how
we ♥
met
contact

AsWeTravel

Processed with VSCO with a4 preset

Summer Days and New Things

Processed with VSCO with a4 presetProcessed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with b1 preset fathersday Processed with VSCO with a4 preset thegirlsProcessed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with b1 preset swings Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset ireland2Processed with VSCO with a4 presetProcessed with VSCO with b1 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset family ireland Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset cousins Processed with VSCO with a4 presetProcessed with VSCO with b5 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 preset

Dusting off the ole blog tonight with a zillion photos of Summer from Roger’s Park to Belfast and a few places in between. Summer 2017 you’ve been alright. We celebrated six years of marriage, flew to Ireland, spent time with family and friends, moved homes again and had some fun visitors along the way.

And yet as our warm Summer days are starting to turn into cooler Autumn ones, I’m looking forward to getting into a new rhythm and starting something new…

Miss Summer will be starting play school three mornings a week (next week!!) and I’ve been excitedly planning some preschool homeschooling for our girl who is so eager to learn all about life. With our classroom not only at our kitchen table but also at the park, the zoo, library, new nearby beaches, hopping around this colorful city and breathing in some fresh city air, we’re excited!

I’m in the process of collecting some new books and making a little corner just for our mini-lessons at home but am ready to dive in, pulling some ideas and inspiration from different sources. The Kindergarten toolkit, the Peaceful Preschool curriculum and Exploring Nature with Children to name a few. Hope to post a little here and there of how we get on and would LOVE to hear any good resources or ideas out there!

I know being able to stay at home and be with my girls is such a privilege and blessing and as the girls get older the responsibility to steward these blessings well feels that bit heavier. Ultimately we are praying that as we spend these early years together our girls will come to know and love their Creator, that as we explore and play and get our hands dirty together they will experience and respond to God’s creativity and artistry and power that can be seen all around.

So here goes! Week One. Letter A.

Processed with VSCO with a4 preset

Missouri

I’d dreamt of camping in the wild outdoors for a week…you know crickets chirping, marshmallows roasting, river walking, that kind of thing but thankfully Phil knows me better than that and found a rustic, little cottage with all of the above …and A/C and a bath. Who knew Missouri would be H-O-T in August ;) . We left the city skyline and drove 5 hours South, enjoying good conversations and road-tripping snacks, all the healthy stuff! The kids fell asleep in the back of course, mouths wide, heads crooked (well just Summer’s), both blissfully unaware of the drive. The next morning we continued and drove to our home for the week.

And let me tell ya, there’s something about taking your babies 500 miles away to a beautiful little farm in the middle of n-o-w-h-e-r-e, without network coverage or other humans nearby (also known as Hope Springs Farm, Hartville, Missouri). It was so simple and minimal. Pancakes for breakfast, walks to the river, wildflower picking after lunch, sipping peach iced tea on the porch, firefly catching and races outside with Daddy.

If I could have packed up this little cottage, with all it’s vintage charm and beauty and taken it home with me I would have. It was adorable. The perfect place to relax, unplug and spend some quality time together. There are so many sweet memories from this trip.

farm3Processed with VSCO with a4 preset Processed with VSCO with a4 presetfarm2 missouri17missouri18Loved just being outside and feeding this girls curiosity and questions.Processed with VSCO with a4 preset missouri3 missouri2farm9Processed with VSCO with a4 preset farm11 Processed with VSCO with a4 preset farm12 farm13 missouri6 missouri7 missouri16 thegirlsProcessed with VSCO with a4 preset….we took some video too, so stay tuned!

 

dublin0

Dublin

OK so I know I’m like a month late…but hey HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2016 over here has gotten off to a pretty good start. I guess I took a little break from the blog/ photo snapping when back at home for Christmas. It wasn’t intentional. Let me tell ya…jet lag with a toddler is NOT FUN. But once again I am drawn back to this this little space of mine. What started as a newlywed diary and has since documented many adventures, a baby, anniversaries, family traditions and huge life changes. To me it’s been such a demonstration of God’s continual faithfulness to this little family. 2015 was the year we were challenged to follow God into new territory and start a new chapter here in Chicago and it’d been filled with such sweet discoveries about Him and ourselves. So we’re looking ahead to 2016 with full hearts (and bigger bellies!!).

dublin dublin1 dublin04pic dublin3dublin2 dublin7 dublin9 dublin11dublin10 dublin1220 weeks! Where did you come from?!Processed with VSCOcam with j5 preset Processed with VSCOcam with a4 preset dublin13 Processed with VSCOcam with a4 presetdublin15

Back at home, we took Summer to visit her Great Nana down in Cork and stopped in Dublin for a day along the way. It’s always such a special thing to share our favorite places in Ireland with S. Here we are in St. Stephens Green feeding the ducks and drinking good, good coffee. Man I love that kid.

 

Back to Top