July

  We are well into Summer now here where I live. The wild flowers are out in perfusion everywhere.  Yellow Tansy waves valiantly beside the highways at the cars fly by. Queen Anne's Lace delicately nods to passersby, and along the rivers edge delicate blue Chicory flowers stand strong in the intense heat. It is nearly August and our last month of freedom before school is officially supposed to start.

  How has your Summer been going? Some people are heat lovers and the heat is what fills their cup. Other's are so affected by the heat and find it causes them to wilt. My mother was always so affected by the heat and I remember she needed to keep her body cool or she would be ill. I am finding sensitivity to the heat this year so I am not out in it too much. We had this one glorious weekend where our neighbors, who own a pool, allowed us free access to it since they were away. It was a blindingly hot weekend. The children spent every waking minute they could in it and the happiness overflowed. It was beautiful. We've gone to the beach a couple times and to the river and the public outdoor pool. We have visited friends here and there, and we have mostly stayed at home. We have spent time in the Sprinkler, time bored, time watching TV, time reading, and overall our Summer has been a success so far.

  Something that has been an important focus for me this Summer has been taking all four children to counselling. This has been a learning curve for all of us. We all attend together at first and then have individual sessions as well. It has been a wonderful experience so far and I feel like it is a gift I am giving my children for the future.

  I hope these last few months have felt like a gift to you somehow. There are so many ways to look at situations.

 Have a wonderful last couple days of July and may August be a triumph.

Love Tansy

                                This is our newest family addition. Her name is Laya.