A little while ago we made a plan to camp out sometime over the holiday weekend.

Then we watched the weather as it got closer and put Monday night on the calendar!

The weather was PERFECT for dinner around the fire, a swim in the pool, and sleeping under the stars!!

The four youngest kiddos were clear excited, and the big kiddos and their parents might have been too!

Chad led the set up crew, and Addie Mae and I planned and made the food.

Pretty soon all of the working peeps and Auntie Gail started rolling into the farm and the party started!

The food was super yummy!

We are so blessed in the food department!

Wish I would have taken a photo of everything.

There is never a lack of conversation when you get this crew around a table or a fire!

This is the stuff that fills my cup to overflowing!

Not too long after eating, some crazy kids were ready to freeze swim in the pool!

They had a ball!

I am SO proud of Eliza for knowing she could not handle that cold pool!

Then it was time for pjs, a bigger fire as it got chillier, and some dessert!

We had made chocolate sauce and some coconut whipped cream to dip all kinds of yummy things in!

As the sun started to go down, Blake handed out some glow sticks and glow rockets!

Watching the kiddos run and run and run around the farm in the dark was the BEST.

Especially when they started catching fire flies!

We sat around that fire super late and then forced ourselves to climb into that tent and get some sleep!

Addie Mae and Hannah took sleeping under the stars seriously and slept in the back of Grant’s truck on air mattresses!

It was COLD Monday night, but we were dressed warm and each had a sleeping bag and a fleece blanket.

I am always up with the birds, but especially when they are singing to me through an open tent!

I love, love, love to be up early – but especially when camping out.

It just fills me with such a beautiful time of reflection!

I laid there with everyone sleeping all around me just in awe…in awe of ALL the Lord has done for us….in awe of the family He has trusted us with….and in wonder of all that is yet to come.

The best is yet to come!!