Summer Summary

This summer we have done so many fun things! I have already blogged about Jameson's wedding and Este Park. We just took a day trip to Krause Springs. This was the VERY FIRST time in Hollyn's life that she has ever been able to make an entire trip without ONE SINGLE meltdown. She rode in the car BEAUTIFULLY both ways! I was so so thrilled. We truly had a great day traveling and swimming together. I was proud of us, this was a very spur of the moment trip with the Sauls and Heugatters.

We had never been to Krause Springs before. I would recommend it! It was a little bit out of my comfort zone. The water was FREEZING and a bit more murky than I prefer. I REALLY like to be able to see my feet when I am swimming! The rocks were crazy slippery and all of us took a small fall before the day was over and there was a snake swimming along in the Springs with everyone. Other than that, it was a fun filled day!

Hollyn had been begging for months to take tap and ballet. So we signed up for a 6 week class this summer. These pictures are HORRIBLE, but I had to document it. She didn't ever really like it. She did everything the teachers asked her to and never cried, but I could only get her to go to 3 of the 6 classes. I think she thought it would be more freestyle! She's the tiny one on the front row!We did LOTS of swimming at the Y this summer. I told Scott I think this is the first summer since Hollyn has been born that I have felt normal again. This may not make sense to very many people. If you have been following this blog, you know Hollyn was born with a very extreme temperament and the past 3 years have been a challenge for us. We are going to a new pediatrician and are set to do a sleep study at Cook's Childrens in Sept. I feel like I FINALLY have found some doctors and specialist who understand Hollyn and why she doesn't sleep. I haven't loved all the answers I have gotten, because there isn't that much we may be able to change. BUT, after 3 years I have found someone who 100% understands and it has helped me understand Hollyn more.

I am reading a book that EVERY MOTHER SHOULD READ! It is called, "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow. Now- don't pass it by just because it has the word "anxious" in the title! It is more about being 100% content in the role that God, the "Blessed Controller" of our lives have given us. (1 Timothy 6:15) It reminds us that discontentment (about the weather, our bodies, whatever) is truly an UNHOLY habit that we, as women, fall into. I have been really trying this summer to be a more patient and calm mom and to keep my household in order. Those things are a HUGE challenge for me, especially doing all of that with a demanding child.

But God is using this book to teach me a lot of things that I need to be as a wife and a mother.

I will end with one of my conversations with Hollyn. She had been sent to her room for being very defiant. She usually screams and kicks the door while she is supposed to be sitting on her bed and thinking about why she is in there. This time she sat quietly on her bed the ENTIRE time. I was watching her on the video monitor, shocked at what I was seeing. I entered her room and she had her head in her hands. I truly thought this was going to be one of my best parenting moments because she was taking me seriously and obeying. I said, "Hollyn, what are you doing?" She said, "Thinking." I am so excited to hear what she is thinking about and get the apology that I deserve! I said, "That's good! Tell me what you were thinking." She says, "Chickens! I was thinking about baby chickens on a farm and how they hatch. They hatch out and yell "BAAAAWK BAAAAAAAWK BAAAAAWK!" By this point she is standing up and flapping her arms like a chicken. And just like that, my little parenting moment was ruined.