Wait, where did July go?

1. We spent today at the beach in Surf City so I am beat but it was a lovely day to spend at the shore. There was a whole lot more sand than last year (NJ has a beach replenishment program, or so I am told) so it was a longer hike from the car to the water, but a friend from church kindly let us use her shower before we left for home, so we brought a whole lot less sand than usual back to Mt. Laurel.

The waves were just about perfect for Alex, lots of crashing and fun, but the tide kept pulling him farther and farther away from where we'd parked our towels and chairs, so every so often, I would walk down the beach, drag him out of the water, and pull him along to back where he started. Miranda started out with her flotation device but got braver as the afternoon wore on and played pretty confidently up to her waist. It didn't hurt that Daddy got her a boogie board of her own.

We are happy beach people.

2. Alex decided to print out pictures of the planets this week and hang them up in the tent above his bed, and Miranda helped him do it. It turned out just beautifully.

I don't think they are in the right order, but who cares? It was his idea, he did the printing, the cutting and the hanging, with Miranda as his cheerleader. Way cool.

3. I am still slowly making progress. I plan to stitch all day tomorrow, more or less, to try to get caught up. I would really like to be done with page 19, which I'm going to start tonight, by the end of the week.

4. Marshall and I did see Cappy on Sunday night and we enjoyed it. The movie felt a little too short, though. There was an action-filled montage in the middle of the film that I would have preferred be expanded, but Chris Evans, as usual, was very appealing. Just right for the First Avenger. Of course, it made me want to see Thor again, which is all done in theatres. It does come out on video in September, though. We're saving Harry and Cowboys & Aliens for San Diego viewing.

5. Speaking of which, we're down to 2.5 weeks until our departure date, which is Aug. 17. I'm trying not to panic. Lots to do before then. I did get all the mulch spread, though. Now we just have to cut down the jungle growing in the yard. And get hair cuts. And, and, and, and....

6. If you missed it, my birthday was on Wednesday. It was actually a lovely day. I kinda floated through the day, ignoring my To Do list, stitching for a while in between supervising the children and then went to the Youth Group backyard tour event in the evening. We're having a big party in San Diego to celebrate 4 family birthdays, including mine, so festivities are just postponed.


7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.


And here's Jen.