the cottage

The cottage was my second home in the summer when I was growing up.  I couldn't have been much older than 10 when it came into my family's possession and we had many great times up there.  This weekend, we indulged in a weekend getaway with the kids.  We had a great time and the kids loved it.  I had gone up a couple weeks ago as well just with Natalie, Ruby, and Charlie for the day and they were so anxious to go back.  They swam, fished, caught turtles... all of the things I loved to do when I was a kid.  And I loved doing it all over again with them.  Natalie especially loves to fish, Ruby likes to lounge in the water, and Charlie was just busy trying it all out.

So much has changed since I had been up there last.  For one thing, Natalie was just a baby the last time we were up there.  It was a weird feeling to be 'the mom' when we had watched so many other young families interact with their kids at the cottage.  It was solely a place of my childhood and adolescence and now I'm the grown-up.  I took the girls on the paddle boat which was my most favorite place to be back in the day.  And I so enjoyed sharing the nostalgia with them!

My mind was constantly reflecting on the past five years while we were there.  Just so many changes.  Happy and sad.  But this weekend, I especially focused on the happy changes in my life in the five years that flew by: my incredible husband and my four little blessings.  It's weird but I felt like I was in some sort of time-warp.... Like I had just been here last week as a teenager and now this week, I am bringing my three kids (plus 1 fetus).  And at the same time, the cottage made it seem that nothing has really changed at all.

I drifted around the cottage with my camera and found myself taking pictures of some of the things that haven't changed at all:

I never really appreciated how beautiful the yard is. There's hardly any grass just mixtures of low-lying ground covers. It's like out of fairy-tale.

 



My great uncle Jim was the original owner of the cottage.

The gate where my great aunt Angie would stand to welcome us
(and the first sound I would hear were her wind-chimes)

ye olde row boat
and this bucket have never left their home.

And naturally, most of my pictures were of the kids who are the biggest change in my life since I have been here:



Charlie fell in the lake!  I snatched him up, dried him off, and put his suit on.  He was upset with the water.

We had a great time as a family. We got some much needed r&r and we were both able to enjoy the kids and each other without the distractions of 'everyday life'.

And to close about all of this 'change' talk, it was a good reminder to me that my perception of God changes like the cottage does. My relationship with Jesus and the mystery of God changes to me all the time and yet, He has always been the same. He holds the past and the future. And life is beautiful no matter what happens in between.