This month has been an absolute whirlwind! From the crazy news cycle to a busy summer schedule and plenty of nesting, my mind and hands have been kept busy! Here’s a look at some of July’s more memorable moments.
|| READING LATELY ||
I didn’t have the greatest luck with fiction this month. This magical story and this romance-with-a-twist were both by authors I’ve loved in the past, and both were disappointments. I liked this mystery more, and this thriller terrified me but definitely kept me reading. This midlife “coming of age” story was a slow start, though I loved the ending. Favorite novel of the month goes to this sweet middle grade story with the most incredible premise.
I read some excellent nonfiction this month, including this endearing celebrity memoir and this insightful take on a popular (but detrimental) parenting trend. The WORST book I read this month was one I’d really been looking forward to reading but that I found to be poorly written and unnecessarily political. I’ll be sharing full reviews of these books in a Quick Lit post this Thursday.
|| WATCHING LATELY ||
I think I watched more movies this month than I had seen in the previous twelve months combined! And I enjoyed every one! Beyond the four shared below, that were all new to me, I also rewatched two 5-star films I hadn’t seen in years—National Treasure and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Paddington ~ We borrowed this movie from the library after finishing the first book in the series. I’d never seen it, but found it to be an absolute delight! It’s extremely different from the book, which is expected since the book doesn’t have much of a plot, but I was impressed with how the film kept the feel and characters of the books while adding an interesting storyline that is updated for a present-day setting. I thought the casting was perfect and loved the colorful costumes and set (especially the Browns’ home, I want to move in!). The film has just the right amount of slapstick humor and a tremendous amount of heart, with wonderful themes of family, overcoming prejudice, and courage in its many forms. I rarely admit this, but I liked this even more than the book! My Rating: 4.5 Stars.
Paddington 2 ~ After loving the first film so much, we couldn’t wait to see the sequel and picked it up from the library on our next visit. The story picks up where the last one left off, with Paddington settled into the Brown family. When Paddington spots a vintage pop-up book in an antique shop that would make the perfect 100th birthday gift for his Aunt Lucy, he begins doing jobs around town to raise money for the gift. Then the book is stolen and Paddington is accused as the thief and thrown into prison, leaving it up to the Browns to identify the true thief and exonerate their beloved bear. This movie was nearly as good as the first! It’s a little more slapstick, which isn’t my cup of tea, but the story is just as heartwarming, and the plot is compelling. My Rating: 4 Stars.
The Courier ~ Luke and I stumbled across this movie, based on a true story, about a British businessman who is recruited by British and American Intelligence to form a partnership with a Soviet officer and help diffuse the Cuban missile crisis. This film is INTENSE but the story is fascinating. I thought the acting and costumes were superb, and found the courage displayed by our protagonists to be incredibly moving and inspirational. Throughout the movie, I was struck by what a different time that was (being a spy was an entirely different ballgame in the pre-digital days), yet how some aspects of that world feel eerily similar to today. My Rating: 4 Stars.
Bridge of Spies ~ After enjoying The Courier, Luke suggested that we watch Bridge of Spies which is another Cold War spy film that he had already watched and loved. This one, also inspired by true events, is about an American lawyer who is recruited to defend a Soviet spy and, when his client is found guilty, negotiate a prisoner exchange for the freedom of a U.S. pilot whose spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Union. Though just as riveting as The Courier, the tone of this one is more lighthearted while holding similar themes of courage and patriotism and asking important but impossible questions about the value of human life and the lengths one can or should go to serve one’s country. Tom Hanks is, of course, superb in his role and I LOVED the dynamic between his character and Abel, the Soviet spy (played by Mark Rylance who deservedly won an Academy Award for his performance). My Rating: 4 Stars.
|| LISTENING LATELY ||
The news has been wild lately and news podcasts have been dominating my listening time. But there were also a few timeless (non-news) episodes worth sharing.
Honestly with Bari Weiss—Bari and Nellie are Having Another Baby—and They Have Questions!
Focus on the Family with Jim Daly—Home Schooling: Giving Your Child a Strong Foundation
That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs—The Sermon on the Mount with Rich Villodas – Episode 903
Foundation Worldview Podcast—The Right Age for ‘The Talk’
|| MONTHLY KID-ISMS ||
CHARLIE-ISMS
+ “Wasps really scare the sweat out of me. I can’t wait until I get to Heaven, when wasps and all of humanity live in peace.”
+ Sully, out of the blue: “My favorite number is 134.” Charleston, knowing about my “28 Things” posts based on 28 being my favorite number: “Sully’s gonna have some really long blogs!”
+ “Sully, I talk a lot, but you really outdo me!”
+ Me: “Are you nervous about having a new baby in our family?” Charleston: “No, are you? You probably are because you’re the one that has to do all the organizing.”
SULLY-ISMS
+ “What are cowboys? What do they do to people? Do they kill animals? They do, but not people’s dogs, right?”
+ “I’m ALWAYS hungry and thirsty and tired. I’m just the hungriest and thirstiest and tired-i-est. So I think I should get some water and food and go in my room and eat in there all day long.”
+ “Why can’t we just let the baby just not have a name? Why does everyone have to have a name?”
+ Kali, running ahead: “Come on, Sully!” Sully: “I can NOT do that. I do NOT have the energy.”
KALI-ISMS
+ “What are they building there?” Me: “Stores.” Kali: “Ooh, stores, they have all the good stuff! I love them!”
+ Luke: “Nobody’s perfect.” Kali: “I’m perfect. But Jesus is more perfect!”
+ Sully: “Who did you live with when you were growing up? Me: “I lived with Oma and Opa and Uncle Austin.” Kali: “And Tía Yessi, right? You lived with her too!” (Austin and Yessí got married two years ago.)
|| HAPPENINGS & HIGHLIGHTS ||
It’s always a little weird when the Fourth of July lands in the middle of the week, but we still had a great holiday. Luke and the kids began the morning with a trip to pick up some fireworks and donuts. When they got home, we had a couple of hours to kill so (after consulting with Google on “patriotic movies for families”) we decided to buy and watch the movie National Treasure. I’d forgotten what a great movie that is, and the kids loved it too! Afterwards we drove over to my in-laws’ house where we had barbecue and did some backyard fireworks (mostly smoke bombs and sparklers) with the cousins. It was an especially hot day, but the kids had tons of fun. Charleston had made some paper fireworks (including one that was like a piñata and several patriotic party-blowers) that were super creative and added to the fun, festive afternoon.
That evening we went to the neighboring town of Marble Falls for our annual 4th-of-July dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river. It’s a gorgeous setting, and we had an incredible view of the fireworks show that was especially excellent this year. Despite the long, late day, the kids were in awe of the show and we all enjoyed this patriotic celebration of this country we love so much.
The kids (and I, as resident family chauffeur) attended a week of Camp 75 (backyard VBS) at our friends’ house and had a great week learning about Jesus, playing, being silly, and eating way too many sweets. The camp is put on by the youth group from our old church (we even hosted it at our house for a couple of years), and I am thankful for friends who invited us to participate because our new church doesn’t do anything like it. It was fun to catch up with our pals as we took part in this event that has been part of our summers for nearly as long as we’ve been living in Texas!
I attended The Great Homeschool Convention for the second year in a row, and this time I brought the family with me! It was a three-day convention at a gorgeous resort/convention center in the neighboring town of Round Rock. While we didn’t stay at the resort, we had fun pretending like we did—taking in the resort’s incredible African decor and enjoying the restaurants on our breaks. The kids got to participate in a fun program with skits, songs, bounce houses, crafts, and TONS of energy while Luke and I attended incredible seminars on parenting, faith, homeschooling, and (Luke’s favorite) self protection (from speaker John Lovell, The Warrior Poet, and his wife Rebekah). We intentionally didn’t spend tons of time exploring the vendor hall but did make a few excellent purchases to add to our collection of homeschooling resources. The weekend was a great opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded families and remember why we do life and school the way that we do.
We brought the kids to a Big Sibling class at the hospital where I’ll be delivering, and it was the cutest thing ever! The kids each got to bring a doll or stuffed animal and the class instructor taught them how to hold, swaddle, diaper, and bottle feed their “babies.” They also listened to a Big Sibling story and we got to tour the birthing rooms and nursery. The kids loved the experience and I was impressed with how seriously they took their lessons. Charleston in particular was fantastic with the swaddling which I’m sure will come in handy!
Luke bought a new truck this past weekend! You might recall that Luke bought another new (to him) truck less than one year ago, which was sadly totaled when he was rear-ended in February. Luke has been researching and test-driving all manner of vehicles in the months since and finally found THE ONE on Saturday. It’s a 2024 GMC—the first brand new vehicle we’ve ever owned, and Luke’s first American car. He’s pretty thrilled with his purchase, and I am thrilled that he’s happy and also that the months-long search has finally come to an end.
We did a lot of nesting this month, much of which involved updates to the kids’ bedrooms. In addition to sorting through clothes, bringing in new dressers, and adding shelving to closets, we moved the changing table/dresser from the twins’ room into the master bedroom (where the baby will be sleeping for the time being, as we don’t have space for a true nursery). We also crossed a HUGE milestone by moving the twins into separate beds! We had initially planned on putting them in a bunkbed, but we want to save their crib/toddler bed for the baby when he’s a little bigger and with no space to store it, it needs to stay in use. Our solution was to keep the original bed (which Kali and Sully had been sharing) in the twins’ room and simply add a second toddler bed. We were unsure how they would do sleeping separately for the first time in their lives, but it’s gone great! They still play and chat to each other from across the room when they can’t sleep, but they’ve surprisingly stayed in their own beds almost every night and naptime (last night was the first night they ended up in bed together; hopefully that’s a fluke since they really are getting better sleep in their own spaces). We still don’t have a firm bedroom plan for when the baby is too big to stay with Mom and Dad, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. . .
|| ICYMI: JULY ON THE BLOG ||
LIFE & REFLECTIONS
Be Here, Now (July Verse of the Month—Psalm 16:11) “Our bodies are always evolving, and this pregnant body is about to undergo a massive evolution. I can choose to avoid my body, resenting her and wanting her to rush ahead, or I can appreciate and savor each stage of this metamorphosis.“
Back to (Home)School: Our School Plans for 4th Grade & Pre-K
BOOK CORNER
Bookish Consideration: Let’s Talk Audiobooks!
Summer’s One Must Read Book Collaboration
JUST FOR FUN
28 Screen-Free Boredom Busters for Kids
QUOTABLE
“The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon. We are not totally free in this respect. But we do have great freedom here.” ~ Dallas Willard
“I cannot really be present for another person when my inner world is filled with preoccupations and distractions.” ~ David Benner
“We may not be able to choose our stories, but that does not mean we live without choices.” ~ Sara Hagerty
|| PLANNING LATELY ||
You might have noticed that this post is coming a few days before the end of the month. That’s because I wanted to get this monthly recap, along with my August Quick Lit post, to you before I go on a blogging hiatus starting next week.
I’m currently 36 weeks with baby boy, which is about the length of both of my other pregnancies, so I expect he’ll be making his appearance very soon. My plan is to take some time away from blogging in these last few days (or weeks) of pregnancy and for at least a month (possibly longer) once the baby is born. I have every intention of coming back to this space, but I have no plan for when that will be or what that will look like. If you’re not already receiving my blog posts by email, now is a great time to subscribe so that you don’t miss any updates and new posts when I return!
How was your July? Any highs (or lows) to share?