Preparing for higher education in the school above.
I just love these kinds of things. They make my day!
I don’t know if you can see the mommy and daddy kissing in the above card. That’s my favorite part.
I’m always impressed with my daughter’s creativity and artistic eye.
It’s just so special when your children do special things like that!
We recently spent four full days without power, plus had another half day without power earlier the same week. No power is a problem. I have to admit it’s not as much of a problem for us as it is for some others, because we have a generator, but nonetheless, much of life is put on hold until the power comes back on. For example, we had no internet that whole time. I kind of thought that it was a nice break! But at the same time, I was in the midst of communicating with various people about something or other, and then all of the sudden we were without internet.
Anyway, we found (along with half of the rest of the town, who was also without power) a great place of entertainment–the library. They had power. They had internet. And, of course, they had books. We just browsed through the books and sat there and looked at picture books and read stories to each other. It was really fun!
Okay, I think both of these pictures are priceless, even if they were taken with my phone and not in the best of focus.
I will follow Thee, my Savior,
Wheresoe’er my lot may be.
Where Thou goest I will follow;
Yes, my Lord, I’ll follow Thee.
Refrain:
I will follow Thee, my Savior;
Thou didst shed Thy blood for me;
And though all men should forsake Thee,
By Thy grace I’ll follow Thee.
Though the road be rough and thorny,
Trackless as the foaming sea;
Thou has trod this way before me,
And I’ll gladly follow Thee.
Though I meet with tribulations,
Sorely tempted though I be;
I remember Thou was tempted,
And rejoice to follow Thee.
Though Thou leadest me through affliction,
Poor, forsaken though I be;
Thou was destitute, afflicted,
And I only follow Thee.
Though to Jordan’s rolling billows,
Cold and deep, Thou leadest me,
Thou has crossed the waves before me,
And I still will follow Thee.
~by James L. Elginburg, 1886
Last Thursday, marked the sixth month anniversary of when my younger brother passed away. Time has gone so slow and so fast at the same time. I still want to pinch myself and see if I will wake up out of this nightmare. Today, I was contemplating some different issues that were troubling me and I was feeling a little grumbly, when I caught myself humming my brother’s favorite hymn, I Will Follow Thee, My Savior. It made me remember how my brother always said “I’m great!” to anybody who asked how he was doing, even five minutes before he was being intubated. I don’t need to feel grumbly. Others have had it a lot harder than I do, especially my Savior. He has paved the way before us, so that when we walk through those days that either seem overwhelming because of the number of pressures coming our way, or the disappointments coming our way, or the physical pain coming our way—no matter what is troubling us, He has already been there, done that. And He will give us the strength, the comfort, the courage to get through it all, as long as we choose to follow Him. That’s what I choose today.
It was an exciting day, a few weeks back, when my daughter chose to be baptized. I know there was joy in heaven. There was certainly joy in my heart.
Being greeted by church members and friends after the baptism.
Young friends, cousins and siblings that came (some quite a long ways) to witness her public dedication of her life to Christ.
My kids and I all agree that it is fun to ride the ferries. We used to ride them sometimes when we travelled with my husband to one of his far-away clients, but we moved and now a bridge makes for a better route. So now, ferry rides are a not-very-common treat.
We recently got to take a ferry ride on one of the Puget Sound Ferries and enjoyed the birds, smell of the water and air and the views. Here are a few photos that my kids snapped on our ride. I wish I could share the smell of the ocean air and the call of the seagulls with you too. Those are too things that I just absolutely love.
First is Zippy soaking up sun through the window, with the baby behind her making fingerprints on the window.
The kids really enjoyed watching the birds trying to keep up with the ferry. They would go out on the deck and cheer them on if they began to lag behind.
And I just thought this view was interesting. It’s the combination of the beauty of God’s Creation mixed with the mess of man’s labors. The cranes are for unloading ships that have arrived, no doubt, from China. Not that I don’t appreciate that we can import, it’s just not near as beautiful.
We are already planning our next trip that will require a ferry, just because we want to ride the ferry.
One of my very favorite spots that I’ve ever been to in all of my life is Rosario Beach. I went there for the first time when I was fifteen, with my high school biology class. That trip had many good memories with birding, tide pooling, and of course good friends. When I moved back to the Northwest, I took my husband there as soon as possible and since then, we have tried to squeeze in as many trips as possible. We probably get there an average of twice a year. We were there two times this summer. That’s where we went for the baby’s first birthday.
Then between my brother’s death and memorial service, we wanted some family time in a place where we could experience some healing. Nature is such a good place to go, when you need healing of the soul. Because my husband and I love Rosario, and also because my brother had some really enjoyable trips to Rosario when he was alive, we persuaded the family to take a day at Rosario/Bowman Bay. We even had family join us from Germany there. It was a day to remember for all of us.
We stopped and enjoyed a view of Deception Pass Bridge.
I enjoyed time lots of time talking with my sister. Sisters are indeed a special gift. I didn’t get a sister until I was fifteen and I’m sure thankful for the blessing that I waited so long for.
We did a little birding. Although it seems that my brother needed all the binoculars or something. Actually I think he was being helpful, and since he loves birding, he could test everybody’s binoculars to see which ones were the nicest.
My kids enjoyed having their uncles home. Their uncles are very special to them.
We enjoyed a picnic all together, with some of my mom’s delicious potato salad.
We did some kayaking…
…and some hiking…
…and some exploring.
Then we gathered together at the top of the bluff overlooking the ocean and shared memories of my brother Ben and shared promises from the Bible to bring comfort to each other’s hearts. And we cried together.
Then we stayed on and watched the sunset and thought about how it was like my brother’s life. It was beautiful while it lasted, but it came to an end, but even the end was a beautiful experience.
Sooner or later, the sun sets on all of our lives. Will we be ready? Will it be the end of a beautiful life? Will it be something that our loved ones will want to remember? Questions for all of us to ponder.
It was a beautiful end to a beautiful day and it seemed to so fitting a way to remember somebody that was so dear to all of our hearts.
p.s. Today would have been my brother’s 34th birthday.
I don’t know any child that doesn’t love going to visit the grandparents. I sure remember going to visit my grandparents when I was a child. My kids are no exception to the rule. They love, and I mean love it when they get to visit grandparents. Unfortunately, one set of grandparents lives half the country away. But that makes it all the more anticipated and special when we do get to visit them.
My kids are quite fortunate in that they got to make two trips to the Nebraska grandparents this last summer. Well the baby didn’t go on the second trip. I only have pictures however from the trip that I went on. They also made a driving trip out with their Nana and stopped by several National Parks and earned their Junior Ranger Badges and then spent two weeks with Nana and Papa without any parents to intervene. That was super special, but since I wasn’t there, I don’t have any pictures of it.
I do have tons of pictures from the trip I made with them though to show what a blast the trip was. So here they go.
Swimming was probably the most favorite activity there. It was hot. Nana and Papa have the coolest pool, you ever saw. Papa is a farmer and he took the bottom rung of a grain bin and sealed off the inside and turned it into a swimming pool. I hear that when my husband was a kid they put a little water in it in the winter and used it for a ice skating rink too, but I’ve never got to experience that use of it.
Zippy honed her skills at swimming under water with snorkel gear.
JD Boy got comfortable with swimming on the surface with snorkel gear, so he’s now rarin’ to go back to Mexico or somewhere tropical.
G’tums just had a blast paddling’ around with the floaties.
Everybody loved swimming except Baby…
She’d rather play in the grass outside the pool…
Or with the kitty…but be careful Baby, not all kitties trust you.
Besides swimming, the kids went for rides on the four-wheeler and in the tractor. We went for walks. We went birding. In fact, here is my daughter’s bird list (along with a couple of mammals) for the trip.
We also made green salve, my mother-in-laws magic potion that we love for all scrapes, burns, bites, you-name-it. That is a bit of project we learned. We went here and there and gathered buckets of green things, otherwise known as weeds. Some were plants that she cultivated, and some leaves came from trees. That took quite awhile and then we started cooking it down. Which takes quite a long time. It has to simmer…and simmer…and simmer…for a couple of days. But it really is wonderful stuff. It will cure a recluse bite and that proves it’s a magic potion. They have recluses in Nebraska, so having that stuff on hand is quite nice. We don’t have those kinds of spiders where we live, but we have found that it is quite soothing on mosquito bites as well as all the scrapes that my children are regularly coming to show me. They love green salve. I love green salve. And we all love Nana, because now we know how hard she works on it. Well, we loved her before too, but now we know how much to appreciate the green salve that she makes for us.
Now, you’ll have to admit, that any child would like going to the grandparents’ house, if it involved that much fun. No wonder my kids want to move there.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I have been dreading Thanksgiving for weeks. You see Thanksgiving last year was such a special day at our house. It holds such special memories now. Normally Thanksgiving has been somewhere else. But last year my family joined us at our house. It was very special to have my brother Ben at our house because by Thanksgiving he was on bed rest. But he made the trip and we made many happy memories that day.
One of the happy memories that we made, was that my cousin and family drove up from three hours south to surprise my brother. Was he ever surprised.
Here is a picture just before we started to devour the food. My brother is the only one seated, because he was in his wheelchair.
I’m definitely going to spend part of tomorrow trying to recreate last Thanksgiving. I’m so glad that I got to spend it with Ben. I’m going to miss him so much tomorrow. But I still am thankful that he has been delivered from the pain that he was suffering. And I’m so thankful that I got to have him for my brother.
I have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but the empty spot in my heart is still quite vacant.
Baby pictures are so special. These are some that are several months old that I didn’t get around to sharing before. They are just so special, I’m just going to share them now. These first ones were taken at seven months.
Aren’t I cute in sister’s headbands?
Chiquita con el sombrero
I just love those chubby baby hands.
These next ones were taken at eight months.
This last one is extra special, because that is a picture of my brother that passed away this summer holding our little baby. She won’t ever remember him, but at least there are pictures she can study someday when she is older to see that he loved her. I lost an uncle when I was fifteen, my younger sister hadn’t been born yet. She told me when she saw this picture how much she wished that she had pictures with our uncle. I’m sure more nieces and nephews will come along to our family that won’t have pictures with Uncle Ben and that just brings a few tears to my eyes to think about.
Just a bunch of people shots (well mostly people shots) from our camping trip, that I thought were fun.
Baby is happy about her first camping trip!
Baby still learning to walk! Dirt is forgiving!
“This is great! I can throw food on the floor, without Mom freaking out!”
Our next nature buff discovering fir cones.
Can’t camp without a campfire, and they’re especially appreciated when the mornings are chilly!
Dirty but happy!
Camping bed head!
JD Boy’s picture of one of the many seals hanging out by Shaw Island.
A poppy. Another picture by JD Boy. He’s taking after his father’s photography skills.
A picture of the real photographer among us.
I have no clue what he was taking a picture of. I think I was the one that had the view in my viewfinder, all that was behind me was a stone wall. Oh, well, camera wars are fun, especially with my hubby.
