Living

I can not believe that it almost the middle of July already! I love that summer school is going by pretty fast, but I do not want it to be August yet, because then we will only have a few weeks and we'll be back in school.

I am working as a teacher's assistant for a Title 1 STEM program this summer. I worked in an ESY program last year and kind of miss not having as much interaction with the students. I love my colleagues, though and I have been leaving work and heading right to the gym, so I love being able to stay on track with my workouts. Only working four days a week is a bonus as well.

Rick is staying home with the kiddos, shuttling them to camp and other activities, cleaning the house and helping to keep up with the laundry and such. He is also working on a lot of school work, trying to finish his last few semesters to be able to do his student teaching in January 2014. If he can do it, he will be able to graduate in the spring of 2014.

Cody is working hard in basic training. Rick loves getting his weekly letters. He said it is a lot harder than he imagined it would be, but that he is working hard and staying focused. I can not wait to see him at graduation in September.

Kari just finished her Musical Theater Camp for the summer. She worked hard for three days to learn two songs and dances. We are so proud of her and her perseverance and dedication to her passion. On the 28th she will be heading to Chorus Camp for five days and four nights. This will be her first time at an overnight camp. I know she will do a fantastic job and have a fabulous time. I can not wait to see her performance on August 1.

Noah had art camp for the first two weeks of summer break. He went every day from 9 AM - 3 PM for two weeks. He made some really cool projects and performed in a production at the end of the two weeks. They sang, danced and learned how to hula. He really enjoyed it and I hope he attends next year as well. He also turned 9 (!) on July 6. We celebrated with breakfast at the Amish Market, dinner at Pizza Hut and a chocolate torte for dessert. He and Rick also went to see Despicable Me 2 this week.

We are planning a mini vacay to NYC in August once summer school ends for me and before school starts. We are hoping to catch a Broadway play and are excited to be staying in the city this time. The last tow times we have gone we've stayed in NJ, so this will be a neat experience for us.

It has been raining a lot this summer, so far and the pool is still not clean =( so we have not spent a whole of time outside, but we are hoping to get things cleaned up by the end of the month. I just hope summer slows down a bit.....  

Beautiful

No matter what I am wearing, what my hair looks like, how much I weigh, he always says I am beautiful. I used to believe him, but not so much anymore.

As I grow older and continue to struggle with my weight, among other things, I am not so sure how he could ever see me as beautiful.  I try to look in the mirror and see what he sees, but I can't. I even try to see what God sees as the perfect Creator, knowing He makes all things beautiful.

So, when he says, "Hey, Beautiful!" or tells me I am beautiful, I just smile and say, "Thank you."

Maybe one day I will see what he sees.

Join me and others as we take 5 minutes to write, to just write......