Snow Adventure

I mentioned that Warrior and the children went to find the snow.  And that we were hoping for snow.  Well, we DID get some snow.  And around here, ANY is a welcome sight!  It didn't last long on our ground here at home though, beautiful as it was.  So with a work holiday and some eager children in tow, off went Tender Warrior to the nearest mountain with more snow to actually play in.  We are blessed to be near beautiful mountains.  Once upon a time we lived in more of the "flatlands" of the country and though they have their own kind of beauty, I am grateful for the kind of beauty that is here.

Little ones were a bit cold, as I hear it was very windy up there.  So sometimes they watched from the shelter of the truck.  Others didn't care so much until they'd had their fill of snow.

After a couple of hours, all were ready to warm up and dry off.  Hot chocolate and marshmallows were waiting to warm up the insides.

Sometimes I get rather frustrated at being a "suburban-ite."  Actually, we call our home-sweet-home our "Suburban Homestead."  I truly am grateful for just how much we have been able to do on this space we've been blessed with.  So much of it is because of the efforts of the strong arms of my Tender Warrior and I love him for it.  We all dream sometimes of living in the country just so our children have ROOM---to explore God's mighty creation and to be in tune with His natural world more than the techno-gadget world that threatens to consume at every turn and swallow up REAL relationships and REAL beauty in the outdoors (I'm not arguing the merits of technology here---it certainly has its merits!  And I'm all for Christians taking dominion of technology in ways that honor God and further His kingdom.  I'm just expressing my chagrin at how much it can encompass our lives and leave us "weak" in our engagement with other people and how we were designed  to live in a garden, as it were, being outside much more than most of us are).

I really try to do my best to get us outside as often as possible.  But I often do long for space that is quiet and full of "scope for the imagination."  Breathing room and opportunities for the children to do more with animals.  That is my idealistic side (thinking of Prince Edward Island or the English countryside of Beatrix Potter or James Herriot here).  I perfectly know the grass is not greener elsewhere.  We are determined to make the best of where God has placed us and believe that He knows each one of our personalities and gifts and will make ways for those to be used no matter where we abide.

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."

~George Washington Carver

"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment."

~Jane Austen

"We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things."

~Charlotte Mason