On the Bridge of Life

Greetings friends and family,

Summer is here, but the learning doesn't stop when the school bell rings.  We have a full two months before first grade starts to get them ahead of the curve.  Learning is only boring if it's done wrong.  I'm a continual learner.  I have not yet arrived and I consider reading and learning to be a "down time" restful activity.  That is trickling down to the twins and I'm happy they continue to draw, read, write, and learn even now that we are on summer break.

Layla wanted to learn cursive.  Nobody said anything to spur that desire either.  Kendra helped with a few letters and off she went.  The first word anyone would naturally want to write is their own name.  Layla is no different in this way.  She's always asked "why did you name me Layla?" and I've always answered, "because your name is as beautiful and strong as you are."

This is pretty much how they spend every day.  I'm jealous because I still go into the office every day while they get to have play dates and doing nothing.  That's part of growing up that I can't do a thing about other than help them enjoy this responsibility-free time of their lives.

My friend Doug was told many hateful, hurtful things about his weight and success in life by his parents and past relationships.  I don't take any credit, but he broke free from the lies of who he thought he was.  God set him free as a result of Kendra and I helping him get these revelations about who God created him to be.  Once we stopped believing lies based on what other people said about him, he's been on the right track.  His change in beliefs led to him seeing himself as capable of success.  The revelation about what he is capable of led him to change his behavior.  8 months so far and he's lost 50 pounds or so.  What Kendra and I do has nothing to do with weight loss, but sometimes the physical results are what is most noticeable.  I have many stories of people breaking free from addictions and abuse and pain, but it's hard to quantify those results because I can't quantify someone's level of happiness or freedom.  But in this instance I bought a T-shirt because he refers to his gym time as going into "beast mode".  I love to celebrate the victories and cheer on people are really ready to live in the fullness of life.

and besides, there aren't many picture of me so that's a bonus.  Kendra and I went out for a double date with her brother, Casey, and his main  squeeze, Barbie.  This was our first time to hang out with her.  We quickly saw the real Barbie when we played putt-putt golf.  She is friendly, loving, and not overly competitive.  We were really impressed with her.  Kendra and I would have had a great time with just the two of us out for a date, but i'm really glad we decided to spend it with Casey and Barbie.  We also overdosed on ice cream at a place called Letherby's.  They put a pint of ice cream on a plate and douse it with a pint of caramel and chocolate.  that was an experience all by itself.

Easton and Layla enjoy hanging out with Casey.  I'm happy we have the opportunity to be around for Casey to be an uncle.  I have many memories of my uncles growing up and it adds to the whole childhood process.  I'm really looking forward to crawdad fishing with Casey and the twins this week.

The weekend came and I gladly jumped into Daddy mode because I was missing the fun of adventures with the twins.  We went for a walk by the river.  The early morning chill was perfect for our hiking outing.  Princess Layla was happy to go, but not without some flowers in her hair.

We walked through some amazing scenery with wooden bridges and trees lining the pathways.  Layla said, "look at this beautiful view!"  Easton said, "what would happen if I throw a rock off the bridge into the creek?"

 We finally made it down to the river.  Out on the edge of the rock cliff we screamed "good morning!" to each and every kayaker and fisherman.  These two have never met a stranger.  Their exuberance is to much to keep in.

We walked out onto the bridge.  I was going to just turn around, but they really wanted to cross to the other side and look down on the water.  As we were walking across I remembered this picture I took three years ago.

I did my best to recreate the picture but it wasn't difficult.  I just did what I did for the first picture and they did what they did.  Sometimes it feels like this where I look at them and then blink and then WOW they are getting so big.  It's truly amazing and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

See you soon!