What do you do with a blizzard?

 Yesterday we got two feet of snow. Living up the canyon, you would think we would have the sense to have a four wheeler or tractor, or maybe a snowplow! But no. 

So here I was after a 2 foot blizzard. Snowplowless.  So I did the only thing I could do in such a circumstance. I complained. 

I put it off.  I looked at my neighbors driveways: they all had tractors and four wheelers and their driveways were all perfectly clear. They may even have a snowplow or two hiding in their garage. Couldn't they see me out here -a mom with five kids and a two month old baby?

 I started my snowblower, but the snow was too heavy for our puny blower. 

I started shoveling. I shoveled. And shovel. And shoveled.  I figured my neighbors were all in their cozy warm houses watching me use my puny shovel to tackle 2 feet of snow. I could see them in my mind's eye watching me while they sipped their cup of cocoa by a crackling fire. Probably laughing.

But snowplow or not, the snow was here, and my only option was to shovel. And shovel. And shovel. 

But while I was shoveling, I noticed the silence and the beauty of the frozen world around me. After a while, my kids came outside to play. We shoveled together. And then they built a cave from the large snow piles I had shoveled. They built two caves and joined them through a tunnel in the middle. And while I was shoveling I watched them and I knew that they were able to build their snow caves because of my efforts. 

Shoveling wasn't my favorite thing to do, but in doing so I made it so we weren't trapped at home, and my kids were able to make something beautiful from my efforts. 

After I finished, I jumped off the roof just for fun and landed in snow waist high! And then I went in to sit by the fire and sip my own hot chocolate while snuggling with my beautiful children. 

A snowplow or snowblower would be nice, but sometimes we need to rely on our own efforts. We don't need to blame the neighbors, we don't need to look for a way out. We need to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. In everything, we should do our best. 

Worth The Journey

My husband's out of town a lot, but sometimes we get to go with him. A.k.a: he drops us off for a few hours and we look around until he picks us up. And did I mention I have six kids under nine? Talk about excitement!

Yeah, the kids get tired, there are poopy diapers, and now and then someone gets lost - sometimes it's me that's lost.

It's challenging, crazy, and stressful, but so worth it. My older kids learn to help the younger kids and we get to see new places, create memories, and find out what we're really made of. 

Sure it's difficult. But would I change it? Not for a second! Sometimes in life we want to take the easy route, or get the most we can for minimal effort. But I've come to realize that anything worth doing takes effort. Nothing is easy. At least nothing worthwhile.

And sometimes that's what makes it worth our time: the challenge, the hard work, the struggle. That's what creates the memories, the love. That's what makes our journey worth it.