Chris found this little baby Chickadee in the yard yesterday. Isn't it adorable? It was even making little Chickadee sounds. It didn't seem too scared at all. Chris, Dustin and I all held it. It probably was learning how to fly (which it did eventually do), but wasn't too speedy yet.

Summer is going too fast! But then, it always does. We have some other exciting news. Dustin and Judy, who had cancelled their engagement, are now back on! We're thrilled (and kind of knew this would probably be the case sooner or later). We're happy it's sooner, though there isn't a date yet.

Tomorrow, Chris and I head up to our beloved PA Grand Canyon area - fondly referred to now as "up north". We're renting a little cabin on Bab's Creek, just as we did last year, but this year it'll be for a week. It's the one from which I'm viewing the creek in my slideshow on the page below. We'll be filling our time with swimming (it's supposed to get HOT! Yay!!), biking, hiking and lots of relaxing. It's paradise.

My favorite time up there is getting up in the morning and taking my morning coffee out on the porch (still in jammies), sitting in the rocker, putting my feet up on the railing (as in that photo below) and listening to the birds sing, watching the creek go by, reading my Bible, chatting with Chris. What a beautiful way to welcome in the day.

It seems so hard to get time to really relax here at home, there's always so much - even in my so-called "time off" during the summer - that is continuously calling me and pulling at me. I've really had very few totally free days. But I have managed to squeeze in some scrapping time and time on our own lovely front porch to relax. Chris is trying to start a new summer tradition of enjoying an afternoon cup of tea on the porch - just to connect with the moment and not let it all get away - so I'm joining him in that as much as I can.

Going up to Blackwell, though, with all my responsibilities far, far away, is truly a time where I can soak in the restfulness of summer and get re-charged for all that remains at home. I promise to savor each moment...