1,000 Words

He's home!

Family and Friends

This interesting cloud formation started earlier in the day as one
cloud and then gathered more clouds by the time dusk arrived.
It was so good to visit with family and friends! The time away from hubby was long, but the time spent with loved ones was way too short. After having lived out of California, specifically the High Desert of California, it was strange going back. It's not the same place it used to be and yet, at the same time, it hasn't changed a bit. The longer I was there, the more I remembered why I am so happy to be living in the Pacific Northwest! I missed the fresh, clean air and the green living things like grass and trees. Hey, I even missed sidewalks, which I haven't given much thought to before.


It was so good to see my mom again, and her making the long drive home with us extended our visit with her a bit. We spent some time with my dad too. The kids each took turns going with him on his route to deliver the tools he's sharpened, and I took a motorcycle ride with him.


Thankfully, Aunt Darcy got at least one shot
of her and Abby together.
We visited several times with my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nieces. The kids had such a good time with their cousins, and I'm glad they can now actually put a "real" face with the name instead of just pictures. I am sad to say I didn't get one single family shot of them nor any pictures of my kids with their aunt and uncle nor any pictures of me with my nieces...I've just not been on the ball with taking pictures lately.


I visited with two friends from high school, both of whom I can't believe I've known for 27 years! Susan I have only been kept up to date on through reports from my mom, and it was good to see her, meet her kids, and visit for a while. She hasn't changed a bit.


The other visit was with my best friend, Becky. We talk often, but there's nothing like seeing her face to face! I spent two nights with her and her husband while my mom watched the kids, and it was such a relaxing visit, despite the cold I caught a few days earlier. I took this horrid arm's-length shot because we have almost no pictures of us together, and I figured that a bad picture is better than no picture at all! (Note to self: Next time look at the lens and not the LCD screen on the camera.)


Mt. Shasta from an I-5 rest stop.
After my visit with Becky, I went home, packed up the suitcases and the van. We headed home the next morning with my mom along too and spent the night at a hotel. The next day we drove home was a gorgeous day. We had spectacular views of the countryside, and we actually got to see Mt. Shasta, which has been covered by clouds the last several times I passed this way. We arrived safely, and even though I already miss family and friends I left behind, I'm really glad to be home.

Missing Him Already

Oh, the things husbands do for their wives!
"Hurry up and take the picture!"
This morning as hubby and I were driving to the airport we both said, "I don't want to go!" I know Ed is dreading his two weeks of intensive training, and though I am looking forward to seeing family and friends, I was just dreading the thought of two full days of driving. I have never been apart from my hubby for such a long time before, but I still didn't anticipate all the tears at the airport. I already miss him so much!


Last chance for an Oregon geocache!
Thankfully, however, things got better from there. I am so proud of my kids! They did 8 1/2 hours of driving without one single complaint, and they were both so well behaved that I really couldn't have asked for anything better! We had a great time driving today, and I'm not even dreading tomorrow now. One of the stops we made was at the Oregon/California border. Ryan and Abby were so excited about actually getting to California, so I stopped just a couple hundred feet from the border and took their picture. Also, there was a geocache at that location, so we found that while we were there too! It was blowing about 90 miles an hour, and it reminded me of where I grew up in California...ah, memories.


This is pretty silly, but I was a little nervous about pumping gas...afterall, I haven't done it for over eight years! My fears were unfounded, just as I suspected, ordinary unskilled people can and do pump their own gas just fine. Somehow the legislature has been able to keep this truth from Oregonians for some time now.


After arriving at the hotel, we ate dinner and went for a swim. We're used to heated pools in our neck of the woods, so this felt quite brisk! It was pretty warm out though, so after the initial shock, it felt good. I ended up laying with each one of the kids to get them to calm down and go to sleep after such a full day, but it took less than ten minutes apiece. So the kiddies are now sleeping peacefully, I've had a late night call from hubby, so I am ready for bed too.

I Need the Spirit of Christ Today (and Everyday)

Though I'm not moving, I have a lot going on today and the next few days, and I needed this today. Thanks again, Elisabeth Elliot!

The Calm Spirit of Christ

Today is moving day. There will be plenty of reason for fretting and stewing, impatience, and turbulence. I am one who seems to feel that unless I do things or unless they are done my way, they will not be done right, and the day will disintegrate. But I have been watching the sea--very turbulent this morning because of a tropical storm hundreds of miles away--and I remember Him whose word was enough to calm it.

Speak that word to me today, dear Lord: peace. Let your calm spirit, through the many potentially rough minutes of this day, in every task, say to my soul, Be still. Even this day's chaos, with all its clutter and exertion, will be ordered by your quiet power if my heart is subject to your word of peace. Thank You, Lord.

How Did You Do?

Last year, I started reading through the Bible with the Bible in a Year email program. I chose to read it chronologically to hopefully help me straighten out some timelines in my head that always seem to get mixed up. I have to confess I haven't finished, in fact I haven't even made it to the New Testament yet, though I'm almost there. I was zipping along reading every day up until about the end of Februrary when things went a little crazy with my daughter. I got way behind and overwhelmed and I never caught back up.

I printed out the schedule for each month, and I am slowly making my way through it. A couple of you had said you were going to join me, and I was wondering how you did. Did you finish? If so, that's great! If not, I'm right there with you! I will plug along and I think I will be finished by the end of the year.