Reflections on Being Blessed

Any weekend in which you can talk with both of your long-distance kids is a good one. We had a nice, long talk with Geoff yesterday, and the same with Jennifer today. It was the first time we had spoken with either of them since the wedding, which is mainly a reflection of how busy we all have been since then. (Jennifer did try on two consecutive Saturdays, but each day one of us wasn't home, and Geoff had tried on Friday evening before he reached us this Saturday.)
Geoff shared details of the weekend-long 10th anniversary celebration he and Lisa enjoyed: fun restaurants, a movie on its premiere weekend, a picnic at the beach. Jennifer was full of updates on her week of teaching preschoolers at VBS, their wonderful vacation/honeymoon at Martha's Vineyard, and the challenges of getting fully unpacked and moved into a new house. It's all good.
It's SO good to have two kids so devoted to their spouses who have so fully integrated their lives into those of the ones they've married. As I've told each of them more than once, but probably not often enough, "When I hear some parents talk about their heartache over their young adult children, I realize how very wonderful you are." They've given me many reasons to be proud of them. Their commitment to a healthy marriage is just one of them.
Today was a productive day: Welcome Center at church, happy conversations with friends (and some newcomers there), a couple of hours of work for work this afternoon, and a casual dinner (brats on the grill, baked beans, potato salad) with Bill and Verna Weber.

We ate dessert on the deck at dusk, and after dark I tried to get a picture of one of the citronella candles that cast a warm glow on our faces and our conversation.
Tomorrow brings a long list of tasks to finish before we leave Tuesday evening for the World Convention.