Yesterday I took the kids just across the street for a river walk. “What’s a river walk?”, you might ask. Well, walking in the river, of course! It is one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday afternoon. I could tell you all about the beauty we saw and the fun we had there, but first I’ll let my photographs tell the story.

As we tromped through the water, searched for the perfect walking sticks, maneuvered under fallen tree trunks and held hands to step down trickling waterfalls, I soaked in the magic of the moment. Elizabeth, who fussed and crabbed when we first began bringing her here, afraid of the water and the bugs, today cried, “Mommy this is better than a playground!” “I couldn’t agree more,” I replied. With each curve of the creek that revealed a new vista, she reminded us to “say thanks to God for this pretty river.”

When my kids look back at their childhood, I hope they’ll remember outings like this one. The times when we were explorers, together setting out on adventures to discover the world around us. But most of all, I hope that these times we share together will instill in them the desire to live their entire life as explorers, always setting out to discover new things they enjoy and new things for which to give thanks.