We Finished Well

Summer 2013, is all a memory now. 

At the beginning of the summer it dawned on me that this was our first school summer with Ella. Well not exactly but because last summer was a total wash. Binyam was in the accident exactly one week after the end of first grade. The whole summer was spend surviving. I don't count it was  a "summer" in the traditional sence of the word. So I was caught a little off guard this summer and felt the days rocketing past me. I suppose in some ways I was just laying back, breathing finally. Thanking God the school year was over. Pretending in the freedom of the summer days that I'd never have to do it again...Before I knew it weeks had gone by and I realized that if I didn't get a grip it would breeze by us like a cool crisp wind leaving us wanting for more.

So I got in gear and in retrospect we finished well. 

We went to movies. This is a first for us, we don't usually do this at all because of the cost. However we enjoyed the experience as a family and were happy we opened that door. We saw Monster's University and Despicable Me 2. Ella loved Despcable Me 2 where the minions esentially turned into zombies. I wasn't a fan of either but then I was busy wrangling Ezra. He is a total couch potato so I don't know why he choose to be a baby octpus during the movies but I had to make a concious effort to look at them and embrace the moments. Remind myself he is only two. I didn't pay for him. It is what it is, a two year old at a movie. Next year it will be a different story so I will embrace my today, because this is my gift....

We traveled. I think it was before summer started but we went to Sarasota camping with my dad. We took a trip to Marco Island for my birthday.

We hadn't a single plan to go to Disney but we were gifted with the oppertunity twice over the summer. I know we live in Disney's back yard and you would think it looses the allure. It doesn't, we love it. Wish we could go there every single day. I am not into the whole marketing of Disney. For us it's not about that. Its one day dedicated to being togather as a family. Where you smile and laugh and enjoy life. Sometimes these days are rare. It is a gift to have a lovely day packaged up and given to us where pure and crystal clear memories are made.

We said goodbye. Our dear friends the Curry family moved to New York. Initially I thought this would cast such a shadow on our summer we'd never get out from underneath it. We miss them dearly and all they brought to our lives over the days they were with us!

We had visitors. My brother visited for a week from Virgina. Ella has missed her bff, Peyton so much since they moved away from Florida. It makes my heart happy to have them back together. They have a bond, a deep, real true bond. It is amazing to see them together. We went to Disney one of the two times with them! They have a unique way of sucking us into their vacations. We end up sitting by the pool like tourists forgetting we live just 20 short minutes away. 

The highlight of the summer was a visit from Binyam's sister. Her new job afforded an opportunity to bring refugee's to Nebraska. After tons of finagling we managed to re-route her to Orlando so we could see her. This was major since I had never met her. Binyam hadn't seen her in nearly nine years. So we set up all the major site seeing adventures for her here in Orlando. I need to go back over several of these things and write more about each of them and I will...This was a major gift!

I made a Pinterest packet of crafts, bought all the stuff for every one of them and got going. I still think we didn't do them all but we did a few. Pinterest isn't a ghost following me around. Not an apparition, but an actual reality. Trust me, this is monumental. I took on Pinterest and for once, I won.

Yep, we finished well.