I am definitely a bandwagoner when it comes to my love for the month of July. I have to say that this year has rekindled that deep love for this wonderful summer month. While I feel myself having some serious pangs of sadness as I think of what my life might be like with all 3 kids in tow, I am also rejuvenated by the warm summer weather, ample sunshine & REALLY long to-do lists. Most of my days are filled with anxiety over all of the things that I want to accomplish, but never seem to have the time to get to. I believe July days feel like that for everyone as they try to squeeze all the fun possible into each & every minute of days at the beach, at the pool, bbqs, etc. Feeling like I belong to the masses is a great thing for me. Still not getting everything done that I would like, but working on it.

 We're also breaking free from another tiring month of voting & promoting Erin's Dream to win the Pepsi Refresh Everything grant. We fell one spot short AGAIN. How frustrating. But...still pretty amazing. We're not a well-recognized group by a long shot. So finishing 3rd is an amazing accomplishment & could not have happened without the dedication of wonderful friends, family & supporters from far & wide. I'm not sure if anyone is truly aware of the connections that I have made with new friends across the nation thanks to the Refresh Contest. We've established quite an impressive network & you should know that Erin's Dream has helped quite a few other organizations receive grants while we shared our votes. That is so rewarding. News on that front is that we will try REALLY hard again in August. This month is a Pepsi break month. You can still vote (it's hard to stop, I know) if you'd like, but we're just voting to make sure we roll over into August. Dad also has submitted an idea that is under review. It should also be available for voting in August. Avery's Garden!! Yay. 

 THE HOUSE. Jeff has been working super hard on the house side of things for Erin's Dream. We have been able to start replacing the out of date electrical system thanks to Rus Oister. He really stepped up for us this past week to get things rolling. Before that though, our rummage sale was super successful, allowing us to purchase the supplies. D & K painting (Dan Yovish) has begun a major spackle project inside to repair the remaining plaster walls. He has also been kind enough to step in to help us with our daily work as well. Calvin just loves him & we look forward to our daily visits to oversee the boys' work. Kenny Mallard is replacing ALL of the windows in the house. The downstairs windows are all replaced, except the kitchen window which will have to wait until that project is more underway. (Ah, really?! I need a construction magic wand). Next week, the upstairs & 3rd floor window replacement will begin. Don Stauffer Construction recently replaced the roof on the house. They donated their time & labor to do that in ONE DAY! It is beautiful. Doug & Kim Kulp (Kulp Plumbing) have already done a bit of plumbing repair in the house. We're awaiting the design advice of one, very special, Anita Guris, before giving them the go ahead on the plumbing work needed. They too have donated their time. How awesome is that?! As I work on rearranging our home page, swing by the house in Schwenksville or take a little stroll on the trail to scoop up these wonderful workers' contact info. We'd love for them to benefit from their generosity to us with some PAYING customers. :)

 Dad & John have been busy working on the present patch. The sunflowers in the upper part of the patch have been planted & with the help of some major watering (umm...no rain around here in quite awhile), they're starting to grow well. I love when people have stopped along the trail to ask if we've planted sunflowers again. These sunflowers are planted every year with great love, in memory of our Uncle Will. While celebrating John's birthday up on the hill last weekend, I realized how much we truly miss our Uncle. Nice that the sunflowers are in awesome respect to him & for Avery & Nolan too. Nolan got some special teddy bear sunflowers planted for him this year. Can't wait until they bloom.

 Enough for now, Calvin calls!!!