31 Days of Gratitude- {Day 15}- Saying Yes to the Mess

This morning, we had plans.  Plans to head to the library and to a bookstore.  We had just finished Kayla's school work and everyone was dressed and ready to go, and we were on schedule.  That's when we noticed the huge truck blocking our driveway.  Apparently they were doing some kind of yard clean-up around the complex...

Great. Just great. 

I could feel all my peace and joy beginning to flee my soul as I waited for the girls to have a conniption fit.  I had promised fun new library books and a trip to a bookstore we'd never been to and now there would never be time...

I called a "family meeting" to discuss what we should do since the plans were going to have to change.  Fortunately the girls (though a few of them had sour faces and a whine in their voice momentarily) were mostly o.k. with changing our morning up.  But then Kayla suggested painting the pumpkins that they had brought home from their visit to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Granddaddy last week.  

A great idea.  A fun idea.  BUT the MESS!!!!!!!!!!! 

I already have so much mess to pick up right now...

 I paused.

BUT, this month has been making a more intentional effort via the #31daysofgratitude challenge to seek grace out and look more closely at my life to find ways that I can be more thankful.  

So I took a deep breath, and said "Let's make a mess."

Ironically, they made almost no mess.  A lovely dose of humble pie for me to scarf down.  

Thanks for that, God.  Seriously. Not even being sarcastic. 

Well, not much...

Sophie chilled in her seat with a ridiculous singing birthday card, some cheerios, and an empty gummy vitamins bottle.  And the girls worked ardently on painting some lovely pumpkins. 

 

And since we already had paint out, I thought we'd add a fun little art project for the feast of St. Teresa of Avila in to our "messed up" (pun intended) morning.  

On half sheets of cardstock, I wrote out a few St. Teresa quotes with permanent marker and let the girls paint them.

Here are a couple of the finished products.  The girls were so proud of themselves and had a blast.  And the truck was gone when we finished painting so we still had time to rush on over to the library to grab a sackful of books for the girls to pore over this week.  

Thanks, Lord, for reminding me to slow down and enjoy the moment. 

Thank you for permission to get messy and love fully. 

Thank you for the opportunity to live out that beautiful quote of St. Teresa's:

"The smallest thing, when done for the love of God, is priceless."

This morning was truly priceless.  

Join the link-up this week over at Blessed Is She

It's all about God's Timing this week

31 Days of Gratitude- {Day 12} The Mountains are Calling...

...and I must go. 

-John Muir

Last week, my husband and I were able to get away

  ^^^  for a quick backpacking trip together to go here ^^^^

And we took the almost-10-month-old along because, well, nursing still.  And mommy anxiety has also set in (our kids always do this right around the 9-11 month period).  so she and I don't do overnights away from each other yet.  

We dropped the oldest three girls off for a few days with Nana and Granddaddy (my parents) and then headed to the Eastern Sierras.  As we drove north on 395, we passed by all kinds of really ugly, boring scenery, but we also saw cool stuff like in the picture below.  

I think this is Owen's Valley.  While Chris drove, I yapped his ear off.  And he sometimes offered a mumbled reply here or there.  haha. 

As we got closer and grabbed our overnight permit in Lone Pine, we got a nice view of the Sierras (Mt. Whitney is one of those peaks).  As you can see, lots of snow up there.  I mentally started panicking just a little.  Chris had mentioned snow, but suddenly I connected that it might not just be a dusting.  And I love snow when I can go inside and get a nice mug of hot cocoa after a few minutes of sledding, snowman-building etc., but backpacking means you don't have the luxury of a nice warm house to escape to with central heat.  As I gazed up at the snow high in the mountains, I was sweating because down in the valley it was like 90 degrees.  And then I just stopped worrying about hot OR cold weather for awhile and we got back in the car to drive to the trailhead and I yapped some more and thought about how nice it was going to be to get away for a bit and just enjoy the beauty of God's incredible creation.  

Almost to the trailhead, I wanted to grab this lovely shot of the beginnings of the fall colors we were seeing, but also got a nice, ugly piece of windshield in the shot.  haha. 

 

Even though it was still warm at the trailhead, I began getting some layers on Sophie so that she'd be snug as we hiked up into the cold.  The picture on the left is her bottom layer, warm tights and a short-sleeve onesie.  Picture on the right, we add a pair of her big sisters' REI hiking socks which are pretty much pants on her.  

And next comes another layer: long sleeve onesie and some pants plus those Robeez shoes. 

Yes, she doesn't match at all.  Yes, she is adorable.  

 

Chris left us with the packs and went to park the car in the lot where you were allowed to leave them overnight.  Sophie and I tried to get a selfie that showed us plus the pretty yellow aspens behind us.  We look pretty cute, but the aspens don't really show...

 

Chris arrived back and we grabbed our packs and began our trek up into the eastern Sierras.  And of course we got a group selfie of us at the beginning.  Sophie wasn't really cooperating.  She wanted to look around at all the pretty trees. 

The brilliant yellow of the leaves was impossible to capture on camera in a way that even came close to showing the vibrant, bold, beauty.  

As we amble along these mountain trails, leading upward into the mountains, I always think of some of my favorite Saint quotes....

 

 

I snapped a few more pictures trying to capture the vividness of the yellow (and some orange) leaves, but it was impossible.  These pictures are lovely, but you truly have to see it to grasp even a fragment of just how ablaze these groves of aspens were. 

 

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

-Albert Camus

As we moved further up and into the mountains, we followed a creek which eventually led to a large rushing waterfall.  Chris can tell you that I love waterfalls.  Love, love, love them.  Since the beginning of our relationship, he and I have been exploring in search of waterfalls.  And we were blessed to find several along this route; most small, one big. 

Eventually a few miles in, we passed into the John Muir Wilderness.  If you don't know much about John Muir, I recommend reading about him.  He's a really cool naturalist.  SOMEDAY, Chris and I WILL complete the John Muir Trail.  And I'm excited for that.  But back to our recent trip...

More beautiful fall colors.  It felt like a fantasy land; it was just. so. beautiful. 

As we journeyed along, my pack seemed so heavy and my shoulders ached.  We stopped from time to time for a few minutes to give my weary shoulders some relief for a moment or to allow me to nurse Sophie.  The long and winding trail eventually began to feel like it might never lead to the beautiful lakes that we had read were waiting up ahead.  

Then suddenly we arrived at the first lake.  

And it was beautiful. 

As we ambled further toward the second lake we noted that there was more and more snow on the ground.  So when we got just past the gleaming blue second lake (see the picture below), we quickly decided that it would be best to stay there for the night instead of trekking further in where there would only be more snow on the ground.  

So we set up camp and that is where I shall end my story for today.  This beautiful, incredible view of God's creation, this marvelous masterpiece painting of His, this peaceful stillness was exactly what we needed, if only for a moment.  

God is so, so good.  

31 Days of Gratitude Challenge {Day 1} Intro

Several people in a blogging group that I belong to had voiced an interest in participating in a 31 Day Writing Challenge and I thought it might be nice to accept a challenge to work on both my life and my writing.  

I was especially excited by an idea that my blogger friend, Bobbi over at Revolutionoflove.com has done in the past and is doing again this year to make the #write31days challenge about gratitude.  This month, I plan to write every day about the people and things that touch my heart and help me to see more clearly the love of God and to live it out in my daily life.  

I want to reflect more deeply on the small things about these relationships that are often overlooked.  I want to ponder the beauty of the world around me and the depth of my faith.  If you have a blog, or even just a journal at home, join in the gratitude party.  

My plan is to write each day about what I am thankful for in a series of categories of things that are most important and meaningful in my life, but are things that are so easy to take for granted.  

Those 4 categories will be:

Some days I may have much to write and some days may only be pictures, but I am excited to begin this journey of thankfulness for the life God has blessed me with, both the joys and the struggles.  This first post will serve as my introduction and a place to link to all the posts this month. 

 It is my hope and prayer that I will be able to live this quote of St. Therese of Lisieux whose feast day begins this month and this challenge.  

Day 2: San Diego Airshow Day

Day 3: A Good Dose of Humility

Day 4: Shannon's Bridal Shower

Day 5: Small Things

Day 6: Child Play

Day 7: Fall Hues

Day 8: Happy 3rd Birthday, Ava!

Day 9: Chair Re-upholstery

Day 10: Edgar Degas Study

Day 11: OktoBEERfest 2015

Day 12: The Mountains are Calling...

Day 13: Final Day of Grammy and Granddad's Visit post

Day 14: When Plans Change...

Day 15: Yes to the Mess

Day 16: Sophie 10 months

Day 17: Painted Skies

Day 18: Nutcracker practice

Day 19: Pumpkin Patch

Day 20: Losing Teeth

Day 21: Disneyland by Night

Day 22: JPII, We love you!

Day 23: Doctors and Tea

Day 24: When I Became his Girlfriend

Day 25: Saint Peg Exchange

Day 26: Blessed is She Sisterhood

Day 27: Waves in the Sky

Day 28: Costume Day at Ballet

Day 29: San Diego Zoo Safari park

Day 30: Costco and Friends

Day 31: Grateful

Barbara's Lake hike

Not all hikes go as planned.  This was one of them.  

We are very careful about planning hikes, and backpacking/camping trips.  You probably read in Chris' post about his trip with Kayla and saw that he researches carefully, has contingency plans, prepares for weather changes, and how he is a firm believer in hiking with others AND not pushing them past their abilities or comfort simply to reach a destination.  I was not surprised, but very proud to hear him recount his and Kayla's try at Mt. Langley.  They were so close, and yet, he didn't push her beyond her comfort because he fully understands that the point of hiking isn't to mark something off on some checklist or even to see the best views possible.  The point of hiking is to get out in nature to view and be a part of God's glorious creation and to make your own unique journey.  Sometimes the journey will result in seeing beautiful sights and conquering mountain peaks, but sometimes you will not make it to your proposed destination.  Sometimes things will not go as planned and you will have to change your plans and sometimes you will fall short of your goal.  But the trip is only a "failure" if you have a bad attitude and/or if you put your own life or that of someone else in danger because of your stubborn unwillingness to let go of your original plans.  Every hike is an opportunity to get out and appreciate the beauty of God's creation as well as keep your body, mind, and soul in shape.  Even if you don't get to the top of the peak or make it to that beautiful mountain lake.  

All that to say, the hike to Barbara's Lake was in many ways a hiking fail.  We didn't research as well.  When a hike is close to home, there's a tendency sometimes to do less detailed planning. We were never put in harm's way because of the planning, but we definitely could have avoided some extra discomfort and helped everyone maintain better attitudes with some different planning next time around.   There were a lot of expectations and there were a lot of bad attitudes.  Besides Sophie, I think just about everyone participated in that.  We did try at times to lift our poor attitudes to new and better heights, but we just didn't really ever get our attitudes properly adjusted.  

Barbara Lake is the biggest and only natural lake in Orange County.  I was excited to hear that we'd be hiking to a lake as most of the scenery in the near vicinity is very dry and desert-like.  Don't get me wrong, I actually love and appreciate that, but it is nice to have some variety.  

Without describing every detail, suffice it to say that there were expectations of a hike to a beautiful lake along a partially shaded trail with perhaps some wildflowers along the way.... 

We got to the trailhead around 9am and our first oversight was not realizing  how warm a day it was going to be and just how early that heat would set in.  It was hot from the beginning and almost no part of the trail was shaded.  Fortunately we remembered sunglasses (for everyone).  Unfortunately we did not remember any sun hats.   A good part of the hike on the way to the lake was also uphill.  Not usually a problem, but the kids all starting whining about the heat after about 5 minutes, so the fact that is was also uphill just kinda added to the overall negativity and general complaining.  

This delightful picture was taken in the first 2 minutes when they were still excited and not yet whining. So cute!

When the kids are all tired and whiny, I try to keep a good attitude and encourage, but it was relentless.  The whining only ever stopped for brief snippets and I agreed with them.  It WAS hot and Chris and I each had a kid in a pack, so it was really tiring and did I mention HOT?  All the attitudes started dipping even though Chris and I each tried at different times to raise the bar.  I tried songs, I tried asking the kiddos to name body parts and make animal noises.  I tried the color game.  All of those things worked to stop the whining for a time, but as soon as I stopped the "entertainment", the whines immediately ensued again and more forcefully.  

And then we reached the lake.  If you can call it that.  It was bone dry.  I mean, I realize we are in a drought and have been for awhile, but I was expecting it to be lower, not dry.  It was so dry, the earth was cracked in places.  

That is where the lake should be...I did take a brief moment to admire that little bit of lovely green of the plants growing in the lake bed....

But, as I looked at our "beautiful" hike destination, I could feel my attitude plummeting downward.  I tried really hard to find something positive to say, and pointed out the bottom of the lake to the girls, discussing how normally it's covered with water so you don't get to see what is actually there.  Meanwhile, inside my expectations were crumbling down around me and my own personal disappointment was creeping in.  I shed a few silent tears as I realized the hot, tiring, whiny hike we'd endured to get to there was not to be redeemed with a beautiful lake view.  That was what I had been holding out for.  So as we moved on to finish our lollipop hike, I mostly lost my cool.  

That painting was lovely though... :)

I complained about the heat and the poor planning a little and as I walked having to nearly drag along the once-again whiners, I had many a nasty thought to myself.   I still tried to keep the girls' spirits up a little, but I kept falling back into the negativity.  When we reached the trailhead, there were water fountains and we refilled our water bottles/cups.  It was then that I finally took a moment to breathe again and clear my head a little.  

We walked across the street to a nearby playground so the kids could swing in the shade for a few minutes, and I sat there watching Sophie giggle in the swing as her sisters took turns pushing her and realized that it was an opportunity lost.  

We could have all learned something from Sophie. 

 She was hot and sweaty in the carrier on my back, but she remained a quiet observer on our hike.  And when we finished she was the only one with a smile on her face.  Her smile slowly spread until we were all smiling and appreciating each other and the world around us again.  

 

                               

It reminds me of several Mother Teresa quotes, but especially this one.  

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love."