Vacation 2010

Vacation 2010: Katie, Jonathan, and cousin Elizabeth at Hartwick Pines State Park

Vacations can be tricky things, I've learned. We plan and we wait and wait and wait--with great anticipation--for those few luxurious days when the only agenda is no agenda, when the only things we do are the things we want to do when we're doing what we have to do--reading a book in the sun, swimming in the lake, hiking, canoeing, golfing, biking, shopping. How could this be anything less than bliss?

We waited and waited and waited--with great anticipation--for vacation 2010: a week at a cottage on Higgins Lake. And we certainly were not disappointed. We slept in and some of us didn't get dressed till noon, read books in the sun, swam at the lake, hiked, canoed, played games, laughed a lot, and just plain made lots of wonderful memories. We even added our Elizabeth to the mix, the sweetest and funniest fourteen-year-old niece and cousin you could have, making our week that much more fun.

But it's a myth to think that vacation isn't work, that we're living heaven on earth for a few days. A power outage that lasts for eight hours forces us into town for food and water and finds us amusing ourselves at Super Walmart.  We discover that the woods aren't just filled with the sounds of rustling leaves, melodious birds, and rays of sunlight--they're filled with mosquitoes too. And how long it takes three teenagers traveling in a canoe to reach the landing at four miles an hour becomes more than just an algebra problem--it eventually becomes a funny story after everyone finds their place in the canoe. And you also learn that space is a good thing when teenagers and adults are living in the same place.

But in the end, the imperfections blend together with the squirt gun fights at the lake, the cute puppy up the street, the time when Jonathan nearly got left behind at the pizza place, our family watching a movie together or playing UNO, and Katie and Elizabeth's numerous hours devoted to . . . coloring. And you put it all together, and you have the lovely memory of vacation 2010.

(This post is dedicated to LRHG, who is tired of the kissing picture. Go figure . . .)

Two Years

Photo by LVL Photography

It's hard to believe that we'll be celebrating our second anniversary on Sunday, July 11. And two years later, we love to kiss, much to Katie and Jonathan's chagrin!

I heard this quote from the church father Tertullian at a family conference I attended last spring. I'm happy to say that it fittingly describes my life with Henry. Happy anniversary, my dear husband.

How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice.

They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in Spirit. They are in very truth, two in one flesh; and where there is but one flesh there is also but one spirit.

They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another.

Side by side they face difficulties and persecution, share their consolations. They have no secrets from one another, they never shun each other's company; they never bring sorrow to each other's hearts . . .  Psalms and hymns they sing to one another.

Hearing and seeing this, Christ rejoices. To such as these He gives His peace. Where there are two together, there also He is present, and where He is, there evil is not.

Toy Story 3

I'm sure many families, like ours, have watched their children grow up with Andy, the child character in the Toy Story movies. When the first Toy Story movie came to theaters in 1995, Katie was 4 and Jonathan was 2. Katie remembers seeing it in the theater (she said she thinks it's the first movie she can remember seeing in a theater), and, of course, Jonathan does not. We did come to own the video, though, so we watched it many times together as a family. By the time Toy Story 2 came out in 1999, Katie and Jonathan were a little older and we were great fans of Woody, Buzz, and the family that looked a little like ours at the time: a single mom and Andy and his little sister. 

So it was a poignant experience today, watching the grown-up Andy now heading off for college. I won't give away the plot for anyone out there who still plans to see it, but the movie has a lot to say about the importance of belonging, of loving and being loved, and of what we're willing to endure at times to be there for someone we love. But it's also about growing up--the things that we let go as we grow and the memories that are there to stay. So there I sat next to my nearly 19-year-old Katie and my 16-year-old Jonathan, and I sniffled a little bit at the end as we collectively said goodbye to Andy, Buzz, Woody, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, and all of Andy's special toy friends who have become our toy friends. And I thought about the lonely American Girl dolls packed away in the basement and the Brio trains and track that make an appearance only when little boys come to visit, and I hoped that someday there would be children who would welcome the chance to play with them.

And then we went to our longtime favorite pizza place and reminisced about the times we spent there in the past and the toys we once loved. And for old time's sake, Katie and Jonathan even bickered a little over cleaning the bathroom, and we threatened to make them walk home. But it was a wonderful way to spend a hot summer holiday afternoon, celebrating childhood, family, and happy memories.  So do go see Toy Story 3. You'll be glad you did.

Great Stuff: True Woman | Shedding some Light on Twilight

Since my own daughter hasn't had much interest in the Twilight series/movies, I really haven't followed this popular cultural trend very closely, other than to know that in some Christian circles, there is some debate about whether these books and movies are appropriate for young women. Writer Mary Kassian has some interesting things to say not just about the movies, but about how young women ought to be conducting themselves in relationships with men in general. It's a great post!

True Woman Shedding some Light on Twilight