Cold Quiet moments

  I find myself thinking alot about this little blog and about how much I have enjoyed writing it. How I have so much to say but just haven't taken the time to put it into words. And then, I find myself reflecting over the last year of insanity my family has made it thru and I think of all the little moments that I didn't take the time for this or that... I guess that's what has been weighing on my heart and mind more and more lately. How much of our lives are spent rushing to get to next best thing, or the work that just "has to get done"? Are we are missing the joy in the little moments that are right here and now but soon to pass by and be gone in the blink of an eye?

  For those of you that don't know, (and how could you when I have been missing from this space for so long!) my family has been in quite the uproar with my husband's retirement from the military. It all started in January 2017 when we found ourselves needing to move out of our rental... only to find ourselves safe in the hands of God's plan for us! Most of our belongings went into not temp storage and we moved into our then vacant church parsonage! This year has been full of SO many ups and downs, both good and bad, exhausting and emotional times but when all is said and done so VERY blessed!!

Our year led us from that cozy parsonage behind an amazing little country church, to our camper parked in Idaho with dear friends, to a few weeks back and forth from Washington to Montana to Idaho and back to Montana on a job hunt that eventually led us to a job in central Montana where we would live with family for 3 months before FINALLY closing on our house! And now, we are trying to set up our home and find a new "normal" while being oh so homesick for our church family and 4h /homeschool groups. The thread thru all of this though is that God is so good!  He has provided for us time and time again and though things haven't always gone the way WE planned, we know that in His timing all things are perfect...

  Which leads me to this picture... for years we have missed our Alaska and the cold winters and snowy days/nights that go with it! Everyone keeps saying that we will get sick of it but I am of the mind set not to let those thoughts settle in my mind!!  We have missed the snow for over 11 years and in some strange way, I see it as a blessing...

  You see, when it snows as much as it has here in the last 4 days or so, you don't have any choice but to slow down, focus on what's important and take care of what really matters!! For us, it means staying warm in negative temperatures, making sure that our outside animals are cared for and keeping the snow shoveled or plowed before the next round of snow sets in!

  It is during these times of shoveling that I find myself having some great thinking time in the cold quiet moments outside. I think of the simplicity of shoveling snow and going back into the warmth of our home and how blessed we are to have it! I think about the irony that when we were in Washington, we had so many commitments we couldn't keep up with them all and didn't take enough time to spend more time with the people that matter so much to us. Why didn't we take the time for coffee with friends more often? Why didn't we have our favorite families over for dinner more? Why didn't I bake cookies to share with neighbors? Now I find myself with no activities or commitments and a beautiful house perfect for entertaining and yet now those people we are missing so very much aren't here to have over for coffee, or dinner.

As I was shoveling snow on numerous occasions in the last few days, my mind seemed to keep going back to that thought ...BE PRESENT. We all need to be more present and take note of the people we love while we can! This thought has been playing over and over in my mind and I want to figure out how to instill that idea in the heart of our kids while we still can so that they too can be more present in the here and now and to learn to reach out more, write a letter to someone they miss, or pick up the phone and call that special person... in a world full of technology with texting and video gaming you would think those things would bring us closer together not isolate people that are sitting right next to us while we "chat" with one word answers and smiley faces. I want to do better myself and I want better for our kids...more about my plan to do just that in the next entry....

This year has been hard but full of blessings and so many of those blessings have been people that God brought into our lives. This new year that is before us will be exciting and new and full of God's blessing too... I just hope we can all be aware and present so we make the most of them!