Summer's joys...

This is one of my absolute favorite things about summer....

I love our weekly visits to the produce stand and Farmer's Market to stock up on all things fresh.  It's great for cooking and even better for eating.  Simple, fresh, and some very quick prep time.  Who is not a fan of that?  I am convinced that my boys would survive off of watermelon if I allowed it.   

As I've written before, I believe one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is the community of God's body of believers.  Several times a month we have the wonderful privilege of gathering in our home with our Life Group ... a group of six other couples .... we learn, share, and grow together.  The friendships that have developed as a result are priceless.  We've taken the summer to do some fun events and this past weekend was just one of the many good times we've shared.  We joined together with another Life Group for our own version of the Olympic games :).  The scene was this.... 40 competitors of all ages gathered in our back yard.... in about 95 degree heat with 100 percent humidity.... it was our red team taking on the blue team .... wheel barrows, water balloons, Frisbees, raw eggs, tonka trucks and one giant rope were all involved ... resulting in some great friendly competition and only one trip to the ER.   Here's a look ...

see that haze?  that's just a glimpse of the humidity :)

This is what broke out after the water balloon toss.  I love how Chase is keeping his distance there in the bottom of the shot :)

Final event - tug of war.  Red was victorious!



The live shot.



Many bottles of water and lots of food later the day was done and I was left with the feeling of such gratitude to be part of this community of believers.  What a blessing indeed.