the more we get together...the happier we'll be

whew! what an amazing weekend of all things california! as i sit here and recap the great time we all had this weekend, i think of how fast times like these are going. i mean two of our sons are now in their teens and the other two are nipping at their heels. this is going fast. matt and i have purposed not only to nurture our marriage relationship but to nurture our parental relationship, quick!

as you may or may not know from other forms of media {boy are we connected or what?!} my sweet love took me away for a night of camping on friday. it was fantastic!! as much as i enjoy being right on the 101...sarcasm...it was the sweetest sound to hear nothing at all. well, really we were able to hear many things...crickets, birds, rustling in the darkness, owls{yes, i know they are birds, but such a sound isn't heard from just any bird}...we were also able to just sit and observe the stars. so so dark up there in the mountains! and that was just the evening. in the morning we took time to really enjoy each other's company our morning coffee, our bible study and the scenes around us...in the immediate back of our site was a creek running through...another sound we were so glad to be listening to. this creation that we are living in, all around us, is so magical! God meant for us to take it in and sometimes we go months with out even noticing it! im thankful that my husband and i were able to retreat to the mountains to reconnect with God, each other and His creation.

funny, isn't it...matt and i "see" each other everyday! but it was different to go away from normalcy and look at each other. be with each other. same goes for our sons. we are here, home together almost every day. but not nearly enough do we stop and just be with one another.

sunday was great! matt took christian and cameron (and the dogs) up the mountain behind our house and hacked the trail. machetes and men. something about it! connor and calvin spent time walking on and surfing at the beach with our neighbors. and i spent a few good hours riding redd. after all of that, we came together and built gingerbread structures and continued in our reading aloud together of the chronicles of narnia...we are on the dawn treader...what a GREAT story! and what a special time that is sometimes hard to accomplish...the boys(and myself, i confess) don't always want to stop turn off the media and read with one another. it's hard, but the life long benefits are more than worth it!

anyway, my point is...sometimes it is HARD to do the things we are supposed to do. working on relationships(with each other as well as our intimacy with God), parenting, being...really being with one another. BUT the more we do this, the more we'll do it! how do ya like that?! even better though is romans 7:14-25...look it up.