Blessed: Project 365, Week 31

This week we headed to Maine, stopping first at the cabin to pick up Amanda and visit with Shaun's mom and then heading to Acadia National Park for a "just us five" family vacation. It was good to get away, good to be together. And...I took so many pictures

July 24

I gathered my plants into small groups to make it easier for our neighbor to water them. Having pretty flowers to watch and care for brings me great joy.

Shaun and I spent the morning at the office and Avery and Aiden had the packing well underway when we got home...a gift of older children!

We stopped off in Freeport, ME, something we almost always do. Shaun was on the hunt for a new fishing pole. I stayed outside with the dog, exploring the grounds...we found water and dog food!

We arrived at the cabin in the evening and the kids got to work doing what kids do.

Avery got the Red Sox game up and running. She's a big-time fan! :)

July 25

Mornings on the lake. My daily pursuit of peace is not hard to come by.

Shaun's mom's cousin lives on Moosehead Lake and works as a fishing guide. Shaun hired him to take him and Aiden out fishing, a dream of Aiden's! They caught salmon and lake trout and were two very happy boys!

We feasted on steak and salmon and lake trout...yummy!

July 26

Teens, first thing in the morning. :)

An hour and a half drive later and we were in Bar Harbor at Acadia National Park for our first time.

July 27

The next morning, Shaun and I walked to downtown and had breakfast while the kids slept.

Then we drove to the park and decided on a hiking route.

It was at this point that Shaun announced to the group that the mountain we were about to summit was the wrong one! At this point we were already pretty tired, so he gave us the option to call it good or to go down and across and then back up. Aiden was the first one to speak up and very determinedly said, we're doing it. He wanted to climb Cadillac Mountain.

We were so happy to get to the top, where there was water and rest rooms and beautiful views!

Shaun offered go down with one kid and bring the car up but in the end, every one decided to "man up" and see it through.

Shaun referred to the map a little more frequently on the return trip. No one wanted a wrong turn again!

As only kids can do, they opted to sprint the last little bit.

After showering, we walked a short distant from our hotel and ate at a steakhouse.

July 28

For most of the year, Cadillac Mountain in Acadia is the first place in the US to see the sunrise. Shaun made a plan to take me there (only this time we climbed the mountain in our car! :), which meant we got up at 4am. The idea and the follow through were so sweet and romantic, the actual experience not so much, as we ended up being with hundreds of other people with the same idea. Such a cool thing though!

Once the sun was up and the crowds slowly started to disperse, I felt like some sort of service would be appropriate. Something acknowledging the Creator of all this beauty, the One who causes the sun to rise each day, the One who controlled that breath I just took.

For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

After breakfast we picked up the kids. The girls and I went to the beach and the boys and Ginger hiked another small mountain.

As it happened, Avery's friend Sarah and her family were staying in Bar Harbor during this time. So mid-afternoon we dropped the girls at Sarah's hotel so they could all swim together. Aiden, Shaun and I decided to do the pool and hot tub where we were staying. We were meeting Shaun downstairs where he was working and I only had one mask in the hotel room. Aiden said, Mom, you be the responsible adult and wear the mask, I'll be the kid who refused to wear one. Ha! :)

SUCH a pretty location, right there next to the Atlantic.

We swam and people-watched and taught Aiden how to charge drinks to the room. ;)

Then we met up with Sarah's family and had a lovely dinner in a lovely location on a lovely summer evening.

July 29

The next morning I watched the sunrise over the Atlantic.

I grabbed my camera and took a little walking tour of the flowers and gardens I had been admiring over our stay. Amazing, particularly given how short their summer season is.

And then we packed up, leaving just enough room for the dog.

“Ah! there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. Nobody can be more devoted to home than I am.”

– Emma

It occurred to me as I was unpacking and watering plants and going through mail, that being on the beach or on the top of a mountain brings me no more joy than is available to me at home, doing ordinary tasks, going about the rhythms of my day.

July 30

Apartment vacancy, thankfully it doesn't need much work.

July 31

The sunrise, sitting on my front lawn.

Happy to be back with this crew! We have fun and give out lots of candy!

Every other week or so, they split junior high and senior high into different nights. So while Avery was at youth group, I took Amanda and her friends to a very quiet lake a sunset.