Time to say goodbye....

Serenity

We bought our vacation home when our 4th child, Jack, was 10 months old. The rest of the crew were 3, 5, and 8. We spent Jack's first summer as a toddler chasing him up the hill on the side of the house (a great workout for the glutes, by the way!) and Maeve learned to swim in our "backyard". Killian and Joe discovered a shared love of fishing -- one they still agree on to this day. And, Kyle and I envisioned our young family growing up with leisurely weekend trips during the fall and winter for burning leaves and ice skating, interspersed with longer trips in the Spring and Summer for swimming, fishing, boating, and bonfires. We even hit fast-forward in our dreams and wondered what it would be like to play with our grandbabies "up at the lake".

Since then, we have have 4 more babies of our own (one is heaven-side) and watched so many of these dreams come true. We were blessed with caring neighbors and lazy days. Kyle and I agreed that the time spent away from "screens" together as a family was so very good for all of us, despite the struggle to pack up the car or deal with a teen's complaints about "being bored" (they always ended up having fun when they got there!).

When our family needed healing after we lost Fiona, a friend encouraged us to take time away at the lake. She was so right. It was exactly the right amount of bonding, fresh air, sunlight, and peace we had been yearning for. 

But, families grow larger and older. Your 5 and 8 year olds become responsible working young adults -- because that's what you raised them to be! -- and they can no longer sneak away for a weekend, much less an entire summer. The majority of our family members are promised to school, work, sports, and volunteer work. And that's a GOOD thing! But it means that paying to keep a vacation home which gets extremely little use is not the best use of our resources right now. 

"A time to every purpose under heaven." 

God is so good to let us know that the things which exist within time are only good for a while. And then it is time to move on. I won't lie, tears are streaming down my face as I write this, but sadness is also temporary. I was reminded by a very good friend today, "It is sad the idea of it being gone, but the sadness is really the sadness of life changing. Because even if you kept it, things wouldn't go back to the way they were.". 

Because, yes, we are selling the lake house. And we are sad. But we also know that the last 12 years were precious times. The were times of joy and adventure. Times of serenity and relaxation. Times of learning new things and perfecting old tricks. Times of our family's deep love for each other. 

"A time to keep."

(In your kindness, if you would click the picture above and check out our listing, we would very much appreciate it. Maybe you know someone who would love our lake house the way we do?)

WWRW: The Sackett Saga Goes On...and on...

Linking up a couple of days late with the darling of the airwaves, Jessica.

Kyle continues to grace us with his knowledge of all things Louis L'Amour and Old Testament...

"2015 - The Year of the Sacketts continues...

What's that sound I am hearing? Why it sounds like the blogosphere hankering for another installment of my book reviews of Louis L'Amour's epic saga of the American frontier family: The Sacketts.

As you will recall, we left off last month with some adventures of Yance and Kin Ring Sackett in The Warriors Path. Now the stories pick up again with their younger brother Jubal in L'Amour's novel Jubal Sackett.  A loner from a young age, more at home in the woods and wilderness than in the company of others, Jubal seems to have inherited the wandering spirit of his father and and an ingrained desire to see what lies beyond the mountains. In the Bible, Jubal, son of Lamech and brother to Tubal-Cain, is said to be the father of all who play the harp and lute but that has nothing to do with our story.

Jubal Sackett sets out from the family home in the Appalachians of North Carolina to cross the Great Plains and eventually reaches the Rockies. Jubal is an expert tracker and woodsman, and well known to many of the local Indian tribes, one of which enlists his help to go in search of their Sun or Princess.  The story follows the adventure of Jubal as he sets off to find this princess, meeting challenges, friends and enemies along the way. The Sackett families tend to run long on boys, raised to be self-reliant with strong morals and fierce loyalty to the family. Jubal is no exception. He is a steadfast friend, thoughtful pondered, and natural leader. The Sacketts do not fear the wilderness nor the Indians, but rather recognize that one must know and understand one's surroundings in order to survive. This novel also introduces a strong female leader in the character Itchakomi Ishaia, the Natchez Sun that Jubal comes to respect and eventually love. Like the rest of the Sackett line of books, Jubal Sackett is an enjoyable read of historical fiction and in paperback form will always fit perfectly snug in the back pocket of your Wranglers. 

This fourth novel is the last novel of the early Sacketts, when we return next month we will continue with the fifth novel, Ride the River, which takes place about 200 years later in the hills of Tennessee."