my ungratefulness meets a first s'more

I went into last week with ungratefulness.  I didn't realize it until I was trying to explain Thanksgiving to Acacia.  "We thank God for everything He's given us."  I gave her my sunday school answer- "like  our family, and... and, um, uh..."   I was stumped, I couldn't think of anything else.  What do I have to be thankful for?  Maybe if life was perfect, I could be thankful; but my kitchen is seriously cramped and the sink is tiny, the multi-purpose room I'm sitting in right now is overrun with chaos and I don't know what to do about it, everything is not just the way I want it.  I know; I'm horrified by my attitude, too.  I am only thankful for the things that I can have my way.  Gulp.  Dangit.  There it is again, my selfishness revealed.

Then I listened to this; oh, and I read this.  And I realized what gratitude was, and I chose it.

Blessing #0001 God's grace when I need it the most.

And so the weekend was off to a good start.  Thanksgiving day we spent with some very good friends.  The entire day.  Noon until 7pm.  It was delightful.  And I only brought a couple things and didn't have to think about housekeeping or hostessing or turkey or hassle.

Blessing #0002 Friends that help share the load.

For the remainder of the weekend we decided we wanted to escape just a little bit, but we set some parameters.  It couldn't be far away, it couldn't cost more than $50, and it couldn't be too much hassle, and we had to be back for church on Sunday.  Impossible, you say?  Nope!  We found out that Oleta State Park has rustic cabins for $50 a night.  They are very simple, but they had two things we were looking for: a fire pit and beds. 

We quickly packed up the car and drove the 15 minutes over to the park.  Checked in, got firewood from the ranger and hit the trails.  Yes, hiking/mountain biking trails... in Miami.  I know, weird.  Well, hiking trails lined with sea oats and mangroves.   And some of the trails led to the inlet beach, so I guess that's kinda awesome.

When the sun started to set, we headed back to the cabin, started a fire and roasted hot dogs and finished up with s'mores.  It was perfect.  The joy and delight of someone's very first s'more is something awesome.   The kids fell asleep and Braj and I enjoyed the quiet and the fire and using the old lantern that has mostly just been a decoration.  We talked, we watched the fire, we sat together, and we were quiet together.

The s'mores were such a hit that the next morning we lit up the fire again and had s'mores for breakfast. 

Jackson followed them up with some cold beef lil smokies sausages.  Barf-o.  

 

I have to add this one.  This is the face I got when Braj said, "smile like a princess."