it's raining, it's pouring...

Rain.

Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't.  I love sitting inside a warm house on a rainy day.  Listening to the sound of the rain while sitting on the couch beneath cozy soft blankets and sipping something hot and soothing…that is just wonderfulness.  (that was just for you, Chris)

It's usually when I have to go out into the rain that I am less than thrilled.  It may have something to do with the fact that my body consistently runs cold so getting wet just adds to my frigid internal temp.  Or, as every person who has curly hair can attest to, it could relate to the fact that as soon as I set foot outside my house on a rainy day my hair immediately turns frizzy.  Yeah, it's most likely that.  It takes a long time to tame this fro and to have all that work fly out the window is annoying beyond belief.

When you are a kid you love the rain.  You don't care that your hair might get wet.  You don't think about your clothes getting soaked and being uncomfortable.  For a moment you forget that there is homework to be done or chores to complete and you just enjoy the awe and wonder of being a kid.  Rain brings on the promises of rainy day recesses, the freedom of tipping your head up towards the sky and catching raindrops on your tongue, and of course, the joy of splashing in puddles...

Ashlyn didn't have any rain boots but she didn't let that stop her.  She peeled off her shoes and socks and went out barefoot to splash in the puddles.  

And while these may not be the best photos I have ever taken, I don't care.  I think they capture the joy on my kids faces.  I don't ever want to get so caught up in what has to get done or the stresses that come every day that I miss out on the magic of childhood.  I need to see the world through their eyes.  I need to see that there is always something for which to be thankful.  That even though there is a storm, the rain provides nourishment and growth…and of course, the chance to splash in the rain.

 I pray that they are always thankful for the rain because it means that we have puddles to jump in.