Celebrating Life

She and her brother wait anxiously on the front porch as the gentlemen set up this monsterous slide for our celebration of their lives.  "Can we keep the slide forever," she asks.  "No, honey," I reply, "the men have to take it back at the end of the day so that someone else can receive the joy you'll get from it today."  The wheels in her little braining turning - I could see that she was figuring out how many times she could slide during the day before the men returned.  The child-like simplicity of life at four!

All of our precious peas due a celebration of their lives, but this year we only have five remaining at home to enjoy this celebration.  Not only do they glorify God in all they do, but they bless their parents every day of their lives.  So we enjoy celebrating once a year with so many wonderful friends.

Secretly a thrill for the General Manager, making his famous ribs and chicken drumsticks are a highlight of the party.  No one leaves hungry and all family members from youngest to oldest get in on the fun.

We pray to thank God for our blessings, not only family, but friends, our home, our food and the beautiful day that we were given.  We find that we simply cannot pray enough thanksgiving for the gifts that we have been blessed with.

Relatively warm days are a rarity here in Northern California, so to watch sunscreen being applied was quite a surprise.

At the end of the day, the gentlemen return to take down the slide, sighs of disappointment murmur in the breeze that has blown in from the ocean nearby.  The clouds are beginning to roll in, letting us know the day is coming to a close.  As some large tears are shed, I wonder, "will Tractor Boy be able to wait until next year for another slide? "

I'm not sure, but I know that the memories that God gave us today will be remembered forever.

Praise his glorious name forever!Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.  Amen and amen  Psalm 72:19