Today I wanted to take a little break from the normal schedule and my normal Admiration Monday posts to tell you a little bit about what to expect from me and this space over the coming months.

July

My husband and I will be traveling in the states for the whole month of July, which means that things may be a little out of the ordinary here on my blog. So, I wanted to give you all a heads up so you know what’s going to be happening.

I value this space and the community that is just beginning to develop around it. I want to continue building that community and make this a valuable and helpful space for all of you who visit me here. I don’t want my traveling to disrupt this space too drastically (as it has in the past). So, I will continue to post regularly while I travel.

But, I also wants to spend my long July days twirlying with my niece (isn't she cute!), playing hid-n-go seek with my nephews, giggling with my beautiful sisters, eating ice cream with my cousins, sharing stories with my friends, going on long walks with my husband, cuddling with my baby, and generally soaking in the sunshine and beauty that is summer. To balance these two desires I’ve decided to enlist some help, plan ahead and let a few things go.

I’ve asked some dear, beautiful friends to write some guest posts for all of you to enjoy. So, expect to see a few guest posts around here in the coming weeks. Each of the people who will be writing guest posts mean so much to me and I’m really so excited to share them with you. I can’t wait to read what they will write, and feel so blessed that they have agreed to share a little bit of themselves here on my blog.

I have also been doing a lot of writing ahead of time, so that I won’t have to write as much while traveling. Because of this I can tell you I have some fun posts coming your way. I have a series about Traveling with a 9 Month Old that will start this week, recipes like macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup, Fish Burgers, and Olive Oil Cake, posts about How to Tell a Good Bed Time Story and a little about My Education. I hope you enjoy these and many other posts that I have planned for the coming weeks.

Even though guest bloggers and good planning will lighten the load for me I know that I still won’t have as much time to devote to you all. So, I want you to know up front that it might take me a little longer than normal to moderate comments, or respond to them. It might take me a little longer than normal to respond to your emails as well. I might not comment on all of your wonderful blogs quite as often. And I may not participate in all of the blog carnivals that I normal try to engage with. Don’t worry though I will definitely still be doing Two for Tuesday!

So, that’s July.

August

I’m supper excited about what I have planned for August here on the blog…

August 18^th will be my husband and my 5^th wedding anniversary. I know it’s not really that long, but it sort of feels like the first really significant anniversary we’ve had. I love being married to my husband and I can’t wait to celebrate with him. So, I’m expanding our celebration to include this site by naming August my own personal Love and Marriage Month.

I plan on all of the posts in August having to do with Love and Marriage. I plan on sharing my husband and my story with you – how we met, got engaged and what our wedding was like. My Admiration Monday posts will be about couple’s who I admire and have learned from. I’ll feature guest posts about marriage and love (speaking of which, if you are interested in writing a guest post on this subject please contact me, I’d love to talk with you about it). And maybe also write a bit about wedding planning. But, don’t worry there will still be lots of recipes too – maybe a wedding cake recipe, or a post about foods that can be aphrodisiacs, or a romantic dinner menu, who knows what I’ll come up with once inspiration strikes.

Oh, I’m so excited! I want to go start writing posts for August right now! Focus, Bethany, focus. First things, first!

Well, that’s what the summer will look like around here. I hope you enjoy your summer as much as I know I will! And I hope that you continue to visit regularly. You all are a blessing and encouragement to me!

Rejoicing in the journey - Bethany Stedman

Photos by Beth Stedman