Traveling Delights

I took the kids (only some of them, to be exact) out to pick blueberries recently... and snapped some pictures (a lot of them, of course).

"Peek-a-boo" through the bushes was a favorite pose of the kids!

Cousin Emily came along with us. She enjoyed snacking on the berries... 2 in the mouth, 1 in the bucket!

Anna was probably my best berry picker - maybe she likes blueberries better than all the others!

She indulged liberally... even leaving some very tell-tale signs. =D She and I agreed that it was best to take a handful at a time - that way the sweet berries mixed with the tart or sour ones - which was even better than either all by itself.

Jonathan, on the other hand, doesn't like blueberries... NOT.AT.ALL! Thus his bucket always filled rapidly, which he thought was great fun.

Here's Nadia and her first contribution.

However, the hands down favorite of all the kids was the lollypop bucket they got to dig through after all the berries were weighed (We picked 11 pounds in about an hour, just in case you wanted to know.).

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Our pastor has been preaching on heaven recently - encouraging sermons that both Tim and I have remarked to each other: "I've needed that." Yesterday, he used the phrase "joy in the journey," which reminded me of a song by that title to which I used to listen... a lot.

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it

A pardon for all who believe

Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit

And who share incarnation with Him

Who belong to eternity stranded in time

And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you

And never stop counting the cost

Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey

It is good to be back in the States... but even with all its perks, life in the States still has its frustrations and discouragements. Still not having all our bags unpacked and put away is frustrating. Unexpected "bumps" in the road as well as ones that are bigger than we thought they'd be (like the amount of additional monthly support we need to raise in the next 11 months) make us wonder what God's plan for us might be. But we can't forget the joy that is before us, which allows us to find joy all throughout life's journey, regardless of season or circumstances... and right now, we aren't stoppin' to smell the flowers... we are tryin' to stop and pick all the berries we can find.