6 Summer Reads to Catch Before the Leaves Start Fall-ing

I've seen some of my friends looking for new reads. It seems that there's just something about summer that gets everyone in a good mood to put on some shades and their best swimsuit and head to the beach with a new book. Whether you get all the way through the book or just a few page turns in, there is something classic about the summer and an easy read. Something nostalgic!

Both my husband and I are avid readers year round! So here's my "top 10" list that you should check out this summer season.

1.) A year by the sea by Joan Anderson

This book literally changed my life. It's a light read, just like you want from a summer novel, but it's inspiring and relatable to most of the women out there. It's a memoir of the author, and the story begins with Joan's husband taking a new job offer. Being empty nesters that are growing apart, Joan decides to go stay at their Cape Cod house while her husband tackles his new job. "A Year by the Sea" is a riveting story of a coming of age after mid-life crisis and what it can mean to find yourself again.

2.) Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos

It's a beautiful story about family, love, honesty, and holding on!

3.) Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey

I had the honor and privilege of meeting this amazing author on my birthday last year. She is just as personable on paper as she was in that bookstore in Duck, NC. Grab a tissue box for the end of this story.

4.) Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Another great read from Kristy Woodson Harvey! I meshing of family generations and paralleled love stories. A granddaughter learns from her grandmother why marriage, and family life can never truly just be black and white.

5.) Eve by William Paul Young

If you have read "The Shack" this book is by the same author! It's religious fiction meets sci-fi fantasy in a book that had me thinking it was going so slow until I got to the end and it came together in a beautiful mash up. It's a new take on the creation story.

6.) The Untethered Soul by Micheal A. Singer

More of a self-improvement take on reading. This book helps you understand your mind and, as the cover says is, "the journey beyond yourself."

I hope you enjoy these reads as much as I did. If you need some good books to pick up, these are some of my best suggestions.

Oh Baby! Oh Baby!: Postpartum stories & Baby weight woes

Having Paxton was probably the single most amazing experience of my life. It wasn't until he was born, that I realize how amazing it was to actually have carried him. When I look at my son, I see his little hands and toes and am amazed at my divine nature at a woman to be able to have created this little being-- all of his tissues, his organs, bones, and features were grown within my womb. And that continues to amaze me every day.

Though having Paxton has changed my life, and I would go through it all over again to have him here, it is not something that was easy to get him here. My birth plan went out the window and I had to make a new plan out of left field.

After 2 months, I think I'm finally getting the hang of motherhood. One of my first hurdles was deciding what to do about my career. I'm still working on my bachelors degree, thankfully I'll be finishing that in May! but the more time I spent with Paxton the more I knew that I couldn't leave my infant with someone else that I didn't know. Ben and I have wonderful families, but are without the opportunity for someone within our families to watch Paxton full-time. So, with a lot of faith, we moved forward with faith to become a one income family. After tackling the financial aspect of having a baby-- oh baby, oh baby there is a medical bill for everything, we are moving forward with faith that we will be okay.

The other thing that I'm really working on accepting is the changes in my body. Having a baby changes everything. I'm pretty sure my body has been stretched in directions that I didn't even know existed! Thankfully some of the weight came off all on it's own after the IV fluids streamed out of my body, but overcoming the fact that my pre-baby clothes still don't fit, that my fingers are still too swollen for my wedding rings to fit, it's a huge disappointment in myself.

I am grateful for my husband who supports me and still helps me to feel beautiful, and for all the beautiful moms who just glow with joy in their families. I'm trying to learn to take everything in stride, one thing at a time.

Have tips for me? Would love to hear them! Have questions? Bring those too!