Whatever Wednesdays- A Link Up

Have you ever had a moment where you wished you could hit the "pause" button on your life? 

Not so much as to "stop" everything, just to slow it all down...at least for a short period of time...so that your brain, which feels like it's still stuck in April or May could catch up with your body which is propelling itself towards the end of July with a speed that you find yourself shocked and surprised about. 

That's how I feel today...this week. Like I'm hitting pause and not doing ONE MORE THING until Ava starts school in September...and then maybe I'll pull my finger off the button...we'll see. 

It's been one of those seasons of life that has felt like a FLURRY of activity, and need, and responsibility and events. 

We had 8 birthdays between our two families in the month of June-- TWO parties for Ava's 5th birthday (which almost puts our tally at 9!), Father's Day, and then a fantastic trip to Disney to cap off the month...

When we got back from Disney, met up with 4th of July festivities, unpacked from our trip and then Scott scooted off to Chicago for a fiscal year end/year kick off meeting. 

We picked blueberries in there, and swam, and took the girls to dance class, have grilled a lot of veggies and chicken on the grill and have eaten our fair share of s'mores (which Scott is an EXPERT at creating on our grill since our fire pit gave out!).

We have one more trip planned to Maine at the end of August to celebrate the many Birthdays in Scott's family (namely his grandfather's 90th, which is quite monumental!)...it promises to be a festive and fun time! I haven't been to Maine in years, so I'm looking forward to seeing the water and the landscape of the oceanfront towns. 

In the midst of it all we've been trying to do everything we can to support my brother and his wife who are currently in Cincinnati waiting with their four month old baby girl for a liver transplant...it's tough stuff. I've been attempting to keep up a blog from them to help their family and friends stay up to date on all that they are going through...Feel free to check out their story here. My sister and I just returned from Cincinnati this past weekend where we got a heavy dose of the reality they are living day to day...and where at least half a dozen people asked if we were twins, which was pretty funny! 

All that is why I haven't blogged much here...Blogging, when life gets full, is what ends up going to the bottom of my "must-do" list...for better or worse. 

So, for now, while Ava is still home with me for 4 more weeks...I'm hitting pause! 

I know there are family members and friends who were hoping to do many more things with us this summer...I apologize in advance if we say "NO"...I'm sorry... it's been a busy season, and in order to be "IN" the moment with our children, and set some boundaries around our family so that we don't look back on this time in 5 years with regret, we are laying low for the next 4 weeks (aside from traveling to Maine)...

I asked Scott if he thought I would get in trouble for saying that online...

He shrugged, smiled and said... "It's honest...you can't argue with that." 

Nope! So, LOVE you all...but if you happen to end up on the end of one of our "NO's", please don't take it personally... No worries, after a couple weeks of laying low, we're usually ready for some excitement again! 

I'll let you know when my brain has entered July and we're ready to return from "no" to "go"! 

(This post is part of Whatever Wednesdays. An opportunity to link up whatever you want as long as it is loosely related to family life, spiritual practices or ways of becoming a better mom/woman/wife!)