June was such a fun month for the Strange family. June 10 was my last day in the office at school for a few weeks, so we decided early on to make the most of this summer with our sweet Emma. If all goes well with our upcoming adoption, we are hoping that next summer will be the first summer for Emma…and Eli adventures. A large part of our June adventures centered around our beach vacation.
In June, we spent a lot of evenings and Saturday mornings at the pool in our neighborhood. Emma is really gaining confidence with her “froaties” and loves kicking her legs in the water. We spent the first week of June serving at VBS for Cedarcrest Church. This was our first VBS since joining Cedarcrest last year and we had a blast! The theme was Sports Camp. Clint was the head coach for basketball. Since VBS was held at NCCS, I served as the campus host. Each evening, Emma helped me and Rachel collect trashbags on the golfcart to take to the dumpster. She was really a big help!
Emma was a very big helper in preparing to go to the beach. She and I had a great time at Target picking out some fun things for our vacation. Recently Emma has become very interested in “monies” and always wants us to give her change. Fortunately, she is also excited about putting these monies in her piggie bank. She hasn’t quite gotten the shopping bug yet, so we’ll enjoy that while it lasts.
In the summer, we have been a lot more flexible with naps and bedtime. There is a futon in the bonus room outside of Emma’s room. She calls it her “couch”. Normally all naps and sleeping happen in her room. But…in the summer, she likes to sleep on the couch. So…who cares…and she is really sleeping pretty well!
We have blown a ton of bubbles and colored on the driveway with sidewalk chalk many evenings. Emma watched me mow the yard one evening while she was playing. Clint was at a meeting for church. When he got home, Emma told him that she mowed the yard. And…she was quite proud of herself. How can you argue with that??!
Towards the end of June, we headed up to Summerville for the day to go to a baby shower. Emma had a great time entertaining everyone. We hosted two huge cookouts at the house for the teams I lead at North Cobb Christian School. Emma thought all of the kids were there for her and she loved being a hostess!
At the end of June, we headed to Memphis for a long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July. We had a great time catching up with my family, some of our friends, and especially visiting my grandmother. Emma loved seeing grandma and had a great time with Aunt Katie, Uncle Deedle, and Uncle Kevin. She is growing up so fast!
We have noticed in the past few months that Emma has started to get more creative and she loves carrying on crazy conversations. She can recite most of her favorite books and loves to sing. She is a great little traveler and loves being around other kids. Above all, Emma knows that she is “beautiful and gorgeous” and that she is a “gift from God.” We are having a great summer!
