the swamp

we find ourselves in a unique position living where we work, working where we live.  we are surrounded by wandering souls, those who are transient while we remain still.  we grow together for a short time and invest in each other.  i cry sometimes.  i hurt when they leave.  each individual has an impact on us, as a family, as individuals ourselves.  we love them, they change us, challenge our thinking, and bring new issues to light.  they play with our girls, visit their sticker shop, participate in their games, get down on their hands and knees to have races.  they sit on our couches, share their stories and a cup of tea, they eat with us.  we share with them, we let them see who we are and invite them in.  we have a door that is always open, couches that are always full, a tea box that needs to be refilled often and hearts that will never be the same.  we are full of joy.  this is life where we live, in this community, with these people.  they are not just students to us, they are people who continually shaped our hearts and eyes.  we give thanks for them.  everyday.

there are a few that share these experiences, these understandings with us.  they live beside us, with us, sometimes i feel that they almost live on us.  we don't mind being squashed.  we call ourselves the hallway family.  cause we are.  family.  we don't always knock on each others doors before we open them.  we borrow flour and eggs, sometimes without asking.  we have different opinions.  we can't imagine doing life without each other.  i think it would be lonely.  quite.  we manage on little sleep because spending time together is more important than going to bed.  

and then they invite us to be apart of their family, because they say we are family.  their mom allows our girls to call her grandma and their dad allows them to call him papa.  they are included in family boat rides with the grandchildren.  we are included in family meal times.  time is divided evenly on the tube, including our children.  i cry sometimes.  because i am so thankful.  thankful that our children are so love, so desperately loved well.  thankful that they have people who are so willing to pour into them without knowing them.  willing because we matter to their children.  they love us because their children love us.  and then i cry again.  because its how the family of God works. 

     

the swamp, as the girls call it.  its the place we can experience the love of a family we don't actually belong to, though to be honest i don't think we know that.

we are thankful for friends, for the community the Lord has placed us in.  we are thankful for the nights we spend together and the way we grow together.  beyond thankful.  we have this chance to teach our girls to serve, to have open doors and open hearts, to love others as family, because really, we are.

summer adventures

i write these thoughts, of these adventures for our girls.  i write that they would know how we spent our days, how we chose to do life and by whom we were blessed.  our moments are important, they hold value and build into our characters, our beings.  they help to shape our values and desires, they don't define us but they create in us a piece of our hearts.  and so i recount our summer adventures.  our moments, small as they may be, leave lasting impressions, lasting memories and they are cherished.

recorded through photographs, these are our days spent at a dear friends lake, shared with others who hold our heart strings tightly.  we develop community here, we pour into each other, we help when we can, listen with our whole hearts, hold sweet babies that are not our own, we love and serve each other.  ash says it is the closest thing to true community we will experience this side of heaven.  and i believe her.

we spend our summer days together, the four of us mamas with our multitude of children.  our adventures are simple.  our adventures are fulfilling because these people bring the truth of Jesus with them in their words and actions, everyday.  and i count that a blessing.  i count that pure joy.

we camp.  we play.  we giggle.  we get frustrated.  we pray.  we cry.  we rejoice.  we grow.  together.  

  these are pieces of our summer days.  and in them all, i give thanks.  thanks to the almighty Lord for bringing such amazing people to my side, to walk through life with, the mundane and the exciting, the heavy and the light.  blessings.

the last piece

we pulled into camp, a camp that i grew up going to when it was at a different location.  but this spot i also grew up going to, mesachie lake, with church families camping and swimming. there is a smell there that comes just after the rain that reminds me of walking with my dad, and i can't help but think it is the only place in the world that smells like it, fresh and crisp.  the lake is stunning and clean and so beautiful, it holds so many memories, memories of walking on logs, rain, friends and our family.

we set up our trailer and settled into living for the next little while.  our days were easy, simple and lovely.  riding zip lines, finding unique trails, spotting bears, playing at the lake, boat rides, night fires, conversations with good friends, blessings all of it.

rachel had a great walk picked out for us and the thought of this walk was romantic.  a wild flower reserve. we each picked a flower to spot along the way and our eyes were open for them for the first few steps, and then the running started and then the rain and then the fact that we were no longer in the reserve but on a golf green...we tried. 

on our second walk we found a bear, a water walkway, spit bugs and sun.

we drove across the island to spend the day with my dad, his dear friend, the sheep and the bull frogs.  from there we took the girls to the place i first spotted my sweet scott, camp qwanoes. we walked the cabin lines and the back road, we shared the day with friends.  blessings, all of it.

i feel so blessed to be able to spend such precious amounts of time not only with my family but with those who have been apart of our lives for so long.  it is a blessing to walk through life with kindred spirits that are willing to engage you and challenge you, sit with you and invest in you.

 this was the last of our island adventures.  we left with full hearts and new memories and experiences.  i count it all joy.