As I realized my son was crawling around in only a diaper in the middle of winter – and yet he was warm – I stopped and thanked God for heat in our home this afternoon.
In the past, a modern convenience such as heat, would have gone unnoticed. It was simply expected, assumed, understood to simply exist. Why is today any different?
One word: perspective. My perspective has changed.
The last house that we lived in had been built as a summer cabin in the 1940s. You can imagine how cold it was living there in the winter time where the average low temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit. No central heat, no insulation, no foundation, and situated on a lake where the wind would blow across and up through the floor. We installed a small wood stove into the existing open fireplace upon moving in, but even with a roaring fire, we froze. our. butts. off. {side note: we didn’t have kids at the time we moved in, thankfully!}
Today we live in a home with heat adjusted by a simple knob in each room to regulate the temperature exactly to our liking. It is such a blessing!
I look back on those days in that little lakeside cabin with thankfulness as my experience there has helped shape me into who I am today. Being grateful for heat is merely a glimpse of the perspective I gained from those five years.
Thank you, Lord, for eyes to see even the small things that we so easily take for granted. Thank you for perspective.
This past weekend, we packed up the kids and headed out for a day hike. We were so blessed to have 60 degree weather with blue skies and sunshine and wanted to take full advantage!
We’d never been hiking at Cougar Mountain before and chose it based on the fact that the trailhead is only 30 minutes from our house, didn’t require a Discover Pass and seemed reasonable for small children. Based on this site, our trek was about 2.5 miles in length.
Below is a small portion of the map located at the parking area. Lots of trails to explore!
This was our first hiking experience with two heavier kids. We weren’t sure what to expect out of Annabelle – when we first started on the trail, it was up hill and she acted deprived of being outdoors. She dawdled and talked and talked and took her sweet time. We gave up hope of making it to the falls and decided it didn’t matter anyway, she was happy to be outdoors.
Suddenly, I had this thought and decided to tell her that baby jaguar needed our help at the waterfall just like in her Dora story. Amazing how something so little could get her attention and give her the motivation she needed (along with the trail grade evening out making it much easier on her little legs).
Obviously, we made it to the waterfall and Annabelle walked about 3/4 of the trip before we put her in the backpack and I put Elijah in the Ergo on my front. He fell asleep and the hike back was easier and faster as we were packing both kids on us.
We had a wonderful time and all slept good that night! The sunshine and fresh air was just what each of us needed. We’ll definitely go back again and do some more exploring!
