Sunday walk

It was not your typical Sunday.

Normally, after lunch everyone's got to be quiet and the two youngest have to shut their eyes for at least 30 minutes. The littlest member of the family is usually asleep in that time frame. The next two have trouble falling asleep, although in rare occasions B does.

But this particular Sunday, even Mama was far from being sleepy and she was itching to take the entire family for a walk. Dear Daddy was not interested because after working hard a week, he couldn't resist that Sunday afternoon nap. So we left him resting on the couch in perfect peace and quiet, donned our hats and coats because it was cold, and went on a lovely family stroll.

A couple weeks ago I had read the book Money Saving Mom, so I thought it would be a good idea to take some plastic bags with us and pick up pop cans along the way.

We walked at a gentle pace, searching the side of the road for aluminum but mostly taking in the beautiful scenery. Of course, the cattle are always curious.

Braden loved to take the lead, be in charge, and be the first one to find the most, all the while talking to himself and keeping a happy composure,

while the rest of us followed his lead. Who knows what all he said to himself? But occasionally he'd fuss with Amber who kept the pace with him while we slower ones found cans they'd missed.

Finding beauty in our lovely world was indeed a joy as we marveled at God's perfect creation, thankful to be finding treasures in the winter.

Walking past this place - I wonder what stories this house could tell us, nestled in the valley so it was protected from the prevalent high winds.

While occasionally picking up cans and getting the worst of them for us from the dirt, Zach also kept whittling away with his knife, carving being a new hobby.

What joy when we reached our destination! We had such a great time together in fun and fellowship.

The sunlight felt so warm, just as warm as the friendship between sisters and brothers. They have bonded more and more this past year and are truly becoming best friends. Sure, they still have fights and scraps. But I am so thankful they are trying to be best friends more and more. They are maturing, all praise to God.

Braden was very delighted to find this Betty Crocker scissors. It was his treasure of the day and he couldn't wait to show his Daddy.

But wait, he found something else as he ambled over to the bushes and came out with a pair of shorts announcing to everyone what he had found on his fishing rod, declaring 'someone probably lost them while they were swimming!'. And we all laughed and laughed.

He finally left them sail on down the river at Mama's suggestion. Maybe they did fly off someone's wash line instead of while swimming, who but God knows?  

Amber carried her journal to record snippets along the way, lest she forget anything.

Finally, we decided to head back home and we discovered some neat things on the way back. Zach spotted this set of antlers, but wait, no it wasn't that at all. It was simply water from this drain that had iced over on some branches in the form of antlers. Now how neat is that? Thank you, Lord for this special gift.

You probably can't pick it out from this poor photo, but two deer on the left  gracefully danced toward the forest as a flock of about twenty turkeys on the right watched them disappear into the woods.

Yes, we were getting tired from walking as we dawdled on home, and I mean dawdled. We simply took our good ole time.

 Old treasures, old times, a now retired truck that probably served his owner well ~

By this time, our bags were REALLY full and we realized we should have been smashing them the first half of the way.

Laughter again, as Landon got hot from his beanie and took it off displaying his wacky wild hairdo that couldn't be tamed without water....

.... Zach carrying his treasure of the day - baler twine - and turning his hat around, yes around in a 360° turn. "That's what you can do, guys if someone tells you to turn your hat around," he declared.

 These are our treasures, our findings which made for a great day that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

 Even the dogs walked out to greet us.

Yes, this was only February but already - very early for this year - there have been plenty of signs of spring. A new season to be thankful for the promises of God, thankful for each memory we made that day, thankful for the health of life, thankful for being together.

I have been challenged to be thankful in ALL things, even when I don't feel like it. I'm still training myself in this area as I have for years and years looked at the gloomy side of things, picking out the bad of people and situations, rather than the positive. But God is working on me, changing me ever so slowly, and I have found more joy and peace in these past 5 years than ever before in my life.

And I thank the Lord for giving me such a compassionate, Mr. Steady Man, who has been ever so patient with me and has been a pillar for our family, giving us all the joy of laughter. Yes, it is contagious. Somehow whenever the boys are a little embarrassed, upset, or ticked about something, nobody else can laugh at them like their  Daddy and their sadness slowly fades, disappears, and before you know it - they're wearing a great big smile! No, he's not poking fun at them and they know it! What a gift - laughter! Thank you, Jesus.

Sometime, I want to read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts, but before I get a lot of ideas from her, I'd like to write my own list of one thousand things to be thankful for.

We as Christians have ever so much to be thankful for.