This past weekend we had our annual family camp out at my grandparent's farm. We've been doing this for quite a few years now.
Over the next couple of days, I will share some of my favorite pictures. Some of them are picture perfect.
But family is not perfect. And even though the past 36 years I've tried to pretend that it was (more because I needed it to be, not because I wanted to impress anyone), this weekend reminded me that it's not. My family is just as human as any other family. Just as prone to let the stresses of life eat at them and dampen their spirits.
However, I won't take for granted the blessings that God has given this family. We're generally healthy and generally happy.
We choose to be together and we all worship the same God.
The weekend held more good than bad and I guess that's all anyone can ask for. It's always good to get away for awhile. As a mom, it's not less work, but it's different work. I'm disappointed that Tim was sick for most of it and left several times to go home (and that caused stress between us). I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself get really angry over something stupid. I'm disappointed that I didn't REALLY talk to anyone on a personal level. I realized that I know very little about the hopes and dreams of my relatives, the things they are really passionate about. I hate that my family seems to be outgrowing each other. Maybe it's just the normal growing pains of one generation passing on and another taking their place.
Over the next couple of days, I will share some of my favorite pictures. Some of them are picture perfect.
But family is not perfect. And even though the past 36 years I've tried to pretend that it was (more because I needed it to be, not because I wanted to impress anyone), this weekend reminded me that it's not. My family is just as human as any other family. Just as prone to let the stresses of life eat at them and dampen their spirits. 
However, I won't take for granted the blessings that God has given this family. We're generally healthy and generally happy. 
We choose to be together and we all worship the same God.
The weekend held more good than bad and I guess that's all anyone can ask for. It's always good to get away for awhile. As a mom, it's not less work, but it's different work. I'm disappointed that Tim was sick for most of it and left several times to go home (and that caused stress between us). I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself get really angry over something stupid. I'm disappointed that I didn't REALLY talk to anyone on a personal level. I realized that I know very little about the hopes and dreams of my relatives, the things they are really passionate about. I hate that my family seems to be outgrowing each other. Maybe it's just the normal growing pains of one generation passing on and another taking their place. I'm very much a sentimental sap. I love tradition. My mom's family has pretty much been the same for me for 36 years. I don't want to see that change.
This may seem like random rambling to those that aren't family, but I felt the need to post reality before posting all of the pretty pictures.
