(If you would like music playing while on my blog, go to my “IPod” on the right just below my photo and click the arrow to play music.)

Now I remember…….

as I click through June’s photos.

How summer began.

Our old swing set seemed to be crying for kids even though I nearly cried at the thought of letting it go.

But sometimes you just know it’s time.

So I called Nick’s best friend’s sister and said, “Would your girls like a swing set?”

And she said, ‘OH YES!’

So, Tim helped Roger and Matt load more than just a large piece of metal and plastic onto a trailer.

They loaded up part of my heart.

This swing set helped raise my boys and Olivia.

So many memories.

So many laughs.

So many boys swinging back and forth in capes and masks, holding plastic swords….

So many girls swinging in princess costumes or swimsuits……

That’s what they loaded onto their trailer that day.

And I clicked photos of the event just  like I was watching one of my kids compete in a state tournament, because this swing set is part of me, part of my motherhood, part of my heart……..

But when I heard this sweet girl with a gigantic grin on her face say,

“We can’t forget these!”

I knew we were doing the right thing.

My boys loved this swing for a powerful season of my life, and now Brooke’s girls will love it for a powerful season of hers.

That’s how life is.

We embrace each season with all the gusto we can, but we do much better when we remember that there will be a new season to follow.

And it will require a new kind-of gusto.

So, I stood and clicked…

and clicked…

and clicked..

and clicked….

and clicked….

and clicked….

until I could see it no more.

I told myself that the swing set wasn’t really gone.

It was just bringing laughter to a new back yard.

And then I cried.

Because tears are surely God’s way of allowing us to cope with the changing of the seasons.

I planned to share more of my summer in this post, but as I looked back at all of my pictures, I realized that so many things deserve their own story.

This is the first of many…….

Thank you for patiently waiting until I was ready to share.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity

under heaven.

Eccl. 3:1