Quiet Thoughtfulness... And the Lack there of!

There is a quiet thoughtfulness about the country,
that the city thoroughly lacks.

We have lived in the city, or at least a bed room community, now for about three months.
The differences between country life and city life are extreme!

I have found the differences more than fascinating, especially now that I have seen a decent art of both worlds, living in each at one time in life or another.
I've found it easier to see the differences when I compare and contrast, and would like to share some with you. So.. I will walk you through a hypothetical idea of the day-to-day adventures of my week in both the country and city life (these scenario's also use a hyperbole)
Hypothetically, Monday morning:You roll out of bed around six-thirty in the morning. After lying in bed for a few moments you become more aware of the sounds, sights and smells surrounding you. The air is laced with the scents of wood, dust and organic-ness... it smells cold... Quickly you become aware of the icy air touching your nose.
Most winter days you try to stay in bed as long as possible, for as soon as you remove the warm pile of comforters and quilts, about four in all, you are eagerly greeted by an icy hug from Jack Frost and Miss. Winter.
The bare wood floors are positively freezing! As quickly as possible you put on a pair of ratty fleece socks over wool socks, before allowing the thoroughly cold floors to touch your already chilled toes.
You have a vanity table, or mirror, in your room, giving you the capability to almost completely prepare yourself for the day.
As you walk down the squeaky wood floors the dogs yap good morning at you, your little sister smiles and races over to you, giving you a morning hug and kiss on the cheek.
Mom is probably doing her morning devotionals in the dining room chair, which is precariously placed in front of the South-East facing window. A cup of coffee is lazily giving off steam, on the cherry wood coffee table, standing next to the chair mom is reading in.
Dad is eating his breakfast, then rushes to and fro, making sure all is ready to leave for work.
A loud thump announces the awakening of the two brothers. A few more thumps, a shriek, a bang against a wall... silence! Another shriek... Of course you are used to all these normally unnerving sounds. They are the noises that tell you every one is awake, and alive and well. :)
A hypothetical idea of a Monday morning, in the City:
The alarm clock trumpets you into reality: Monday Morning... You press the "dismiss" button on your alarm... 7:30 AM... You hear a car hurrying it's way down the road.

Snuggled deep amongst a down-comforter, the warmth of the room automatically gives you a cheery outlook on the day.
You look at the ceiling, listening intently to the silence around you... surely something... someone.. somewhere... is awake... The sweet aromas of sleepiness, clean laundry and coffee dripping into a coffee pot surround you.
The air smells warm... Not hot.. a little cool, but not cold. You prepare yourself for the day.
You can hear a sibling peacefully snoozing, completely unaware of the sights, noises and smells you have observed in the past two minutes.

The two family dogs talk to each other up the stairs, through the garage door; they are waiting for you to feed and scratch them.
The thick, soft, warm carpet squishes between bare toes, as you make your bed and walk up the stairs, from the basement, to be greeted by mom and dad. They have been up long before you, and are passionately conversing as a hot, dark pot of freshly brewed coffee beckons to you...


Of course there are many, many, other differences between country and city life. Far too many for me to go into, no matter how many posts I write :)
However, probably one of the most stunning, shocking, and wild thing I have been absolutely stumped by is clothing. Strange? Oh yeah!
Never, ever, when we lived in the country, would I have worn a white shirt. Never! This would not only invite, but insure dirt, filth and complete and total ruination to the cloth!
It's silly, seemingly small, and relatively non-life changing, but in a sense it is life style changing. White articles of clothing in my closet are no longer a big deal because, well, I'm not hauling wood for heat nearly every day, I'm no longer petting, holding filthy barn cats (the thought of which still doesn't and never will keep me from continuing to hold them),we no longer live on a dirt road (cutting down on the dust collection immensely), and the list goes on.
We have gone to the local library a couple of times this week, already. When mom needs something from town, like to drop off a movie rental, it's very much "would you go run this errand for me," as apposed to "let's plan going into town this day, saving up all our errands for this one given day.. and if you forget something, you'll just have to wait until the weekend, or next week."
It's rather strange!
Very different. A cultural clash!
There are so many differences.
Although I could not even describe the flood of thoughts, emotions, feelings and ideas that overwhelm my mind, I think I will just sum it up in these two pictures.

The view from our home, in the country, taken from our bath room window,

which is directly above our kitchen window.

Another

The view from our house, now... isn't it lovely?

I especially love being able to see into our neighbors window... YIKES!

Home Sweet Home

During a blizzard in the Prarrie

Ginger bread house: Dec 2008
Christmas time is here! Dec 2008

Yeah.. it does have a Calvin and hobbes look to it, doesn't it?

Derek and I made one before this one with

a choke chain and cow bone in it's mouth.

I thought it was funny. Mom found it disturbing ;)

Christmas Decor

My East facing window

Nestled in the freshly cut tree hides a

fragile cream colored Christmas bulb

I think December 2008:

Picking the tree is very tiring. Cutting the tree down is SO much easier

Our "back yard" Dec 2007

Glistening in the afternoon sun is a

ice-laced ash tree

The "front yard" Dec 2007

Ethan and Hannah Dec 2007

My home means a lot to me!

I could be quite happy staying home all day, so long as we have the animals, friends and family. the more family with me the better. Cooking is a blast – I loved our kitchen despite it’s irritating qualities. My bed room was probably the best place to be, especially when the dog was able to hang out up there with me, and the Christmas light were all up, glowing happily despite the setting sun. A back drop of blushing pink, tangerine neon and captivatingly vivacious blue hung behind the two six pane East and North facing windows in my room.

My favorite spot to sit and wrap Christmas presents, starting about this time of year, with Stacie Orrico and Nicole C. Mullin belting out Christmas lyrics in the background, was in the corner of the room, between the East and North facing windows. Snuggled under my periwinkle blue plaid feather down blanket, with a cup of home made hot cocoa, harmonizing along, wrapping gifts in boxes, then duct tape, then paper, then another box, more duct tape, and finally topping off with wrapping paper and an elegant bow, I would sit in that North-East corner, glancing out the window to watch the sun set, listen to the wild out door noises (such as the occasional mountain lion scream – not a comforting sound), the cats bawling, my family laughing down stairs, the dogs talking and snow floating down, grazing window panes, resting on tree branches, dead leaves and golden brown grass.

This is what I wanted to do this year, again, after enjoying Thanksgiving, and picking out the biggest, most lush, and fullest Christmas Tree from Tananbaums Tree Farm, the weekend following Thanks Giving - an art form in our Home: The Thanks Giving dinner and season as a whole. We probably would have started decorating the house for Thanks Giving by now.

Honestly, what I’ll miss the most, is not having Christmas at home this year. The wood floors, smell of pine tree overwhelming the house, Christian artists humming Christmas carols on CDs, and the incredibly light décor about the entire house (including some bed rooms and sparkling beneath the snow, hanging from the house). Colored lights sparkling from beneath red gauze boes, peeking out between sparkling snow, and soft green pine needles on little pine trees outside.

"Lead Me to the Cross..."

Thursday, 6:20/30 AM, October 22, 2009, a fire started in the basement of our home on the great plains, and devoured the north-east corner of our basement, and kitchen floor.

Smoke damage, apparently, is worse than fire damage, and, today, as I was sorting through all of mine and my sisters belongings with some dear family friends, I saw how true that is. Trash bags, filled to the brim, are pile up in our front yard.

Water flooded our basement, and dripped, drop by drop, down from the bed room floors, through the first-floors ceiling, into the lamps, and drop-by-drop onto the floor - leaving a person feeling like they are in an abandoned shed in the amazon. Our cats inhabited our house yesterday evening, as did our dogs. It was just slightly unnerving walking into my home to see a barn cat slink around the sopping couch crying "meOOW!"

The walls are stained, and our dining room ceiling is peeling off - falling off in chunks... worse than I though.

And it sounds so horrific! Yet, through the smoke stained walls, charred basement, flooded living room, and empty bed rooms, I have been contantly amazed at God's faithfulness. He truly will "never leave nor forsake us" (heb 13:5). He is committed to us - 'til death do us part from this earth, and we fly on the wings of eternity.

And, I just heard, my older sister is currently in the ER. Prayers for her would be so very much appreciated! She is in college, her blog is http://www.blindlyservinghim.blogspot.com/

If you would, please be praying for our family. My two youngest siblings are having a very hard time, and it will be many weeks before we can move back into our home on the plain.

God richly bless and keep!

Miss Elisabeth