Teenagers & Mission

This month marks a milestone for this Momma.  The "baby" of the family is now a teenager.  Yes, it feels weird.  Stranger still that my "children" are quickly outpacing me in height, even with my almost 6-foot frame.  This year for Cole's party we had a low-key celebration with our friends, the Shooks.

BUT FIRST, I gave Cole his gift, a GoPro video camera.  He was pretty excited....(see video below).  At some point I'll have to share one of the more than 50 videos he has taken with the camera so far.  For now, though, I'll share some still shots from the day.

Soren & Cole launch for rock at far right in this photo

First, Soren and Cole kayaked out to an island, which is basically a rock. Here are some pictures from Cole's GoPro once they came ashore on the rock. Trust me, from where the Mommas were sitting on the beach, it was a scary thing to watch.  Barely visible, we had to just trust they could do it on their own. And they did come back safely....(whew!)

can you see the kid at the top of the rock?

But now Esther and Keaton want to try.  They also loaded up in the kayak and started rowing.  No GoPro for them, but I took a couple of pictures. Plus they brought back a cool starfish.

Esther and Keaton launch

 

again, can you see the kid at the top?

was a challenge getting candles lit

Even with a fancy GoPro, this "teenager" is still perfectly content with his Legos and that is okay with me. Are you ever too old for Legos??

As for my birthday, I was thankful to spend time with one friend the day of, and another friend just yesterday.  One-on-one time with my favorite gal pals is an excellent present!  Side note: we also went to see Toy Story 4.  A very cute movie, but who knew you could write an entire movie around saving a spork?

One last picture from my birthday.  Spent an hour or so up at a friend's house after the Toy Story movie.  They have a beautiful deck with great view of the bay.  We watched a bunch of boats sail in.  So as June 2019 comes to a close, I want to encourage everyone to live this day.  Be intentional.  To me, now at age 48, I realize that Eric was 48 when he left this earth.  It is rather surreal to contemplate that.  I am coming to grips with the fact that his time was done.  But God's not finished with me yet!  In my schoolwork this weekend, I've been examining the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and learning about crafting a mission statement for business. It's pretty dry material, unless you try to apply it somehow to a business or your personal life.

So here's my personal mission statement, just crafted today: I want to live well, without fear, glorifying my Creator and to be a joyful, positive influence on whomever I meet.  What's yours?