Berries:HopefortheNations:Niece

Summer Kick-Off

Sleepover: treasure hunt, ice cream cones, puddle jumping fun. Strawberry picking with friends, what a great place to live, what a wonderful season! In two hours we picked quite a few berries... considering the number of times i had to walk from the field to the store for children's bathroom breaks...I accounted for that though. :) Julia and her friend picked a lot of berries, i was impressed! Julia has been picking berries every year of her life... except the first maybe, when she was just 2 months old. I think we were in BC visiting family that year. I wonder if she can put that on a resume one day? "berry picker for 16 years". :)



The happy pickers. If you are one to examine photos you may find this one stumps you. Some children are wearing what we consider summer attire, and then there is Sammy in a turtle neck and sweat pants. yes. Sammy loves to dress in long sleeves and long pants, even though it was perfect weather (24 degrees and sunny). I'm not sure if this is due to a lack of acceptance to change, such as, "I just wore winter clothing for 6 months, and now you expect me to wear something that shows skin, no way, that feels weird!" Or perhaps he just likes his long sleeved shirts and sweat pants because they are comfy. :)



Sweet friends are such a joy to our hearts.

Last week we were blessed to see a good friend who is often far and away. She came with a new friend for us to meet. She came and ate, spoke, asked, listened, and I cherished the moments of learning from her stories. No matter how long a gap we leave between meetings, she is always dear once we are together again. As though no time has passed at all. We all have people in our lives who remain close no matter the distance life drives between us. I am thankful for these steadfast souls. I feel as though I have been blessed with many of them, which is good, since I have had to leave Kindred spirits here and there around the globe. My heart yearns for them at times, not because the friends nearby are not sweet and dear, but because they have a special place in my heart that hurts when we are not together.



Perhaps one day we or our kids will have the joy of working in missions along side this dear friend. If not with her, definitely with her wisdom and knowledge on the work of the LORD, she is an excellent teacher on that subject!




I had the pleasure of babysitting this cutie the other night... isn't she sweeeeeet??? M and K have such a blessing in this bundle of joy and life and excitement. I look forward to watching her grow, change and develop her personality. I think she'll have no shortage of PERSONALITY, and it will have nothing to do with cheese whizz... but more so a combination of her creative mommy and gentle daddy. :)