summatime, summatime, sum sum summatime...

 summertime in north carolina...the heat, the humidity, the storms {or should that say...the sun, vacations, the fun :-/ hint: read that with a touch of sarcasm} summer isn't one of my favorite seasons {maybe i liked it a little more while i was in school and benefitted from summer break but even then it wasn't in my top 2}. i have a long history of not wanting to be hot, not wanting to sweat, and really not liking sand so when those factors are in play, summertime = :-/.

don't get me wrong, there are great moments that occur in the summertime. vbs, family vacations, july 4 {love fireworks!}, more family time, and it does seem that there is a slower, more relaxed pace of life. {unless you work in children's ministry!}

so i'm not a total hater or summertime grouch, but give me a crisp fall day or a slightly warm springtime afternoon or even some snowfall {more likely sleet in nc ;-) } on a winter evening and a fire in the fireplace with some {sugar-free} hot cocoa and i'm a happy girl.

i will say this, though...i have a new dislike of something that occurs in the summertime. the infamous summertime cold. ugh. i haven't had one of these in years...years...until now. i believe that a cold is worse in the summertime. it just is. 

i've spent the last several days looking at this:

wishing and hoping that these items would help me banish these awful summertime cold germs. at this point? i'm sad to report that the summertime cold germs are still fighting pretty hard to stand their ground and they might be winning. i'm still hopeful, though, as i take my sudafed, tylenol, & slather on the vicks. 

while i sit here sniffling, sneezing, and smelling like vicks vapo rub, i'm longing for fall to come and come quickly. 

well hello there!

i think about blogging and my blog a lot but those posts never leave my head and make it on the "pages" of my blog. i often wondered if blogging was just a phase or fad i went through {you know because a while back everybody and their brother had a blog} and maybe that's why i started blogging but lately i miss it. so, here i am...back to blogging!

it's been over a year since i blogged {16 months, to be exact} so i almost feel like i should just start over! hi, i'm amy and i'm married to joel. we've been married for 4 1/2 years and have one fur baby, paisley. we're both working really hard to get healthier and want to have children someday soon {sooner rather than later, that's for sure}! we've just been plugging through life...being involved and serving in our church {where i'm working in the children's ministry and hubs is a deacon and teaching Sunday school}, spending time with family and friends...nothing too exciting!

we just returned from 6 days in the Bahamas and it was wonderful. i love that when you're on a cruise ship you really HAVE to unplug from the craziness of life these days...no phones, voicemail, text messages, email, social media, etc. it was really the best and something that stuck out to me? i didn't miss it. obviously, i like being able to connect with friends and family in all of those ways but sometimes it's nice to turn off the "noise" and just be. spending time in the Word with the Lord, praying, reading, and just relaxing without the usual distraction and pull of every day life was something i desperately needed! this view didn't hurt things, either:

 

 

oh and time spent with this guy?

 

 

 priceless. i'm so thankful to have this man as my husband and the longer we are together, the more i love him. i think we were both so grateful for lots of time together without the every day distractions of life.



 

we also had such a great time together as a family...my mom, my sister, brother-in-law, my nephews, my niece, and my brother-in-law's mom.

 

 

on our last night we had a really special time of blessing for my nephew, Andrew. as a recent high school grad who is headed to college, all of the adults wrote letters and prayers to Andrew and it was such a sweet time encouraging, affirming, and loving Andrew.

 

today is hubs' first day back to work and so today is kind of like our first day back to regular life {even though we returned home from florida thursday night}. grocery shopping, cleaning the house, laundry, working, and cooking dinner are all on my to-do list today. bye-bye vacation and hello, real life.

 

but this...

 

won't be far from my mind today!