Bits and Pieces

This was the mode of transportation to church this morning. But for only half the family. 

First of all, I'd like to say how incredibly thankful I am for such beautiful weather on Palm Sunday morning and for quiet roads that quickly connect our home to our church. Blessed. 

Now the reason that only half of us rode our bikes is four-fold:

1. We have five bikes, only one of which is grown-up sized.

2. That doesn't work well with a family of six people, two of whom are grown-ups.

3.  Bicycle-riding while carrying a large guitar in gusty winds just doesn't seem wise.

4. Lily has not been given the post-surgery green light for bicycling.

So Rob and Lily and I sent the boys off on their two-wheeling, half-mile adventure, and we took the boring four-wheeling sedan. (Actually, Rob's new car is really fun to drive, and riding with him in it, sunroof and all, fondly reminds me of our courtin' days.)

Church was good today. The sermon was good, the fellowship was good, and we ushered in Holy Week with shouts of "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Today, technology was not on my side as the worship leader, but when I pray for the service to be all about God and not at all about us, why should I be surprised at humble happenings like missed cues and mis-operated microphones and a show-stopping squeal from the sound system. Only in my weakness am I able to see God's strength. I'll take that over flawlessness any day. Not easy, though.

***

True story: I just got back. I actually stopped in the middle of writing this blog post to accompany the kids and husband on an evening outting on the beach. We aren't usually so beach-spontaneous. Taking four kids to the beach, even if it is only ten minutes away, takes enough prep work that we must evaluate each time: is it worth it today? Six clean towels, a gallon of water to drink, a gallon of water to rinse sand off feet, everybody in beach clothes, everybody in flipper floppers, sweatshirt for the chilly ride home, everybody go potty, don't forget sunglasses, can I please bring my shovel and walking stick. Purse. Camera.

Camera minus memory card equals memories etched on heart alone. See how spontaneous we were? I really was working on this blog post when we just up and decided to go. And I didn't think to pop the memory card out of the computer. I have no pictures to prove to you that we were there. But we were. Really. And now the kids are all warm and showered and sweet smelling, like salt and sunshine and fruity soap, all at the same time. Delicious.

A few important items have made their mark on our lives in the past few weeks.  I think this post has taken up enough of your valuable time, though. So I'm gonna keep you swinging on my string and reel you in tomorrow.

Here are a couple of visual hints:

In the meantime, do something fun and unexpected with your family, like ride your bikes to church or DEAR-TTB, which stands for Drop Everything And Race To The Beach. 

I'd love to hear your family fun stories! Since I'm home with the kids all day (and I use the word "home" loosely, since we do take school out of these four walls a lot) I sometimes often forget to do just-for-fun things with them. The kind of unexpected things that make life spectacular. 

Maybe tomorrow I'll make dessert for dinner. 

And when's the last time we had a living room campout?

The rusty gears are trying to turn.