Lauren Sparks

We are almost ready to turn another calendar page.  Metaphorically for me, as I keep everything on my I-phone calendar now.  And for all the many, many calendar entries for August, I could sum the month up in one word.  Hot.  My sweat droplets gave birth to sweat babies who grew to full grown sweat children in the month of August.  I am so ready to be less moist, more comfortable and much less olfactorily offensive.  This concludes my temperature lament.  But it only begins my August round up.

Week One

Since just returning from a full 7 day family vacation, we all hit the ground running August 1st.  Chuck and I back to a busy work grind and Allie to her school’s All-State Choir Camp.  Allie also began her term as high school choir president.  She secured and painted her senior parking spot in the school lot – a fun and longstanding tradition.

Over the first weekend we hosted some friends for game night.  SO MUCH FUN.  If you haven’t played Blank Slate, Code Names or SkyJo, I recommend picking one up and gathering up family or friends or both!  The next day Allie camped out for a COIN concert with a friend while Chuck, Shelby and I went to church and then a Texas Ranger game.  Chuck and I are not baseball fans, but somehow Shelby became one and she loves this team!  So we always try to take her to at least one game a season and she loves it so much!  The smiles and cheers are well worth the cost and time.

Speaking of COIN, have you heard of them?  I have seen them described as feel-good indie pop.  My daughter had such a great experience at their show and meet and greet that I started listening.  I’m now kinda obsessed.

Week Two

The second week of the month, Allie jumped into rehearsals for her next school play as well as meetings for PALs (Peer Assisted Leadership).  And the biggest news?  My husband had his feeding tube removed!!  Another step to feeling more normal.  He is eating almost everything the kids and I do now.  He still can’t taste much, so it’s not fun for him, but he is maintaining his weight with no assistance.

That weekend we manned a table for the high school’s theater department (which Chuck sits on the board for this year) at Panther Pride – the annual back to school celebration and pep rally.  We enjoyed visiting with other parents, teachers and kids as we sweated (did I mention my temperature lament?) on the football team’s indoor practice field with the garage doors rolled open.  Then Allie’s jazz choir sang the national anthem.

And Number Three

Allie had senior sunrise 2 days before school started.  It’s a little bit of a non-event but a tradition for students to gather at the lake.  I’m really not sure how my baby is a senior and I’m a little in my feels about it.  Overall she is very excited about a year that includes 4 challenging AP classes, 2 choirs, PALs and musical theater.

As choir president this year, my girl attended her first choir booster board meeting with me.  She said it was the longest hour and a half of her life and a tad anxiety inducing to hear all the mama bear opinions about all of the things.  She may have preferred to never know how this particular sausage is made.

That’s Entertainment

The hubs and I haven’t had as much time in front of the tele lately.  We did check out the Netflix original movie The Gray Man.  I like Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, but found this flick meh.  If you like action, there is lots of it.  But hardly any dialogue.  We also took in the documentary Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey about the FLDS.  It’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from.

I am reading Dolly Parton, Songteller:  My Life in Lyrics.  It’s like a history lesson on all her songs.  And I love to learn the meaning behind lyrics.  It felt appropriate to check it out from the library after our Tennessee vacation.  I also started Friday Night Lights.  It’s football season now!  I loved the TV show based on the book but have never read it or seen the original movie!  And last, I am going through Chase the Fun with Annie F Downs and her tribe.  Since learning that fun is rest for me, I’m going deeper and learning so much about myself.

Be sure and drop me a comment about what you’ve done this month or a TV show or movie I should watch.  That you take the time to read and comment means more to me than you will ever know.  And as always, I love you, I thank you and I hope September brings some fall weather!

Now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

As I’ve wrestled with what it means for me to rest and eliminate my “shoulds”, Grace and Truth’s own Lisa Burgess spoke into me with What Do You Really Have to Do Today?

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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