"Patches" and Chimney Tops

One week ago, we were living it up in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I love that place!

It was a mini-vacation of sorts, and we were blessed with two glorious days, which we spent hiking, shopping, go karts, mini golf, a comedy show, and more hiking!

One of the hikes we took was a 4-mile (round trip) "strenuous" hike. The two miles one way took us 1700 feet in elevation, so it was a pretty steep trail in many parts. It was rocky too. And beautiful. Anyway, Jason and I had been on this trail back before we ever had children, so it was exciting for us to get to take all four kids along this time.

At the beginning of the trail, Emily started to whine about something. Even though she is our resident drama queen, I knew that she was capable of handling such a strenuous hike.

While Emily was crying and holding on to my hand at the start of the trail, I looked at my mom and whispered, "Give her ten minutes....she'll be a new kid". I was wrong. It was hardly two minutes before she took off barking and panting, running to the front of the pack as happy as a lark.

I knew it would happen. I knew Patches would show up. Yeah, Patches. That's Emily's alter ego. Patches comes along on hikes in the woods and long family walks. Patches never complains. Occasionally, Patches gets a little wild, and I am instructed to say "Heel Patches!" and then Patches calms down and walks with me. Patches has a very cute bark and likes to run and leap and lead the hike. Patches also likes to sniff out various flowers and also doesn't cry when she falls down. Patches is great!!!

I found it humorous how quickly her attitude shifted, and how similar it is to the way I operate at times (minus the turning into a dog part). :) We really can choose our attitude, can't we? We can decide to stay in a sour mood or we can choose to smile. We even have the choice of how we will accept our circumstances or consequences. Our attitude really is something that we can control. That doesn't mean it's easy, but it is within our reach. And when we reach out, our patient, loving Father meets us there. He supplies the strength we need to make the complete adjustment.

These were just thoughts that I pondered as we hiked. It was one of my favorite hikes I've ever taken, in part because I love that trail (Chimney Tops), but mostly because I was so proud of how the kids enjoyed it and were so enthusiastic, even during the steep portions.

Jason took Ashlyn to the tip top of the peak, which is just up from the top of the trail. You actually have to scale the rock to get there, so we decided that Ash would be the only kid to go. It was a wonderful day, one that I will not soon forget. Here are a few pics: