Thought for the Day

I read something today that made me smile...

“We need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.”

Don't we all get too caught up in the rushing around from thing to thing... all good...(some not)... at different times in our lives?

No time for resting... being silent... or contemplating the reason for it all... Remembering that we, in ourselves, are nothing. Here today... gone tomorrow...

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness
with their children's children...
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalms 103:15-18

It is easy to forget that.

Life rushes on and we just simply live it... without thinking... just... living life...thinking we are entitled...living with the knowledge of God...without Him as Lord of it.

I truly believe God has more for us in life than all the "good things" we feel we need to fill it with as we rush to achieve the best for our lives and the lives of our children.

How do we eliminate hurry from our lives?

A good question to ponder for a while... Any suggestions?



This afternoon, we enjoyed a slow walk and just rejoiced in God's beauty and found joy in the simple things just outside our door...

Our walking path is lovely...

Amazing colors don't last long in Idaho.
They blow away all too soon...

Or are robbed of their last moments of beauty by small children "helping"...

Taking time to savor the moment...

We did not hurry one bit!

Swine Flu

Well, it has been an interesting two weeks! Swine Flu came to our house and turned us into coughing, feverish messes for too long...




The upside is that we have slowed down for a while. We all need to do this now and then. Being still and resting our mind and body is essential for a healthy soul.

We have spent our time trying to keep up with school, reading Lamplighter books, watching old classic movies and just snuggling young sick ones in front of the fireplace or in our comfortable fluffy bed...



Yesterday Thomas and I felt well enough to walk slowly down our walking path lined with trees of gold and auburn. The air was clear and warm... we collected a few treasures along the way...

Taking A Rest

It's time to put the garden to rest for a while. Every living thing, in it's time and way, must rest and rejuvenate in order to produce good fruit.

Tonight the air will dip into the 20's and I am afraid what is left out there tonight will be dead in the morning. So, I went out and harvested what I could and bid my farewell... until next Spring!


Some lessons learned:

* I realized that six tomato plants are a bit much for one family...

(I fed the neighbors; canned sauce; froze a ton of them and still have more!)

* Next year I will be extra careful...
not to plant "wild" sunflower seeds in my boxes again.

(I did not intend to... perhaps the birds helped me out a bit)

* I must definitely start earlier with my greens in the Spring...
we loved them so...

* I will make room for strawberries...

* ...and maybe some bush beans...

* One, and only one, Zucchini plant is all anybody really needs!

This growing season has been a time of hard work and lots of enjoyment of the fruits of our labor! There is nothing more satisfying than feeding my family with the fresh home grown produce from our own little garden... I am thankful I had the opportunity to plant some seeds and watch them grow...

Happy Birthday Dad!

Pop Pop Jake getting a bit of Birthday Love!

We love you and enjoyed our short, but sweet, visit with you this week....

A Wild Weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity...

Sarah has been studying Bears over the past month. The small Science Club we belong to decided to take a field trip to "Yellow Stone Bear World" (near Rexburg, Idaho) and the Wolf and Bear Discovery Center (in West Yellowstone, MT). It was a great day of learning about bears and their habitat. What a great way to have fun together and enjoy some "hands on" learning in the process!

Yellowstone Bear World is a zoo of sorts. It's main goal is to share wildlife that are common to Northern Idaho and Montana. They have a small drive-thru "safari" of sorts. As well as a large petting zoo filled with some usual and not so usual animals.

Sarah and the Noisy Pig!

Thomas feeding the deer...

Our families had a lot of fun watching the bears up close
(from the safety of Kronz Family RV).

Thomas at the helm... on the lookout for bears!

DON'T FEED THE BEAR!

The next day we were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend some time at Yellowstone National Park.

Later in the Day at the South Entrance of the Park

The air was a brisk 22 degrees. It was beautiful...the steam rising from the lakes and streams as well as the thermal activity was amazing... We saw a Bison that walked right by our car on the road. I dared not get out to find the camera! Elk were plentiful as well. The bears were elusive.




The highlight of the day was Old Faithful! We had fun checking out the Historic Old Faithful Inn and shared a meal with our friends from back home.

A fun time shared with the best of friends...

Sarah enjoying her first glimpse of Old Faithful

The Historic Old Faithful Inn

Sarah making friends with the Elk

Later, as the temperatures came up, we enjoyed a few excursions by West Lake on our way out of the South End of the Park toward the Grand Teton National Park.

The Continental Divide!

A walk along West Thumb

Thermal Activity near West Thumb

I love watching my family walk through the forest...

The Grand Teton's...

Another State!
Sarah and Thomas at the border of Wyoming and Idaho

It was a very full day... but worth every mile!