Summer vacation, family times, and - what, It's JUNE already?!

My kids will be home with me all day, every day, starting Friday at 12:05.

I feel like we will then be joining the rest of the world, which has already been on summer vaca for several weeks. - gotta love good 'ol Michigan.

I am excited.

I am overwhelmed.

I am in planning mode.

I am ready for good times, lots of sibling squabbles (and therefore, parental refereeing), ready to seriously stock up on food (um…all those people that tell you that having four boys will break the bank when it comes to food? Ends up they were right), and take this summer by storm.



We finally submitted Dave's application to Life Action Ministries. Dave worked with this ministry for three years, before we knew each other. It is a ministry we both feel very passionate about and we are so excited to see where God leads in this!

Life Action's mission statement is this: "To ignite Christ-centered movements of revival among God's people that display His glory and advance His kingdom throughout the world." Whether we end up moving a couple of hours west and serving along side Life Action Ministries, or staying here and continuing to plug in right where we are at, our hearts beat for that mission. We are doing it now, and we will continue to do so.






Over Memorial Day weekend we had 10 wonderful house guests, who I never get to see enough! My parents, my sister, brother in law, 3 nephews, and 3 additional kiddos came to hang out for the long weekend. Was it chaos? Yes. Beautiful, loud, sweet family chaos. I love them all so much. 


I can't say alot about the additional little ones who are with my sister's family, but suffice it to say, my dear sister, Trisha is showing my whole family what it looks like to put actions to our words. To care, and give, and meet needs, even when it may be uncomfortable, and exhausting, and stretching. 


I love my family ya'll. A whole lot. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, and now we get a double treat, because after seeing them a couple of weeks ago, we will again be seeing them all next month when we make our annual summer time Iowa trip! 






Several months ago I asked our small group to be praying for me as I was really seeking what God wanted for me in my photography business. I had gotten to a point where I felt I either needed to keep it very low key, or jump in all the way. It was hard to know what was going to be best. There are some times in life when there isn't a right or a wrong answer. 


After Dave completed his school assignment to put together a business plan, we both felt comfortable with moving ahead in our business. We registered with the state, and started putting things in motion to continue on the path of business owners. 


Guys - I am so blown away with where we are at now! This is crazy, and amazing! My summer is nearly completely booked with photo sessions. I still hesitate to call it a job - and sometimes I wonder if this is for real, because I love it so much. *grin* I have weddings booked, seniors, a birth (!), many families, vow renewals… Wow, wow, wow. The cool thing about owning our own business, is that I can set my boundaries and make this work as a stay at home mom. I almost always book my sessions when Dave is around on weekends or in the evenings. I'm trying not to over book myself. I have two amazing photographers who work with me, and we help each other out.  I'm so thankful… I'm thankful that people trust me with their most precious events. I am thankful that I have had to do little to no marketing, and have had consistent work. I am thankful for the added income. I am so thankful that I can do something that feeds my heart and soul. Mostly - I am just so grateful to God for allowing this surprise turn in my life. 




Remember the post I wrote about Dave being done with school? Well, he mostly was. He had these two little prerequisite classes he had to complete…. no big deal… they were far in the future, like JUNE. Just a couple of classes to tie up some loose ends…


Well, here we are. In the midst of those June classes. As it ends up, June wasn't as far in the future as I thought it was. Darn. So, he is in an art class every Wednesday night from 6-10, and a marriage and family class every Saturday morning from 9-1. And let's not forget, he still works full time Mon.-Fri. from 5:30AM - 2:00PM. That man is my hero. And while we do try to nurture contentment in all seasons of life, we are both kinda counting down the days until June 30th, when all of his schooling requirements really are done, completely! 




Time to run off to meal planning, dirt redistributing (totally what it feels like most days, friends!), paper filing, bill paying, and -wow, not sure where all that play-dough came from, but it apparently needs dealt with too. 


Happy Wednesday!