Not much has been happening here on the blog, except for things quite unrelated to our theme, which is supposed to be marriage, motherhood, ministry and making a home. Time to get back on topic. Thanks for bearing with me! And thanks for following along!

Life on Windy Hill has been more of a whirlwind than usual. School came to a conclusion amidst a flurry of year-end activities.

Then, this happened on June 2. On graduation morning, which was marked by nonstop torrential downpours, I told Steve, “Today the dominoes are starting to fall.” He replied, without missing a beat, “No, today the arrows are starting to fly!” [Psalm 127:4]Fly, arrow, fly! We are beyond privileged and proud to have been able to launch you forth into the future. Whatever path you choose as God leads your steps, we will be here praying for you and cheering you on.

Our graduation charge to Joshua can be watched/heard here.

Moments like these bring you to a point of reckoning in the arrow-raising business. Has it been worth it? A thousand times, yes. Did we ever realize how quickly the days would fly? Oh my. But mostly, I found myself standing in awe of God’s grace for my failings and His mercies anew each day. 

Finally, here at the end of June, things are settling into a summer feel. Which project to tackle first while the school books are packed away? So far, I can say this: a clean basement is good for the soul. A cleaned up yard is pretty nice too. While there are long-overdue projects everywhere I turn, there are also arrows everywhere I turn who will be flying in the blink of an eye. So summer will be a juggling act between enjoying some fun and lazy days of summer with my arrows, and doing some projects alongside my arrows. Both are important.No matter what we are doing, someone must always be chasing eighteen-month-old Micah, who is fully settled into the holy terror stage. I remind myself, this is how they learn at this age! They throw themselves (literally) into whatever is before them, with no self-restraint whatsoever, their eyes bright with discovery and all the new experiences that life offers them. Such a process, this thing of guiding a child to maturity. I also remind myself to just hang on, these stages don’t last forever. Don’t let these angelic pictures fool you…

I’m grateful (once again) for my talented photographer and her contributions to this blog. Check out her updated bio page!Ah, summer. Time to re-group a little, and enjoy being out of the routine just long enough that we begin to miss it a tiny bit. Not there yet. Not at all.♥