We had a good weekend. Saturday we went to Jon and Alicia's and trekked in to their maple syrup operation in the forest. And what a trek it was – the snow was melting, and every other step we fell through the snow. Had a few laughs, wondering if we'd ever make it! It was a marathon, to say the least and we were worn out by the time we basically crawled to the site. Afton, Jack and Ivy were there, as well as Aunt H. and Uncle F., cousin Steve and Becky and their children, and the Pirate. The Pirate came because he thought he would see me there. When I arrived, he said, "There's one of the pretty people." That's what he calls me – he's sweet. We spent the afternoon and early evening around the boiler unit watching the sap boil, although the men did a bit of work gathering sap and stoking the fire. I will never complain about the price of maple syrup again, after seeing how long it takes to boil sap into syrup. They have 88 trees tapped. The kids played on the swings and hammocks that their fathers had set up for them. The babies slept in the hammock and the sled. A playground in the forest. Here are some pictures of the operation.

A weekend to be thankful. I'm reading Carol Kent's book, A New Kind of Normal, and one of the chapters is on having an attitude of gratitude. I thought I'd list some of the things I was grateful for this past weekend:

• The process of waiting and watching the sap boil down
  
• Just 'being' with family
  
• Going to Gram's restaurant in Centreville at 8:30 in the evening with the clan, tired out from the day in the forest
  
• Breakfast served to me on a tray by Afton with her mom's help. Alicia is such a great mom, teaching her children to be thoughtful
  
• I was able to prepare lunch for everyone
  
• Sitting on the floor playing John Deere tractors with Jack. He pretended he was "John Deere" tractor, and I was "Corey the Combine"
  
• Holding Ivy in my arms, sitting on the sundeck, while she ate a baby cookie. Every once in awhile she would turn around and smile at me
  
• Watching Jon and Alicia finish the maple syrup to its final stage in their kitchen. Seeing how much they love each other
  
• Making maple taffy in the snow
  
• Having Jon come over and hug me, just because he thought I needed a hug
  
• Hearing Jack say grace
  
• Eating at the table with Jack and Afton, and having Afton say this to me: "You need to eat a lot of fruit, Gram Deb, so you can get rid of that cancer and grow some hair." Out of the mouths of babes… I think I'll heed her advice
  
• Spending time with Doug – in the forest, sitting on the couch and in the car, just being together, and sharing our lives with our children and grandchildren
  
• Taking videos of Afton as she 'hammed' it up for me
  
• Thoughts of when Natalie and Aiden arrive next week

  
   

  Thankfulness – we need to be thankful for what we have. I realize that I have a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed me richly.