Visit from Jeff and family

February 5-8, 2005

Monday continued in a holiday mode as we continued the February visit with Jeff and Darla and the girls.

Jordan and Ashleigh continued to enjoy the little playhouse in the back yard, but the mode of play has changed dramatically. Click on the image below to see play in 2001.

The present mode of play involves climbing on top of the house - Jordan looks like she's on top of the world. It also involved taking the roof off and filling the whole house with leaves!

On Monday afternoon we went for a walk in the woods behind the house. Ashleigh's delight at being able to climb a log is evident, and it was overall a time of joy for all of us.

The creek proved to be irresistable! Not an expected activity for early February, even in Atlanta, but the day was mild and sunny and the call of wading was not to be denied.

The delight of an unexpected adventure was evident with both girls. Jordan pulled up her pants legs for a while, but then just went splashing around.

The initial reticence gone, Jordan and Ashleigh plowed through the shallow water, investigating everything. They even found a very lethargic frog which had probably been prematurely washed out of his winter hibernation by recent heavy rains.

What were the elements that made this adventure to the creek such a time of joy? Brenda's comment upon seeing the pictures was that they seemed to have had as much fun here as they had had 3000 miles away in Yosemite and the Tuolumne Meadows. We reflected upon this - partly it seemed to be that Jeff and Darla took the time to take the girls on an adventure. Then they gave the girls a little more liberty that they would have expected, knowing that a warm house and showers where just a few paces away. But credit also has to be given to the delightful capacity of children to find joy in simple activities, and we adults just have to be led by the little children to find that spontaneous joy.