Torreon

We have a small cabin in the White Mountains, about 2 1/2 hours from our home.  We have spent almost every weekend there this summer and a few this fall with our family and sometimes with some extended family and friends.  I love it there.  My husband affectionately calls it his "Happy Place". It is a time for our family to get away.  We leave the hectic schedule that inevitably surrounds us - from a plethora of sports practices, meets and games to piano, work, cub scouts, laundry, carpools, etc. Oh, and especially a time to escape the heat!  It has made a tremendous difference in our family's lives.  I love all the activities we do there together; the tennis, golf, swimming, running, the gym, fishing, eating, and endless hours of swinging on the swings at the playground.  I love the traditions that we have created there from movie nights and late night work outs at the gym to the candy bar game, homemade ice cream, and family football or whiffle ball on the huge lawns.  But, I especially love the memories that we are creating as a family, and the feelings that come as we share and laugh, and yes - compete together.  It has been one of the greatest blessings for our family and I am profoundly grateful for it.  (Sometimes I wonder if the Lord is becoming weary of my constant expressions of that gratitude!)  Our summer and fall has been such a memorable one because of the opportunity we have had to spend time there this year.  We have had this cabin for over 3 years, but this is the first summer we have really been able to use it well.  I know things change so much from year to year with schedules, work and children, but I am just so thankful to have had this summer to take advantage of it and enjoy it to the fullest.