"Summertime..."

"...and the livin' is easy..."


I hear the laughter and squeals of kids playing outside all day long.  Girls ride their bicycles up and down our street, and the parks are filled with families.  Evenings bring aromas in the air of charcoal and sweet barbecue, citronella and chlorinated pools.  Summer is in full swing.


I look forward to the years ahead, when Charity is old enough to experience the thrill of summer, when being out of school is a privilege, and the days are filled with sunscreen and ice-cream sandwiches.  I look forward to witnessing the giggles as she and her little brother or sister run through sprinklers and the look of discovery on their faces when we vacation to a new and "exotic land".  I look forward to camp outs and movie nights and sunday picnics. Summer is a great time for families.


Summer for our family will be no exception.  It is about to get crazy, but I'm actually looking forward to it, and it all starts at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. At 6 am, John and I leave with Charity for two weeks of youth ministry summer camp, starting with the departure of roughly 20 high school students, and the following week we are bringing up the Jr. Highers.  It's going to be wild and fabulous.  It will be a first for Charity being in an outdoor environment for such an extended period of time, but I think the timing is opportune as she is walking everywhere and loves to discover.  I'm already bracing myself for a potential first skinned knee and new encounters with sunburns or caterpillars.  But we're packing lots of sunscreen and first aid, and I've become quite well rehearsed at removing the strange and mundane from her grasp (and her mouth).


July will be packed full as well. John will be gone three weeks out of the month. First for a week performing magic at the Alliance Youth Life Conference in Kentucky and then two weeks later taking three students and two adults overseas to Taipei, Taiwan for a ten day mission trip ministering to the student culture of Ximen Ding,  While I am disappointed that I do not get to participate in these exciting events, John's extended absence over the summer probably means I will be spending lots of time with my parents. My regular readers know that those times with my parents are nuggets of gold to me in my life of busy motherhood.  And especially in the summer, I'm looking forward more than ever to playing with cousins, splashing in the pool, evening walks in pleasant summer air at dusk, and festive family dinners.


Hopefully when the busyness calms down, John and I can get a little vacation for ourselves as well.  Maybe a trip to the coast?  Or Disneyland??


It's going to be a fantastic summer!  A summer for family.