I'd love to tell you that seasons, here in the South, are as poetic as the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall that we see in the movies. I mean, there is that small chance where these Summer months may offer you a ride on the fleeting waves of cinnamon-scented breezes, out here in the country, and that is sheer poetry to me. But the reality of the situation is plain and simple. Georgia summers are stifling hot and humid. There are loads of flying insects that bite/sting with vicious ferocity, as well as a relentless supply of all things creepy crawly, in these hot months. Despite these things, my heart is the fullest here, in the South, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. There's some poetry in that, too, I suppose.
We must have steadily been distracted by the heat and humidity, or simply having a blast beating that heat and humidity because, before we knew it, the kid's Summer break from school scooted itself right on by us without offering an ounce of good ole Southern hospitality in its' swiftness.
School is back in session and Jacob has recently begun the seventh grade and, Ella, the eleventh. I know I've said it every year, since my twenty-five year old went into Kindergarten, twenty years ago, but....my goodness!!! I can't believe how quickly they're growing. Young parents, take heed and believe us older folks when we tell you to relish in every moment because there is simply no exaggeration in the notion that it flies by. Time is fleeting and life is far shorter than we could possibly realize in our youth. My baby will soon be a teenager and my oldest is twenty-five. I don't feel old enough to have a twenty-five year old, and it all seemed to happen quite suddenly. Time does not have a handle for us to grasp hold of. Don't take any of it for granted. Not even the really tough stuff, y'all. Before you know it, your babies will be grown and starting their own lives.
On that note, here I go with my unapologetic photo dump of all the things I've found immense value in, this Summer.
First day of school photos of my last two remaining school-aged babies:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Ella spent several days in North Carolina and Tennessee, with our church youth group. My sweet girl, with Selective Mutism and an entrenched love of water, spent those days in silent reverie. Their adventure included two separate days on the water, rafting down the Nantahala River and then on the Tuckaseegee River. The group stayed in a gorgeous cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains, in Pigeon Forge, TN, where Ella got to swim, worship/fellowship, play games, and soak in the hot tub until her lil water lovin heart was contented. This was her first experience to spend that much time with people she's never verbally spoken to, without her siblings or I there to advocate/be a voice for her. Despite the inability to speak aloud for several days during that trip, Ella had an absolute blast!!! And let me tell y'all, my girl made up for those three days of silence that began in the very second she was in the comfort of her mama's car. In the days following her arrival back home, we were gifted every detail of that youth trip! One of the things that I love about Ella is her attention to detail. Her SM allows her the capability of being extremely observant in her silence. With that observance comes a strong and steady sense of gratitude for even the most minute things that most people easily take for granted. I'm incredibly thankful that God created my girl so uniquely and I wouldn't change a thing about her. I am absolutely thrilled that she was brave enough to conquer her fears of going on that trip, without any of us there with her. She enjoyed every second of it, making memories that she'll carry with her for the rest of her life. Many thanks to you precious folks who took the time to bless those kids with that God-filled experience.
Here are some photos from that youth retreat:
Several weeks after his UGA graduation, Aaron went to New York City with one of his closest friends. I was giddy with excitement, for him, with each spew of photos he sent my way during that trip! Colors, lights, people; all things tourism! They got the full NYC experience, complete with Broadway shows, a concert, Time Square, shopping, the Statue of Liberty, museums, and sooooo much food! What an awesome way to celebrate his graduation and unwind before starting his new job! I can't think of a more deserving person than Aaron.
Here are some fun photos from his trip:
The baby of the family, Jacob, went to church camp for his second and final year as a camper. While it was a different camp than the one he attended last summer, it was the very same church camp that his older siblings attended when they were his age. His week consisted of fishing, hiking, so much awesome worship/fellowship, games, swimming, sunsets on the ridge, fireworks, and a slew of camp shenanigans! SO MUCH FUN!
Here are some photos from his camp experience:
Gabriel's Summer highlights included a week-long vacation, with his girlfriend's family, to Navarre, Florida. This was a treat for him because Karma got to take him to some of the places she went to, growing up there, as a child. While they didn't take many photos from that trip, he thoroughly enjoyed living-in-the-moment and spending that time with she and her family. They ventured down to Pensacola to tour the Naval Academy Museum. He expressed that the water was far too cold to get into, but they still had a blast at the beach and just getting to travel together, in general.
These are the photo highlights/Summer favorites he shared with me for this post: 
Lindsey shared some HUGE news with us. She and her fella made the really difficult decision to relocate, out-of-state. The news knocked the breath right out of me, and shattered my Mama/Grammy heart into a million little pieces. Despite that, I FULLY support their decision as the cost of living in our hometown/state has become incredibly asinine. This move is financially beneficial for them, and I totally get that. They are already doing quite well for themselves, out there, and making so many fun memories for their little family. I was worried that the baby, who is ten months old, would forget his Grammy. I'm happy to report that he gets just as excited to see me, via video call, as he did each time I showed up at their house when they lived here in the same county. I squeal with delight when his little face pops onto my screen and he reciprocates. He and I have such a sweet bond that I'm hoping to forever keep, despite the vastness of miles in between us. I'm absolutely in love with that baby and I can't wait to visit them soon!
They're still newbies to the area but these are just a few photos from their experiences getting to and living in Oklahoma thus far:
Before they left, we threw them a going away party, with our family. I was so thankful to have my house full of such an abundance of love and support for my girl and her lil family!
My fella took a trip to Washington to celebrate his best pal's birthday. They went to an outdoor concert, in the rain, but had the absolute BEST time! He sent me this selfie and it made me smile all kinds of big for my honey!
I'm thankful that we live in a time that allows us to partake in video calls, when miles separate us. This was the second time, in a year, that he and I were on opposite sides of the U.S. map and I took this screenshot two point five seconds before he was fully enthralled in a snore-infested sleep and dropped the phone right on his face. "What?! I wasn't sleeping." was his response upon hearing my laughter and insistence to hang up and go to sleep.
After his four-day trip, not only was I thrilled to have my handsome back home again, but... That man who blesses my world so well brought back, with him, six whopping pounds of our favorite Bargreen's coffee ANDDDDD....
Yassssss! He knows how to get hip to my heart, y'all!!!
More Summer highlights from our crew:
The Jacobs!
My oldest baby turned TWENTY-FIVE!!! She was a pigtail wearing, Junie B. Jones reading child just yesterday, it seems!!!
A family who grows and snaps beans together...
Luke's granny planted those daylilies around the pecan trees, in our backyard, MANY years ago. Such a blessing to see them bloom with such vibrancy all these years later!
Summer fun on Wednesday nights at church!
We spent several various days, throughout the Summer, wading through the creek that Luke grew up playing in. This is Ella's FAVORITE part of our side-by-side drives!
I love being his Grammy!
4th of July!
Mama/daughter movie date night! Despicable Me 4 was our absolute favorite of them all! Such a fun movie!
When you get a notification that there "is a package detected at your front door" and it's your son. His response to this was, "I'm the gift that keeps on giving."
He turned ten months old! He was JUST born yesterday, it seems!
Gabriel sent me this photo, upon receiving a phone call from this person at work, last week. I want to be friends with whoever created their phone account to come up, on a caller-i.d., to reference one of our favorite shows. IYKYK!
It rained for two solid weeks in our area of Georgia, last month. Ella filled those days with art. I'm in love with her artwork! For the record, ALL of my children have an innate ability to create the most beautiful art while their mama, on the other-hand, can't seem to draw a circle without making it look as though a four year old has drawn an oval. {shrug}
Checking out Pa's tools to see if any of em are worth gnawing on. heh
This photo produces big cheesy grins, from me, for multiple reasons. I couldn't ask for more precious grandparents for my babies than these two people. Jacob took this photo of his "Pops" and "Mama Re" and sent it to me captioning it, "Look how sweet, Mama." He and his Pops were taking a break from working the fields when they convinced Mama Re to "sit for a spell" on the front porch swing she purchased, last year, as a 50th anniversary gift for him. Getting to that swing is no easy feat for Mama Re so I LOVE seeing her perched upon it, donning a smiling face and a happy lil wave. The fact that my twelve year old captures mundane moments, such as this one, tells me that he doesn't take much for granted. I love this about my child.
Life on the farm, this Summer, has consisted of a substantial harvest of the yummiest produce, thanks to Pops and the kids. Not photo'd is the blessings that is several packed freezers! We have one and two gallon sized freezer bags slap full of squash, green beans, field peas, corn on the cob, pecans, blueberries, strawberries (although, we picked those from another farm), potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, okra, and onions. Our pear tree was planted by Luke's "Pa" an estimated forty years ago. It stands at least twenty feet high and contains an overabundance of pears. I'm amazed that it's continuing to thrive and produce after this length of time! What a blessing!
Face-Time sesh with his mama while working hard in the fields.
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My favorite way to be immersed in this beautiful place is whilst riding on the side-by-side with my sweet family. The good Lord knows we've put some miles on that thing and made a heap of memories together in the process.
An empty beach for my Ella girl and I to find heat-beating sanctuary in!
A new toy for my fella.
Hanging out with his Pa before he had to leave for work.
Ella tends to find lil friends outside in these summer months.
The dynamic duo, Jacob and his Pops, taking a break from the heat and doing farm work from their seats! Jacob was ordering medicine for the baby bovine for Pops.
A Buc-ees stop, with Ella, always make for a good time!
Late night front porch sittin, hand-holdin, and sky ogling.
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Finding an absurdly large outdoor chair with an obnoxiously hilarious amount of cup holders, to boot, in a quirky small town grocery store.
Fun one-on-one time with my boy doing what he loves to do!
When your local Chick-fil-A has thirty cent nugget night and it costs less than fifteen dollars to feed your family dinner!. Nom. Nom.
After a two week spell of MUCH NEEDED rain, the men (Pops, Luke, and Jacob) spent several days running three separate tractors, simultaneously through vast fields, cutting, fluffing, raking, baling, and moving hay. There's such gratification in knowing that Jacob is being raised with such experience, as this, under his belt as well as being mentored by the best of the best. I'm proud of our hardworking fellas!
While mom was on a mission to get groceries shopped for, my oldest and youngest babies were spending time, on the other side of the store, sending said mom silly mirror posing photos of themselves. This was a week before my girl moved out-of-state. Oh, how I'd love to go back to that day and keep it going in slow motion for a long while.
To people who don't know our family, nor the privilege of knowing this sweet lady, these photos aren't anything of special interest. But, to us, these photos tell a story of God's grace and mercy. Luke's mama is recovering from a stroke she had last November. The fact that she was able to stand for as long as it took to create the thick, sticky mixture that went into her "cornflake candy" then spent a taxing amount of time mixing it all up, on her own, so that she could give it to her son for his birthday, just as she has for MANY birthdays before this one, was a significantly HUGE deal to us. We are incredibly thankful for her healing! Side note: That cornflake candy is yum-o! He was generous enough to share it with me, this year! ha.
My third shift fella had to work on his actual birthday, but we were able to celebrate birthday numero 47 at his parents house, a few days later. He wanted me to cook his favorite, "puh-sketti" (spaghetti), for the occasion. For the record, he requested this meal for his actual birthday meal that I packed for him to take to work, AND then again for the celebration we had at his parents. He happily ate "puh-sketti" for several days during his birthday week!
When your farm kid is stuck inside for a tempestuous two week spread.
Sweet, spotted triplets in the backyard!
Adding a funny note to Luke's work lunchbox, courtesy of Jacob...and Google.
After church grub fest at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
While the heat has been nearly pestilent and derived from the depths of Hades, undoubtedly, I am gratified that the season has found us so fully immersed in God's favor and love. We still have a short while left before the season comes to an end and a few more adventures are planned.
To be continued...
Relishing in HIS goodness...
Christy
IStndAmzd79@gmail.com
