Yes, yes…I know that we are already halfway through August, but for the sake of my online “journal” here, I just wanted to record some of the events of July.
July was a slow month for our family, a month that was in between two crazy months. We had a lot of family time and just a lot of fun. I apparently only took out my camera once or twice, but I did manage to take a bunch of pictures on my phone, so I’m glad that I have those!
I started out July wanting to begin a trial of a preschool curriculum. I’m trying to keep it really simple and have decided this year will be more for me to figure out to how to be a homeschooling Mom, than for Tera to actually be learning a ton of things. Still, she LOVES it…she thrives on the structure, the routine and her little brain just soaks up every single thing.
We will take homseschooling one year at a time, but for now it’s super fine to be able to call a morning at the park “preschool”!
July also brought with it a random bout of Hand, Foot and Mouth. Kiah random came down with a fever and just feeling generally yucky. It took me a day or so to figure out that we were dealing with HFM.
Once the fever and general sores stopped popping up, it wasn’t too terrible. Nobody else in the family every got it, and after the initial rash, it didn’t seem to bother Kiah in the least. However, it is still contagious and we were homebound for a good two weeks, just making sure we didn’t spread it to anyone else.
Our Heavenly had her 12th birthday party, but unfortunately the kids were still contagious and couldn’t go. We were so bummed, we all cried a bit. Thankfully, I was able to stop by to drop of her present and see our sweet girl. Her new foster Mom helped her go all out on a fun Harry Potter birthday party! It was perfect!
I took a bunch of pictures when we got back home so that I could send them to her…
As you can see from their faces, my kids were still a little under the weather #zonedout
Tera’s photography skills are improving! She just needs to work on not chopping heads off…
July was also a hard month in continuing to deal with the goodbye/disruption of our sweet Heavenly. It’s not easy to say goodbye and it feels like the rest of the world rushes on while we sit in the muck and deal with feelings and emotions. I’m not going to lie that a lot of tears were shed.
Just another Sunday morning with contagious kids, so I decided to have church at Woodside Chapel. Unfortunately, woodside chapel was also very, very, very popular with the mosquitoes and we had to retreat far earlier than we would have liked!
I texted my parents a video of Tera doing something really, really smart. While I was texting them those brags, the two of them got in some knock-down-drag-out fight and had to both go to time out and have a little talking to from Daddy. Still, I couldn’t resist this picture. Real life.
July also brought the great Build-A-Bear fiasco of 2018. Normally, I’m NOT into overpriced name brand stuffed animals, but I thought it sounded like a great deal. Along with over 3000 of my other friends in Beavercreek. We knew as soon as we got there that we weren’t even going to be getting a bear if we waited in line, but we stayed around a bit to people watch and be amazed at the insanity.
Of course, my kid was rather distraught when she found out she wouldn’t be getting a bear. Oops. Parenting lesson: don’t tell your kid they are getting something until you know for sure they are getting something. Also, parenting lesson: don’t blame random stores for your kids tears. You are the parent, and you have the power to direct their little hearts and minds into a fresh attitude and perspective. Sure, Build-A-Bear made a poor decision…but it’s taking it a bit far to say they were responsible for the tears and tantrums of kids all across America.
Besides, Walmart has some stuffed animals for $5. Problem solved.
Our family also took a fun little day trip to Columbus! We had a blast exploring some parts of the city, but our favorite part by far was the tour of the Anthony Thomas Chocolate Factory.
Sometimes I let Tera pick out Kiah’s clothes for the day. It’s always hilarious and I just cannot even deal with how cute it is!
This kid….his smile is everything! Also, did I mention all the time we have spent at the park during this month? We have gone almost every day!
On the way to the splash pad, I saw a new ice cream shop and decided to stop by! We usually aren’t spontaneous money spenders, so this was a real treat for my kids!
My kids love our weekly Aldi trips, and this time they were especially excited to hold onto the cake making supplies!
And Kiah was especially excited to help me bag stack the groceries. Look at his little can tower!
July brought me through one more month of this rather difficult pregnancy. Still dealing with almost daily nausea, although thankfully hardly any vomiting anymore. July found baby sitting on a nerve and I had a lot of hip pain. Thankfully, the baby seems to have shifted and that pain seems to have mostly passed.
The other big thing in July was finding out the gender of our sweet baby #3! My brother in law and sister in law were nice enough to host our little party, and the kids were LOVING all the kittens they have roaming around their land.
BOY or GIRL?
We also had a tearful and hard goodbye for my parents as they headed back to the mission field for a few years. It’s always hard to say goodbye, even as a fully grown adult with my own family. We are thankful they made it back safely and are continuing on with their ministry!
And that’s a wrap on July! August has already been a crazy month and the recap on it is going to be lots of fun!
July Dayton Mom’s Blog Post: When You Are Expecting the Unexpected
July Dayton Women in the Word Post: Living in Light of Truth
July Reading List:
Most Read July Post: So Long, Farewell, We Will Miss You (329 views)