Last night we grilled out at our friends' house . The three couples dined inside. Realizing the kids had been swimming in a clay pit pond, gathering & consuming wild blackberries, writing on the driveway with seven colors of chalk, and jumping on the trampoline (with or without food & puppies), the 17 kids ate at their leisure on picnic tables outside. The wisdom involved in this arrangement became increasingly evident as the meal progressed. A steady stream of representatives passed through the kitchen to retrieve endless plates full of drippy watermelon. The last set of retrievers were pleased to take armfuls of sticky rinds "because you don't throw them away until there's no red left". Ultimately one concerned "informer" entered the dining room to announce: "Ardyn needs another pair of shorts because hers have puppy puke on them".
After skateboards, motorcycles, several games of air hockey & Foosball, and birthday candles, the evening came to an end. But not before a plague of frogs emerged from the wooded swamp to join us in the dim glow of porch light. They were everywhere. The girls had one in each hand, gently squeezing until frog bellies bubbled up to their visible delight. (The frogs' delight was terribly in question) Giggling would turn to rejoicing to send frogs leaping for their lives. Luckily for every creature involved, the night seemed to manage an unlimited supply of fresh, new frog bellies. Ardyn won the prize for "animal magnetism" as one of the froggies could hold his "excitement" no longer and relieved himself all over her second pair of shorts.
Thank You, Lord for last night. Thank You for the laughter, encouraging conversation and the comfort of friends who love You like I do. Thank You, for keeping the kids safe last night - and for Your promise that even if they had gotten hurt, You would keep us all in the safety of Your love where all things work together for Good. I rest in You.
