First Backpack Trip

This past Friday night, I took our two oldest children on their first overnight backpacking trip. We traveled to a nearby state park where we began hiking under cloudy skies. As we made our way past several scenic waterfalls, we felt some rain spitting at us. We continued our 3-mile trek up the river as the storm grew worse. We put up our hoods as rain increased and the sound of thunder and lightning grew louder. We spaced ourselves further apart and moved quickly along a high ridge scurrying to lower ground as rain began to pour heavily on us. Bravely, A & H kept moving forward inspired by the thoughts of shelter at camp and dry clothes. They did great! By the time we reached camp, the storm had passed and the nearly setting sun could be seen through the trees.

Warm, dry clothes and a hot dinner brought comfort and smiles to a tired group. We were the only people on the trail and at the campsite. We hung our food, said our prayers and slept well.

I was awakened by a woodpecker drilling nearby for insects. The morning sunshine filled the tent and showed promise for a beautiful day. We filtered water, threw rocks in the river, ate breakfast and packed up our camp for a hike back down the river. Blue skies, warm sun, reflecting water and freshly watered vegetation made the earth picturesque and our hike incomparable.

I learned a lot about my children on our outing - about their courage, their fears and their love for God's creation. We built confidence and trust in eachother and made lasting memories on this fun, weekend trip.

It's fun to come home some days and find a note strategically placed on my bed from one of the kids. Sometimes they're simply drawings and other times they include requests such as the one shown above. It's satisfying to see that time is often what our children crave.

Our Annual Family Spring Street-Sweep

For the past three years our family has adopted a portion of the street we live on to keep free of litter. Each spring we watch for the snow to melt off the grassy areas on the sides of the road in anticipation of our family ritual. At last in April the weather was conducive to dedicating our family night activity to collecting the trash on our street. We filled several grocery bags with all sorts of garbage that built up over the winter and had remained trapped under the snow and ice. Each time we walk, bike or drive down our street, we feel satisfaction in knowing we are helping to beautify our neighborhood and keep trash from collecting in sewers and running into our beautiful rivers and lakes.