We needed that...

Our schedules have been tight around here, pressures have been high, and our patience levels with each other have been low as a result at times. Since these things are definitely not our desire for our family, we decided to have a retreat from our normal activities last Sunday and spend the day as a family. 

Typically, we spend Sunday mornings getting everyone together and heading to church where we stay until after noon to be refreshed with God's Word. However, Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything under heaven and this past week we felt a heavy burden that maybe it was a time for fellowship and relaxation within our own household to prepare for the upcoming weeks that are packed with heavy loads. We are not a family who light-heartedly skips church, and, in some ways, it was hard to step back and take that break. On the other hand, we also don't want to become like the Pharisees who followed a bunch of religious practices out of compulsion, not focusing on the heart. That said, as I prayed about this, I remembered Jesus' comment in Mark 2:27: "...The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Though Hebrews 10:25 instructs us not to give up meeting together so we can give an encouragement to one another, we have some liberty to take time to away to strengthen our own household as needed and last Sunday was one of those times. 

To begin the day, we went to Granny's for one of her famous Sunday breakfasts. My uncles gather up there each week to spend a little time with their mom and get some good country cooking at the same time. Since my dad's passing, Granny has really been wanting me to bring the kids up so the guys can spend a little bonding time with them too. However, usually Sunday mornings don't have enough flex room in the schedule for us to make it up there before heading to church, so we haven't had the opportunity to do it. Thankfully, this week was the perfect time to go. 

I think this was Reid's first Sunday morning breakfast at Granny's. He liked the pancakes.

Caleb and Hadley had some hearty appetites. I couldn't believe how much food they put away in those little tummies.

And, there's Granny in the background making even more pancakes. 

All summer we've also been wanting to take some time to spend at Uncle Greg's farm. We took Caleb a few times when he was smaller, but I don't think Hadley has been to see the animals since she was an infant and Reid had never been.

The stables were empty, but we quickly found some miniature ponies who were ready for us to pet them. 

Dave did most of the petting though because the kids were a bit nervous.

These smiles are what my sister-in-law calls "salve for the soul."

While the kids enjoyed the horses, both Caleb and Hadley seemed to get more excited over seeing a couple butterflies flitting about than anything else.

Then we found the bigger guys.

Reid was checking them out.

Hadley wasn't sure what she thought of being so close.

She was especially skiddish around the big horsies.

There were plenty of geese around too. We even rode to the back of the farm to find some cows but they were in different field. Thankfully, there was still one hanging out in the pole barn that we got a peek at before heading back.

The other reason we wanted to visit Uncle Greg's farm was to take the kids for a dip in the pool. They'd only had one other opportunity to get in a "real" pool all summer (back on the Fourth of July) and we were anxious to take them out again before the warm weather disappeared.

Caleb's been doing pretty well with his life jacket for the past couple summers and moves about independently. We learned at Lake Anna that, with a life jacket and water wings, Hadley did pretty well on her own too without needing one of us to hold her constantly, making things much easier.

Reid had to stick with Daddy.

See that cord in the water? That's the vacuum. For some reason, my older two were really afraid of it and kept having to be calmed down throughout our pool time as Dave drug it back to the deep end.

I was super proud of myself on this trip for facing one of my fears. As we were walking down to the pool, Caleb paused on the step and told me that he just saw a bug chase a "worm" and that the "worm" went under a bush very quickly. Well, knowing that worms don't move quickly off a path to get under a plant, it was pretty obvious that my son had just witnessed a small snake scurrying away.  Since I am terrified of snakes, like phobia-scared to the point where it is difficult to even look at them in books or in tanks, normally I would have turned around and walked all the way around the house, maybe refusing to even go to the pool. However, I have been working on it a lot lately, and believe it or not walked right past the bush and enjoyed my time sitting by the pool without being filled with anxiety. It was a big step...

After a fun morning, the kids and Dave caught an afternoon nap while I made some pasta salad for another family bonding activity - a birthday party for Grandma Nora Ann. The first of August was her actual birthday, but we hadn't had the opportunity to have supper with her yet, so we planned a luau cookout that evening.

We found a themed shirt for Reid to wear, but it was a little too tight to button. With a white tee underneath it worked just fine though.

Caleb and Hadley worked on decorating the sidewalk for the party.

Someone needed a raisin break...

Grandma didn't know that we had a theme planned, but the kids were so excited about it. They ran to give her and Granddaddy their leis as soon as they arrived. Then they showed Grandma the decorations.

Grandma was more interested in the babies than the decore, but she enjoyed both.

I picked these Hawaiian decorations up weeks ago at the Dollar Tree on impulse with the intent of doing a fun family dinner with the kids one evening. I thought Grandma's birthday cookout was the perfect opportunity to pull them out, and Caleb was great at helping me set everything up.

Dave made BBQ pork skewers and hot dogs to go with my pasta salad, plus he grilled several ears of corn Granddaddy brought from his garden. For dessert, we had grilled pineapple, which I think Grandma was leery of at first but really enjoyed after she tried it.

It didn't take a lot of work or a lot of planning, but it was a great party. The kids played after supper and we had a good time watching them.

Look! The train, Peppaw!...She's Granddaddy's girl.

It absolutely melted my heart when Caleb walked down the hill to snuggle his sister.

We are grateful for the day to regroup and spend with family, thankful our pastor posts his sermons online for those who miss, and anxious to get back to our church family this upcoming Sunday.