a family picnic!

In a sermon at church recently, our pastor was teaching us about the two Greek words for time - chronos and kairos. Chronos time is chronological time. Clock time. Time that can be measured. Things you put on your calendar.

Kairos, on the other hand, is time that can't be measured in hours, minutes or seconds. It's moments. You know, those perfect moments when time stands still: family gatherings, bonfires with friends that you don't ever want to end, newborn snuggles. Heaven on Earth.

Eric and I decided we wanted more kairos in our lives. Slower meals. Slower weekends. A slower pace. We haven't signed Rooney up for any extracurricular activities yet because we don't want to have scheduled things that take us away from, or prevent us from, experiencing these types of moments as a family (we are planning to sign her up for swimming lessons this winter or spring, though).

So last Sunday after church, we swung through Whole Foods, picked up a bunch of food and drinks, and headed to Gray's Lake for a picnic. Rooney had a blast going up and down the aisles picking what she wanted (macaroni & cheese, applesauce, and chocolate milk, of course). We drove to the park, spread out a blanket and ate lunch - with NEEDTOBREATHE's new album playing softly in the background - and then took a 2-mile stroll around the lake.

It was so relaxing to be in nature and exploring as a family. Rooney absolutely felt it in her soul that it was special and kept saying things like "This is a fun picnic! It's so nice outside! We've never done this as a family!" Finch would take a bite and then do a lap around the blanket (and scare us half to death by walking straight toward the lake).

We had no where else we needed to be. We could just relax and be, and see where the afternoon took us (as much as you can with a toddler who requires a mid-day nap).

It was really, really magical.

Thank you to Whole Foods for providing the delicious food for our picnic. We love knowing the food we eat and feed our children have been held to a high standard so we don't have to look at the labels of each item we buy...which makes grocery shopping with kids so much simpler. I'm still dreaming about those dark chocolate sea salt caramels!