A Piece of Heaven

(Photo by my three year old daughter!)

I am so blessed to have the wonderful Father that I do. He is not only a great Father, but he is a man of strong faith and a love for his family. We were able to spend some time with him up at his cabin this weekend. It is a little piece of heaven that he has built for his family.

When I was only a little over three years old, my grandmother, Opoe, died. Opoe, which is dutch for grandmother, was my father's mother. He was heartbroken when he lost his mother. I remember my mother telling me that it was one of the hardest things that she saw him go through. But he turned her loss into a beautiful legacy for himself and his children.

He took the money that he got from my grandmother's estate, it wasn't much when it was divided between nine children, and used it to buy a lot of land in the mountains. He then spent the next several years building a cabin on it. He wanted to leave his six children a place where they would always be able to go with their children.

We spent almost every weekend and several weeks at at time during the summer coming up here. We had so much fun playing games, swimming, fishing, hiking and enjoying time as a family. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I am now sharing this love with my children.

It is so peaceful and beautiful up here. This is one of the views from the deck. We would spend afternoons putting puzzles together, sharing snacks and sodas and reading on this deck. We almost always ate dinner out here.

There is a creek at the bottom of this little hill. You can hear the water running down to our little pond. It is such a peaceful sound. I love drinking my coffee on the deck in the morning, listening to the birds and the creek. It is a little piece of heaven.

This is the swimming hole. Oh the memories that I have here. I remember freezing my legs off when I was little, sliding down the natural water slide and trying to get a tan. We spent most afternoons playing in this swimming hole with other kids from the camp.

This is looking up the creek to what is Second Falls. Sometimes we would walk up the creek to get there, but it is a workout. It is so beautiful and this picture does not do it justice. Another piece of heaven.

This is looking from Second Falls down the same creek. Again, this is such a beautiful, peaceful place. The falls are steep enough to slide down. When the water is running like it is now, you go really fast. It is so much fun for the older kids.

There are so many waterfalls up the creek from Second Falls going to Third Falls. Even though my children have been up this way before, they didn't remember it. Luckily we had Cousin T with us to give us a hand on all the rocks. The kids loved having him with us.

Here my husband poses with Third Falls in the back ground. It was really beautiful with the water running like it was. All the little waterfalls were beautiful. Again, another piece of heaven.

I overheard my father telling my daughter yesterday that "this is all of our cabin. It belongs to all of us." This place will always be "Papa's Cabin" to me. It is a piece of heaven that he has built for his family. It is a place that will always hold many wonderful memories that were all made possible by a wonderful Father! I Love You Dad! Happy Father's Day!