We piled in the old RV that hadn’t been used in years – four adults, seven kiddos and one dog – and headed north to join extended family to mourn the loss of Dave’s Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob was dearly loved by many. His laughter was contagious. His life was marked by love. He will be greatly missed.

We celebrated his life in true Bob fashion, spending the weekend sun-soaked and water-logged. The littles were over the moon. Long days and late nights swimming, fishing, and grilling on the shores of the same lake where their daddy spent his summers doing the same as a child.

The trip was unexpected and packing to leave was a bit frantic. The drive was long – I was car sick, Charlotte and Ben both threw up on me, the water stopped working in the RV, we had a camping chair set up for additional seating and five kiddos slept on the one bed. Every once in a while, we would hear a THUD and run to find the child who had fallen off the bed or the couch in his or her sleep. Yet, the kids absolutely loved the ride and the adults laughed our way through the “adventure.”

The trip served as a poignant reminder that we need to stop every once in a while simply to be with the ones we love. I can’t count the number of times Dave and I have talked about making this trip up to Minnesota with the kids. We never found the time before now.

We knew Uncle Bob was smiling down on his loved ones as we finally came together for this sweet weekend. Laughter and tears intermingled. New memories created while reminiscing on days gone by.

I hope you were all able to step away from the demands of life to enjoy this summer weekend and the birth of our great country. It was a bittersweet 4th of july for us this year but, nevertheless, an immensely blessed one.

Years ago, I flew weekly for work. I boarded planes without trepidation. Until, one flight changed my carefree attitude. I’ll never forget it: we were flying from Houston to San Francisco when one of the plane’s engines caught on fire {and I SAW the smoke}. Following instructions from the pilot, I found myself praying a desperate pray through tears while in “brace position” {head ducked and arms crossed, gripping the seat in front of me}, listening to voices of the flight attendants shouting “BRACE!” over and over. We landed safely but I knew flying would never look the same for me.

These days, my palms are sweaty and my breathing is shallow the entire time we are in the air. And, without fail, time moves infinitely slower than it ever does when my feet are steady on land. Let me tell you, when your hands are cramping from gripping the arm rests tightly, you would really appreciate it if time would pass a little more quickly.

Yet, sometimes. Sometimes, you just have to look fear in the eye and turn it over to God. You have to put one foot in front of the other and face the thing that scares you the most in the world. Because, otherwise, you’d miss it: the celebrations, the memory-making, the joy.

This past weekend, I faced my fear once again. Charlotte and I boarded a plane to go and visit my family in Florida for the first birthday celebration of my sweetie-pie niece, Addi. We soaked up every moment.

Yes, my child snagged the birthday cake from the birthday girl. This does not surprise anyone who knows me. Clearly, we share the same DNA.

As always, I was reminded that if I let fear take over, I will miss out on the good things awaiting me. Although the two hours in the air were LONG, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a single moment from this weekend.

**Meanwhile, this was happening back at the farm {Dave is slightly excited about the 4th of July}…

Have a wonderful week, friends!