The kids’ jaws dropped when they dropped us off at our boat…it was a beauty and had a little staff of people to take care of us for the night.
Boy oh boy.
These guys worked hard to figure out the best place we could jump from.
Because it’s a rule that when you’re on a boat, you must jump off of it (at least in Max’s rule book).
Then we went kayaking.
One of my very favorite parts of the trip.
We came across little floating villages every now and again.
Dave loved what our tour guide told us about how all the houses are single:
But they float together and tie up to each other tight when there’s a storm coming.
Isn’t that how life is? We need to be tight-knit to weather the storms that come our way.
My favorite picture:
…on our way paddling to the pearl farm.
Love this video of Max explaining it all to Lu.
Claire always feels compelled to do these shots:
We sat in hushed reverence as we watched the sun sink below the jagged horizon.
We got to enjoy the beach for a little bit before we got back on the boat (which is in the background below…thank you Paloma Tours!)
We had the best little swim all together as a family.
The best thing about it was the show that was put on on the beach while we were out there. A dog caught a mouse and was playing with it while a hawk kept trying to swoop down and steal it. And all the while monkeys were jumping from branch to branch in the trees above. Claire declared it one of the most entertaining shows she had seen.
This is what Lu wrote about it in her journal:
After the beach we went to explore a huge cave. The opening is in the bottom left of that mountain in the picture below:
I thought about how incredibly blessed I feel to be their mother.
I let waves of gratitude wash through me that we get to be here, right now, in this magical window of time.
Next year who knows what Max will be doing. And who knows how long Lucy’s vision will hold out. Family trips will take a different direction from here on out.
Which makes me even more grateful for this precious time of togetherness.
As we waved goodbye to the kind people who took such great care of us, I vowed once again to not ever take any of this for granted.
I felt that “thin place” grow inside of me even more as we went home through rice paddies as far as our eyes could take us, and listened to Max’s Family Home Evening lesson I talked about back HERE, and as we got closer to the city where motorcycles replaced the rice paddy fields, again, as far as our eyes could see.
So grateful for this awesome guy who took such great care of us, and gave us a couple days to fill with some golden memories.
10 comments
Oh my goodness gracious, what a vacation to remember!! I loved looking at all of these beautiful photos. And I just have to say that I love that you took this special, sweet time to enjoy your family and make memories in China. So many people wouldn't have taken the risk/chance, but man, what a gift to give your family (and yourself) that you'll never forget!! So inspired by you Shawni. Thanks for sharing these pics and your adventure!
Oh. My. Goodness. These photos are so beautiful. I love the idea of thin places too. I need to look for those more carefully.
Shawni, you inspire me. It makes my heart soar to see a family deliberately creating opportunities to grow together. Your pictures are beautiful (just like everyone says). Someday you should post your outtakes to make the rest of us feel better about our photography. 🙂 But seriously, thank you for sharing your experiences with the world. You are awesome!!
Those pictures are beautiful. What a fun trip
I love the concept of thin places! I would love to be a fly on the wall during these chats with your extended family!
I'm holding back tears– you are such a beautiful writer!! Thank you for sharing your life!
That looked like a dream! I am so jealous of this adventure you get to be on with your family. Sure do love you guys!!
Do you happen to remember the name of the Junk boat you rented?
It was through Paloma tours. Here's their email address: info@palomacruise.com
Thin places. Thin space between earth and heaven. This has me thinking of thin places in another way: where the space between each other is thin. Like a family trip, a screen-free time or area, a special experience shared together…. I like this idea. Lots to think about. Thanks for sharing your life with us. It's rich.