Fathers' Day and Anniversary

Sunday was rather a double-celebration. Not only was it Fathers' Day, but it also marked my and Keith's 23rd wedding anniversary (which we'll be celebrating a bit later).

The Collect for Fathers' Day, from the service at Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity, quoted from the weekly Beadle's Report:
O Lord our God, creator of heaven and earth, through your Son Jesus Christ you have revealed yourself as a heavenly Father to all of your children: Bless, we pray, all earthly fathers. Strengthen them to nurture, protect, and guide the children entrusted to their care. Instill within them the virtues of love and patience. Make them slow to anger and quick to forgive. And through the ministrations of your Holy Spirit, may all fathers be strong and steadfast examples of faithfulness, responsibility, and loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We headed "down the hill" to Lake Murray Community Church as usual, but the difference was in the service: our elders are trying a "summer schedule" of a Saturday evening service (contemporary music with praise band) and only one service on Sunday mornings (blend of traditional and contemporary music). The Sunday service was only slightly more crowded than second service usually is, but the Sunday School class was quite large. Rather than continue with a book of the Bible, the elders have arranged for different men to teach on different topics during "Equipping Time." I miss the more intimate experience of sharing prayer requests in our usual Sunday School, but with this being the only class offered, that's the way it's gotta be.

Afetr church we drove home, changed, gave the garden a quick sprinkling down since we had heat in the mid-90's, and then I drove the kids up the mountain to my parents' cabin.



It was a lovely day on Mount Laguna, albeit quite warm in the high 80's. My brother and his kids were there along with our parents, and we enjoyed the gorgeous weather, grilled burgers and hot dogs with baked beans, potato salad, and fruit with Keith's special blueberry cheesecake to finish off the meal. Keith came up just before dinner as he wanted to spend some time in the afternoon working on the stained glass window. The kids ran around, playing with squirtguns and chasing lizards. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.



You can see a few more photos from the cabin at my 365 photo blog. We drove back down the mountain to our little valley at its base before the sun set, and we opened all the windows to let in the cooler breezes and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening.

A delicious sense of freedom always comes over us when summer vacation begins. Two whole months before we start back into the 11th year of the wild and woolly adventure we call homeschooling. But for now ... AAAH! Freedom.