a beautiful day

We are on somewhat of a vacation.

My in-laws live very south of us & they have taken a month long trip, traveling across the US.
So, we decided to "house sit" for them.

Over the past month we have traveled 3 hours away from our home,
many times, to stay at their house out in the country.
My in-laws own an old country house,
a big barn housing a big ol' tractor,
and lots of land & trees with a big beautiful pond.

Hubby has a few clients near there, so he can work while the rest of us "vaca" in the country.

It is so different than what we are used to.
Nothing nearby but grass, gardens & wildlife
{the occasional tractor & farmer can be spotted as well}.
There is no Chick-Fi-La or Target within miles of their house!

This could be a huge problem...

except, the benefits of this "retreat"
{as we have called it over the last month}
far exceed the negatives of being away from civilization.

Today, we woke up to this view, my in-laws back yard:

We sat out on the sun porch together as a family.  

The kids played while the hubby and I carried on a few conversations, 

but mostly, we just enjoyed the state of simplicity we were experiencing

...and enjoyed the view of course.  

{BTW, the tv was not on & my kids were having such a good time playing with each other - go figure}

The grass is vibrantly colored green and the sky is completely clear and blue.

The noises we hear are only the sounds of nature and our kids laughter.

This all sounds extremely "Norman Rockwell"picturesque 

& honestly, that is the way it feels here.

{aside from the occasional sounds of brother bickering that occurs - hubbs and I tend to ignore that}

Right now, I am having an amazing morning...

sitting at my computer sipping my dr. pepper

hubby took the boys outside to play in the dirt

the house is completely still and peaceful

itunes playing my favorite music, softly

and I am catching up on reading all of my favorite blogs {and writing my own, too}.

We have nothing planned today, 

other than to enjoy each other's company, 

take-in the many of God's gifts of nature and all it's beauty, 

take a short walk to the pond to let the dogs go swimming

and of course, a NAP for everyone!