Michigan.

• Powerful thunder and lightning storms with blazing streaks of electricity in the night sky
• Gathering in our favorite room of Grandma and Grandpa's home - a second story windowed family room surrounded by trees - listening to stories of their childhood in the Netherlands during the war.
• Strolling down memory lane - visiting our childhood homes, high school hangouts, first apartments and favorite spots along the lake
  
• Tulip lined boulevards
• Cobble-stoned sidewalks lining quaint (and upscale) downtown Holland - coffee at JP's and wandering through art galleries and gift shops
  
• Holland State Park - seeing "Big Red" - the beautiful lighthouse faithfully standing sentinel by Lake Michigan
• Sail boats gliding in the channel setting out into the glistening "Big Lake."
  
• Reconnecting with family - while joyfully welcoming new members (Andrea and Kristi).
  
• A walk in the woods, and over sandy dunes to get to Kirk Park - having family church, flying kites and enjoying a warm, summer afternoon, a welcomed relief from hot, humid days
  
• Quiet farms, lazy cows in the fields, big red barns and miles and miles of pasture
  
• Unattended blueberry stands next to the road with packages of blueberries lined up in a row - farmers unconcerned with dishonesty.
• Celebrating a beautiful wedding - and the joining of two families
  
• Three generations talking, laughing, sharing, and enjoying each others' company.

Michigan. Family.

Summer

• savoring cool, misty June mornings
• enjoying breathtaking beauty during our weekly canyon hikes
• resting by the waterfall with toes dipped in chilly water
  
• long, solitary morning walks in pretty Altadena Foothill neighborhoods
• listening to audio books: Currently - The Forgotten God by Francis Chan
• lazy afternoons sitting by the ocean watching and listening to the waves
• watching three coyotes wandering at dusk in our neighborhood
• rejoicing in our thriving tomato plants - now 5 feet tall!
• lovingly tending to our vegetable garden - anxiously waiting for it to yield it's harvest
  
• the thrill of spotting the first zucchini to grow on its vine
  
• quiet afternoons reading with our favorite country peach tea and homemade shortbread
  
• long stretches of boredom which induce spurts of creativity and helpfulness in household projects
• joyfully organizing the garage and back porch