
It’s been a really happy place around here lately.
Lots of laughter and fun.
Baseball and swim team are over – can we all say hallelujah?!?!
The kids and I are checking some things off of our “things to do this summer” bucket list! This past weekend we played laser tag, went bowling, and saw a minor league baseball game.
Also, we got a puppy.


Yep, you read that right, a puppy.
A little over a week ago.
His name is Stanley. He’s a mutt. A cattle dog/shepherd mutt. The kids adore him and he adores them. He’s got a little cough which has worried me, because I need another little one to worry over, but his whole body wags when he sees you come in and he’ll smother you with kisses.
Then there has been precious community building on all sides.
I felt keenly aware of how deep our community is in this season.
I sat watching the throngs of families at our swim meet finals and soaked it in. Our neighborhood is pretty divided between the assorted private schools on the west side of Houston so the kids don’t get to go to school with our sweet neighborhood friends. But during swim team, we’re all together.


The kids have been swimming together since they were five and run in a pack in between their races, playing games and taking their dollar bills to the concession stand. We’re surrounded by the other neighborhoods doing the same thing.
Grown-ups vacillate between volunteer work and catching up with their neighbors.
It’s this wonderful shared experience of parents sharing sunscreen and coolers and pop up tents.
{I can just hear Mr. Rogers singing, won’t you be my neighbor?}
Then a group of families from our school gathered for the local pool swim up movie showing last Friday. The kids are finally at an age where constant supervision is not required, hoorah, so they scurry off to perform diving board tricks while the parents all cram in our summer stories over snacks and drinks in the patio chairs near the mayhem.

At a church leadership meeting this week, we pressed into the topic of community and how it’s these connections which restore us from this frenzied pace.
I was just rereading some of my old neighbors’ table posts and remembered how isolated we used to be: We have to clear out some of the clutter and make time for community. I find myself utterly grateful for this rich community network that has sprung up.
We head to the farm tomorrow to fish and read and slow down and pop fireworks, all part of summer master plan. Slow down. Peace out.
I’ve also had downtime to plan fun things ahead too, because I AM a planner.
Little bit and I take our mommy-and-me trip at the end of the month. We got all the details outlined over our lovely souffles at Rise this week while the boys were out.

Then I have the big DECADE birthday party to plan for the trio in the fall – I’m might slightly be in overboard mode, but I was just telling you how big our community has become. And after the eldest’s mommy-and-me trip in January (to see the national college football championship game), we hope to have spring break vacation in Arizona and Utah to look forward to!
I love travel and it gives me great joy to know we have travel planned in the months ahead.
Until then, it’s hanging with our friends and family and taking on the pace and peace summer offers.