licking up summer.

If summer is like a big ice cream cone we have been licking it up. We have had our share of fun....and of ice cream. That's what summers all about. And looking at our summer bucket list we have accomplished almost everything on the the list and more. But yet still that nagging sense of dread lingers as we enter into the last full week of summer. Did I enjoy my kids enough? How is it over already?  Some days I felt like my kids were driving me crazy but now I am a mess as I think about them going back to school. 

Today as I was driving in the car the song "How He loves" came on the CD we were listening to and the words seemed to be screaming out of the speakers. "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves. Oh how He loves us." 

I don't have time to maintain these regrets. Time is moving on...School is starting next week. And when I look back on the summer it was really good. Sure there was plenty of fighting and yelling and real life that happens when seven people share a home and life together but there was a lot of good memories. And that is what I want to remember today. Not the regrets or less than perfect moments but the good times shared, the summer memories, the sweetness. Like an ice cream cone savored.

When I look back I will smile and remember...

lots and lots of ice cream and popsicles  consumed. 
sisters being sisters. 
the kids loving on Eden.
a great day trip to ocean city.
picnics in the yard and on the porch.
 lots of visits to parks....daniel's den. buckwalter park. safe harbor.
swim lessons. 
afternoons at the pool.
playdates with friends from school.
trips to goodwill with five kids always an adventure and always treasures to be found.
hike at silvermine with the groff girls collecting crayfish.
bike rides at silver mine and the bike trail.
our week at the beach. 
making forts in the backyard.
visiting that fish place.
helping grandma on the farm.
birthday parties.
sleepovers with cousins.
hope and silas flying down the hill in dump trucks.
skateboarding.
picking corn at joe & yvonnne's
bible school
visit to the library.
visiting all the great grandparents. grandma sarah sneaking them candy much to their delight. grandfather rowe collecting acorns for hope.
a visit to reuizt to visit grandma.
prophetic word from the waitress at JoJo's
new vehicles. 
matt & naomi coming home
lawn mower drama.
boys being buddies.
date with Mark to the Belvedere Inn in the rain.
Moses making a mini golf course in our backyard.
Sarah getting her ears pierced.
visiting the petting zoo.
picking berries out the lane. again and again.
moses reading to silas in the afternoon.
sarah making and selling crafts.
sarah and silas giving their lives to the Lord.
meeting a new friend through instagram. "seriously mom, instagram"
campout in the backyard with noah.

Thank you Lord for a great summer!