There is this little park that we go to, pretty much every day. It’s a few blocks from our house and we love it. There are huge shade trees. A play structure perfect for kids under the age of 6. Swings. Sandbox. Picnic shelter. Wading Pool. Stamped sidewalks with ABCs and 123s on them. It’s become our happy place during this summer of transition for us.

So, this morning we packed up our sand toys and went to the park to dig in the sand. When we got there it was filled with parents and young children. There were riding toys, blankets with themed activities on them. Painting. Playdough. Games. Puzzles. Wow! I thought. Someone is having a party. How fun. We went to a corner of the park, not being used and got out our sand toys. It was such a beautiful morning, that I just felt completely full. My heart was so full of contentment in the simplicity and beauty of this Friday  morning.

In the next half hour I noticed more and more parents and kids showing up. Either these people know A LOT of people, or this is an organized community event,  I thought to myself. Shy little me finally got the courage to ask, and sure enough, it is the Huron County Early Years Play Group. Open to everyone. Fridays they come to this park and play and swim and read and sing for 2 hours. We packed up our sand toys and joined in the fun. And my heart filled up even more. A love overflowing for our children. A love of the beautiful outdoors. A love for this new little community we call home. And a great love for a God who gave me grown ups to talk to today and children for Mikail and Olivia to interact with. Mommy, I love this outside school we found, said Mikail loudly as he puttered around on his tractor. So do I, buddy. So do I.