Sunflower Fields Forever!

Ever since school let out and summer began my focus has been on making sure the kids have a productive summer, but ever since our car has been in the shop, and how much I've been talking to family, and close friends I realized that not everything has to be accomplished on one's summer bucket list. This summer has been fleeting like no other and in all honesty all I want to do is pause time. Time because my kids are getting older way too fast. Time because I feel as if I missed out on certain things with my two oldest daughters as opposed to my two youngest.

It's surreal that my second oldest daughter will be graduating high school in 2018, and the my youngest will be baptized in three months! Although entering these different chapters in their life should be exciting for me, they are also so, very bittersweet. And because of time fleeting like a leer jet I want to savor every single outing and moment I have with them. I want to take them all over creation, and show them more of the world, and what this beautiful life has to offer. 

But then realized...I don't really need to do all that. 

They can all do that on their own as they leave the nest. My oldest who is 22 has been doing that for the past four years out west. She has been on her own, and in spite of her trials she is a tough cookie, and moving on with life. All I want for my children is to know that they don't always have to feel as if they have to go everywhere, and do everything, and be involved in a lot, and say yes to every single party, church activity, and get together. There is a time to rest, and there is a time to have fun. I think my kids are catching on because they are learning it from me, and seeing their father work harder like they've never seen him before helps them realize that rest, and relaxation is totally needed in ones lives. 

Yesterday the kids and I ventured out to Alstede farms to check out this beautiful sunflower maze, and let me tell you...it was relaxing. The girls and I did nothing but walk around, and talk, and Noah did nothing but run away from the bees, and get lost. These sunflowers are ginormous, and the bees were even bigger! I loved that the kids and I only drove an hour away from home, and didn't spend too much money. I love how it was a simple outing, and how it relaxed all of us. Although it was 90 degrees theres nothing like letting the sun shine on your face! 

The kids had so much fun feeling free without having a care in the world. It's nice to have adventurous outings, but staycations lately have been the best. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or maybe it's because my views of life are changing. I always have to remember that one doesn't need to travel far, far away to find joy in our summer. We can find it in our homes. We can find it in our own backyard, and we can find it an hour away from home filled with God's beautiful creations.