Since the Beach

The last week of summer vacation, the boys wanted to do a lemonade stand.  It was a fun way to end the break.
 

I also picked up a new recipe for granola bars in honor of the beginning of a new school year.  I think I've made three batches so far.  They make good after-school snacks.
 

These are the pictures from the first day of school. 
 

Morning and Evening By the Sea

One of the best things about the beach is being able to wake up to the sun rising on the horizon of the ocean, and to say goodnight under the stars with the waves pounding in the background.    

Seems like after every trip to the beach, I try to keep a smooth shell in my pocket to connect me to that place where I feel so near to God.  This time I have a small one and a large one. The small one has some imprints that look like little flowers.  It is intricate and lovely.  The large one makes me think of the effects of water over time on hard, rough things, much like how God slowly smooths our souls to make us something beautiful.

All week long, I kept thinking about these verses from Psalms and Lamentations.  And now that we are home, they are still on my mind.

Psalm 139

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

Psalm 19

¹ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
² Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.

Lamentations 3

²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends!^[b]
    His mercies never cease.
²³ Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

Back from the beach

Around Town

There is an old caboose near the library, and the boys love to stop by and play in it after we check out our books.  They climb up in the seats and pretend they are traveling to far-away places. They pretend to cook meals for me.  Their imaginations are "in sync" when we play in the train, and although it's sometimes quite hot in there, it's always worth it to visit.

 We've also been to the park a time or two this summer. I think these pictures were taken right before we watched Daddy play an evening softball game.

Childhood Friends

Later in June, I took the children to Ch*raw to visit my childhood best friend, who is now what I call my "life friend."  She and her two children were in town for a week with her parents.  We had a special couple of days watching our kids explore some of our favorite places.

 

It was like taking a step back in time to see them playing on our elementary school's playground and walking on the sidewalks we used to ride between our houses.  As always, we picked up right where we left off, and the children did, too. 

They even found a sweet kitten to love while we there, much like Monica and I did years ago.  It was "purr-fect."

The June Camping Trip

We took the boys on a mountain camping trip in June.  The weather was as beautiful as could be.  It was cool in the mornings and evenings, bug-free, and the skies were sunny and clear.  It was such a refreshing time for all of us.  The boys' favorite things were 1) practicing casting their fishing lines,



 

 

2) the campfire,

 

 

and 3) the kayaks,



probably in that order. 

After the camp-out, we went to Montreat and let the children explore one of our favorite creeks. 

 

 

 

It was special for us to re-visit the mountains where Greg and I met 17 years ago. We would love to do a trip like this again next summer, if not before!