Fun in the Forest

This past week has been full of fun and familiar faces! We meet new people every single day--people from all walks of life, each with a unique story. While we continued that some this week, we were surrounded by many people from our lives that are familiar! Here are some of our memories with those precious people!

At any given time, you could find a group of faces under our porch: laughing, plotting what to do next and chatting. And just to keep it real--you could hear the occasional argument about any random thing. Hey, that was a chance to further refine conflict resolution skills and for us adults to exercise our lung capacity as we took in deep breaths.

 Adult company during the day...priceless.

 Lots of river jumping happened during week.

 Johnny took this crew of visitors (and John G.) on a rafting trip.

 The rest of us followed them down and snapped pictures!

 We visited Smiley on a daily basis.

 I love to see dads helping their sons learn new things and support them when challenges are tough.

 This kid...so full of passion and beautiful smiles!

 And this kid...so full of humor and creativity!

 Even the old guys could not help but take the plunge!

 This is much higher than it appears! JG was deciding if he was going to take the plunge or not.

Yep, he went!

At one point, we had a large crew going down the river together. This group looked differently every time, depending on if others that were camping joined in.

 I love this picture!

 And of course, we had to go to Go Forth a few days as well!

 They enjoyed the boat races!

 Isn't this just beautiful?

 He is constantly looking for ways to plan entertainment. He set up a challenge for everyone to cross.

 This guy joined along with us. We met his family while they were camping a few weeks ago. They returned this past weekend, and he joined in with all of us!

 A picture of me... a rare occurrence since I am always the one with the camera!

 I love the beauty that we are surrounded by every single day. Being able to enjoy it with people we love makes it that much more serene.

 I pray that our boys are creating lasting memories as they invest in others' lives. I cannot express how thankful we are for this period of time in our lives.

As for other news, everyone keeps asking what we are going to do after October. The official answer right now: We still don't know. We have a couple of possibilities that have arisen. However, we are still working on details with those and will continue to pray about which direction we will go for November-February. As of right now, we really want to return from a second season here at Thunder Rock from Mar.-Oct. of next year. We will see.

In the meantime, can I encourage you to quit wasting time and spend meaningful time with other humans? Take the time to listen to their stories without a stupid to do list running through your brain. Letting people in your life gets messy and often doesn't fit in a tiny little box. During this week, I can't tell you how many times I went to sit down in my chair outside and it was wet from someone's butt. I washed more towels this past week than I have the past month I think! In addition, while everyone else is on vacation--I still had work tasks and all the random tasks it takes to care for your household. My point, enjoying people and company will always require something from you. But can I tell you it is worth it! We enjoyed this past week with people that we have shared life with for years. We are thankful they took the time to come visit and have fun with us in the forest. 

Live a Meaningful Life!