Places We'll Miss: The Finger Lakes

As we're less than three weeks out from our third term in Paraguay I thought I'd do a few posts on some of the special places we'll miss in the US.  So, kicking off this bitter-sweet series is the Finger Lakes region.  This is the area where Sarah and I grew up and so naturally we have a lot of memories here.  We've loved introducing our kids to the bodies of water we grew up near including Honeoye, Canandaigua and Seneca Lakes.  A few times this Home Assignment we also made it up to Ontario Lake.  Here's a map of Mom and Dad's stomping grounds.

Long and narrow; the Native Americans say that after God finished creating the earth He placed His hand down to rest leaving us the imprint of the Finger Lakes.  Pretty cool story, right!?!  Sarah and I share many memories from this area dating back to the beginning of our relationship.  Our engagement photo, for example, was taken on Honeoye Lake and we stayed at a hotel on Seneca Lake for our honeymoon which we recently returned to on our 13th anniversary!  

And so it has be very special for Sarah and I to be able to introduce our kids to the various parks and trails surrounding these lakes.  Just the other day our family went to Seneca Lake State Park on Eli's birthday and I was able to catch a picture of Haley standing with our hotel in the distance.  That park includes a couple new playgrounds they built this year as well as a spray-ground!  Many times this past year we've hitched the kids bikes to the van and made the short drive to Seneca Lake to picnic, ride, splash and play.

Other lake side activities have included attacking the ice cream stand, walking along the pier and even a boat ride or two!  But we always seem to end up back at a playground.

Sarah especially loves the water and has often gone to the lake to run, walk or just sit.  We remember standing along the shore of Canandaigua Lake one stormy night before we were married.  As the wind howled and the waves crashed everything was so tempestuous and yet peaceful.  It seemed that God were reminding us of His promise to be with us through whatever trials were to come.  That evening inspired me to write 'Our Family's Song'.  Sarah loves big water because she says it reminds her of God's power.  Saying the Finger Lakes remind us that God's hand is on us gives new meaning to the Native American tale.

And so, as we prepare to say farewell to the Finger Lakes and return to land-locked Paraguay we're reminded that God goes with us.  Though Paraguay doesn't have lakes of it's own it does have plenty of streams, rivers and beautiful waterfalls.  I'm hoping to be able to invest in a couple kayaks for the family so we can create some more water-side memories south of the Equator as well!