On Camping, and the Regeneration of Cells

For two weekends in a row, our family has camped near bonfires with old friends. How lucky I am to have typed that sentence! Last weekend it was back to The Dome for sweet music and celebration...

...and last night, back to The Ranch, this time for a seventh birthday party.

There was a collective spirit in the air, accented by pumpkins and ghosts...

...and sweet party games that just don't happen enough anymore. Like apple bobbing. Oh, the triumph!

The children, all dirt and grins, communed with nature on every level, ending with a sweet cow-feeding frenzy this morning. Gentle giants, my boys and those beasts, so beautiful.

What really struck a chord with me was the sheer villagery of it all. The eldest of our blessed tribe of babes is now seven. SEVEN. You've likely heard that all of our human cells regenerate every seven years--these incredible little people (over twenty of them!) have been together since zygotehood and are now completely reinvented, regenerated, and renewed, but have imprinted upon them the spirit of community, and always will.

The things that make up our physical bodies morph, change, die and are reborn. But upon strong foundations, new beauty emerges. We are constantly witnessing a steady stream of birth and rebirth with these entities we've been chosen to guide, and it is a mighty force of love, light, and pure, sweet laughter.

On the Sunday Morning Sidewalks

This morning was glorious. A morning to be praised, to be worshiped, to be revered. Big B asked if we could take a nature walk, and we headed out the door before Papa was even out of bed. We talked about how paying attention to the little bits of beauty we whiz past on most days is sort of like going to church, in a way. We are mindfully giving thanks for the beauty of our existence, and internally vowing to be good shepherds of that beauty. My kind of church.

We started our nature walk by looking for patterns:

And discovered many little treasures, shining in the morning sun:

We found new beauty in things we pass every single day,

and reminders of the spirit of the village in which we live.

We brought a bag along for the walk and Big B and little b collected treasures. We spent the rest of the morning outside, admiring them, enjoying each other, and giving thanks and praises.