The Simple Things & the Gift of Time

You know, it really is the simple things that are the best; the things that are free that you already have at home.  I often get distracted by doing, by striving, by fancy curriculum & educational games & toys & movies...I sometimes forget about the value of the simple things...they provide fun & learning that is priceless because those simple things also tend to be relational; because it is a gift of your time.
I already know these things, but I forget when my eyes are dazzled by the glitzy.  Am I the only one?
Anyway, Sunday I looked around the house for things to do with the little girls-with that thought in mind.  We colored, we sat & played with the kitchen set & felt food, we read a stack of books.
I gave Alyssa a little can with  hole poked thru the top & some money.  She pushed coins into the slot with 1 finger for 40 mins.  She did it again and again for the next 3 days.  It's magical!  :)

We melted crayons in muffin tins.  They turned out so beautiful.

We played with magic modeling clay.

We helped Jonah check the sap buckets & let the sap drip onto our fingers right out of the tree & then licked them.


They helped me cook (which they do a lot), but I made sure I wasn't hurried-that's the difference!


I'm going to leave reminders for myself to dwell in the simple more often. 

Today we are doctoring up 2 injured ducks in the house.  A raccoon got into our henhouse yesterday-it left chickens without heads & the 2 injured ducks.  One of them is Susanna's favorite-she is hurt the worst, but I think they're both going to be ok.  It makes me want to cry to think of the terrible fright our poor hens & ducks must have gone thru.  That raccoon went on a rampage of destruction.  I don't understand why it took the heads & left the bodies.  I'm so thankful my son discovered this instead of Susanna.  She would have flipped.
I also have a funeral to go to.  My best friend's grandpa died.  He was 89 years old & still totally with it, but his kidneys failed.  His wife is 90.  Just a few years ago they went on an African Safari.  They were married for 65 yrs & lived life to the fullest.  Grandpa Booher was an adventurer at heart & his family said last night that he just went on the biggest adventure of his life now!  The calling hours last night was a celebration of his life. I'm sure the funeral will be the same.  
They took me & my best friend, Chris on a boat trip during Spring break when we were in college.  We traveled by boat along one side of Florida, to the tip & then back up to Daytona.  It was the best vacation I ever had.  They were/are amazing grandparents-very involved with their children, their grandchildren & their great-grandchildren--and their friends.  What a legacy of love they've left to their family-they really invested their time well.  
I hope I do the same.