It’s been a nice few days at the cottage.  There is a rental bungalow that is right next to us.  Since living here we have seen two different families come and go.  As each one leaves, we have wished that they would buy the place (it’s for sale) so that we could have nice neighbors. 

The first family, their two youngest children were so sweet and played so nicely with our three youngest.  The dad, Mike,  was the extroverted friendly type of guy, like my husband. He’d come over to our dock often and chat.  They were all fun to get to know.

The second family was from Chicago, Illinois  and I love Chicago people.  There’s something about the culture there, since that is where  I was born and raised, that I totally love.  They had two teenage girls that were Rachel’s age and they were really, really nice girls.  Rachel enjoyed talking to them and hanging out when she finally got to know them.  They had a little five year old girl that was missing her front teeth and was the spitting image of her mother in miniature size. She was so cute when she talked.  She loved our kittie and walked around with it all day long.  The little  ten year old boy was so simple and sweet.  He wasn’t the “cool” type and that’s probably what I liked about him so much. 

The last day that they were here all the kids just hung out inside our cottage. In the living room, upstairs in the bedrooms, they had become very comfortable.  We loved having them with us.

The mom’s, (there were several families in this small rental), Denise and Jenna, really seemed nice too.  It’s not that I felt that I had a ton in common with  them, it’s just that they were nice and would chat and smile.  I felt comfortable around them. 

The dad’s, they loved their six-packs. They reminded me of guys I’d see at the Cubs or Sox games.  They were nice, too.  The few times I was in their presence, if I said anything at all, they’d find great humor in it and laugh and laugh and laugh.  I wasn’t trying to be funny, but I liked their easy-going way and fun loving natures. 

When their vacation ended, they came by and said goodbye before taking off.  I really felt bad that they were leaving.  I told them I wished they were buying the cottage and then they’d be back.  They said they wished they were buying it, too, and then laughed and laughed. I really missed all of them when they left.

That very night, new renters arrived. There are three families this time.  It’s sweet to see the families arrive for their vacation and the excitement that is so apparent.  The kids are excited about the cute bungalow with the loft, everyone is excited about the lake and the dock.  It’s enjoyable watching everyone getting set to just enjoy.  

It has been a wonderful morning.  Prayer time was sweet as I really needed to spend time with Him.  I take all my worries, cares, frustrations, and fears to Him on a daily/morning basis.  I lay them all at His feet.  I pray about everything. I pray about my family, my husband, my children, my extended family.  I pray for friends. I pray for my blogger friends that I have gotten to know.  Jesus Christ is my  Personal Savior, my Redeemer, but He is also my Best Friend.  I take everything to Him. I have no secrets. He knows everything,   even without me telling Him, but I tell Him anyways.  I ask Him to help me with my multiple faults, and I name them one by one.  I confess my sins, my shortcomings, my failures, my faults.  I ask Him to help me, to strengthen me in those weak areas.  I ask Him to bridge across those failures in my past. Help me to forget the many stupid things I’ve done. 

We went for a midnight boat trip last night.  It was a bit on the crazy side, but that’s typical for our family.  All day long when the boats were out on the lake, the kids played in the sand by the hour.  I sat and watched them play with the other children and got a good suntan.  All of their meals I made and brought out to them so they wouldn’t have to take a long break from play.

 In the evening my husband suggested we go out for a boat ride.  I was tired from being in the sun all day and didn’t jump at the idea.  But he kept bringing the idea up and I could tell that he wasn’t going to be satisfied until we took our boat ride.  So after everyone on the lake had quit boating, gone inside, and was getting ready for bed, we went out on our boat for a midnight ride.  We played the Shrek CD and listened to music, floating around on the lake with only a few other midnight cruisers out there too.  The reflection on the lake of the lights that still twinkled was pretty to look at.  I snuggled with my little six year old, Jacob, until Rachel stole him from me.  Then Ruthie, my eight year old, took his place.  It was a sweet, if not unusual,  family time.