sweet

As I got everybody dressed for the day I thought about our plans to go and pick berries. I thought my little girl's strawberry shirt would be perfect for the day. Then I chose a red ruffly shirt for myself and decided to use the daisy broach that I had loved ever since I saw it at the antique shop. The wheels were in motion for a good day and I could just feel it in my bones. We loaded up and took the scenic drive to the U-pick farm. Upon arrival we met the lady in charge for a set of instructions and our buckets. I was very happy when she told us that part of the experience was to eat as many berries as we wanted to while we were picking. Seriously this place was a dream. How could somebody possibly eat too many perfectly sweet berries for free? As we gathered all of our berries and were on our way out I looked down to find a few mini white daisy plants growing wildly at the end of the strawberry patch. It was meant to be...the strawberries and and the daisies..afterall I had good thoughts about both of those items before the day had even began to unfold. You know what else is meant to be...a family. I can't even begin to express my love for the opportunity I have to learn & grow in my family unit. I truly believe that the theology of the family is based on the Creation, the Fall and the Atonement. Of course the Creation of the earth provided a place where families could live and even though life isn't always the easiest with them, I still get excited to think of spending eternity with my family after some of the sweet moments I get to experience here with them on earth. I also appreciate all of the challenges that come with being committed to the family..pretty sure I would not be able to have as many opportunities to become a better person without them. One thing I do know for sure is that I would go strawberry picking again with any of the above scallywags...especially if Annie would make homemade fruit snacks out of the berries again. Now I can finally forgive Annie for getting our sticker books thrown away on our trip to Indiana..if only she wouldn't have thrown a fit about wanting to trade back the sticker that I had felt was a rather good trade on my behalf. So maybe it was my fault? Twenty five years does things to ones memory, ya know?

P.S. - I love how Uncle Andrew (pictured above with Maren on his shoulders) was willing to ride in the car with my 5 kids for 15 hours at a time. He deserves an award.