Cabin Retreat

This is an enormous Rhodedendron.
It was almost as high as the two-story cabin!
Whenever my mom comes for a visit she encourages hubby and I to get away if at all possible. Often money is an issue, sometimes Ed can't get away from work, and sometimes I just want to stay home and visit with my mom since I only see her one or two times a year. This visit however, we were able to use a friend's cabin for free and Ed has plenty of vacation days stored up, so we spent two nights away!


That's one big leaf!
We left in the late morning for the coast and did some geocaching along the way. It's a totally different experience going without the kids, and we took the opportunity to do a couple of caches we probably wouldn't have if the kids were with us. The scenery was gorgeous, the trees being just at the peak of their color for the fall. Add in a couple of waterfalls, some wildlife, and we had a spectacular display of God's creation during our time away.



After geocaching a bit, we arrived in Tillamook and went directly to the creamery for a chocolate dipped waffle cone. I splurged and got a double scoop! We ran into some friends we haven't seen in three years from our former church in Beaverton, not something we expected on a Sunday afternoon.


We decided to look around the gift shop, something we don't do when we have the kids. The creamery's gift shop is kind of a tight space with narrow aisles and tons of breakables, so we usually just steer clear of it (besides, I'm not really a shopper anyway). You know, life is often ironic. Hubby broke a Christmas ornament! The employee said it happens all the time due to the way they have them displayed, and we didn't even have to pay for it. Indeed, there were evidences of other disasters all around the base of the display!



Next we went to Fred Meyer and picked up some groceries and drove up the Trask River to the cabin. The weather was incredible. It was 76 degrees and sunny in Tillamook. We've been to their in July and frozen our tails off, so this was a surprise. We got to the cabin and opened up all the windows to air out the mustiness and then walked around the property (trying hard not to covet) they have. The house itself is nothing special, but to have a vacation house on such a gorgeous piece of property would be incredible!


We spent that night and the next two days doing almost nothing, and it was wonderful! We played games together, read books, Ed watched the World Series, I worked on my digital scrapbook (I've almost totally given up on my other scrapbooking), we spent time by the river watching huge (I'm talking two-feet long or larger) salmon spawn up the river, we watched a couple movies, and one of us took a nap too. We did spend one morning praying and seeking the Lord about some parenting issues and worked on a plan. We had a wonderful time.


Though we had no cell service or internet connection where we were (gasp!), they did have satellite television. How lucky for us...I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on watching the Obama Channel!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Last night at the dinner table, Daddy asked the kids if they knew what tomorrow was. After going through a list of special days, Ryan finally hit upon the answer:

R: It's your anniversary!

D: That's right. Do you know how long we've been married?

R: Oh, about 300 years--no, wait, about 30 years?

D: So let's see that would mean I got married when I was just a couple years older than you are. Are you going to get married when you're eight?

R: Yep. I'm going to marry Malee!

D: Really. Does she know this?

R: Yeah, it was her idea, she's the one who told me.


I'm going to have to start keeping a closer eye on those two. I didn't realize they were courting! As for us, actually it is only 15 years today, but I look forward to making it to 30 (and more).

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Date Night

We don't get many "date nights" in our home. We have no family nearby who can watch our kids or friends that we feel comfortable imposing upon too much. Our neighbors are good to watch them when we have an appointment or a meeting or something where we absolutely need a sitter, but I don't like to ask them too much so time alone with hubby is what gets left out. Sometimes I will put the kids to bed early, make a dinner for two, and have time alone at home, but it is nice to get out of the house as a couple sometimes. Whenever my mom comes, she always insists we go out together, and we usually do at least one time. But she can only visit once or maybe twice a year.

We also find other creative ways to have some time together where we can have some adult conversation or just enjoy each other's company. We have taken the kids to McDonald's and let them play in the play area while we talked or played a game together, and most recently, we took them to our newest attraction, Out of This World, and let them play for hours while we talked and played a game together.

So last month when my dad came we asked him if he would mind watching the kids one evening so hubby and I could go see a movie and have dinner together. He agreed and for the first time in 16 months, we saw our first non-kid movie! We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie and then went out to dinner. It was so nice to have such a relaxing and quiet time alone. Thanks, Dad!

Just Thinking

I've been pondering a couple things the last couple of days. The first is very near and dear to my heart...adoption. A friend of mine just found out they will be adopting a 21-month-old little girl, and they will be getting her this weekend! It's been interesting to watch the process as an outsider this time instead of as the participant. The emotions and fears are often so intense, then, strangely, the next moment there's ambivilence, giving rise to the sensation of being on a roller coaster ride of unknown duration.

But the amazing and precious thing to me is how I heard the change in her voice the day she told me they were chosen to be her parents. Gone was the ambivalence, gone were the fears (for the moment, anyway), and all I heard in her voice was excitement and love for this new daughter whom they have never even met! How can people not believe in God when you see that kind of capacity for love? Surely, only the Lord is able to make love flow from hearts of mere men in such a powerful way.

I am so grateful to have been adopted into God's family and to have been blessed to adopt two beautiful children. I know my friend and her family will have their ups and downs with this little girl, but what a blessing she is to them...and them to her!

The second thing that's been rolling around in my thoughts lately is marriage. I've watched marriages come and go, I've witnessed couples pull their marriages back together after devastating actions by one or both spouses, and I've seen others who have frittered away their marriage giving it less thought than they give to their wardrobe.

What's the key to a successful marriage? I don't mean successful in the sense that a couple manages to tolerate each other enough to stay married, but successful in the sense that both husband and wife are growing and love each other's company and work through conflicts instead of ignoring them.

After over 12 years of marriage, I certainly know there's no formula, but I am becoming more and more convinced that next to an unwavering committment on the part of both spouses, selflessness is paramount to a healthy marriage. Duh. I'm as selfish as the next person, but starting today, my goal for this year is to learn to be as selfless as possible, particularly in regard to my hubby. I am grateful that I have a Lord who can enable me to do this as I trust Him to change me and mold me into His image! I love you, Eddie!