Our Whole Family at Spearfish Canyon Falls

 A friend called me today, and when, after conversing a while, I told her that I had the phone in one hand, and with the other I was unpacking a cheese press that I had been given for my birthday, she asked, "Why aren't you sitting down resting?" 

I could have told her, "Because you are talking too long," and I can just hear her merry laugh the way she does when she is tickled. 

But really, as long as I can get around, I try to be industrious and useful, but right now, since Jonathan and Danny won't be home till a bit late, I will indeed sit down and rest by blogging and sharing some beautiful moments from last weekend. Jonathan wanted to do something extra special for me since my 60th birthday is coming up--which is unbelievable. And so he planned a weekend for the whole family in the Black Hills not far from Spearfish Canyon Falls, to which we hiked Saturday morning. 

We could not get over how incredibly perfect the weather was--a heavy, wet snow on Friday, the day we arrived, but warm enough that the roads remained clear, as did most of the paths we had to walk on Saturday. 

What a beautiful birthday gift from the Lord to both Jonathan and me (whose birthdays are only three days apart) to get to stay a couple days in a winter wonderland like this--and yet have the roads be clear! Because where we stayed had some very steep mountain roads and streets, and I would have been almost dying of fright had they been icy--like they were last night in the mountains near Black Canyon of the Gunnison, where our Tim ran into black ice on a curve and nearly ended up in Black Canyon! (I had literally imagined that happening as I went to bed, but isn't it wonderful that a mom with imagination running wild can put her son into the care of God and His angels and sleep all night?)

Bad roads where we stayed would have been extra dangerous because we were hauling a cargo trailer around after having to pick up in Rapid City a second load of security doors for the mission churches before the business closed early for the weekend and before we headed to the mountains. 

Gratefully for us, our roads were just wet, as you can see in this photo Jonathan took of several of us taking off for a walk Friday evening after the snow quit and before we gathered in a circle to play Catch Phrase, a new game I really enjoy. 

Morning found us enjoying the fresh aspen leaves in the sunlight not far outside the windows,

and baby Ellie with the snow in the background. 

Some of the family had forgotten to think of boots because the weather has been so terribly dry and even HOT, that we have almost forgotten what it is like to need winter coats, boots, and gloves. But thankfully, the paths we hiked were almost completely clear of snow as well as hardly muddy at all. 

Spearfish Canyon Falls was epic in the fresh snow. We had visited here last fall with just five of our South Dakota family, but this time, we had all the family, as pictured above. 

And here are the two birthday people! And more pictures to come!