Recap of CandyceLand in VacationLand

Personal update: Steve and I just returned from 4 weeks of study and vacation. We hadn't taken time off since last August, so it took a while for us to get used to a break from our regular schedule.

The first week was characterized by peace and quiet. We rented a little carriage house in Bowdoinham, ME, with 3 rooms surrounded by lots of trees. We ate out lunch every day, but morning and night we were reading. Technically Steve read more books than I did, but my books had more pages in them. Not that I'm competitive at all.  😆

The second week was just the opposite of peace and quiet, more like noise and chaos. A small bathroom renovation turned into a big project, and the contractor forgot to tell us to cover everything in the adjacent room. So when we returned home, there was drywall dust everywhere in Max and Henry's playroom. Every Lego, every stuffed animal, every train, every ball, every everything needed to be washed with soap and water. In the midst of this I got the really fun idea to change around 3 of our rooms, so it was up the stairs and down the stairs with furniture and closets of clothes and toys and ALL THE THINGS.  In this same week, Katie and Jonathan and the boys moved into a new home so we were helping with that too! We were physically exhausted, but it was worth it. Well, right now it's worth it because it's all done and we like the final results. 😎

The third week was somewhere in-between the first two weeks: quiet at times but busy. We had mornings to ourselves, and then Max and Henry joined us for the afternoons. Lots of swimming at the Exeter Pool and prepping for the final week...

Week 4 was an absolute delight! For the past several years we've rented a house and had all the kids join us. (This time Kristin and Dan could not come out from Pittsburgh since Dan graduated that weekend from his MBA program. 🎉)  But we finally found a house we all agreed was the best one yet! It had a terrific view of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains of NH and the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. There was a beach nearby that worked well for our family. We all shared the cooking, and we had some amazing dinners when we all came together at the end of the day. Steve may/may not have beaten me in the book reading category again, but I had lots of time playing with the boys, so all is well. 👍

All in all, it was a wonderful time of relaxation and busyness and productivity and delightful family times around the dinner table while playing cards and games with one another. We are very thankful for everyone who filled in for us and enables us to go away. We're back now and eager to see everyone and get EPC ready for the next season of church life!

Here are scenes from our vacation house, but they do not come even close to the majesty of seeing God's amazing and creative landscapes in person!