Insta.Life {Summer Series}

Summer is as summer does, and it is flying by!

Here is a small peek into our summer days.

HAPPY SUMMER!

Another year of swimming lessons have come and gone.

Loving my morning #SheReadsTruth time.

I woke up to the strong smell of coffee

to find that Steve moved the coffee pot 

to the bathroom, in hopes of waking

up earlier.

Kid's Money 101: Spend, Save, Share.

The boys were instructed to take Mama on

a date.  Their perfect date?

IHOP

Blessed by the kindness of another

adoptive Mama.

Someone took a nap and got to

stay up late to watch the 

Tigers with Daddy.

A rare date night.

Gibson's first bike accident

of his young biking career.

Break. My. Heart.

Nothing says summer like

 strawberry pie and lemonade for the kids,

Hops and Glory for their mom and dad.

We took a much needed break from

record breaking heat with a trip north

for ice cream and a movie.

Diving into the sunset.

Insta.Life

As of late, I have found myself keenly aware of the time that is passing by.

The boys seem to be growing up at a rapid pace, leaving me grasping for moments to stash away in my pocket, for when they are no longer my little boys.

Last night, Gibson and I slow danced to Lead Me.  As we danced, I would catch glimpses of him in my arms in the reflections that surrounded us, and I just held him tighter, not knowing when the last time he would jump into my arms to dance would be.

Today, as we walked to the bus after his field trip to the zoo, he grabbed my hand, and I cherished that long walk to the bus, no longer taking his hand in mine for granted.

Each and every morning as Gibson leaves for school, Elliott questions how long before kindergarten starts, over the moon excited for his chance to go to school all day, everyday.

And our Finley girl, can I even describe how this little girl, that has an enormous piece of my heart in Korea, is an everyday reminder of how precious each passing day is?

No, I can't because there is nothing quite like knowing that time is marching on with or without you.

So, I sit, trying to take it all in.

With each snapshot I store away, I look around and see my wonderful life.

A freak accident with a stick left Elliott under strict orders to keep both eyes closed for 24 hours.

And for the medical drama this week, Gibson will fall on the playground cutting his

head and win best in show for a bloody covered outfit.

As the parapro told me as I picked him up.

He has the whole lunch room worried.

The all of the boys are praying and all of the girls are crying.

Walking for water is one of our favorite ways to connect with community and

raise money and awareness for those who do not have clean water.

Elliott and I ventured to the "good" Meijer to find this lovely little

fruit stand for kids.  

Our very own Needtobreathe concert .... track #5, of course.

News of an even longer wait to meet our Finley girl got the best of me,

and I may have eaten a LOT of pistachios to relieve some stress.

Knowing we could no longer avoid the reality that Finley would celebrate her

first birthday without us, we had no other choice to find her a 

pretty party dress to send her way.

After a couple weeks in my swimming bag, I dug out this thoughtful

gift from Mrs. Jen and decided it was time to choose hope again.

Just when we thought we had reached our quota of medical traumas,

Gibson stepped on a nail while running through the woods.

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon with friends that will soon be moving away.

Blessed to have a seat at this dinner table.

We had one proud big brother as he read two pages of Finley's

birthday book to her.

My catcher man. 

SF, GF, DF and delicious!

Life Lesson #674.... Never leave your favorite book in the fort overnight.

I have always been able to find Jesus at the Start line.... even if I'm not racing.

Celebrating Kt's amazing 25k performance.

Last night we had two frogs ... this morning we found Getaway in the hallway

and Jumpy is still MIA.

Who knew that I would ever consider unsweetened almond milk with

decaf coffee ice cubes to be a treat?

Sadly, we found Jumpy, dried to a crisp on the basement floor.

Elliott sobbed over the loss of his pet {of 12 hours} for quite some time.

As the pond drains behind us, the boys are on a mission to save

every last tadpole.

Just because Finley is celebrating her first birthday in Seoul, doesn't

mean we can't have some cake and celebrate her big day here.

Sometimes, you just have to drive thru and treat yourself to a whopper jr.

All ready for his bone scan.

To the zoo we go.

Just when you think it's an ordinary day at the zoo,
 a goat tries to eat your purse.

They say that every great story has conflict and great characters.  I'd say we are on our way to a great story.

Nashville or Bust

Steve is an otter to say the least and an Enthusiast to boot.  I cannot say that in our nine years of marriage, I have ever seen a shade of an introvert in Steve or heard him say, I need some alone time.

Even more than being an extrovert, Steve is a dreamer, always creating, imagining and proclaiming his next big idea.

Being married to a dreamer means lots of conversations and ideas that never reach fruition, but only serve as a fun game and conversation constant.

A few months back, Steve started talking about Donald Miller's Storyline Conference in Nashville.  The conversation lasted for a couple of days, intermittently and then died off.

Exactly 3 weeks ago {2 weeks before the conference}, Steve came home and said something to the effect of {I don't remember exactly, as I was pretty flipping ticked at him} Who should we ask to watch the boys for Nashville?

To which I replied, Nashville?!!

Calmly Steve responded, Yeah, I bought you a plane ticket {3weeks ago!}....remember you told me to go for it?

Although, I am holding strong that I never told him to go for it, it is quite possible, as I sometimes zone out of his dreams and end up responding uh-huh! sure.... for as much as Steve is a dreamer, he also NEVER pulls the trigger.... until now.

So there I had it, although I would have much rather replaced my lost iPod, or bought a new blender, or purchased some cute new spring clothes with the price of a plane ticket to Nashville, I was Nashville bound .... whether I liked it or not and I have the Instagrams to prove it.

Thank you @tammystuyfzand, @angiedetrich, @katieterp & @Bumpa

for making it possible and leaving me with little worry.

In true otter form, Steve loves sitting in the EXIT row, me not so much

as I now feel responsible to read up on all emergency procedures.

After realizing the downtown Nashville wasn't our style we made our
way to this quaint little street in Hillsboro.

Just when we thought our lunch destination was a find, we stumbled upon
The Tavern, in Midtown, where we could almost hear Bob Dylan,
and felt very much like a Braverman.
{Crosby & Christina, of course}

For the first time ever we enjoyed "Bazooka" Guacamole with pistachios
 and goat cheese,
{It was just as amazing as it sounds}

and topped it off with some Tennessee Tavern Fries,
Tuscan Kale and Parmesan Salad
and Grilled Chicken Skewers....
 A perfect marriage of food? Not at all,
but was it ever so good!

For the first time in six years we were on our own and our kids were
not within driving distance....and it was wonderful.

At last, Donald Miller front and center.
He was hilarious, intelligent and spot on.

In honor of Korea, our story and more to come.

Where we go rain follows.  But that's okay because we kinda like it,
and as the patio cleared we remained and used our cup to catch the drips.

My original Instagram caption: Blessed
@katieterp's comment: Have you apologized yet for
getting mad about the plane ticket?
#soulsisteraccountabilityatitsbest

Heat. Rain. Humidity. Wine. Life is good.

Hands down our favorite Nashville restaurant.

One last hurrah while sipping
 grey skies
{a creamy latte featuring coconut milk and bergamot syrup}
 at Bongo Java.

My favorite line of the weekend...

The story you live will be up to you and God.  I think God is pretty

creative, and I think you are fairly unique, so my guess is it's going 

to be a good one. -Donald Miller

As in most cases, when everything was said and done, I was thankful that my outgoing, dreamer of a husband chased this dream, because it was so much better than an iPod, blender and all the clothes in the world combined.

Linking up...