Camping and the Hand of God

Last weekend we went camping for the first time as a family (unless you count sleeping in a tent in the backyard while a tiny baby Ashlynn slept in the living room in her bassinet). You may recall that that night was...exciting. So was this one. Zeke slept well, but Ashlynn prefers a bed. She went to bed at 9:00 woke up at 10:00 and stayed awake jabbering at the campfire until midnight. Then we enjoyed a blissful four hours of sleep. Then 4-4:30 consisted of a lot of bouncing and whispering and singing (from Trustin and I) and a lot of howling, wiggling, screaming (from Trustin and I). Then I decided to spare the other campers and Ashlynn and I sprinted back to the car and drove around until she fell asleep...after 5:30. Then I parked the car and realized that in my run I had grabbed blankets for Ashlynn but none for me. So I slept curled up in the front seat turning the car on and off every fifteen minutes to keep the car somewhat warm.

But, it was worth it.

I loved seeing a bunch of old friends and reminiscing.

I loved seeing Zeke throw sticks and leaves into the creek and then jumping and pointing as they float off, taking credit when they catch speed and lamenting when they get caught in debris.

I loved that seconds after we arrived I set Ashlynn down and she instantly walked over to an old fire pit and transformed her little tan hands into black crayons which she quickly rubbed on her cheeks and my pants.

One of my favorite views in the world is the feeling of looking up through tree leaves into a contrasting sky. Shortly after we got to our campground I stopped under a tall red and pumpkin aspen tree and looked up through its boughs. Like I always do when look at this type of scene I found my thoughts brought to God. Yes, God created this. Then I looked down at my finger all wrapped up in a little charcoal hand, and up the path to the silly boy throwing his Frisbee (code for Captain America shield)at bushes. Yes, God created these. This is God's hand in my life. And yes, everything is worth it.