Time with B, L & Little E

We were so thankful that Bret, Laura and Ethan were able to visit this summer. It was wonderful to have some time with them.

There was hammock time

and cousin time.

There was definitely bath time!

My personal favorite-Nana time.

And of course there had to be some Papa time too!

There's a hymn called "Improve the Shining Moments" in our church hymnbook. The second verse is a great reminder. It goes: Time flies on wings of lightning; We cannot call it back. It comes, then passes forward along its onward track. And if we are not mindful, the chance will fade away, for life is quick in passing. 'Tis as a single day.

I'm very grateful that our Utah trio made time to have time with us during summer time. They are loved so much.

Remember to be mindful and take time.

NS

Of mail and lakes and walks and time spent with Ty

Michael and I had Ty while Carynn and Jamie were "Ma and Pa" for a youth conference trek. We had him from Sunday night to Friday afternoon. We had a wonderful time; and though he missed his mom and dad alot I think he had a wonderful time too. Here's some of the things we did.

1. We started a tradition! When his parents were away in March every morning Ty would look outside his room and there would be mail for him from his mom and dad. Well, every morning while they were away on the trek Ty would look outside his door and there would be mail in his basket. The mail consisted of a note with a goodie or toy from his mom and dad. So now that we've done it twice, it's officially a tradition. Ty LOVES mail. (Nana loves mail too!) The bubble gun was one of his "mail" items.

2. We went up to the cabin on Monday and had a wonderful time. Ty helped Papa fish. We also played with cars and had snacks, watched movies and played on the beach. Ty was wearing his rain boots when we first went down to the beach. He was able to walk in the water a little ways because he was wearing them. Oops, he walked out a little too deep for the boots and then the boots were wet inside AND outside. Boots and little boys can be dried off so they were. It was still a bit too cold to swim in the lake, but it sure was fun being there.

3. Ty loves helping Papa in the yard. We had a major plumbing disaster (major to us anyway), and we had excavating equipment in our side yard to help find the problem (broken sewer line from the house to the septic tank). After the plumbers, equipment operators, etc. got done with their part there was still lots of clean-up. Ty likes to use the small shovel, rake and what he calls a "cracker" (forked tool for weeding) to help. He used the "cracker" to "crack up" dried mud and as another digging tool. I was his assistant. Ty always likes to help, but he also says, "I need to take a little break." Papa needs to take little breaks too sometimes.

4. Ty and I sometimes take walks on the paths around our home. We've been doing this for a while now. We like discovering flowers and pine cones and rocks and other interesting things like that.

5. Ty has such a great imagination! We practice using his imagination when we play. He and I had a fun time doing that with toys and books during his time with us.

6. He's such a sweetie! Carynn and Jamie have his night time rituals down to a science. They are such faithful parents. He always has prayer and a story (or stories) each night. Sometimes he gets a little drink (a very little one) so as not to have "issues" in the middle of the night.

The following picture is my current favorite of Ty.



And a wonderful time was had by all! (Yes, I used "wonderful" alot in this post.)

NS

PS. Carynn and Jamie had a wonderful time too.