higher priorities

I've always disliked it when Moms complain about how "busy" they are. A pastor of mine used to use this line ... "You aren't too busy to do that thing you said you would do, you just made something else a higher priority". That is so true. I haven't been too busy to write a blog post, I've just chosen to do other things.

I'm not sure why. I get a lot of joy out of writing. I like to organize my thoughts. And yet, my life has been very full. We moved in May (moving is a LOT of work, in case you didn't know). Then summer came on out of nowhere. 3 kids home all day long. I am SO blessed to be able to summer with them! Who else has a better job than that??? Boating, beaching, the pool, our new house has lots to do outside (fishing, quading, swimming, catching critters, exploring). We spent time with friends and each other. We made some new friends. We missed our old neighbors. We took a week at the beach with 18 of my favorite Hoekstras. We saw a Tiger's game. Ella and I spent some girl time in Chicago. We ate ice cream and biked and watched a LOT of Noah's baseball games (he played travel ball this year). I read a lot of books. I did a lot of grilling. I got a CSA box from the Farmer's Market every Wednesday. I even attempted to mow the lawn, and ran over a mole trap in the process. Opps!

The kids started school this week. Meta started Kindergarten. I followed his bus the first day (is that wierd??) and he literally BOUNCED down the steps, like he owned the place. He is going to LOVE school. I miss the kids while they're gone, but maybe now I'll write some more blog posts!

Ella turned 9 on Tuesday. Where does that time go? I swear I would give up years of my own life to slow it down a bit for my kids. These are great ages. I love being such a big part of their lives. Everyone said when they were babies time would fly. I didn't believe them. Now I do. I really really do.

And so, that's 5 months in a few short paragraphs. I'll write more later. Promise. And sorry for the lack of pictures. The internet out in the sticks is, well, let's just say it's less than ideal.