~ 1 ~

Grateful for…

• This first day of our summer vacation.
• Warm days and blooming flowers.
• The love and prayers of friends.
• The grace to say I’m sorry and the opportunity to start over.
• Hugs and kisses form my little ones.
• Quiet time with Brian.

Praying for..

• My mom, her upcoming surgery and that she will be healed and cancer free.
• People suffering from violence and hatred.
• All those who have lost loved ones, especially for those struggling with depression because of it.
• All those who have asked for my prayers.
• All pregnant moms (especially family members), those trying to get pregnant, those who have lost their babies and for moms contemplating an abortion.
• The souls in purgatory, especially family, friend and those most forgotten.

Pondering…

The death of the 50 some people in Orlando. I was watching on the news that footage of the mom crying and looking for her son and I read that post about the mom who was texting her son just before he was shot. One of his last words were, “I love you Mommy.” It brings tears to my eyes to think of a grown man calling out to  his mom minutes before he died. Regardless of the circumstances, this was a heartbreaking tragedy that has brought us to tears. It is also a reminder that we never know when we may not see our children, our spouses, our parents, our loved ones again. Life is crazy and often uncertain but we can make the most of the time we have together. We can let go of the pettiness that fuels grudges and unkind words. I’d hate to have my last words or text to a loved one be something I would regret later.

~ 2 ~

Around the House…

After the whirlwind of activity last week, the house in a shambles including endless paper bags of old schoolwork and art work that the kids brought home from school. I am waiting for them to go outside to play so I can sneak it all off into the recyclable bin!

Family Chit Chat…

If you don’t follow me on social media, here is an update on my mom’s health.

Thanks to all who have been praying for my mom. For those who asked, here’s an update: Mom has Stage 2 cervical cancer. The tests were inconclusive as to whether it got into the lymph nodes. They won’t know for sure until they operate but the doc doesn’t think it did. She will have the surgery in 2-3 weeks. They are coordinating the surgeons’ schedules. Surgery will take 6 hrs. She will be in the hospital for 3 days. Recovery will be 4-6 weeks if all goes well. After recovery they’ll discuss chemo and radiation. Meanwhile, she’ll return to hospital to have an MRI to make sure she is strong enough for the surgery. All things considered, there’s a lot of reason to be thankful and hopeful. UPDATE: My mom’s surgery is scheduled for June 21, the day after her birthday.

In other news, today is our first official day of summer vacation. When my alarm went of this morning I was able to turn it off and savor a few more moments with my pillow. It was a little slice of heaven. 😉

We finished all our school activities, including the school mini-Olympics. The kids represented Team Australia, Team USA, Team Scotland and Team Brazil. Although Matthew could not remember his country’s name and kept calling it Team Bra-zebra.” LOL. 😉

And biggest news of all, Bella graduated the 8th grade!

Here she is with her proud Papa. 🙂

And with her little brothers. Matthew and John-Paul had to remove their ties an hour into the ceremony because they were choking them. 😉

Lastly, Andrew turned nine years old. My sweet oldest boy is the most like Brian and a little more quiet than his brothers. Unlike his mother, he is a natural organizer and my biggest helper around the house. He comes home and does all his chores immediately without me even having to ask. (Are you sure he’s my kid?) 😉

~ 3 ~

In the Kitchen…

It’s “clear out the freezer” week. So there’s sure to be something Mexican, something Italian, something Breakfast themed, and something that makes everyone go, “Huh??” 😉

~ 4 ~

Reading…

I just finished reading these two books. Reviews coming soon. (Spoiler Alert: I loooved them.)

When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Watching…

(ON TV)

We finished watching the new Amazon Prime  show  Doctor Thorne. I loved it, especially that it had a happy ending. 🙂 (Added bonus – the commentary from Julian Fellowes.)

Next on Netflix I’ll be watching Landgirls…

and the movie The Letters about Mother Teresa. Have you seen either? Did you like them?

Listening to …

This song has been a regular on my Walking Playlist. Laugh about It by Paper Route.

~ 5 ~

Recent Posts:

• 25 Acts of Kindness for your Husband
• Quick Family Update & Message of Gratitude (6/8/16)
• Summer Goals 2016 (and March/ April Goals Reviewed)
• Summer Walking Challenge: 100 Miles in 100 Days
• In the Kitchen: Quick and Easy Cheesy Pasta with Spinach and Kale
• Mini Book Reviews for 2016 – Part 2 (April – May)
• Mini Book Reviews for 2016 – Part 1 (Jan – March)

From the Archives:

June 2015 – Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

June 2014 – Saturday Night 7 Quick Takes, {pretty, happy, funny, real} & Answer Me This

June 2013 – Travel Tips

~ 6 ~

Pinned…

Photo Credit: 100 Days of Real Food.com

In the blogosphere…

There’s not much blog reading time but I’ve recently enjoyed:

• What I Learned about Growing Friendships as an Adult by A Knotted Life.com
• Me Before You: Dear Hollywood, Why Do You Want Me Dead? by Aleteia.org
• Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Me Before You, and the Terrible Power of Story by Carrots for Michaelmas.com
  
• Mommy, Who Is God by Catholic Mommy Blogs

~ 7 ~

I have this obsession with water droplets on flowers and spider webs. (As you can see from above.)

Here’s another I snapped the other day after a very thick morning fog.

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. What about you? What’s currently happening in your life? Any book or movie recommendations? Do share.

I’m linking up with post with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes .

Have a great week!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, 😉

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