Our Lake

We are staying again at one of my favorite places (so far) on this earth. I actually call it mine, and quite proudly, maybe a little arrogantly, reminding my children many times that I share it with them. The fact is though, it is ours. That's the benefit of being children of The King...

Every moment my children walk through these surroundings is absolutely picturesque. No words or camera could ever capture the trueness of the moments here. Jack walks through the wood chips with his Dorothy on his shoulders, trees surrounding him on all sides, the air clear & brisk; Emma teaches her caught crawdads sweet tricks; Will army crawls everywhere through the dirt, eager to explore; I have to freeze these moments in my mind.

The Lake is cold, more so than usual. Returning to it's beaches, our hair whips every which way in the winds. It doesn't hinder the children from enjoying it's brilliance. Emma dons her bathing suit and teases the water's edge with her feet. Jack runs and throws rocks, watching each splash. Cooper even manages to visit the water with his front paws... Only Will huddles against my chest in the sling, occasionally looking up to see his family play.

We spend the afternoon hiking through the meadow and into the hill. The afternoon sun reveals thousands of bugs and lint from the top of the grass dancing through the sky. It looks like fairies frolicking among us. Birds swoop down to eat their dinner and dragonflies buzz by our heads. Auntie teases us, as we pause to capture the moment- we apparently resemble the Ingles... We head farther into the trees, Jack & Emma each carry their walking sticks and bags of treasures- pine cones, rocks, fallen pine needles. They watch their Uncle Ken in awe, as he breaks apart fallen trees with his feet. Jack kicks at the tree, with such a look of determination. Emma prods with her stick. They can remain in this space, prying at the tree for so long, we have to convince them to move on. Later Emma will beg her Papa to take hiking again! in the forest.

We are now huddled in bed, snuggled against each of our blessings for warmth. Their feet, knees, hands & faces have been scrubbed. Roy sings quietly off-key You are My Sunshine into Jack's fat head. In our very small space, I whisper into Emma's ear: What if we had to live in a place this small? She responds quickly: I wouldn't care at all! Neither would I...