- Day at Riversong. Perfect sunny day full of little cousins splashing, laughing, learning to paddle arms and kick kick kick those feet.
- Pool polka-dotted with water wings and wet little heads.
- Brother’s family here from Utah. Watching little cousins grow together.
- Paddle-boat in the river: A pirate ship searching for buried treasure. Children lost in imagination.
- Visiting my 92-year-old Grandma. Four little great-grandchildren running through the yard chasing butterflies, mouths stained with summer’s bounty of cherries.
- Grandma smiling.
- Home for rest.
- Premarital counseling a dear couple. In a complicated world uncomplicated people are refreshing.
- Evening church. Children happy, running through the gym.
- More cherries. Pitting lots and lots of cherries. Stained finger-nails. Sweet summer goodness.
- Camping at Foster Reservoir!
- Our family of four in our 2-person tent. Cozy. 🙂
- Two words sum up all that is needed for a successful camping experience: Memory Foam. Anyone else have one? They are amazing!
- Husbands making coffee run.
- Nutella S’mores.
- Four little cousins eating s’mores. Marshmallow sticking on cheeks and noses, in hair, between fingers. Dirty and delicious little ones.
- Auntie Kari reading them all bedtime stories by the fire. Surrounded by the sweet smell of these precious little bugs. A rich moment.
- Putting two little monkeys to bed in the same tent while it’s still light when they have a bad case of the giggles.
- Late, dark, holding hands with my man and slipping into the tent beside our sleeping treasures.
- Day of boating. Life-jackets smooshing little cheeks. Two 2-year-olds falling alseep in our arms.
- All eight of us (Jeff, me, Kris, Nikki and our 4 kids) jumping into the lake together. Sweet moment, brilliant blue sky, surrounded by green forest, children breathless and thrilled.
- Dutch gaining courage.
- Jeff still young at heart, jumping from the bridge.
- Coming home to dinner made. Everything tastes better eaten outdoors.
- Visit from our amazing dear Aaron & Candi. Trying to fit a year’s worth of life into words. Wishing we did life together we way we once did, but praising God for His goodness in both of our lives. Inspired and encouraged by our friends.
- Kissing sleeping child’s lips.
- Home to a clean house.
- An email offering to bring us a meal, “just because.” Umm… yes! What a wonderful idea! We should take people meals “just because” more often. Who doesn’t enjoy the gift of a home-cooked meal you didn’t have to home-cook?
- Plunging my dirty little campers into the bathtub. Scrubbing ears, bottoms, toes. Shampooing hair. Clean jammies and into bed. Nothing sweeter than a deliciously clean child with wet combed hair in jammies.
- Time to myself.
- Cup of tea.
- Peace.