A Hiking We Will Go

On Saturday, Feb. 7th, Jonathan got us up bright and early to take us on a family hike. It was supposed to be a beautiful day! He wanted to take us to Laurel Falls which is located in the Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg. We have done this hike before, but it has been almost 4 years ago, and we just had Lily and Maddy at the time. Laurel Falls is a great family hike with a 1.3 mile hike up to a beautiful cascading waterfall. On the drive there, we saw huge icicles hanging from the cliffs on the sides of the road. The girls kept squealing every time they saw them!When we arrived, it was still pretty chilly! Jonathan got Parker all bundled up and secure for his first time in our hiking carrier:

The girls were so excited to be outdoors, especially Lily. Saturday was her "Half" Birthday and she was just thrilled that Jonathan had planned a hike on her special day! She wanted to pose beside the "5":Katy did so well on the hike for just being 2 years old! She walked almost the entire way by herself. Of course she insisted on carrying her own huge water bottle and snack: She loved looking at all of God's creation around her, especially the leaves and sticks:Maddy loved being the leader and was so sweet to help Katy along the trailWhen we got to the very top, the trail was icy and part of the waterfall was frozen! Here is the beautiful waterfall that we saw: Isn't God's creation absolutely amazing? We stayed to watch and listen to the waterfall. It was so peaceful!

We didn't get a group shot of all of us because we were the only ones up there at the time, and it was a little dangerous for the girls because of the ice. (Jonathan tends to take us on very exciting adventures!) But, here are my 2 favorite boys in front of the waterfall: After a quick snack, we headed back down. The cool crisp air wiped Parker out. He slept almost the entire way down! Jonathan loved having another hiking buddy: We had such a wonderful time together as a family taking in the beauty of nature. Oh God, how marvelous are your works! We are looking forward to our next hike!

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5