How Was Your June?

Six months done. Three and a half months in our new house. This was a full month with lots of really great things! I'm excited to share them with you!

First, I took a quasi-break from Instagram. I'm just really struggling with the interaction part of the app. The root of the issue is eluding me and I know I can't really fix it until I figure that out so you may not see me jumping fully back in at the beginning of July..

What an amazing month!!! We had our open house at the beginning of June and it went so well. We had wonderful weather and a good turn out. What really surprised us was that less than half of who we invited came and most of those close to us were unable to come for one reason or another but we got to see lots of people we haven't seen in some time, or don't see often. A man from our church is a woodworker and he made us a large sign with the farm name on it! It was a surprise for my parents but I knew about it ;)

I attended my first non-homeschool graduation ceremony this month. One of my Bright Lights girls graduated high school and I was going to miss her grad party so I asked if I could possible go to the ceremony. She went to a small private school, so it was not too jarring of an experience *ha ha* and was very nice.

The reason I missed her grad party was because I was in Cooperstown, NY!!!! There will be much more in a coming blog post about that trip, but it was an amazing vacation with my aunt and three cousins. I got to watch a lot of baseball, have lunch with one of my cousins who lives out there, and visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum!!! A very memorable trip that I am so thankful I got to take!

Around the house/property, we planted our gardens (Dad planted the gardens :) and Mark got Mom's old schoolhouse bell installed on a post by the deck. Mom wanted a bell to ring as a signal to people when we are scattered around the property and Dad found one a few years ago but now we live here and it's up! We also replaced ALL of the shades with top-down/bottom-up blackout shades. (Photo below is one of my shades). Our handyman friend built us a hall cabinet, finished the stairway wall and built more cabinets (you can never have too much storage!), and in my room, I got my closet curtains and Mark put my second shelf inside the closet so all my boxes are finally gone!

I finally got to read Jennie Allen's Find Your People and it was everything I hoped for and more. You can read my full review here but it was a good, challenging book and I think I'm finally "ready" to start stepping out and trying to find community. (I'm not really ready but I just need to do it).

We also got to host two families through A Candle In The Window. All we have now is our motorhome for hosting, but if people don't mind that, we are still so happy to have people come stay! I'm glad that some are willing because I like Candle a lot. (And everyone who knows me is shocked!).

I did not get to do strawberry picking this year. The prime picking time was while I was gone so we will try again next year :) Cooperstown is only once. Strawberries grow every year. Also, the newborn session did not happen this month because he was born just before I left and then the timing did not work out for it to happen until the beginning of July. So he will be almost a month old but that's okay!!

How was your June? What did you accomplish or get to do? What things will you be bumping to July?

The clubhouse area had baseballs with famous players' signatures on them. This is Ty Cobb's.

The cottage where we stayed. It's bigger than it looks but it was small. I wouldn't want to live there all the time but it's a good vacation house!

We ate dinner one night at a cute little restaurant and this was the patio view.

My cousin stayed with his team in the "clubhouses". This was us dropping him off.

The things in this "locker" are mostly things that I actually lived through and remember happening, like Spencer Turnbull's no-hitter and Daniel Norris' home run!

The top hat is Sparky Anderson's hat from the 1984 season and World Series. The other hat is Jack Morris' 1984 cap and the base is from the last game Alan Tramell and Lou Whitaker played together at home.

The only photo I took with me in it at the Hall of Fame :)

Ernie Harwell's microphone

There was a river down below the cottage and it was beautiful!!! We also went to a lake one day so the boys could fish and that was so peaceful. I love the water!!!