The Perfect End to a Near Perfect Summer

It's a total cliche, but it's true. I can't believe it's over! This was by far the fastest summer ever. It was also the busiest summer ever! It seemed like June was busy with wedding stuff and then our week of family vacation. Then July flew by with all sorts of little things, relaxed but still full of activity. And then before we knew it, it was August, time for our big trip to Colorado, and then back, with just enough time to buy school supplies and get ready for school!! Whew!

God was so gracious to us this weekend. I mean, He always is, but He just poured a little extra on this past Saturday. In fact, it was the perfect, "Last Saturday of Summer". We were just lounging around in the morning, eating breakfast and watching some Disney, and then a commercial came on. I don't remember exactly what it was about, but it said something about "enjoying the outdoors" and "going to the forest." And as obedient media consumers, we said, "Yea. We should go to the forest!" So we did! We got dressed, packed a picnic and headed to the nearest forest....which in our case, we thought that was Huntsville state park.

We had the best time there with the kids! And it wasn't really that hot?!? We had a nice breeze from the lake, and lots of shade from the beautiful pine trees. We ate our picnic, played an awesome family game of Hide n' Seek, played on the playground, climbed on the cool stumps, played some ball, then finally headed toward home. The ride home consisted of some cheap, cold, yummy ice cream--enjoyed by all, and then some quiet time for Mommy and Daddy to talk while the munchkins all slept. Perfect!

After we got home, all 5 of us got into our kiddie pool in the backyard! So redneck, but so fun!! And then we had a nice dinner of leftovers, no cooking necessary. And then we just relaxed and hung out. It was awesome! It was a day for the record books! So many blessings!!

Then, today, the day before THE DAY, we started with church--awesome, as always. And then we invited some of our small group family to come over and join us in praying for all of our kids as they start a new year. These people really are like our family. It was so incredible, to all sit together, gathered in a circle of prayer, united in the same spirit. God is so good.

And we ended the day with our own tradition of a family prayer circle. We have done this for three years now, and I hope and pray that we will continue to do this every year, for every kid, until all three of our babies are graduated.

Caleb loves it. He loves the attention and loves the special prayers and scriptures read just for him. This year was different though. We didn't have Aunt Lisa and Aunt Tracy here with us, so it was only Daddy, Ellie and me. We missed them very much, but it was still special! I am so grateful we have a God that loves us, and is attentive to our prayers.