OH! Didn't {s}he ramble?

Oh, hello there!  Yes, I know it's been awhile and if you're reading this I have to thank you for putting my little blog into your reader, because with out a reader I'm sure I would be lost to the blog world forever and ever.  (Speaking of, have you switched to a new reader since Google Reader is going away?  I'm using Feedly and like it very much. If you haven't made the switch, do it now!)

Do you recognize the title's reference?  Here's Harry Connick Jr.'s version  There are others, but you just can't beat Harry.

In order to get my writing mojo back this post will likely be full of randomness and more or less a brain dump.  You've been warned.

~~I started packing.  For you who don't know, we are moving back to the Midwest in one short month.  Since we've moved the embarrassing number of times of ELEVEN in our 15 years of marriage I've become really good and purging and packing.  Nothing like a move to make you realize how much junk you truly have housed in a home for only five people.  And oh the toys!  WHY have 9.3 gazillion toys when the boys play only with LEGOs and the girl just listens to music???  I've convinced them that if they get rid of stuff we'll have a garage sale and they'll get any proceeds from their stuff.  Cash talks.  Now, after a few weeks of packing and purging I'm seriously thinking about just giving them each twenty bucks if we can just tow it all the thrift shop.  Sure would be a lot easier.



~~With each move I realize things I will do again and things I will do differently.  We have had all kinds of moves.  Once, our company paid for the full deal.  Packers came in and packed every single piece of crap we had, loaded it into the truck and drove it to our new home, unloaded it all too.  I thought this was awesome until I started unpacking and realized they packed a trashcan with trash in it.  Wha--?  And that I had no idea where to start unpacking because I hadn't packed myself.  Several times we've done it all ourselves.  Two-guys-and-a-truck sort of deal.  This time I think we have the best of both worlds.  We are packing ourselves, but we have movers to do all the heavy lifting and driving.  We'll see...

~~Currently, if I'm not packing, I'm usually shuffling kids back and forth from school, the soccer fields, piano, here, there and yonder.  Saturday is our last round of games and I am thankful.



~~I've started running again.  I have been surprised to see how long it's taken this sprained ankle to heal!  It's still sore after I run, but that's expected.  It feels like it's getting stronger, though, so that's a blessing.  But running.....dang, I am sore!

~~I am reading Stephen King's On Writing. Note: this is not a novel and therefore no psychotic, deranged, monster-like folks in this one!  I went through a Stephen King phase in high school where I didn't sleep for about four months while I read Pet Cemetery and The Shining.  And it's not that it took me that long to read them, just that that's how long I couldn't close my eyes when the lights went out.  I don't do horror very well.  But this book, oh it is good!  If you can gloss over some seedy language it's just perfect for encouraging a writer in the craft.  I've had the seed of a story lurking around my mind for about five years now and I think I'm ready to put it to paper.  You should read On Writing if you've ever had a hankering to write.

~~Spring has finally come to the mountains.  We are having rain showers to help fill our rivers and encourage our flowers to bloom!  It's lovely. 

Happy Thursday to you!

Sun's rays

Prayer on the bike path

"I'll pray for you."

How many times have you said that?  How many times have you had it said to you?

My guess is you've said it, and really meant it, many, many times and have had it said to you and those folks meant it, too.

But then...do you really pray?  More than a little, "Lord, please help so-and-so" ?  I know there are those out there we would call prayer-warriors and praise God for them.  But I think they are a rare breed.  I think most of us, and I am absolutely including myself in the us, aren't.  I pray for dinner, I pray when I am stressed or in a jam, I say "Thank you God!" when something great happens.  But I don't spend time in prayer the way I should, the way God wants me to. 

Do you?

Last week I was walking with a friend and I was sharing about all the things that needed to be done before we moved.  She took my hand right there in the middle of the bike path and prayed for me and our family as we walked.  Our eyes were open and we kept on walking and it was so powerful.

Then yesterday, at church, another woman took me aside and prayed for me right then and there after asking about our move.

Prayer.  Out loud.

It felt awkward at first, maybe a little out my comfort zone if I'm being honest.  I'm a quiet person, somewhat reserved, but these ladies were not quiet or reserved in those moment when I needed prayer.  How amazing and powerful and loving to be prayed over right there, hearing the words spoken, feeling their love and compassion for you, knowing that they're promise to pray for you is true and real and won't be forgotten in the next second.

Hadouken!

Last week (before the snow came) we were lucky enough to have a day off from school.  We spent most of it at the park with a friend.  We tried our hand at Hadouken and it was really fun!

A Visitor

We get to watch Lucas the dog for some friends while they are escaping the snow for a few days.  I think he is so stinking cute!

Ruby does not.



They are adjusting to each other now, however, and are on their way to becoming resolved.

The Hut Trip That {almost} Was

Spring may have technically started the 20th of March, but apparently someone forgot to tell the snow clouds to go away already.  It would seem Spring forgot her appointment with most everyone right now.

Sunday our family had planned a hut trip for the night.  Snowshoeing up 3,000 feet for 2.6 miles (which sounds a lot worse then it really is), we were going to be staying in Walters Cabin for the night.  We started off early Sunday with the hope that a slow and steady pace with plenty of small stops for the kids would get us to our hut by early afternoon.  The night before brought us a fresh bank of 18-24 inches of powder up on the mountain but we started off with high hopes.

The beginning part of our hike was great, and even though the temps were in the teens with lower wind chill, we even stopped to take off a layer.  The sun was keeping us company!


And then we turned a corner and the wind met us at about 20 mph and the sun disappeared.  Adam was breaking trail for us.  Breaking about 2ft of fresh snow is not easy.  Add a nice chest cold for him to that and we had a doozy of a time. 


We finally stopped for lunch after about an hour and a half.  The wind was picking up even more by then, and it was getting colder by the minute.  After a quick bite, we all decided to turn around and head back down.  OH, were we ever disappointed!!  Even with all the elements against us, there was part of me that was regretting our decision to quit.

Our consolation prize was a fire pit and s'mores at home that night.  Our town was still boasting sun, warm temps and no wind--go figure!  Four thousand+ feet in elevation can do that.

The next morning we woke up to a few inches of snow.  And it just kept snowing.  It didn't ever stop the entire day.  We must have gotten over a foot of snow!  Vail Pass was closed the whole day, which is the part of I-70 we would have had to drive down to even get home from the hut, so we absolutely would have been stuck up there!  The higher mountains got even more snow the night we would have been in them, so breaking trail again would have been an issue, low temps and high wind.

God is sovereign in his plans--He was getting us out of those mountains before we could get stuck or in trouble!


Sprite and me still smiling even with the elements against us.  It was still a fun time together as a family and definitely memories were made!

Yesterday, all the snow melted and now it's snowing again today.  Hello? Spring??  It snowed so much in Vail that even though this past Sunday was supposed to be the last day the mountain was open for skiing, they're going to open for another weekend.  Wow.  That's some snow!

What's it like in your neck of the woods?

Risk

Inaugural game of Risk.  I know they look bored, but they were really into it, even Sprite!  They played a "short" version, so it only took 4 hours....versus, what? Nineteen? (that's what I asked)