Skipping Rocks

Tonight was Family Home Evening. We're not as diligent about planning FHE out in advance as we could be, but I don't let myself be bothered by it much, because at least we're having a Family Home Evening, right?

It wasn't part of any master plan, but we ended up taking all seven of our children out to a local lake to walk around the dam and watch the sun set and ... well, be together. I thought of a nice little devotional, but that didn't end up happening.

What did end up happening was this: my husband and all of my children (except the baby) skipped rocks. Lots of rocks. Their daddy took the time with each one - who didn't know already - to show them how to select a good skipping stone, and proper form for holding and throwing and skipping. It's sort of a shame that all the best skipping rocks end up at the bottom of a lake.

Some were great skippers, and some were plop-ker-plunkers, but no one cared. Even my toddler was in on the action, heaving every rock he could lift into the lake and exclaiming, "Boom,  bam, baby!" and "I win!" The children also scampered about, finding treasures of all sorts - rocks with cool shapes, or interesting colors, or crystals, driftwood, huge lily pads, cattails...the bounty of treasures was endless.

Who knew that skipping rocks was something everyone from age 37 to age 2 could enjoy? We had an endless supply of usable rocks, it seemed. The daylight was gone long before the rocks (or the enthusiasm) waned.

I am grateful for skipping rocks. I am grateful for a beautiful, balmy evening out of doors with my family, doing simple and enjoyable things. I am grateful for my husband, who is actually good at skipping rocks, because if it were up to me, we would all be plop-ker-plunkers, and that's not nearly as appealing. I am grateful for my family. They are my world. We only have so much time together before they all go their separate ways and start their own lives elsewhere. These small moments are precious to me.

What are you blessed with today?