Honestly, as I’ve thought about what to write for this note over the past few days, I’ve felt a little overwhelmed.
June was full of so much: four different overnight camps between my three big kids, a quarterly getaway with my man, three day camps for my youngest, an epic trip to the Cayman Islands for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, room re-dos, and—oh, did I mention we brought home our puppy, Ruby Nutella?!
Last night I was in the bathtub scrolling through my camera roll while putting together my June Chatbook, and I was reminded what a good reflection tool it is. As I looked through the photos—some beautifully edited with perfect light, others blurry snapshots of real life—I felt such a deep sense of gratitude for the life I’m living.
I realized this “summer life update” text to friends summed up June better than anything else I could write.
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The Lord has been so good and faithful. I feel deeply in love with this season of my life. It’s exhausting, and it’s a lot, but I’m so grateful to be home with my kids. I’ve also been going to counseling every week, and that has been such a gift.
It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve been so tired by the end of the day that I only make it through about five pages of my book before falling asleep. But I wouldn’t trade it.
July is here, and I remembered yesterday that it’s actually one of my favorite months of the year: a slower pace, the Fourth of July (my favorite holiday!), our annual trek to Colorado, and the calm before the beautiful rhythm of fall begins again.
There is so much goodness if we simply have eyes to see it.
“If you want to love your life more, think more loving thoughts about your life.”
My hope is that as you read this note, you’ll feel a little permission to pause, reflect, and remember the good things from your own June.
Let’s go.
I went back to counseling this month, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
I’ve been wanting to go back for at least a year and a half, but I kept putting it off, making all the usual excuses about why it wasn’t possible. But right there in a beach chair, overlooking the ocean, I finally did some good, deep work.
I’ve always valued self-awareness and self-reflection, but this has taken me to a deeper level. It’s been so life-giving to have an unbiased, safe, experienced professional to help me process things and ask questions I wouldn’t think to ask myself.
One of the things I’ve been working on is becoming more curious instead of more certain. I’m also learning to fully own and accept my life—and to live it unapologetically.
For this former approval addict and people pleaser, that is really good work.
June was full of so many good things: baking camp, dance camp, tennis camp, Asher’s room re-do, Asher starting volleyball, a going-away party for dear friends, lots of friends coming over to meet Ruby, friend dates, nightly puppy walks with Ever Joy, the girls’ lemonade stand, Asher finally getting her first phone, a night swim with glow sticks, pool dates, full-out sing-alongs with all the girls, camp drop-offs and pick-ups, lots of printed photos, early mornings with Ruby, and date nights.
As I put together our Chatbook, I found myself smiling at how full the month had been—not with productivity, but with people, memories, and moments I don’t want to forget.
✿ What I Loved This Month
Slow Mornings at Home
This really only applies to this last week of June, but it’s the freshest in my mind. I am a big fan of hiding the TV remotes at night so the kids don’t wake up tempted to turn on their shows. Instead, we’ve been getting on Pinterest together, picking out fun free printables, and printing them out.
Almost every morning this week, the girls have been at the kitchen island listening to Forrest Frank or Alex Warren and coloring, while I sit outside with the puppy journaling, reading my Bible, and drinking my coffee in peace. I’m so grateful for slow, un-rushed summer mornings.
Getting back into in-person counseling
I talked about this above, but I want to keep talking about it. I’m so thankful the stigma around counseling is slowly changing, but I also want to reiterate that counseling isn’t just something you do when you hit rock bottom—it’s an incredible tool for any stage or season of life.
I’m going weekly right now, but will move to every other week as we get into the school year. It’s something I do seasonally, and I can’t encourage it enough.
Matching sets
Kind of laughing at this one because I loved the note my girl Valerie Woerner wrote about sets: “Am I the only cynic who sees the trend of wearing matching sets as a sales tactic?” She’s not wrong—but I am loving them anyway.
They’re an easy throw-on, no-thinking-required outfit. I also love athletic dresses for the same reason.
I’m not an influencer, so I’m not going to link anything—but I will say I love Joy Lab (Target), J.Crew Factory, and of course Amazon.
The most simple fun
There are moments from this month with my kids that I never want to forget: coming home from the splash pad to the girls jumping right into the pool while I make grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches. All four girls piled into Rivers’ room with fake microphones singing “Defying Gravity” at the top of our lungs while we folded laundry. Putting glow sticks in the pool for a night swim and staying in until 10 p.m. Taking all four kids to Sonic Happy Hour, then to the mall to spend allowance money.
These are the moments and memories I hope stick with them, too.
✿ What I Watched This Month
There were a few things I really enjoyed:
America’s Sweethearts (Netflix)
My mom and two sisters and I have long been obsessed with anything DCC (Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders). We started watching Making the Team on CMT way back in the day. Safe to say I binged season three of this docu-style series in a weekend.
Voicemails for Isabelle (Netflix)
Netflix’s newest movie, and it’s a good one. Rom-com style, and I really enjoyed it. Asher (14) watched it with me, so we did fast-forward through a few scenes—but overall it had a sweet message, and I liked it, even if it was a bit cheesy.
Still want to watch:
The Four Seasons (Season 2) on Netflix, Sweet Magnolias (Season 5) on Netflix, and Shrinking (Season 3) on Apple TV.
I know myself, and if I’m going to watch a show, I like to watch it all. I just haven’t had the margin or capacity to do that much this summer.
If you’ve watched anything worth sharing lately, tell us in the comments.
✿ What June Taught Me
Puppies are a lot like babies and toddlers.
Summer camp continues to be an incredible place of growth for our kids.
Early mornings are the best time for peace and quiet in the summer.
One-on-one friend dates are incredibly valuable and worth making the effort for.
I can actually be unapologetically myself, even with those who have known me the longest.
These days—with all the kids at home—are my absolute favorite.
It’s best to always have Capri Sun, watermelon, and mini ice cream sandwiches on hand for spontaneous pool hangs.
This is probably my favorite book I’ve read all year. I’ve long admired and loved every one of Annabel Monaghan’s books, but this one was special. It was like happiness wrapped up in a book. I love that her main characters are around my age and always moms. It was fun, playful, and full of characters I completely fell in love with. Go get it now. For real.
Because I loved The Wedding People so much, I wanted to read some of the author’s backlist. My best friend Jacci convinced me to read this, and at first I wasn’t sure. It’s honestly kind of dark and depressing (her favorite kind of read, but not mine). But I’m so glad I kept going—if only for this line:
“I was thinking that there was nothing better in this world than to discover someone who was weird in exactly the same way I was weird. To be weird and then loved for it.”
As someone who really values “being weird,” it spoke to me so much. 4 stars.
I read this one on our last days in the Caymans and then on our flight home, and it was delightful. It wasn’t at all what I expected, which made me like it even more. KWH is becoming an auto-buy author for me.
I was just telling a friend today that I actually really enjoyed this book, but I’ve come to expect more from Carley. Like, if it wasn’t written by her, I probably would have loved it more (which sounds strange). I just loved her last summer book so much that this one didn’t quite compare. It was, however, a great beach read. I loved carrying my hardback around from beach chair to pool chair to bedside.
A dear friend gave me a copy of this small book, and it lived on my Bible and journal for the past few months. I read a chapter at a time, then re-read it again. It was a very thought-provoking perspective on life with little kids at home and our faith walk. I’ve already bought copies for other friends.
I randomly picked this up at Fabled in Waco when we were on our quarterly getaway. It was a short read and I got through it quickly. Honestly, it was a bit depressing, but also insightful in terms of the human experience. I did enjoy it—it’s just different than what I typically gravitate toward. I’m glad I read it.
This is my summer parenting book. As I’ve been thinking about our “theme” for summer, the word that keeps coming up is capable. It’s something I want to instill in my four children, and something I want to feel more deeply as a parent too. I’m listening on Audible so I can go back and re-listen. So far, 10/10.
This is the book I’ve only read about 26 pages of because I’m so exhausted by the end of the night that I only manage 5–10 pages at a time. Honestly, I should probably start it over this weekend when I can actually follow the storyline. But I loved her Wild Alaska series and I’m excited to dive into this one. Also—it’s on Kindle Unlimited.
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✿ A Final Thought
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
As I was on a walk this morning, this quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off came to mind. It’s such a classic, but it’s also so true. I’ve realized that whether we have camps, travel, plans—or none of the above—life is still moving pretty fast.
So the question becomes: how do we stop, notice, and pay attention to the life unfolding right in front of us?
I love all that you shared here.
June was so amazing!!! Thank you for capturing the essence of it so well, you are amazing and I love you with all my heart!!!💙💙💙🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼