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The Summer Olympics are finally here! We love these 14 days. You’ll find us doing everything in front of the Olympics for the next two weeks. Somewhere between the excitement we are squeezing in some freezer cooking and errand running. Especially trying to make sure we have all the necessary school supplies for the upcoming year.

It’s August, folks. If you need me, I’ll be soaking up the last days of summer.

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I feel like I should just apologize up front for this recipe from Kitchn. Good luck trying to have any self-control. This is my favorite go-to snack for late afternoon Olympic viewing, and it also works for dessert.

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I stumbled across Allison Burr’s beautiful and encouraging site, and I’m so glad I did. There’s so much to read and be encouraged. But, one of my favorite things is below—a Family Movie Night viewing list. I don’t know about you, but I find it increasingly difficult to find a good movie for our family to enjoy together! This should last us quite a while! Hope it encourages you to continue or start a movie night with your family.

Follow Allison’s journey at Truth, Beauty, Goodness.

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This was a much needed reminder that it’s OK to have a season of rest.

“And moms, we have needed these days to just be present, we have needed them to quench our thirst, to quiet our hearts, to look at our babies in the eye and see the sparkle of play come alive in them. We have needed the shake up to remember that no matter how much we DO, we are defined by WHOSE we are, and that a season of rest ultimately reminds us of the rest He gives and brings and breathes into our weary mom hearts all year round.

But now, it’s time to gear up for the next season to come. It’s time to prepare our hearts for school calendars and back to school nights, curriculum fairs and PTA meetings, co-op classes and books stretched across the dining table until meal time and then again afterward. It’s time to move beyond our oasis of cool water and summer sun toward the work that may often go unseen but that matters so much. To wake one more time to soothe a child, to choose again to fold laundry and uniforms and place a healthy meal on the table again and again and again.”

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I love to take pictures. I love to document every moment of my kids’ adventures. But, this article from theartofsimple.net struck a chord with me, and I realized I need to be more present with my kids, the camera can wait.

“The truth is that trying to hold on to a moment that has passed is like holding on to water. The harder we try to grasp it in the palm of our hand, the faster the water trickles through our fingers.

We can’t hold on to time, no matter how much we’d like to. And trying to hold on means we’re not living in the now.”