Wow! Another amazing month has gone by filled with crazy adventures around the world. We spent a week in the Philippines with Compassion and our lives were changed by the amazing faithful work this organization is doing. We came home and had a very challenging week of adjusting back into life here. My pregnant body did not want to sleep for a week! Baby was on a different time schedule as well and would be kicking like crazy at night time. But finally, I feel half-way normal again (besides bearing all this extra prego weight!). The Lord has been gracious and merciful.
I set about my before baby #3 goals, first of which was to potty train my son. And the Lord was merciful again and he has got it down in his own cute little independent way. He doesn’t want Mommy’s help or reminders. He will go in his own due time. 
It has been an hilarious experience! I love his little, “I did it!” I get a diaper break now for 4-5 more weeks.
We spent a lovely weekend at the Oregon Coast with Aaron’s family and what a sweet bonding time that was. With 4 of the 7 brothers in his family married and 5 grand babies (with two more on the way!), the house was lively and full! But what a blessing to have wonderful supportive family nearby. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
My next goal is strawberry freezer jam and stocking the freezer with bags of strawberries! We will be doing that this weekend!
We are 35 weeks along! Only a few more weeks to go before we welcome baby #3…what’s your guess? Boy or girl? All the Philippinos guessed a boy. In the last few weeks here, I hope to be able to invest some quality time with each of my little ones, finalize our fall Kindergarten plans, rest up, stock up on a few freezer meals, and prepare my heart for welcoming another precious little life into this world.
3 in 30 Challenge
Need some help setting and accomplishing goals? I have found the 3 in 30 challenge to be so incredibly helpful over the last few months. Set 3 goals to be accomplished in 30 days is actually a manageable task!
1000 Gifts – Continuing the Journey!
What a blessing to continue on in the pursuit of recording 1000 gifts of everyday blessings in our lives. This has been such a rich and rewarding experience. My little moleskin notepad stores such treasures and graces from our day to day life. When I am down and discouraged, it is a sweet reminder that God is good no matter what. It has been a springboard of wonderful times of prayer and thanksgiving. With each record of thanksgiving, my eyes are opened in new ways. It has been the best practice in cultivating true joy and contentment. We passed number 500 this week!
477. Early morning prayer moments with my hubby
480. The healing power of tears
486. The blessing of laughter
487. Making friends in other cultures
491. Pleasures received from teaching and planning our homeschool curriculum
495. A precious girl painting (literally) flowers
496. Success in potty training
501. Karis at her pretend baking station
503. Fresh flowers indoors from our own backyard
505. Baby in position and ready to go
506. The delight of a bubble bath
508. Tucking the kiddos snuggly in at night
511. A thoughtful pedicure from a sweet sister in law
514. A windless day at the beach
515. Wonderful fluffy pillows to aid sweet sleep
516. Delightful lemon bars
517. Chocolate milk tea party on a humid afternoon amidst an array of books
518. A short walk to a fun playground to explore
519. A surprise gift card to welcome baby from co-workers
June Book Reviews
Give them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick – a truly great read for gospel centered parenting! A new favorite on my list to be read again and again. I love this lady!
31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way by Sarah Mae – A fabulous short easy read inspiring a vision for biblical homemaking with easy step by step tasks to do each day along with the encouragement. Both vision and practice in one!
Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic – a sweet real life view of delighting in motherhood even with multiple little ones! I thought it was quite randomly laid out but overall very encouraging with lots of practical advice.
We will not have a specific theme here for the month of July but rather be talking all about different aspects of homemaking and parenting. With with the joys of summer ahead of us we wanted to have the freedom to just have fun as we feel led to share about.
July Sponsors
We are excited to welcome back Sweet Bottoms Baby Boutique (my favorite source for cloth diapers and gear all with free shipping!) and Willow Pads (dryer balls, diapers, and more!) as continued sponsored for July, along with Graham Gardens (wonderful lotion bars, natural bug bar, and other skin care goodies). Check out these awesome companies for quality natural care products for your family! We greatly appreciate their support!
Photos by Christa Taylor Photography