Mid-July Faves

Can you believe it's only been 4 weeks of summer so far and school's only been out for 4 here in the North-east?  We are at mid-July and 2 weeks of summer school are complete.  Only 4 to go then another nice long vacation.

For now, I'm pausing to look back at the week and find FIVE FAVE things that made me smile and say "thank You" to our Heavenly Father. He's so good to us!

If you'd like to join in, head to Susanne's site to learn how!

• BASIL!  My basil that I started from seeds has not done very well this summer compared to past years.  But finally on Saturday, I noticed that this particular portion is doing well.  For some reason, the basil is taking forever to grow this year!!  I'm thankful, even for just a couple of plants. We love adding it to pasta dishes and on mozzarella and cheddar sandwiches.

SPLASH PARTY FUN WITH SPRINKLER
(I'm not allowed to show faces so please forgive the splotches!)

SPLASH PARTY FUN WITH WATER TABLE TOYS

• FIRST TWO WEEKS!  Our first two weeks of summer school at this agency where I work is going well.  I came home from vacation on a Saturday evening, and by 10 pm Sunday evening I was signed on to be head teacher for a month due to the head teacher in the classroom needing emergency surgery the last day of vacation!  So.....although I was looking forward to a more relaxed summer schedule as the Assistant Teacher, like during the school year, they did offer me a nice raise and I was told I could keep my reduced hours 2 days a week. This past week our theme was "Circus" and the children had their first of the summer Splash Party where they come to school in swim suits and we play for an hour in the water activities.  Each classroom has a turn outside for this very exciting hour once a week.  I'm thankful that H is on the mend from her surgery and I'm thankful that even though I haven't taught full time as Master Teacher since 1995, that the transition was smooth.  I have a good team and we're looking forward to next week when I introduce our "Camping" theme.

John Pond
Siamese Pond Wilderness Region
Central Adirondacks
15 July 2018

• DEEP WOODS HIKE:  Last Sunday my good friend Gerri and I met my childhood friend Cheryl at a trailhead and hiked 2.2 miles into a very remote region of the Adirondacks to this very pretty pond. (My husband opted out as he had things he wanted to do around the house). Another hiker from Cheryl's group met us there and the 4 of us had a good although VERY HOT and HUMID hike.  The temp was 88 degrees and the air was "sticky".  On the way back to the car, we took a side trail that depicted two graves of young children who died in the Black Diphtheria Epidemic to the near by village in the late 1800s.  It was very sobering. We followed that up to a lovely, leisurely lunch at a little cafe in the town just south of where we were hiking.  I'm thankful for friends who like to be spontaneous and just go have fun!

near the John Pond Trail
Indian Lake, NY
central Adirondacks

• HEAT WAVE RELIEF!  On Tuesday we had a nice rain storm and Wednesday morning we woke up to cooler temperatures and no humidity!  We turned off the central air and opened all the windows to air out the house and allow the nice summer breeze and scents to come in.  I'm thankful for central air when those temps climb above 85 and when the humidity level is higher than 50% but I am REALLY thankful when we have the "perfect summer weather" of high 70s, sun and no humid air. We are blessed here in the north east to not have those high temps for more than a few days at a time.  I'm thankful the rest of this week was perfect. :)

Courtney Elisabeth, age 25

• BIRTHDAY!  Our oldest daughter, Courtney, celebrated her 25th birthday last week and we had some yummy chocolate vegan cupcakes that my youngest baked as well as some nice wine with dinner. She opened her gifts from us but  did most of her celebrating with friends from church by going paddle boarding  on Saratoga Lake where the photo above was taken.  Courtney is loving her full time administrative job and is very involved in the young adult Christian ministry Twelve Two where she has a leadership role and does all the design work for the events and website.  She and I have some wonderful chats too although usually late at night!  I'm thankful for the godly young woman she has become and for all the guys and gals she hangs out with who are also very godly people.  It's so hard to believe she is 25!!  The time goes by so darn fast!

That wraps up my week.

I hope whatever you have planned for the weekend is something relaxing and fun!