Sun and shade

So fast July is coming to an end!

Here are some phone pictures I took this month* with a sun and shade theme.

When it gets too hot, we've been taking cover indoors, lest we bake!

Of course the children's different likes and temperaments also mean I really have to try and think cool, calm thoughts -- and learn how to be a patient parent! ;p



Eldest got better from his fever, and shared his cough with me, just in time for his second summer camp, the no phonecalls one in the next state.

When we caught the setting sun driving there to pick him up after his week away from us, I was reminded of God watching over our coming and going. Praise Him, from the rising of the sun to the setting down!

These longer days of sunlight are nice. But knowing also that the remaining weeks of summer will fly by, there are the pockets of family time we love to savor together, inbetween hubby's work and deadlines, and the chores and more stuff I've pushed down my list to try and play catchup. More often than not, it's the basics we have to keep working on.

Life is a balancing act, isn't it?

"Work... home
Family... friends
Self... others
Spend it... save it...
Hold on... let go
Fast... slow

"Just remember,
whether it's smiles or frowns,
ups or downs,
give or take,
it's bound to even out."

~ quote, unquote from a card for a friend.

I hope you'll find this encouraging, amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, trying to juggle this and that. Pause to reflect, and keep going!

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

The Lord will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

- Psalm 84:11

Meimei's delightful drawings help perk things up on an upside-down day... 

She tells me the reddish-orange blobs in the second picture are hearts AND kisses! Both are paintings of herself :)

*This month, I'm glad to join in FatMumSlim's Photo A Day challenge, sharing these photos and more, after hearing it for the first time from Charmaine. It's been fun and meaningful, seeing others' creative takes and interpretations for the different topics, one a day!

I really also like the reminder to sit up and take notice of the little things around us, like these heart-shaped leaves under a bench.