From the seat behind me I could hear Luke's little voice say, "Mommy. I man." Even though he speaks very clearly for a 2 year old I repeated his sentence to see if I heard him correctly.
"You're a man?"
"Uh-huh."
Ok. Thanks for telling me, I thought.
So lately Luke keeps pointing out that he's a man to all of us. The other day he struck a muscle man pose. "Argh! I man!"
Or on the swing set with his arms pulling on the ropes. "I man!"
Or the time he had turned around a fisher price toy and was shooting it at me and then called out happily, "I man!"
I was replanting some ivy to replace the one that had died this summer out on the front porch. Josh had earlier been splitting firewood and stacking it with the kids to get ready for winter. He'd left his axe on the porch so I told Luke as we headed out there not to touch the axe. I was very clear.
"Luka. No touch. Don't touch the axe ok?"
In a hurt voice he said, "Mommmmmy. I man." Like I'd taken away his God given right as a man to touch an axe.
We had an amazing weekend! One of those retreats where you work and plan and then even though you did your best you are very aware that this sweet time is one of those "more than we can ask or imagine" kind of times! One of the best parts was working with my teammates, Christina who planned the retreat, Katka who led worship and Glorija who is pictured here leading the girls in a responsive time with art. Each girl got to create a wooden gift box for their future husband to give on their wedding night. A beautiful image of preparing and treasuring the gift they have to offer. 
And these are "my girls" Barbara and Maja together with their friends Polona and Tjasa who they first invited to english camp and have continued to encourage them as they grow. I love these girls. 
The weather at Schloss Heraldeck was amazing and contributed to the magical feeling of the weekend.
I couldn't have imagined a more delightful group of girls to work through this material. They were so open and so thankful for every gift and surprise that came their way. On the last morning I told them that their mentors love them and that we are praying for them regularly. We know this is a real battle. And as much as we love them we are aware that God's love is greater still!
