Last weekend we went up to Brian's parent's cabin to cut our Christmas tree and it was an adventure, to say the least, but full of good memories and spiritual lessons for our family.
The roads were icy and our van wouldn't make it up one particular hill. As Brian was making an attempt at the hill Emary got carsick and threw-up all over herself, the seat, and her blanket. So I crawled into the back and cleaned her up as best I could with wet wipes. Meanwhile as the kids complained that the car smelled like Cheetos now, Brian made a second failed attempt at the hill. BreeAnna decided we needed to pray and so I told her to go ahead. Our third attempt was successful, and BreeAnna learned that Heavenly Father hears and answers her prayers.
We made it to the cabin where I remembered that the pipes were now winterized so there would be no washing machine to clean the carseat cover. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa had heated some water from the well on the stove so we got Emary cleaned up and she went ahead and had pizza, popcorn, and juice without a problem. Brian spent over an hour scrubbing the carseat and washing clothes and blankie by hand.
The next day as we prepared to go out and cut the tree Brian and I both had a feeling that we should bring a water bottle. Not knowing where to find one in the cabin, we both took a long drink of water and piled into Grandpa's truck. As we were about to pull out, Grandpa said, "We need to bring a water bottle," so he found one, filled it and returned and we went to cut the tree.
The entrance to the road we take to get our trees is blocked by a locked iron cattle gate, so we have to park at the gate, climb over and hike in to get the tree. The tree cutting went fine until we hauled the tree back to the gate and began to climb over. Grandma was helping Aaron get over the gate when he noticed that snow had piled on the top of the gate. He decided he would take a lick...and his tongue got stuck. Grandma didn't know so she kept trying to push him up over the gate and he began saying, " Hewp! Hewp! I'n tuck!" Brian looked to see the problem and yelled for Grandpa to go get the water bottle. We were able to get Aaron unstuck with minimal damage to his tongue (sorry, no pics. When there's blood I don't go looking for the camera first). Grandpa said, "Now I know why I felt like we needed to bring a water bottle." Aaron learned that God knows what will happen to us and is eager to prepare every needful thing for us in our time of need, and Brian and I learned once again to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
And here is the fruit of our efforts.
How grateful I am for our family traditions that give us a chance to build memories and learn lessons that will never be forgotten.
