cottage life for the lucky few

so this happened last week for Adam and AJ....

while i wasn't able to be there enjoying the beauty of Moon River, i was super grateful and happy two of my boys had the joy of taking it in themselves combined with loads of fun and memories built with grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles.  

watersports at every turn.  what could be better??

photo credits to them all as well!  

   

thanks for having them, dear extended family...they had a blast!!

you say

this song...can't even tell you how much i appreciate the message it speaks so loud and clear to my very deepest places.  remembering exactly where my true identity lies is fundamental to my contentment and inner peace.  really truly actually believing my worth is based not one single bit on measurable outcomes, outward appearances, successes or failures~ that's soul satisfying freedom.  

the unconditional all consuming love of Christ says "you are mine, my treasured child, you are loved, you are enough."  it invites me in, to come really close, exactly as i am (weary, imperfect and so very unlike Christ) to rest and to just be.  near Him, in His presence.  no strings. 

this song nails it.  the fact that it sounds utterly beautiful is a bonus.

  "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

all out

my boys laid it all out there this weekend...the first ball tournament of the season.  steamy hot weather, dust flying on that baked diamond, sweat running and so much fun while learning more and more about the great sport of baseball!!  was so fun to see.  AJ and Hudson both were shining in different ways.  i love AJ's confident hitting, RBI's and stealthy base stealing.  he's young and small but not one bit deterred in that batter's box.  

photo credits to my dear Jeffrey.

AJ ran the running portion of the skills competition and ate some dust!  i can't think of much worse, but he loved it! :)

Hudson had two home runs, pitched a solid majority of a game leaving the game with the lead, and had amazing baseball sense and endurance as catcher in the finals.  he also won the "catcher" part of the skills competition!  

 the Wrangler boys finished in second place out of ten teams, but did so with positive attitudes and character.  oh, and Coach Jeff is pretty fantastic too...he has such a good perspective on why those boys are all there, to have fun and become better ball players.  good good weekend.  

he's taken a liking...

to the new beast of a grill we have.  it's a beauty.  so fun to cook on.  and oddly enough, since the recent barbecue purchase Jeff's grilled dinner for us not once, but twice!  who knew this latest development awaited me in our almost 24 years of marriage?!?!  that i would tentatively give up the "head grill master" title to my dear husband who is embarking on a bit of a quest to master the perfect, done-exactly-right steak!!!!  

apparently he's a fast learner~ after two attempts he's had some very satisfied recipients of his end product! it might also have something to do with my tasty marinade, or the fact that steak is a somewhat infrequent menu item in our repertoire so it's always a huge treat!  either way, he's smashing it~ preheating and nailing the grill marks and resting the meat and whatever else he's read.  so cute and even mildly entertaining.... 

first pow wow

we attended our first official pow wow.  i don't think it will be our last.  the girls and our boys both enjoyed it.  i loved it.   

 

it moved me for many reasons~ too many to articulate here.  i think one theme stood out for me~ while we share this beautiful grand globe with so many diverse people, cultures and histories, ethnicities and traditions~ we really have so many ways we are all very much alike.  so much that is similar and perfectly the same.

aren't we all just everyday people drawn together by love and family and a desire to belong to community and be apart of something bigger than ourselves?  it seems almost universal, doesn't it? 

when we were finished little miss E. danced her way back to the van in the cutest possible way.  Hudson joined her.  from the northern regions of Ontario to the beautiful land of Haiti~ and for all the vast differences in between~ so much is exactly the same which is truly important to remember and celebrate!!

"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together"

Desmond Tutu

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity"

Martin Luther King Jr.