August 1st

With the new month starting today, Mark and I decided that we need to get organized-in all areas of our life. We have gotten lazy with our health (spiritual and physical), keeping our house/cars organized, and making our money behave-to quote Dave Ramsey. So, on Monday, I started back on Body for Life along with my friend, Casey. On Friday I am taking the kids to the Dr. for their check-ups, and working on our budget for the month of August. Saturday will be clean and organize everything day, and Sunday will be our day of rest and spiritual re-fueling.  We've decided that living without a purpose in all of these areas is not living at all.

getting back to our monthly budgets and the envelope system

One thing I like to do to keep organized is keep a dry-erase calendar on the fridge with all of the events for the month on it.  As I was filling it out this morning, I came to several realizations: 1) This is the last 4 weeks I have with Ben before he is a 5th grader and 2) I need to update my refrigerator calender more often-it still has late May and early June on it!  As I was writing the dates and the events, I took some time to reflect on the Summer. 

This Summer has been...wonderful for me. Although playing mediator between Ben and Lauren has been exhausting at times, I have really enjoyed every minute of the extra time I've had with them, so I don't have any regrets or sadness that it's coming to an end. I'd be lying if I said that I won't miss them and this easy-breezy schedule, but some Thursdays even going to work to do kennel duty has seemed like an easier job than being home! Some days, my vocabulary is nothing but, "Ben, you are too loud! Lauren, why are you whining, now?"  I feel very blessed to have had this time with my kids; hopefully I can make this a Summer tradition!

faces only a mother could love

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