NO PLACE LIKE HOME . . .

(What I wouldn't give to walk in lush, green grass again . . .)

I've just survived my first blizzard, and I'm not talking about Dairy Queen!  This day was a little surreal to me.  No school for the kids, no work for Ben.  We were all home on a Tuesday.  How often does that happen?  I felt like we lived in our own little world today.  No outside influences, except Little House on the Prarie epidsodes, but they're a part of our family (who doesn't love Charles Ingalls, or Pa, as we affectionately call him?).  I loved it.  I thought a lot today about how grateful I am to have a home.  How lucky our kids are to have a home.  And not just a place to live, shelter from the cold, but a home, a haven.  I embraced the feeling of safety, love, companionship that's felt in a happy home.  Sure we have our problems--I'm not blind to those--but there's a spirit of love that lingers notwithstanding.  As the mom I feel a great responsibility in that area, however short of the mark I fall at times.

So when it's my turn to say what I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving, I'm going to say, "Home."  Because I felt so strongly today that my home really is a sacred place.  A place to teach, to love, to learn, to serve, to forgive, to grow, to enjoy, to rest.