Some of my very best memories of growing up were my yearly trips to Quaker Meadow. I would look forward to that week every year. The night before I couldn't sleep. I was so excited.
One of our favorite things about living in Southern California is living close enough to go to the beach on a regular basis. We especially like to go in the late afternoon when the crowds are leaving and then we stay until the sun sets. Abbey stays in the water until you drag her out.
Today we spent a couple of hours playing with our Lennertz cousins. These are my cousin Wesley's kids, William (4), Joshua (3) and Kathryn (17 mo.). Emily loved keeping an eye on Kathryn. Megan showed the two boys how to do some tricks on the trampoline. Everyone had fun, fun, fun!
Last night I was cleaning up the kitchen and when I got to the table, this is what I found...
Please count thirteen...yes, that's thirteen cups and a water bottle. All from my three children. In one day. That's 4.6 cups per child... or did someone have a party and forget to tell me?
I woke up early again this morning (5:30), this time before the sun had even come up. I could hear Chad downstairs getting ready to leave for work and I realized that I forgot to make his lunch last night. I stumbled down stairs in my just awake state to make his lunch and kiss him goodbye. After he left, I wandered back up stairs to fall back into bed for a while. But, out my open windows I could, again, see that the sunrise was going to be beautiful (isn't is always!) As much as I was tempted to climb back under the covers I felt the Lord drawing me outside to share the sunrise with Him. As I sat there with my camera waiting to catch the sun coming up over the mountains, I was reminded of some things I already know, but somehow seem to forget in the day-to-day of my life.
GOD is the sun in my life. There may be darkness, dark days, dark moments, but He is always there, always coming back (not to imply that He ever left me) to shine new light on my circumstances. He wants to reveal all the hidden cracks and areas where the sin and lies like to hide. I realized as I watched the sky light up before I could even see the sun, that He only needs to be near and I can already see so much of what is around me. His presence lights up a situation before I even take it to him and lay it at His feet.
And you know how in movies, sometimes there is that scene, sometimes cheesy, sometimes touching, where two different characters are at opposite ends of the earth, but they are both seeing the same moon and are thinking of each other? Well, this morning I had that same thought about the sun... Whether it's me and the girls at home, or Chad at work, or my dad in New Zealand, or Andrew in Afghanistan, or the Rissers in Seattle, or Nichole in Modesto, or Jenny in Puerto Rico, the same sun comes up on us all every morning. The same God is watching over and guiding and loving us all. And though He so very obviously has different plans for each and every one of us, He has the same plan as well...to shine His light into our lives, that we may reflect it on others.
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3
A hike on the Santa Rosa Plateau,
Emily was out of town this weekend on the Junior High Girls Weekend Getaway. They went to Palm Springs, stayed in a really nice hotel and went to a waterpark and swam and went to the mall. She had so much fun.
In her absence, Megan and Abbey decided to have a Living Room Sleepover. They set this whole thing up and watched The Secret Garden on the laptop computer. (Notice the ongoing construction project paraphernalia in the background. Em wasn't the only one in luxurious accommodations! :))
When I asked them to smile for me I noticed something special happening...
Ahhh...Sisterhood!
