Wildflower in the Sun: Finally Online!

Bryce and I have been officially "plugged in" since last Thursday night. 1 week! I must say, we enjoyed no internet, and of course we never have TV, and it was hard to decide on whether or not we really needed/wanted it in our home. I know this seems crazy to most people, but we enjoy the simple life.

I like my simple and free cell phone, I LOVE having no TV, and I have really enjoyed sitting on our new couch and chair in front of our very fake fire just being with each other enjoying good conversation or even the sound of silence. We love going on walks around our lake or going out looking for animal tracks. We have the most beautiful view of the stars on nights where the clouds are not around. Orion is in full view right now. Not to mention, Bryce and I fell in love on our dark walks to and from work in Yosemite National Park. We made a fire on Christmas Eve in our backyard by the lake and enjoyed the above single digit temperatures. When you take away all the crazy distractions in life the world tells you to add you are left with a beautiful sense of simplicity. You are also left with conversation, creativity, and a special awareness to the little things we so easily miss in all the noise.

One of my favorite quotes comes from John Burroughs:

"To find the universal elements enough, to find the air and the water

exhilarating, to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening

saunter...to be thrilled by the stars at night, to be elated over

a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring -- these are some of the

rewards of the simple life."

The great thing about having internet in our house now is that we will be able to communicate with our families on iChat or Skype. We bought our MacBook a year in a half ago because Bryce's parents and sister's family have Mac's. You can chat so easily online with each other which is so nice since we have a 3 1/2 year old niece and a 7 month old nephew. We love our computer, but we haven't been able to use it for the main reason we got it in the first place because of our lack of proper internet. We now have the ability to see each other and talk to our loved ones because of this great thing called internet! This will be especially nice when the Kid comes and starts growing. We want our families faces to be familiar and for them to be able to see the Kid grow and do the little things that will make our hearts melt.

So now we are just intentional about not being on the computer all the time at home. We don't want to watch movies on Netflix every night of the week or spend hours roaming the web while there are so much better things to do with the people that are close enough you can touch. I also want to be aware of being on it when our Kid is here and awake. Sleeping is one thing but I just don't want to be the mom that is busy and just puts something in front of their children to entertain them while I do my own thing all the time on the computer or with whatever other not in person distractions there are.

This post has probably seemed wordy. This didn't all come up just because we were trying to decide on internet. It is just something that is going on and one of the many things I have been chewing on and figuring out. We are incredibly thankful for the internet we received from Bryce's parents. I know they read this, and I also know they completely understand with what I am saying and that it is more than just internet.

Alpine Glow outside of our office