My Name is Rindi: July 18, 2017

We had a peaceful night!! It was so welcome. We all needed a good night's sleep. I opened my eyes before everyone else (my back has been hurting so much in the night...it's hard to sleep). The day was barely dawning and the whole world was quiet except for a few small birds singing quietly in the cliffs. I just lay there in awe. I felt such overwhelming gratitude that I was opening my eyes in such a remote place on such a beautiful morning, able to see God's grandeur. I felt so blessed. Instead of going back to sleep, I decided to keep my eyes open and watch the light creep over the horizon. I listened to the water softly lapping against our boat. I breathed in the fresh air. Our air mattress seemed to leak a little air throughout the night, so I was snuggled up next to Greg in the middle of the mattress. I could hear my children softly breathing next to me. The air was warm and pleasant. It was a moment I want to remember--one that I didn't want to end. I will always be grateful for this beautiful world. I am so thankful for each day I get to enjoy it.

Today we packed up the boat and surfed for a long time. It was so fun. We also got some water skiing in, some wake boarding, some knee boarding (the kids are really working on their tricks), and some afternoon tubing. We swam and played and relaxed the day away. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, then swam around a little cove and took one big family bath. It was fun and funny and quite the adventure getting everyone clean.

As the evening wound down, we could see the beginnings of a storm rolling in. We took some deep breaths to prepare, then some beautiful pictures of the colorful sky, and tried to stay calm as we bedded down for the night.

It was nice and cool and breezy up on top of the boat. We told stories and listened to the wind as we fell asleep.