Weekly Attitude Check

Although my week had it's negative moments for me, I am beginning to realize there are so many blessings if I just open my eyes.

But first, let me list for you...


Things I didn't like this week:

*Having to see the dentist for the third time this month, only to have him tell me that it looks like he has to refer me for a root canal. My second one in the last two years. Yay.

*Finding a dead mouse in the large bag of dog food out in the garage.

*Meeting with a new family with five children for a park play date only to have my two be the only ones who got one "owie" after another, complete with crying and whimpering.

*Having to do overtime cleaning the house from top to bottom Thursday because we were having company the next day and messes had gotten out of hand....all this after getting up early to go to the dentist.
Let's just say that by that evening I felt a little cranky.

Things I DID like this week:

*Having a lovely clean house today!

*Having said company...another new friend and her little girl, and enjoying just the best time chatting with this mom for hours and getting to know her better. (Plus, having her bless me with a frappicino!)

*Being able to get by with just an occasional advil until the dreaded root canal with very little discomfort...and being blessed with insurance to cover part of it!

*Being thankful that the dead mouse in the dog food was in the garage...and not inside the house!

I am feeling much more blessed than I did just a day or so ago. God has a way of turning negative experiences around sometimes into blessings....especially when we work on our own attitudes!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

24-Hour Excurion Part 2 (and Finale)

Oh dear...did I let almost a week go by? Am I behind in almost all of your blogs, as well?
I guess it's all due to the end of summertime...
Trying to both enjoy these last days and at the same time, get ready for the coming school year.
Well, and also the fact that I've been glued to the Olympics every night that we've been home!
But I can't just leave you hanging!
So....On to the rest of the story!
(And I'll try to visit most of you as I can through the week...promise!)

(*Edited to include one picture I forgot!)

While my family slept peacefully, the wind whipped the tops of the trees, making them look like part of a wheat field, bending in the breeze. But what was eerie was the sound. The loud, rushing wind seeming so much like an ocean's crashing waves.
I found myself feeling tense...just hovering on the line of fear.

But then I remembered what I was just telling my girls earlier, when the thunderstorm was near.
I reminded them of how Jesus was in the boat with the disciples when a storm came up. Even though they were grown men, the disciples were still very much afraid. But Jesus was able to calm the storm... and I told them that when Jesus is with us we don't have to be afraid.
They had listened again to this familiar Bible truth and believed it. But here I was watching the tree tops sway with trepidation.

So I prayed and did feel much better putting the storm into God's hands.
I lay down and prepared to sleep, and as I drifted off, I couldn't help but notice that the winds actually did indeed die down within minutes. Of course, it might not have been a direct answer to my prayer...but then, why couldn't it have been?

The next day there was no wind...but the thunderclouds had rolled back in and I awoke to the loud clap of thunder and bright flashes.
My early riser husband had already taken a shower and had been chopping wood and I could hear him hastily throw it together to get a fire going.
Yes, he is too manly, I guess, to let a thunderstorm send him running for cover. (He assumed he was safe because of all the tall trees...)
And soon the downpour started. The girls were awake now and they looked out the flap of the tent to see him sitting faithfully under the large umbrella, stoking the fire. And how the fire kept going with all that rain, I'm still not sure!

After a few hours, though, the rain stopped and we went off to find what I had read about-
The Bat Barn.

But before I get to that, as we parked our car in the equestian section to go hiking over to this barn, we saw some folks with their horses at their trailer.
Knowing how much our girls love horses but rarely have access to them, we walked over and my husband asked if it was OK if they pet them.
It was a lady with her grown daughter and grandson, and they smiled and told us yes.


The older lady turned out to be so friendly and generous...telling the girls they could feed the gentlest horse, Buck, some apples after showing them how...

and then even offering to have each of the girls sit on him.

It was a totally unexpected treat for us all and we felt so grateful to happen upon this nice lady and her family! And then she mentioned that it was her birthday...and here she was spreading joy to youngsters in honor of her special day.

Now, look closely and you may see that my oldest is holding her beloved stuffed horse! My youngest, too, had brought her toy horse, as well...not even expecting to come near any real horses! Was that not just perfect!?

From there, we were off down the trail to see the bat barn. This is a barn that use to be used for horses, but when it was discovered that it was a rare nesting sight for mother bats and their babies, they allowed the bats to have it.

That is the barn in the very first photo above, as we began our walk.
Finally we came to it...


As you can see, it is all boarded up and surrounded by sticker bushes...with little round holes that you can't see here, where the bats fly in and out.
They had some signs with information on them right in front...

and we learned that sometimes mama bats fly out at night for food with their one baby clinging to them. They only have one baby at a time and the bond is strong.

So, needless to say, we couldn't actually see any bats.
But it was kind of interesting knowing they were all in there!

Soon, it was back on the trail to go back to the campsite to pack up everything.



Yep...hubby and I agreed that one night was long enough this time.
The girls, however, were not at first happy with this decision since they apparently like camping in storms. But with a promise of a Happy Meal on the way home as consolation prize, all was well.

That, and a little rest...with dreams of galloping over the trails...

24-hour Excursion...Part 1

Before I tell you about our latest adventure, I wanted to thank my friend, Jill, of Jillian Inc. for the wonderful prizes I won in her recent give-away! Jill recently celebrated her blogaversary by giving away generous prizes every day! I'm not sure how she did this, but I was very excited to receive in the mail a few days ago, a new book of my choice (I chose "A Mile in my Flipflops" and I'm really loving it so far!) and a BIG gift certificate to Borders!!! Thank you, again, Jill! (And if you haven't yet stopped by there, you really should. She can write with such smart humor and I always love visiting her place.)

Also, thank you to those of you who gave such sweet comments on my little "true love story" below. Sometimes, truth is even better than fiction!

Now...onto another true to life story...




I'll bet you'll never guess where I was Sunday and Monday.
Come on...just try and guess!

Who said, "Camping...in a tent...in the rain...with lightening."? If it was you, then you'd win the gold!

Did this grab your attention just a little?
Well... actually, this short little trip was filled with some fun, some giggles, and most of all, really nice family togetherness so for these things alone our camping was a good thing.
And I can tell you with certainty that our girls had a wonderful time and didn't want to leave!

But -as a lot of our trips in recent years- it included some unexpected excitement.
Let me explain...

About a month or so ago, I decided that I'd be brave and plan a short camping trip with just our family. We've done this sort of thing before, and usually just for one night, and it's been kind of fun.
Yes, you heard right...contrary to popular belief, I'm not completely tent-phobic, as long as it's for a very short duration.
And since lately I haven't gone on any of the big extended family annual camp outs, I decided to reserve two nights at a local campground.

I know...I just don't know what came over me.

So, Sunday was the day and we arrived on a unusually humid day for here in the northwest. After my husband set up the tent, we decided to go exploring the nearby river. We weren't prepared to do anything adventurous there so we only carefully waded in...dipping our feet into the cool, refreshing water which felt soooo good in the mugginess.

The river bottom was layered with slippery rocks so the girls had to hang on to Daddy...
and by the pictures below, you can tell that my oldest was really enjoying this whole river-wading thing!


It was fun to watch some of the other people fish off the banks or get into inflatable rafts...

However, what you can't see is just to the left of the raft the river turns to rapids. These people had guides to row the raft, which went into the opposite direction...
but a group of 20-somethings just before them entered the water with inner tubes...and beers. Not a good combination, I'm thinking!
Interestingly, they got only part way down the rapids when we noticed they seemed to be having trouble and banked on the other side. Hopefully, they all stayed safe, because on top of the afore mentioned things against them, we returned to camp to be told by the ranger that we were in store for some "weather".

Hmmm...this didn't sound so good.

We got a fire going right away (at my urging of hubby) and commenced roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.
And to me, this taste alone almost makes the whole trouble of camping worthwhile!

It was about then that we could hear the distant rumble of thunder...growing a little louder every few minutes.

I could say that the girls and I ate part of our hot dogs in the car just because we felt like it, and let you draw your own conclusions.
But thankfully, the rumbles seemed to stop after awhile, and soon we were all tucked into our sleeping bags, playing one of our favorite games of someone starting a story and the next person continuing on...

(Somehow, their daddy always has cute little aliens in his portion, but we girls are usually quick to write them out of the script by having them fly back to outer space and soon a princess or puppy in onto the scene.)

Just as I was blissfully falling asleep, what sounded like the gentle roar of the ocean began. Funny, we weren't anywhere near the ocean.
As I glanced out of a window flap on the tent, I could see the tops of all the tall trees swaying in the wind which had just started up. Thankfully, there was hardly any wind down low and all was fairly still by our tent. But this really didn't make me feel much better, somehow.

Wind and tall trees. Another combination I wasn't crazy about.

And the night had only begun...

To be continued...

Once Upon a Time...

As she stood underneath the canopy that sheltered the department store entrance from the pouring rain, she wondered...

Here she was...about to meet some stranger whom she had never seen in person- not even a picture- and supposedly spend the whole evening with him.

Oh yes, she knew what some people would say...to stoop to meeting someone through those dating ads showed signs that you were "just plain desperate".

Was that true? Was she really desperate?
No...she had had her fair share of dates in her life. Even boyfriends.
But then, let's be honest. Turning 30 for a woman who knew she wanted to marry and have children could give a tiny sense of...um...was panic the right word?
No...too strong.
Concern. Yes, that was it.
She had concerns.

Some might also say that by calling an ad someone had placed in the paper that began with, "Christian male, 32..." was not only fool hearty, but just not trusting God enough.
But she had prayed about this whole thing, and it had just seemed right. Was it His leading?
She really had felt that she should reach out a bit more and not just passively sit back and wish.
And because of the fact that by doing something like this felt completely out of her comfort zone, perhaps she was actually having faith... having to step out in faith in all this!

She glanced at her watch as the summer rain continued to splatter over the cars in the parking lot in front of her. He was suppose to meet her here...right here.
But this was not his town, it was hers...so maybe he was a bit lost. Or hung up in traffic. Or...something.

Her thoughts drifted back to their first phone conversation. Somehow, they had seemed to just "click"...and had ended up talking for two whole hours. She remembered thinking, "I may meet this guy and he may not be someone I could ever feel romantic towards, but either way, I think I could definitely be friends with him."

As she pondered all of this, she noticed a young college age guy step out from the department store and stand, apparently waiting for the rain to let up. Somehow a conversation ensued...and it didn't take long to notice that this kid was flirting with her. She smiled and made small talk, as she anxiously peered intently at each passing car, looking for the one her blind date had described on the phone.
"So, you're meeting a date here?" he was saying. "Well, if he doesn't show up, he's an idiot. And you're welcome to go do something with my room mate and me..."
She smiled in spite of herself. She would never go off with this man-child, cute as he was, in a million years. And did this kid who probably just started driving a few years ago even have a clue how old she really was? Despite her now growing anxiety of being stood up, it was a nice ego boost to be flirted with anyway...in the pouring rain...
While she waited.

After declining sweetly his invitation and the young guy made his way into the downpour bidding her good luck, she glanced at her watch again.
Just how long should a gal wait, anyway? Some people now days had mobile phones, but neither she nor Mystery Man owned such a luxury.

Just when she was about to call it a day, she noticed a little car drive by very, very slowly in front of her, the driver seeming to peer questioningly at her. She knew in that split second that this was him...and hurried over to the passenger side as the car completely slowed to a stop.

She heard him say her name as a question, just as she was simultaneously asking his name.
Something about him immediately seemed like an old friend.
And on top of that...oh yes...he was kind of cute...
He explained that all this time, he had been waiting at the other entrance. Yep, there was indeed more than one, and they had each been patiently waiting at the opposite ends.

Having planned to eat at a restaurant right there at the mall where they were meeting, she was actually getting into the car with him to drive over, without even thinking.
That was breaking RULE #1 in meeting strangers....and it completely went against her cautious personality!

But somehow...somehow she just kind of knew.
Knew what, she had no idea...

But on that rainy fourteenth of August, fifteen years ago today, it was actually the beginning of an adventure that would last for the rest of their lives.



Happy 15th Anniversary of the Day we met, Sweetheart.

More Family Reunions...

Well, I almost feel as though I took an unplanned bloggy break! I am so far behind in visiting all of you, and hope to do some catching up...but I thought I'd better at least check in here and say hello!

Last week, the girls had Vacation Bible School. It's a strange feeling for this home schooling mom to drive them to "school" every morning by 9:00 and have them gone for three hours! But it was a nice little change of pace, and the girls absolutely love going every year.

Then, Saturday morning, all of the clan on hubby's side of the family headed out to the beach for their aunt's 80th birthday and big family reunion.
I was excited to go and see everyone...and to see the ocean itself, since it had been awhile for me!
The weather was a little windy, and the sun would keep peeking out from behind the clouds every half hour or so, and then go back into hiding, but the weather was actually much better than I had heard it would be, so I was thrilled.

But back to the family... my husband's aunt had come from miles away and her children went in together and rented a beach house for several weeks as a gift to her. I'm still not sure why they always choose the Oregon coast for these occasions, since so many come from all over the country- but it certainly works well for us!

And because my husband and all of his many siblings no longer have their parents, being with extended family and honoring their mother's sister on this milestone birthday was a special event.
Aunt J. is such a gracious, young and vibrant woman at 80! I had her pose with my husband, just before we were leaving...
Half-way through, our girls began playing with a never-before-met second cousin who is the same age as my oldest. She and her family came all the way from Virginia and the three girls became fast friends.

When it was time for us all to part, I suggested maybe these two nine year old cousins could become penpals, and it seems I must have hit on a good idea...e-mail addresses were promptly exchanged. (OK, not the kind where they can practice their penmanship, but hey...)
And as someone who has recently discovered cousins of my own, I was so tickled that the girls got to meet some new cousins they didn't know they had, too!

In fact, I think everyone had such a super time...

there were skits that the kids put on...

Old fashioned potato sack races...
And a kite to fly... Not to mention, so much food that they were sending it home with everyone.
Ribs in particular.
They were packing the leftovers and loading our cars with it as we would leave...I felt a little like the Flintstones when that big side of ribs is plunked onto their car and it tips it over.

But honestly, it was such a nice, relaxing time. This large extended family as a whole seemed to possess that rare combination of warmth, casualness, wholesomeness- and with just a tiny dash of elegance thrown in.

It was good to chat with so many we seldom see...or as in the case of most of the children- never met before!

And nice to simply stroll on the beach during one of the sun breaks, as the strong sea breeze blew at us. Now, far be it for me to pass rumors around, but there is some talk about the family camping trip possibly changing over to a rental house at the beach next year. At least for part of it.

Could it be true??? After decades of the same old campground???
Dare I really hope?
Is it too early to start packing???

Show and Tell # 20

It's Show and Tell Friday again!

And today I am veering off a bit from my usual childhood memory and focusing in on something completely different. (In fact, I hope it qualifies, Kelli!)
Because although the rules state we can show something we're working on, I'm not sure if we can show something our kids are working on..but just in case, I'll tack on something that I did a few years ago at the end...

I use to scrapbook just a little. In fact, I meant to take it up again this summer when my family went away camping but it seems to many other things took my attention.

And when I say "scrapbook" let me qualify this by stating that it was never anything fancy at all! Pretty simple compared to so many true scrappers out there!

But even at that, I haven't done anything with it for a long time. However, I did give my oldest a child's scrapbooking kit for her birthday this summer, and my youngest had a cheap little album, and about two weeks ago I put it all out on the table for them, along with some copies of pictures that we ordered, and they just went at it.
I didn't help them at all-in fact, I was busy doing something else at the time. Just wandered in occasionally to see their progress and omit appropriate "oohs and ahhs".
That day, they both suddenly found that they loved doing this...and begged for more pictures so that they could keep going.

Here's my nine year old's page she did on that first day,a few weeks ago...


Kinda' cute, huh?

And my six year old's page...

Some of you remember that we picked cherries at my mom's house about a month back, so that was what she wanted her theme to be about!

How my six year old managed to cut out that silhouette I'm not sure... I think when I was six, I was still trying to figure out how scissors worked! ;)

But more than any finished product, is the joy in the creative process itself. So, by that definition, I think I have two budding scrappers on my hands because they were loving every minute of it.

OK, as promised, here's mine from a few years ago...nothing very fancy...


I know it's hard to see...(you may be able to click on it to see it closer)...but the theme was a snow day a few years ago.


(I love reminiscing and seeing how little my girls were...)
I ended up making some of my own embellishments by hand- such as the snowman peeking out above the one picture- by cutting out pieces of construction paper. This was simply because I had been running low on accessories, but I remember I kind of liked the added dimension it gave!

My handwriting? Let's just not go there...

But then, I keep reminding myself that with anything- even scrapbooking- it's not about perfection.
It's a little about being creative and a lot about preserving memories.

Guess it's time to get out the ole supplies again...if they can do it, so can I!

For more Show and Tell, please visit Kelli at There is No Place Like Home!

(P.S....I know I'm so behind on visiting all of you- it's been a busy week but I hope to do some catching up today!)

Marriage Monday- On "Recreational Companionship"

I'm participating once again in Marriage Monday and this month's topic is:

How Recreation Impacts Marriage

This topic got me to thinking back years ago...when it was just the two of us.
So...back in time to the newlywed years...

Since my husband was in the Navy, and we were now living clear across the country in Virginia, we were eager to take advantage of exploring the east coast whenever we could. This didn't happen as often as we liked, due to the fact that his ship was always going out to sea.

In fact, right after he returned from the first big 6-month deployment, and as an early 1st anniversary celebration, we went away to a fancy B&B. It was just wonderful...


But then again, any place probably would have been wonderful together after six months apart!

We went camping a time or two, took off on countless day trips,


Sometimes as far as Richmond or Washington D.C., several hours away.



(Ahh...those were the days... when gasoline wasn't liquid gold!)

We took one memorial Thanksgiving weekend, and drove up to Pennsylvania, exploring the Amish country, seeing the Liberty Bell, stopping at Hershey, and our favorite, most meaningful place, Gettysburg.
(How I wish I could find those pictures!)

Good times.
And...Tiring times....Cranky times...Romantic times.

Yep, even before children, it was all that and more.


It seems back then, that we did manage to go and see so much, in spite of the fact that his ship was always coming and going. And one time, his ship did go to NYC, and in that case, it actually provided a chance for us to see New York together for another whirlwind weekend!

But one of our favorite couple times of all, was actually after we became parents.

In 2005, for our 10th anniversary, we hesitantly left our two little ones (ages three and almost six) with family and good friends, took the vacation money we had been saving for a few years, and went to Hawaii for a whole, entire week.

You see, despite our little excursions over the years, we had still never really had a true honeymoon. In fact, the opposite might be true...so many forced times of separation during our early years!

So, as we approached our 10th anniversary, we were now on the heels of the diaper and nursing stages, and all the various joys and stresses that accompany new parents. Our taking this one week for ourselves alone was like a refreshing renewal of who we were as a couple.

Not to mention, there were no responsibilities for either of us except checking into hotels and shaking the sand out of our towels for seven whole days!
Seeing some sights, swimming and snorkeling, attending luaus...but spending countless hours just walking hand in hand on the shores of Maui as the setting sun dropped lazily into the sea.


That anniversary week was probably even better than it would have been ten years earlier right after our wedding. Not only now did we feel even more appreciative of this break from daily responsibilities...but we now had actually lived together as man and wife, through the good times and bad.
Our love, though far from perfect, had taken root.


These days, we don't always find time for regular date nights like we really should...but we do try to steal away occasionally.
We did go away for a weekend after Hawaii alone together to the San Juan islands and it was an incredible time...


Most recently, when the girls were at a Saturday six-hour church "day camp" event, my husband and I had the most fun just going for a simple bike ride together through the woods, then stopping at a bagel place- just like we did pre-kids, back in Virginia.

Whether it's been as extravagant as Hawaii....or as simple as a bike ride alone together....finding time for us as a couple has always helped serve as reminders to relax, renew, and most importantly,
treasure one another in the every day schedules of life.

To visit more Marriage Monday participants, stop by our wonderful host, Chrysalis!

Show and Tell #19

I'm a little late this morning, but I wanted to join in on Show and Tell Friday, hosted by Kelli at There is No Place Like Home!

For those of you who know me by now, it's no surprise that today, I'm showing something from my childhood. Yes, it's no wonder that my oldest never wants to part with any of her things for sentimental reasons- she certainly comes by it naturally!

This time I wanted to show you one of my stuffed animals, and just why it has a special connection to my past.

Meet George...

I named him George when I was little, because my grandfather, George gave him to me.

I have to admit, that at the time, he wasn't one of my favorites...my delicate little girl tastes wasn't much into plaid back then, and besides- I had such a big menagerie of animals, he was just one of many.
Still, even then, I knew I couldn't give him up because he was given to me by my paternal grandfather, who died when I was only two and a half.

In fact, not only did I not get to know my grandfather George very well, I grew up not knowing a whole lot about him in general. He had left my grandmother for another, and then she remarried, so she and her husband were the main grandparents in my life.

But recently, I had taken an interest in my ancestry, and realized I didn't know anything about his childhood, his parents...nothing.
(Above, one of my favorite pictures of my dad with his father, George. I've heard that my dad- an only child- always had a hard time trying to be close to him, and trying to please him...but I love that this captures the best of their relationship.)

I put a posting on the website, ancestry.com and last summer, an unknown distant cousin contacted me, e-mailing me with tons of information about him and our ancestry! I was SO excited...(I posted about it here, with an excerpt of a letter my g-grandmother had written.)

Then a few months ago, another cousin found me, and sent via snail mail a big packet of information! They each did this out of the goodness of their hearts, and I was so blessed!

Interstingly, each of my newfound cousins knew my grandfather's brothers, but not much was said about George.

I'm beginning to think he that he was a very private man... but at least I know a little bit more now. And I have a treasure trove of ancestry information, thanks to two very generous, newly met cousins.

And now that I'm all grown up, I do think I love George the Dog so much more!

Take another pose, George....