One of my favorite sounds in the whole world is the sound of a canoe paddle cutting through water.  A tent, a pack, and a canoe were all we needed a few weeks ago as we headed to the Boundary Waters with our friends, April and Jesse Schutt.  We appreciated getting to know April and Jesse better and loved taking in the beauty of the area.  The Boundary Waters is a region of wilderness straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario and Minnesota, in the region just west of Lake Superior. The paddle was great, portages sweet, tenting good….plus we got to see a moose and heard a pack of wolves howling one night!  The last night and paddle was pretty brutal. With high winds and cold temperatures, it made for an exciting paddle back to the outfitters. 

check out more pics and a detailed description of the trip at the Shutt’s website: HERE

Grateful for the summer, but also grateful for a chance to get away, we loaded the car for a road trip out west for a few days.  Thankful for a car…thankful to process much from summer…thankful for roadtrip snacks, thankful for dear friends who love us when we are tired, thankful for YAA, thankful for dayhikes, thankful for a triple date, thankful for trout to catch, thankful for conversations, and thankful for quiet…thankful for hotsprings and luna bars and peaches.  Thankful for being “on holiday” as Cathy says, and a great road-trip out west.

The theme for Family Camps throughout this summer is “Building Strong.”  It has been great to unpack this throughout the weeks…I feel like I continually have more to learn about what it means to build strong in our relationship with the Lord.  Below is a glimpse… Not to mention Larry a pick of Larry dressed up when he gives announcements.  What a stud, eh?!

Building According to God’s plan. (Psalm 127:1)
Trusting God as My Foundation (1Cor 3:11)
Seeking Him First & Giving God my Worries (Matt. 6:33)
Running to God When Problems Come (John 16:33)
Building Others Up (1 Cor. 3:9-10)

It seems everybody is going green these days—which is a great thing, don’t get me wrong!  The problem is, I’m just not sure how green our thumb ended up being this summer.  I understand more and more the parables about weeding…they grow so stinkin fast and can take over!  Welp, below is a bit of our harvest….we had lots of lettuce (though we planted in stages we couldn’t keep up!) and the some carrots, beets, a red pepper, and some cherry tomatoes below.  I’ll be most pleased if we get some tomatoes and peppers out of this garden ordeal. 

(Larry planting back in spring)    (A bit of our harvest…)  (Owen excited about produce too…)

From catching daddy big legs, to laughing around the campfire, to playing at camp, to helping Larry and me with all sorts of projects around the house…it was soooooooooo great to have Larry’s sister, Laura, and nephew, Joshua visiting from PA for a few days!  It meant so much to us that they would come to experience a taste of life here.  Josh loved helping Uncle Larry in the yard…Laura did great on the high ropes course…we appreciated honest conversation and just plain being with you.  We love you guys both and miss you…the house is so quiet without you!

The past five weeks have been abuzz with family campers of all ages!  It has been so great so see families spend intentional time together simply playing as well as seeking to grow spiritually.  Our theme for this year’s family camps is: “BUILDING STRONG!”  It has been cool to unpack what it means to build a strong family, moreover what it means to build on God’s truths and promises.  (If you’re anything like me, I realize that I often find myself trying to ‘build’ on the lies of this world or my feelings.)  Thursday nights is the family night activity, and below is just a glimpse:

 
(yup, that’s Larry in the inflatable with a bunch of kiddos!)