Seeing the Big Picture....

I saw a cartoon the other about southerners and snow, of course, the first day it was all 'yeah, snow! It's so pretty, I'm eating snow ice cream, school's out!'  By the fourth day however, it was a totally different story! The poor little stick figure was laying there, almost dead because of boredom and beginning to go insane.....so very true in Oklahoma!

We don't get much snow so it's fun, fun, fun at first.  That first or second snowday is like a little gift.  You get to sleep in and finish projects that you don't normally get to work on.  But the difference between us and the northern states is that we expect that snow to melt away in a matter of days, not weeks!  We want to see blue skys and sunshine as soon before the end of the week.  We don't have the equipment to clear the roads so we're stuck in our homes with our families!

We got out over the weekend to see how the roads were and take my son over to a friends for a few hours.  As we were driving out in the country, I looked at the snow covered hills.  It was so peaceful looking, like everything was covered in a powdered sugar blanket.  I began to think about all the plants and animals that were tucked safely under all that snow.

You see, snow is a great insulator and we've had record low temperatures this last week.  We've also been under a severe drought.  I've been praying for moisture each week.  So suddenly we have a lot of moisture and record low temperatures, God has a way of taking care of his creatures.  I wondered how many animals and plants would have died if we just had been hit with record low temperatures without the protective covering of the snow blanket.

I began to be thankful for this snow.....the precious moisture will be appreciated as it slowly melts into the ground.  The animals are thankful as they are able to burrow under the snow and stay warmer.  My little brain sometimes just gets so carried away with wanting what I want, when I want it and I forget to stop and look at the wonder of nature.  I need to just stop, look, listen and be thankful; for whatever comes my way.  I need to trust that God is faithful and He will provide for me.  If He cares enough to water the plants in Oklahoma, I'm sure He cares for me!

Update on love languages!

Thought I'd update you on the love languages that my husband and I have been working on with the kids.  Now, I know it won't be smooth everyday but it really seems to be making everything around here work a little smoother! Each night we play the 'I appreciate that!' game that was described in the book.

It works like this, we go around the table and tell something that we did that day to help or show love to someone at the table.  It might be me cooking the meal or doing laundry or driving someone somewhere. It might be my daughter cleaning up her room or the bathroom without constant reminders.  It might be my son getting up without a big fight or bringing up wood without prompting.  It might be my husband who took out the trash or walked up the drive in the morning to bring me a newspaper.  It might also just be a kind word of encouragement or thanks.  The person who was affected by the act of service, touch, kind words or time says, 'And I appreciate that!'  It seems that simple little game gets everyone working hard to have something to say at the dinnertable.

It's a fun, easy way to remind each of us that our words and actions not only affect us but those around us. 

Like I said before, I'm sure it won't always be easy.  After all, I have two very hormonal teenagers.....but during dinnertime, it has given us direction and has lead to much laughter as we yell 'and I appreciate that!'

Kicking out January!

Well, it's time for a new month! It is amazing to me that we are already one month into the year 2010. My grandpa used to say that time went faster as you got older. Well, now I see what he was talking about. When I was a little kid, a summer school break seemed to go on and on without end. Now a summer break is but a blink, marked with too many to-do's and not enough laying in the hammack contemplating the leaves on the old pecan tree and hacking off the bluejay who's nest is directly above me.

My favorite family vacations are visiting national parks. I thank the people who had the forethought to set aside those lands across our country for people like me to visit and explore. My most favorite was a visit several years ago to Maine's Acadia National Park. I wrote a teachers grant and was able to go for 10 days and study. My family traveled with me. When I say 'my family', I mean MY FAMILY. As in my mom and dad, my sister and daughter, and my husband and kids. I was the only one who had the dream to visit Maine but my excitement caused the rest of the family to want to come along.

We had a time getting to Maine from Oklahoma, including getting dumped out in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the middle of the night by an airlines who will remain to be used by me today, renting a panel van and driving across lower Michigan to get to Detroit before sunrise taking with us two stranded naval officers who were going to be awol if they didn't get where they were going! We did finally make it one day late to Maine. The trouble we had to overcome getting there only made me more resolved to experience Maine's coast to the fullest. We spent two days driving along the coastline from New Hampshire to Acadia, stopping and gawking at the raw power of the Northern Atlantic Ocean like little kids.

As we hiked up Cadillac Mountain and strolled along carriage trails, I began to realize how much more creative I would probably be if I allowed myself to just be still and wait. To open myself up to just experiencing God's gift of nature. Waiting is not something I do well and being still is even harder for me. Besides learning about the varied ecosystems of Acadia National Park, I think the most valuable lesson I learned was that when you are still, you can see things that typically get lost in the day-to-day. The beautiful sunrise or sunset, the loon gliding on the lake or the fog rolling in or the wonder in someone's face at the awesome power of the oceans waves.

Traveling with three generations to a place that was completely foreign to all of us was an awesome experience. My parents were as filled with wonder as my children at some of the sights we saw. We have collective memories that we can share with each other for all the rest of our years.

And we all learned that a vacation doesn't have to include a theme park or a large city. Sometimes, we need to let God's theme park leave us in awe!