My son, Beau, lives in Denver and wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving but was able to get the weekend off before Thanksgiving, to go to a friend's wedding in KC.  He and his girlfriend decided  to drive through the night so they'd have as much time as possible with family. (Who needs sleep when you are 24 years old?)  During  Joy's turn to drive she ran the car out of gas at 3 AM, trying to make it to the next town, 17 miles short of Salina.  She woke Bo.  After some discussion, flashers on, cars passing, temps in the 20°s and car cooling fast, they decided to walk to the next mile marker to find out where they were exactly before trying to call for help.  Cars passed.  They were worried, scared and COLD.  Just as they got back to their car a man going the opposite direction pulled off the highway and ran across to them. 

He had been driving to Salina and had seen their stopped car and when he looked back in his mirror he saw the flashers on and them standing outside of their car.  He was too far past them to help by then so he drove on to Salina, then turned around and came back to help them!  Then he drove them on to the next town to get gas and brought them back to their car before continuing on his way.

I just can't get over how this guy went SO far out of his way for strangers that he wasn't even sure needed help, really.  There are so many ways this story could have ended with a far less happy ending.  I wanted to share what a difference a random act can have.   There is so much bad news in the world today.  We need to hear and share these stories when we know them.  Just sharing them is kind of an RAK in itself because it spreads hope.  

If I had been traveling on I-35 that night, I'd have been like that guy, looking up in my mirror, wondering if those folks need help, weighing the possibilities.  Realizing I was too far past them anyway, I'd have gone on.  I'd have sent up a prayer, and maybe others in those passing cars did that, too.  I'd probably have regretted I hadn't stopped but I wouldn't have gone back to check on them.  So, praise to God, that there are those willing to take a risk, to go out of their way, to give help and hope.  Let them be a shining  example to the rest of us. ♥

The first snow came on Christmas Eve, we would have our white Christmas. It started with sleet then came howling winds, slick roads and not enough snow plows to keep up with the quickly falling and soon drifting snow. Blizzard warnings. Highways closed. Everyone's Christmas plans were suddenly disrupted.

We scrapped our never-missed tradition of trekking into the city to Gramma's but still made our way to the church because both Zeke and Bo were in the Praise Band. The place was packed! Like the birds bombarding our feeders in anticipation of the blizzard, we came to be nourished. Those who usually come to one of the two later services all seemed to be at the early one.

Back at home we settled into a rousing family game night. Zeke and I decided to head back in to church for the Candlelight Service. He said, "But, Mom, it's a tradition! We've never missed it!" (not within his short memory anyway :) So we went, slowly and carefully. Maybe 30 or so others had ventured out into the cold and snow. It was worth it. A sense of peace and calm flowed along with the violin and the candlelight. I was warmed by the love I felt in that service.

By evening on Christmas day we'd dug our way to out in time for Christmas dinner at my folks with all my family in the city. The boys have shoveled more snow this year than in all their years before combined! They’ve dug out our long driveway again and again trying to keep up. They’ve gotten up at the crack of dawn twice to shovel at the church before the morning worshippers arrive. They’ve been to Gramma’s so she can get out.

There has been a couple of days it warmed up enough for snowman building and Blue and his uncles took advantage. The big boys felt it was a heat wave and bundled accordingly. Zeke with no coat and bo in shorts, although it was barely above freezing. Blue has no boots and his Dad could not find his mittens so he trundled out there with wool socks on his hands and feet and plastic bags over his shoes. He thinks that is how you get ready to go out in the snow! Their big snowman still stands as a sentinel by the road weeks later. That never happens!

The birds are at the feeders from dawn to dusk and the squirrels make their attempts as well. There is one species of bird, 3 little fellows that are constant customers but have never been to our feeders for 30 years. The beak is longer than most and he flits around upside down and all around just like a Nuthatch. He flicks his tail like a wren. In fact he looks like a wren except he is much larger than the tiny wrens I am familiar with. He has white eye mask, stripes under his tail.

So we think we have gotten a total of around a foot of snow, although it is hard to tell with all the drifting. That isn't a huge amount considering it has snowed 3 or 4 times. It is the fact that it has stayed and accumulated and been so arcticly cold. I mean, a couple of weeks in the single digits! Brrrrrrrr.

We all used to dream of a pretty white winter, without all the slush and mush and only brown snow banks pushed together by the plows leftover from the snowstorm days earlier.

So. Be careful what you wish for. It’s snowing again!

God is with you wherever you are!

Blessings and love~

 

Our dog is a Black Lab who lived with my niece and her two other, all very fat and spoiled, indoor dogs.  I told my sis if I adopted Sabrena that she would not be spoiled here.  She would live outside, sleep in the old tack room, romp the woods and and live the life of a country dog. 

She did nothing but howl outside the windows the first two days she was here.  In the middle of the night I'd yell out the bedroom window for her to shut up and she would... for about ten minutes.  It was sometimes a full out wolf-type howl and other times it was pitiful wailing and sometimes a soft mourn-filled wimpering howl.  She finally gave up when she realized I meant business. I'd go out and rub and praise her anytime she wasn't howling, which was seldom. I'm sure the neighbors loved us.

She got over it and learned to adjust.  We've had her a couple of years now and she is a good dog.  Pretty smart, stays real close to home, and very friendly.

We have had 3 weeks of unusually cold weather with lots of snow that doesn't melt.  That doen't happen around here.  We get snow.  It's pretty for a day or two then turns to slush.  But this!  Snow then snow then more snow and winds and drifts and dangerously cold temps over and over!

So, of course, we've been letting Brena in the house at night and even in the day when it is "dangerously cold".  Does she slip in and quietly lay on the blanket I've laid out for her?  No, no.  She tromps right for the bedrooms and jumps up on a bed!  We heat with wood, so can't really close the bedroom doors at night or we'll freeze.  The boys are tolerant but don't like a heavy lump on their legs.  Zeke took a photo of her sleeping under the covers on Bo's bed with her head right on his pillow!  He thougth it was hilarious.  Last night I woke to heavy panting in my ear, sat up and screamed.  She busted down the stairs so fast it took me a second to realize what had happened.  Was she patiently waiting by the side of the bed for me to invite her up?

When the sun is out and it is above 10° I've been putting her out, she is a Lab.  Don't they swim to retrieve ducks in frigid lakes?  She has reverted to her old self by now and sits on the deck and howls, peeking in with those pitifully sad eyes.

I think about the nice pile of straw and pine duff, so soft, she has out there in the tack house.  With double walls and a windbreak, too.  It can't be that cold in there.  The there's the old chicken coop which also has nice soft bedding and the playhouse out there has a carpeted floor.  But she would prefer to sit on the deck, in the wind and the cold and lament her miserable fate.

I think sometimes we are like that.  We have a pretty good life and all that we need but we start looking in the windows of people who have a more comfortable set up and suddenly our life doesn't seem so good anymore.  We want more.  Maybe we want someone to give it to us or maybe we will do whatever we can to get it, including knocking over a couple of folks who are standing in the door.

I'm thinking that true happiness is being statisfied with life right here, right now.  That doesn't mean that I we shouldn't strive to be better or not accept a bigger and better thing when it comes our way... but just appreciate what is.  Look at what we do have.

Blessings!

The snow had been falling for two and a half hours when they finally dismissed early. The kids were thrilled. Twenty minutes after the kids had gone I headed out, too. As I passed the big window I glanced down to see how much snow had accumulated and I saw my car below. Someone had cleared my car of snow! All of the remaining vehicles had been cleaned.

It wouldn't have taken my but a few minutes to do it myself. It wouldn't have delayed my journey home much, wouldn't frozen my fingers much. But someone had done the small task for me. Someone had weathered the chill wind and trapsed through the snow from car to car to do a nice thing that they would not likely be thanked for.

I can't tell you how that small thought alleviated some of the stress I was feeling about the winding, hilly backroads drive home. It stayed with me even as I backed down the big hill twice after not being able to quite make it over the crest and having to take an alternate route. It lifted me to a smiley place that wasn't shaken even after taking twice the time to get nearly home. It warmed me even as I waited for Bo to come pull me out of the ditch 1/2 mile from home. :)

I kept thinking of the good stuff that went with all that had happened. We got out of school early (yeh!) and would not have to make up the day. My car was warm despite the cold and wind. No damage done to my car as my wheel left the road and sunk off the edge in the deep snow. I had my phone with me and it was charged. Bo had been home when I called and so was the Jeep, the only vehicle we have that could get the job done.

Life is good... and so are most people.

Bringing them back... that's what our annual ski trips are mostly about. Yes, Angus loves to ski and we go with friends that make the trip all the more enjoyable but what it is really about is bringing the family together again.

We've found that the boys will go to any efforts possible to make it back for the ski trip. If it's possible for them ot get off and get away; they'll be there.

It is a chance to be together with their brothers in a joyfilled event. It's an opportunity to see their Dad in a new light, too. They see their Dad having fun, not working. They see him playing... no expectations! They see their fat, ol' Dad out there showing them how beautiful skiing can be... they've mastered the game but not his finesse. They aren't father and sons as much as just men doing guy stuff. They love to ski together and ditch the girls. They bond.

I am not a part of that but I can see the joy in their eyes when they get back to the condo. They are wind-burned, limping and dog tired and the pure happiness is shining out of them.

It's a beautiful sight.

Snow tubing on the ski slopes... I loved it! We had a group of 17, no only 16 since we left Weiner in the Infirmary at the base of the mountain waiting for the Dr. to look at his brand new x-rays (broken ankle & knee).

The sky was darkening as we rode the Gondola to the top of the mountain. They told us the rules and sent us out to play. We could go down singly or in group. They'd spin you if you wanted to be spun, which I did, of course!

I slid down by myself, with Angus, with our whole group and even with a slope record-breaking group of 29. We could only get 28 people to grab on so one of the workers grabbed a tube, hooked on and shoved us off. I think he had more fun than any of us! I was near the back and could hear him laughing all the way down the hill.

My favorite slide was when I got to the top of the hill and all the women & girls in our group were waiting for me to grab on. There was five of us and they spun us and we screamed all the way down as if on a snowy rollercoaster. The silly screaming in the cold air made it all the more fun. What a release! Everyone was laughing, including all who watched. Ah, good times.

The best part of the evening though was not the exhilarating slides down the slopes but when they hooked my tubes on the pulley and I was slowly, gently pulled up the hill with a beautiful view of the snowy mountains beyond our hill. I was awestruck the first time. I felt so close to God and happiness. I used the minutes to reflect on the day, on life. I used the time to pray my gratefulness for all God has given and asking him to show me the ways I can return the favor... by showing me what I can do for him.

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good;
his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the greatest of all gods;
his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the mightiest of all lords;
his love is eternal.
He alone performs great miracles;
his love is eternal.
By his wisdom he made the heavens;
his love is eternal.
He built the earth on the deep waters;
his love is eternal.
He made the sun and the moon;
his love is eternal.
The sun to rule over the day;
his love is eternal.
The moon and stars to rule over night;
his love is eternal.
~Psalm 136:1-9

It was one of those miserable, wintry afternoons you just want to be lazy; glad you are indoors. Kev had flipped the channels of the TV 'til he found "The Bridge Over the River Kwai". Beau parked beside him. I wandered in, too, and settled into the big chair, SuzeeQ jumping into my lap. The woodstove had us cozy and warm. We had all seen the classic old WWII Prisoner of War movie (a true & fascinating story) many times but that fact just added to the comfortableness.

"Hey, the Japanese colonel is the same guy as the pirate in "The Swiss family Robinson", Kev stated proud of the discovery. Beau and I weren't sure. Kev disappeared into the basement and reappeared a few minutes later holding our ancient video tape of the old movie that had been a favorite of the boys so many years ago. He checked the info for the River Kwai movie on TV against the back of the video box for Swiss Family and proved he was right. Sessue Hayakawa had played both roles. In fact, both movies were made the same year, 1957. Good eye!

Suddenly, the old video was popped in and we were watching the Robinson's adventure once again...this time through the eyes of adults. As we watched we noticed things we had never noticed in the dozens of times we had seen it before. Like Kev said, "It would take them fifteen years to build a tree house like that with the tools they had." ...and how about that giant pit they dug to hold the tiger...imagine how deep and wide that would have been! Looking at it through the jaded eyes of adulthood we saw that it was, indeed, a fantasy...but when you are a child it seems so possible! It is the hope and love and passion for life and each other that give it the feel of realism... those parts were true and honest.

We remembered, we pointed out our favorite parts of the movie, we shared our favorite characters, we talked about the funny parts, we commented all through it...afterall we'd seen it many times so no need for shuushing. Our afternoon was peppered with "Oh, I remember this" and "I love this part". There was the recognition of brotherly rivalry mixed with brotherly love and loyalty. There was also singing.."O Christmas Tree" only Beaus sang it in German since he is a student of the language. "O Tannenbaum"

It was a beautiful afternoon that some might considered wasted and unproductive. They would be so wrong! Any time you have an opportunity to spend time with your almost-grown children, wallowing in memories and remembering the joys of their childhood you should snap up that chance and never regret it for an instant!

~~~~~Moments from the movie that I hadn't noticed before:

Father: First thing we've got to do is to unload the raft. Then, put up some sort of shelter for the night.
Mother: No. That's not the first thing.
{Then they all have knowing looks of agreement on their faces and kneel together in prayer.}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father: Don't you sometimes feel that this is the kind of life we were meant to live on this earth? Everything we need, everything, right here, right at our fingertips. You know, if only people could have all this and be satisfied, I don't think there'd be any real problems in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father (upon discovering that mother is willing to stay on the island after they are rescued):
It's amazing how unimportant things are when they isn't anyone around feeling sorry for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMEN!

The snow and cold had kept the schools closed on Valentine’s Day but the Wednesday evening Youth activities went on. There were less kids than usual but still a decent crowd. As the evening was winding down, Ryan excused the guys in the group and asked the girls to stay for a few minutes. They gathered around interested in what he would say. He told them how much God loves them and how valued they are by him. He suggested that teenaged girls take Valentine’s Day too seriously; take boy-girl relationships too seriously and that they need to be careful about that. He explained that boys often aren't ready for that kind of dedication yet.

He told them never to lose their own identity in a relationship. He reminded them not to lose focus on the One that really loves them and will never abandon them. He said a lot more, too, but basically he reminded them that having a boyfriend right now isn’t as important as they might be feeling that it is and not nearly as important as having a relationship with God. It was a beautiful thing that they needed to hear (often). Many girls practically worship a boy when they are going out and that scares the heck out of the boys. Boys just want to have fun.

Beau had a friend-girl that pursued him so long and hard that I referred to her (unkindly) as “the Stalker”. He eventually relented and went out with her although it didn’t last. He was not ready for a serious relationship and enjoys flirting too much. He broke up with her when she asked him what she could do to make herself more like the girls he flirted with, that she would change herself for him. Totally freaked him out! He was 15... he just wanted to hang out.

Anyway, Ryan ended his little session by bringing in a large vase filled with roses. They squealed with delight. He let each girl take a set of 2, one real and one artificial, tied together with a ribbon. He told them that they symbolized, together, the real and true love that God can offer them and also the eternal, unwavering, undying love that he has for them. It was a good message.

I heard the strange tap dancing sound coming from outside. I went to the window gazed down on the deck below but saw nothing. Suddenly I realized the sound was coming from above me. I leaned my cheek close to the glass and looked up to see a line of feathered tails bobbing from the gutter above. I suppose the birds were lined up drinking from the stream of melting ice flowing into the gutters. It has been in the 20°s today but finally sunny after days of cold. I went for the camera but the birds were gone before I returned.

When the weather gets like this, with freezing rain and ice and dipping below 0° at night, I hunker down at home and stay put. Leaving the house only to carry in the logs for the fire and to the dog and the chickens.

The animals I see from my toasty shelter, unlike me, seem to be more active than usual. The birds frantically attack the feeders and one another for the prime feeding spots. The squirrels come looking for the peanuts that I put out on the deck last week. The raucous Blue Jays and the parade of bounding, leaping, and creeping squirrels have already consumed those leaving only the cast off shells to blow off onto the icey grass below. They do their acrobatic Olympics, trying their best to beat the designer of the squirrel-proof bird feeders I have hung outside the kitchen window.

A rabbit hops up to the fence of the chicken run. He must smell the grain within but he is locked out and moves on. I look out later as I wash dishes and see a flock of cardinals pecking at the scratch I threw out earlier for the chickens. The chickens are in their coop staying out of the wind but the Cardinals do not seem to notice it. I see a Robin and a male Buebird hopping from branch to branch of the Hackberry tree above the old playhouse gobbling up the dried berries that stubbornly still cling to the twigs. He is about a month early and I wonder what that means. An early Spring perhaps? He has come to scout out a good nest site for his mate who will come later but today he is focused on the fuel that will get him through this cold spell.

I settle back into my chair with a book I have nearly finished and feel grateful for my warm and peaceful abode.

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked up at the sky. Something was different…besides the snow that had been slowly drifting down all afternoon and into the evening. I had headed out to lock up the roosting chickens for the night and then on to the woodpile to bring in enough logs to load up the woodstove to last the night. It’s a cold night so my mind was on how many logs I could carry and whether I would find the chicken water to be frozen. But something felt different so I stopped and paid attention.

It’s usually totally dark as I walk the same path every night, trusting the way to memory until my eyes adjust to the dark and I can see the porch light on my return to the house. I usually hear leaves rustling in the woods as nocturnal creatures scurry away at the sound of my approaching footsteps. This night there was not a star in the sky but it was bright out from the white snow covering the ground.

It was the complete and pure silence that had caught the attention of my wandering mind. As I listened I realized that I could hear the sound of the tiny pellets of snow hitting my knit cap! The snow was too fine to even see in the darkness but I could hear it. As I listened, an owl called out from a tree nearby and another answered from the deeper in the woods. The conversations went on for several minutes then the soft silence again. I looked around at the soft whiteness all around me. There were no angles anywhere to be seen and all was shades of gray. It was quiet. I was overwhelmed with a complete feeling of peace like I have never felt before.

It occurs to me that my life is filled with constant sounds. There’s the click of the keyboard, the hum of the computer, the whoosh of the furnace, the blather of the TV, the noises of machines and voices and even music. The sounds are so common and constant that a pure silence can grab our attention as much as a scream.

Peace be with you.