Some of our favorite pictures

As August draws to a close, and we plan Sophia's second birthday party (a Mad Hatter Tea Party), I find myself feeling really nostalgic about the summer. It went by fast, but it was full of blessing. I am more than satisfied.

We spent a lot of time on the beach, in the sun. Sophia learned to love the sand and the waves and will run into the ocean now, instead of needing us to carry her and let her just touch the water from within our arms. We picked wild blackberries there, and spent many hours chasing wild bunnies into the blackberry bushes. We picked blueberries with friends at a U-pick farm, too! Sophia began saying "so many berries for us! means that the Father loves us."

Sophia started walking to our neighborhood park on her own two feet and fell in love with dandelions. She started to notice butterflies and we even chased one together. We took advantage of several neighborhood water parks and bought a little wagon with shovels and other sand-digging supplies. Sophia handled her first bee sting like a warrior, not even crying. And now she knows all about putting ice, stickers (band-aids), and special cream on her owies.

I've been totally defeated by my job search, but upheld by the prayers and gifts of family and friends. I once thought I would be "great" in some very important way -- as well as being a mother. Now I am most importantly a mother, and a wife, and not doing much else. This chapter/season has been confusing and humbling, and I want to move on to another, but I think it's probably deeply good for me, for our family, and for the Church.