if you know me, i can't get enough of the best little island in the world.

that place you return to again and again because its memories run deep

and now as a mom with children at bedtime, the stories make the memories run wide.

for me, the place is jekyll island, georgia. a small barrier island off the coast of georgia,

now functioning as a state park, but at one time, a winter refuge for the millionaires of the late 1800's-early 1900's.

where's that place for you?

that place to get away. to retreat. to reconnect with family.

i love my urban life...

but what helps my purpose in being where God has placed me, is to retreat. reload. recharge.

to walk different paths. to hold hands with those that cheer you on from afar.

to do something out of routine.

to be removed from the familiar and be able to see life with freshness and awe.

 to do what pleases the body - to laugh much.

to play among nature most of the hours of the day.

to really forget that schedules and deadlines and paperwork exist beyond the barrier island.

and for a few days, shoulders relax. tensions subside.

but this year, the place was meshed with the faces of those that come here with me.

it's a beautiful messy combination of where i am and who's with me.

for we, as cousins, have been retreating to the island since preschool.

{my sisters in white and hot pink. the three older guys are cousins that have come here for years, now with kids. the two other sweet girl faces are those of my cousins as well. and certainly not last, the two bright green little dudes are my cousins as well. just came onto the scene much later than the rest of us!}

{biking to the mansions is a favorite. 14 of us here. record}

and oh how i laugh. for one week in our year, we can't get enough of each other.

i can't help but get right up in the faces of the little people and tickle and say sweet truths

and also to look intently as a grown-up shares life lessons.

{i'm somewhere in between, i guess. i lose my spot as a grown-up here.}

yet, i have to return to the other coast, for it's there where i'm living on purpose.

but for this retreat, this year, it's the faces that are etched deep and will flow wide in my heart and thoughts.

thank you, God, for minds to remember the beauty and experiences You allow us to hold to as gifts.