On a day like today....

Today was one of those days that was all over the place and filled with so much random goodness that it begs to be written about, even though it may come out as disjointed ...cause it was also one of those kind of days too.

My body's clock has finally regulated itself to being up at 6:07 a.m. every morning. Not a minute sooner, not a minute later and I am out of bed like a shot, pulling on my gym pants and sweater and heading out the door after a few stretches for a morning run. My eyes don't fully open until the fresh cold air hits my face at about the end of my driveway but this is becoming such a routine that I might actually be able to sleep halfway through my run a few weeks from now if I keep this up....

I kid.

I ran my personal best today which was awesome and isn't really a huge amount in the world of running but my success is so exciting and personally satisfying to me that as long as it's my best...that makes it the best thing ever. {for the record I run about 3 km. straight every morning these days}.

I stopped for a breath at the far end of the little lake-estate neighborhood that is my regular route and watched the family of three Canada geese that are always hanging out there. There are a husband and wife rabbit pair as well that hang out there and they kind of lope about the neighborhoods in our area like eternal tourists... I love it.

I got home, made coffee had a shower, read my bible, some bits of  FANTASTIC books that I have on the go and stumbled across a life lesson and quote that HAD to go on my kitchen chalkboard.

"The Humbler the work the greater should be your love and efficiency. Be not afraid of a life of sacrifice."
-Mother Teresa.

Well, that got me going with the rest of my morning, getting my kids out of bed, making breakfast, brushing hair and ironing church clothes let me tell you!

We were in the groove and going to make it out the door on record time when we discovered that Jackson was wearing the LAST....DIAPER....IN....THE....HOUSE.

Quick trip to walmart and I had him on the floor wiping up his poopy bum waiting for Kevin to come through the door with something clean to put on him....

Then we were back on track and down the highway to church.

We pulled up and realized we had been misinformed about the service and were not majorly crashing the outdoor service that was now half finished....and I saw almost crashed literally, because they were all set up in the middle of the parking lot and we had to pull some manouvers to go around everyone in their little folding chairs with our minivan. (and we're talking a thousand people here, folks.)

So after that awkwardness we sat in our minivan on the far side of the parking lot and conferenced on what to do...

Do we crash the party further....

Just drive away....

The longer we sat there, the more awkward it became.

"Jesus understands, I'm sure." Kev smiled impishly. " I'm thinking...let's go to the beach."

We drove home and ran into the house, throwing towels, swimsuits and whatever crackers and bananas we could find into our totes.

We were back out the door in a half hour and heading east to Micquelon Lake by the time we would normally be picking up our children and the mornings still-wet-with-glue- and sparkles Sunday school crafts.

The beach was gorgeous of course.

Packed with people ,but still gorgeous.

Filled with a strange, Alberta Lake and whiff of nearby farm smell....but still gorgeous.

We ate crackers and bananas, read books and lay in the shade of our umbrella. We ventured into the water and mucked about in the sand. We got a little bit pinker (me) and browner (the rest of my family)

Finally we packed up and trudged back to the van for a trip to a nearby farm of one of Kevin's work colleagues.

All winter the past two years we have been enjoying the potatoes, onions, carrots and eggs of a hobby farmer who is also the shop teacher at Kevin's school.

Today we went out to see Brian's farm for the first time and pick up our order of free range chickens to feed us through this winter.

It was one of those magical afternoons that only happen on farms. We sat in the kitchen of their amazing log cabin farmhouse and ate the baked treats made by his lovely Swiss, pastry chef, wife, Jackie.

We played with the cats and black retriever. We watched the laying chickens in their spacious pens, pecking and clucking and fluttering about. We went in the coop and filled our basket with all we could find, careful of the poo on our shoes.

We trekked out to the garden that Brian and Jackie grow for themselves, people like us and people less fortunate by supplying a huge amount of the annual take-in for the local food bank.

We picked onions, yellow beans, beets, potatoes, carrots, raspberries and saskatoons...and took them all home as a generous gift.

But we took more than that, we took that good feeling that comes from being with good people who are doing good things with the small piece of life and earth they've been given. We took with us that sensation of connectedness that comes from plucking something from the earth and feeling grateful, amazed and hungry to eat it.

We drove home happy and tired and had our children zonked out in their beds just as the sun was thinking about twilight. Kevin and I sat down to a late supper of all those new vegetables and sighed and smiled over every bite and every moment of a very satisfying day.

And I think Kevin was right... God didn't mind one single bit.