Happy New Year, and Happy Anniversary to us!

It's been 15 years of marriage...

Here is my deep pondering for the day. We spent our first summer being married living in the mountains of Montana in a tent, logging together...picking huckleberries to put in the morning pancakes, getting ready for my day as I watched the sun rise, washing hair in a freezing cold stream...being so grateful for a warm shower on the weekend at a friends house....Yes, those are actually some of the best memories, and, I think, a good way to spend the first months of a marriage together. While living up there I realized how little we really needed to be happy. A simple shelter, a warm fire, and some good food...mostly each other!! Those experiences of simplicity helped me form a perspective I have tried to keep in mind as we began raising a family.

So, here we are fifteen years and six kids later....

As we took a little getaway back to Montana last week, I was reminded of those simple pleasures that make life happy. We rented a forest service cabin out in the middle of nowhere. We had to ski all our stuff and kids in a 1/2 mile, so we were away from the road and civilization. No electricity, no running water, just us and the fluffy snow falling gently on the surrounding pines. (And an outhouse with a freezing cold toilet seat...do not sit down with a wet bum, or else!!) We were warm and cozy, and got to spend time together without any interruptions....Well, I guess my deep thought is...it doesn't matter the size of the house or the nifty things you acquire in life...what matters most is what happens inside that house and the love that is there. We had a fun 3 days, and I am so blessed to be surrounded by a great hubbster and 6 marvelous kids!

COZY TIMES.....