Peter in the Garden

On a beautiful day & a whim last week, I decided to pack a picnic lunch & take the kids to a nearby rose garden.  I hadn't been there in probably 10 years.  

It was beautiful!

The roses were blooming.  

It smelled heavenly.

It was so peaceful and quiet.

A perfect place for a picnic lunch.

Sometimes, you have to stop and smell the roses.

I think this is one of the blessings of parenting small children - we are forced to learn to not hurry so much and to take time to enjoy the world around us.

Will enjoyed exploring and discovering.

We looked for frogs but didn't find any... maybe in a few months when it is hot.

Ellie was not very comfortable for this picture!

(poor thing - can't wait to bust her out of that cast in a few days!)

We tried some honeysuckle

We have been talking a lot recently about the meaning of Easter.  Will is, of course, fascinated by the story of Peter cutting off the Roman guard's ear in the Garden of Gethsemane.  So, when he learned we were headed to a nearby garden, he grabbed his sword & insisted I call him Peter.  He insisted I play the role of Jesus in the garden but I told him I wasn't really adequate for that role.

While I nursed Ellie in the shade on a bench, he reenacted the Bible story.

(There's a part of me that just imagines God must smile at the way kids have reenacted His story for thousands of years.  I am guessing that little boys have grabbed pretend swords to play Peter for generations upon generations.  I love the way the Word plants itself in their little hearts through play and becomes a part of their story.)

It's probably not a good idea to try to capture great photos of children on a sunny day at noon:

Look how hard they are trying to look at the camera.  Just precious.

We will definitely be going back to the garden.  I love watching Will's imagination soar as he plays outside. I loved how peaceful and quiet it was - just a perfect place to enjoy being together on a spring day.