warmth

I loved tonight. A fire in the fire place, my family, and no electricity put true joy in my heart. We spent time with friends at their house after church and then went together as a family to the grocery store. It was raining so very hard when we got out of the grocery store, but having Tim there to get the van and load it was such a blessing. The kids and I had been planning on asking Tim to make a fire in the fire place all afternoon, and Tim happily accepted the job. We got some free firewood from Tim's parents a couple of weekends ago, and I have been desperate to use it.

I used to dream of living in a house with a fire place. I grew up living in a mobile home. I had everything I ever wanted and certainly anything I needed, but we would spend time every once in a while walking through open houses. I would pick out my bedroom and big closet and dream of having a fire place one day. As I sat in front of the fire tonight, the warmth and the peace that came over me as I stretched out in front of it brought me so much joy. The kids asked to watch Space Buddies, our Netflix movie, and eat a homemade cookie they made with Tim yesterday. They had asked for chocolate milk at the grocery store, and although I did not buy any, we decided to see if we could make our own (without having to use high fructose corn syrup, that is). Cocoa, milk, water, and a little sugar later, and we sat down to our movie, homemade chocolate milk and cookies, and a fire in the fire place.

Before bed, Tim asked that the kids help clean the living room. Working on that as a family and hopping into bed seemed like a great end to the night. Soon after the kids got in bed, the electricity went out. Kendall fell asleep quickly, and Tim ended up getting lots of extra time spent with Isaac, as he was very fearful about the storm and the darkness. While Tim was with Isaac, I lit our oh so familiar candles from last month (lol!) and snuggled up in a blanket by the tiny tiny fire that was still burning with my book. Tim and I talked and read and had a great time with the stillness in the house for an hour or so.

The lights are back on, and I am so grateful to be reminded that I am living my dream. Not all of my life is a dream. There are certainly unexpected and unwanted components, but a lot of my life is what I dreamt of as a little girl. I am going to get in my bed under a warm blanket and do all I can to remember the warmth I felt from the fire and my family this evening.