The Yodersmakewaves
The 100-day countdown unwound at last. You may remember the 100-link children's paper chainwe made earlier this summer. After the chains were made, the children removed a link a day and when we reached the end a fun activity was planned for thewhole family. They chose a pontoon ride scheduled for June 30th. But guess what? Baby Joshua arrived the night before. Naturally, itwas postponed, but yesterdayitfinallyhappened, and now even Baby Joshua went along.
We waited to go until 3:00 in the afternoon when Julia comes home from school. She came bursting in the door, all smiles, ready for the long-awaited event. Quickly she helpedme pack up the last items, then babysit Joshua, before climbing onto the pontoon parked in front of the house. Grabbing a stack of towels and some extra clean clothes andsome snacks that I had hidden, we were on our way. The children were impressed with riding on the pontoon as Daddy drove the tractor the two miles to the lake wherewe planned to spend the evening. You know, real life; it just doesn't all go as planned. The pontoon's batteries needed charging first.
Meanwhile, the children andmy sister Keturah, who hadcomealong , got into the water. I loved hearing their happy shouts. At least they could have fun in the water whilewe waited. After Joshua was fed, Daniel offered to take care of him while I go swimming. Iwas tickled for the opportunity, and they were delighted to haveMom join them.
At 5:30, Daniel could back the boat into the water, but then it wouldn't start. The children began really gettingworried. We had a little prayer, askingGodtohelp get it started. Therewere cheers of delight as the engine came to life at last. We helped all the childrenget intotheboat. Several of themwere scared to feel the boat leave a solid foundation as it rocked gently in the water.
After some reassurance, we thoughtwewere on our waywhenoncemore, Daniel was having issues with the motor. We began to wonder if we may not get our pontoon ride after all. Let's pray," I told theworried children. Together we prayed, “Lord, the motor isn'tworking, show Daddy what to do...” As the words came from ourmouth, the motor roared to life again, and we were off. With praise to God and more shrieks of delight, we sped away.
Therewas no doubt, God heard, He was there. Our big plans of enjoying all these special snacks on the pontoon faded away as we together enjoyed the ride. The children had fun watchingKeturah riding overwave after wave as she sat on the intertubewe had tied behind the pontoon.
My highlightwaswhenwe tied ourhuge mat behind the pontoon and gave the children rides on it. Julia was a “mother hen” as she sat next to the younger ones. They looked so cute wearing their safety vests and hanging onto themat, excitement shining fromtheir little faces as Daddy carefully drove the pontoon around and around. Can't you see two-year-old Jesse, sitting there with his blond hair soakingwet, his eye goggles perched on his forehead, and his big blue eyes widening as the boat revved a tiny bit and we were off for another ride?
I have no idea how long hewould've gone on and on. Darknesscamewaytoosoon, forcing us tostop. While Daniel took the pontoon out of the water, I took the children to where Daniel had earlier built a fire. Finding a stick, we poked marshmallows on it and roasted them for s' mores before heading home.
Itwas a good evening, but then forMama, perhaps the best of all is having everyone clean, tucked in for the night, andsound asleep after all the hard play.
For a recipe thisweek, I'd like to pass on our grilled chicken recipe on for you to try. Whenwewere pontooning, Owen joined us, bless his kind heart, and brought chicken, fresh fromthe grill. Mmm, itwas ayummy treat, and I'd love to give you all the chance to try it, as well!