Gone Fishin'

With some friends at the lake Sunday, Little Mister had his first experience with fishing.  Yes, at age 10!  Growing up rather citified, I guess, I've never been fishing in my life, and, though Kevin did some as a kid, it hasn't been foremost on his mind as an adult.

We woke that morning to the rumbling of thunder through the darkened sky and the pitter-patter of rain against our already-wet windows.  By the time we were leaving church, however, the sky was beautifully blue and the clouds were like fluffy cotton--the best kind for finding pictures!

Which, by the way, is exactly what we did on our long drive to the lake.  Dinosaurs, dragons, eagles, turtles, George Washington . . .all kinds of sculptures in the sky. ;)

Our friends have 3 boys whom Little Mister adores.  They all get along really well and have a lot of fun together.

They started off with some swimming.

Then we went for a boat ride.  So peaceful and fun. :)

  

 

 

Jeff helping LM bait the hook

His first catch! :)

 

 

He ended up catching six fish, I believe.  Not bad for a newbie. :) I love the 1 flip-flop on, 1 off.

Random pictures of chairs . . .

 . . . not sure why I took these. ;)

 Beautiful day.  Perfect weather.  Wonderful company.  The best of times.

Healing Rain

Oh, how we have needed rain.  For weeks and weeks our community has watched as the parched earth around us has cried out with its brown crispness, almost audibly pleading with the Lord along with us to replenish its moisture with rain.  Some of the trees have lost their will to stretch their hands toward the heavens and have instead withered limply, seemingly giving up hope.  Word has it that some farmers have contemplated (if they haven't already done it) tilling under their crops and starting over, with the hope of having a late harvest of something instead of nothing.

The songs "Let it Rain" and "Healing Rain" have come to mind a lot in recent weeks.  It's hard to know sometimes what the Lord has in mind when he bestows or holds back.

But we know He loves.  Provides.  In HIS timing.

Yesterday we got a little rain.  Last night we got A LOT!  This morning we got even more!  Never has thunder sounded so wonderful. :)

Little Mister, naturally, wanted to go out and play in the rain.  How in the world could I say no to that?  Heck, I wanted to join him!  Of course, it looks a little more dignified for Mom to be playing outside with a camera in her hand, right?  (wink, wink)

A rain dance, I guess.  IN the rain! :)

I adore the pure boyish joy of this pic. :)

 Rain after a drought is as refreshing to the human soul as it is healing to the parched ground and all that live in and because of it.

A pair of old, grubby shoes is a must to have around for my boy.

About to stomp, I'll bet!

 

Happy are the grubby-shoed feet of a boy outside on a rainy day! :)

Always a stick in hand.  Always something to explore . . .

. . .  because only those with their eyes open will find a "treasure" like this!

A cicada shedding its shell is the perfect thing to observe on a summer afternoon!

One night and morning of rain is probably not enough to restore all the damage of drought in our community, but it's plenty to heal the thoughts of doubt that it will ever rain again.  It's enough to lighten our spirits and renew our hope!

Changed into flip-flops at some point. :)

Mud . . . it's a wonderful part of childhood.

Creepy-Crawlies!!

"Entomology," said he without hesitation after reading the list of possible topics for his 4-H project this year.  My 10-year-old son has always liked to "catch" things--bugs, toads, worms . . .  if it's gross, he likes to catch it!

I L♥O♥V♥E♥ the duct tape on the net!!!! lol

We've always had a policy, though, that whatever he catches he keeps for no longer than a day, to observe, and then lets it go.

An entomology project, apparently, is different from that!  Oh, my.  I of course had seen the insect collections at the fair, but, though I was duly grossed out and maybe a bit fascinated, I hadn't thought much about how those collections had become . . . well, collections!  In a wooden box.  Not moving.  Ugh!

So, mother and son were in for an education.

Don't get me wrong.  I am not an "all living things are equal to or more important than humans" kind of person.  The Bible is clear on that. I have no hesitancy in squashing a spider who is invading my territory inside the house (unless one of my guys is around to do it for me).  But something commonly called a "killing jar" by insect collectors still pulled on my heartstrings a bit, and I couldn't bear to watch the twitches of the creatures' final seconds.  So I didn't.  A mom has the authority to firmly adhere to those kinds of boundaries! lol

I do understand, especially after working through the bookwork part of the project with Little Mister, the importance of studying insects--there are solid reasons that even the most self-described tree-hugging-animal-activist-leftist-liberal people would have a hard time disputing.  For me, the squeamishness caused by helping my son with an insect collection has little or nothing to do with my ideals.

Bugs are just gross!  It's as simple as that! lol

That's my opinion, of course.  Little Mister doesn't share it.  That's fine!  We respect each other's differences. :)

Anyway, it was a very hectic time.  It was soooo much more involved than even LM had imagined, and we had not been given the correct manual to start with, so we got off to a bad/slow start until we had the correct information.  When we had the correct materials, we found we had even more to do and catch up on, and, coupled with a drought that made it harder to find insects, it was bug craziness here for a couple weeks!!  My wonderful hubby helped LM with the parts that were just too gross for me (like pinning and stuff--ugh!).

I took some pics along the way.  Somehow that camera lens between my eye and the situation helped me to be a bit more neutral in my feelings about the whole thing. ;)

One thing I will always remember, and am glad to have the pics to help me never forget, is the battered, duct-taped net my dear son insisted on using.  It wasn't until his project was complete that he bought a new one at the dollar store.  The boy cracks me up!

 

LM was fascinated to look at some of the insects under the microscope.

He had to pin the bugs on Styrofoam first to get the legs in "natural position."

Lots and lots of pins were used!

 

He stained the wooden collection box.

Making labels

Pinning insects into collection box

Father and son working together. :)

Inside of finished box (Styrofoam square was removed! lol)

Summer Laughter

How do I explain the laugh fest I had with my son this morning?

We laugh all the time, but today was different.

Today I wasn't in a hurry to get on to the next thing.

I'm trying not to spaz about nasty work gloves on face. ;)

Today I took the time to just immerse myself in the moment . . . and allow it to turn into moments (plural!).

Today I let myself laugh wholeheartedly.

Today I fully took in the sight of his laughter--tear drops clinging to his never-ending eyelashes, some escaping in a path down his cheek;  the smile that stretches 'til it just cannot reach any further into his cheekbones; the tilting back of his head as he gasps for air.

Today the sounds of his laughter delighted my ears and lightened my spirit, like the most joyful of music.

I always love to laugh and to see others laugh, but laughter on a relaxed, lazy summer day is the best! :)