All Aboard

We spent this past weekend on the river with friends, cruising along the glass-like
water, enjoying the sun and sand.  Normally, I might be nervous about bringing my girls
on a 5 hour boating excursion, afraid of how long their attention spans would allow us to
sail along peacefully.  There was no need to worry, however, because we were with our
best friends and all their children, a big motley crew of pregnant women, breast
feeding moms, infants and toddlers, and we are all so tremendously excited to be out on
the water that the day honestly just flowed.  We came prepared with an endless supply
of snacks and toys, enough sunscreen to lather up a village, and a "we're all in this
together" attitude.  We took turns holding children, swimming in the cool, refreshing
water, and lounging on the sun soaked boat decks.
It was an absolutely blissful time...

The children were all fearless, jumping from the boat straight into the water, tubing
and leaping through the waves without a care in the world.  Sweet baby Brees was
no exception, practicing her kicking and floating skills with the biggest smile on her face.
We jokingly referred to her infant life vest as "the straight jacket": for obvious reasons.
She used it to her advantage, though, and took a nice long nap, nestled snug as a bug in
her regulation safety gear.

It was such a special day, so simple and genuinely fun.  Just good friends, nice weather,
and the great outdoors: what more do you really need?  We sang along to the classic
rock tunes blasting on the stereo and kicked up our feet, letting the kids eat as much as
they wanted and not stressing over schedules or agendas.  And when I looked around at
these people I love and hold so dear, all I saw were smiles.  I saw peace of mind and
joyful hearts.
Shawn said that when he looked at me, he could see my soul singing.

As we watched the sun set over the beautiful Louisiana cypress trees, we said goodbye to
our day on the water.  We piled all of the children into the tub for a nice, warm bath,
grilled a delicious dinner of barbecued hamburgers, and lounged in our pajamas late
into the night.  Another relaxing, fun filled weekend with family and friends.

Thank you God for these countless blessings.