and into august we go

Nathan and I got home on Friday evening from a week away at the beach. It was pretty phenomenal (both of our sets of parents helped us by swapping out keeping the kids and shuttling them to/from daycare). The best part? Sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

We were in Sandestin for a few days by ourselves, and then we drove over to Gulf Shores to spend some time with our friends, who were also at the beach and generously offered to host us at their gorgeous beach house (one of my most favorite places I've ever been). It was a much-needed escape after the complete insanity that was the last few weeks of July. I had a situation where two major work deadlines, a major work event and one major book deadline all stacked up within a week of one another at the end of July. I don't think I've ever had to push through a stretch of craziness like that in such a short amount of time! I seriously think it took me the first half of our vacation to finally chill out. But I did, eventually, and thank God for that.

One of the biggest things I had to accomplish by the end of last month was the first set of stepout photography for my book. Holy. Moly. It was craziness, getting ready for and working through it all; but I'm super pleased with how it's going so far. I am so thankful I get to work with Jennifer, a wonderful colleague and friend of mine, with whom I am already very comfortable working; because otherwise, I think I'd be freaking out double. Having a solid support system and trusting the people you work so closely with is so valuable.

Speaking of support systems, I don't know what I'd do without Nathan. I'm also really thankful him -- and his best friend, who spent nearly every evening helping take care of the kids while I worked for the couple of weeks leading up to that deadline.

Georgia was a fun assistant in the craft room, too - a little comic relief for me. While I was making messes like this:

...she would sit next to me and make messes like this:

I think she found that green highlighter in the desk drawer, but I really don't know.

One of her favorite things to do these days is "play buttons." Be still my heart. I set her up with a tray and a jar, sometimes a few small bows, and she goes to town. She loves to stack up two at a time and give them to me as "snacks," "chips" or "candy." It's hard to resist that cuteness.

Anyway, back from vacation means back to the grind. I keep telling everyone -- it's not that work is bad, or the book is bad, or the kids or bad, or the house is bad, it's just a lot - piled up, every day, a lot to tackle. Thank goodness for coffee and Diet Coke. And for these two loves of my life:

....though let's be honest, I could go for another week at the beach right about now.