

8.  I "need" inspiration!  I love a good pen, a comfortable notebook, the perfect lighting, clean surroundings.  I think it's why I love Instagram so much!  The pictures, colors, inspiring words fill me up.

9.  The show, When Calls the Heart, on Netflix took me back to my teenage years.  That same, "I've just got to read one more chapter..." feeling consumed me, but in the form of Netflix.  I watched show after show while exercising on the elliptical, folding laundry, cooking supper... until the last show, and I didn't know it was the last show!  So I have now learned that when watching a series on Netflix or Amazon Prime, look and see how many episodes there are before diving in headlong, fully engrossed in the flowing plot, only to discover you just watched the last one!

10.  It is important to label homemade sprays.  Otherwise your daughters may mistaken your cellulite spray for bug repellent.