We made it!

Well we have made it back to our home in Washington.
The trip here was not without it's share of adventure. But then again, in case you haven't noticed, my life seems to be full of adventure.

We had planned to leave mom's house at 4am Saturday morning, push through the drive, and make it home by 4 pm. As most of my plans go.... this one didn't fair too well.

We actually left my mom's closer to 5am... and while we were at the gas station, we got coffee and changed a burnt fuse, then got a phone call saying we forgot Hunter's Nerf blaster...so we went back to get that crucial piece of equipment... and eventually we did get out of town...

As soon as we got on to 80... it was INCREDIBLY windy! So windy it was helping you make lane changes whether you wanted to or not. The car I was driving began to make this terrific sounding noise... worried that it was a noise to be really worried about we pulled over as soon as we got to I-5 in a town named Dunnigan. This town has a very rich history of unscheduled stops for Jody and me, but i will leave that story for another time.
We parked and Jody started to check under the hood... all the fluids and such... we tried to hurry because we thought that the Pilot gas station sign was going to fall on us and end our trip...
Satisfied that everything was at the level that it should be... we were once again back on the road. The car was still making the noise... but we found out when the wind subsided in Red Bluff.... that it was merely the sound of the wind howling through some piece of the car when it blew in just the right direction... because after we got to Red Bluff... i never heard the noise again.

We stopped for brunch in Weed, Ca. and had a fairly uneventful drive up until Bend, Or. That is where it started to get fun.
We pulled into Bend about 4 pm... remember from above???... that was when i wanted to be home. .... sigh....
Bend is 3 1/2 hours from home on a good day. We stopped there because Jeremiah had to go potty...
Jeremiah.... hates clothes. Due to the fact that he was strapped into his car seat... the only articles of clothing he could dispense with were his shoes and socks. He needed these to go into the bathroom. So i set my keys down by his chair, and put on his shoes and socks. Then i got him out... and went to the front seat to make sure my wallet was hidden... and locked the doors, and shut them. The same millisecond that the door clicked shut, i remembered the keys were sitting in the backseat next to the chair.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jody's eyes met mine..... and he quietly turned and walked to HIS car to see what he could get out of the trunk to rescue the keys. Me, i just tried not to freak out.

Having nothing better to do for the foreseeable future we went in to use the potty. After that was done, i went to see how Jody was fairing. He was still at the trunk of his car trying to fabricate something out of who-knows-what to stick down the door as a makeshift "slim jim". I sheepishly tell him "sorry".... he looks at me and smiles....and tells me " your not just a job, sweetheart, your an adventure." He then walks over to my car and attempts to break in. I secretly pray that he will not get arrested for Grand Theft.

After nearly dropping the tip of his devise into the car door to be lost forever, Evan came back from inside the store with a large wire thing that sort of resembled a Shepard's hook... but they were trying to pass it off as a wire coat hanger. He tried this for awhile, and was not getting very far. Then this guy that pumps gas there comes over and asks him if he needs any help.... he says he might have some things that could help. Turns out he was a former tow truck driver, and had a stash of tools from back in the day. He let Jody use them and we were in the car in 5 min. (i think he came over about the time that my friend Katrina was praying we would be able to get the keys out... but only God knows the whole real timing of the situation... ) We thanked the guy PROFUSELY, asked if we could buy him coffee... wash his car... shine his shoes... anything to express our gratitude... he smile and told Jody that it was real nice of us to offer to repay him somehow... and told us to just drive safely and have a Merry Christmas.

Now that they key are out... it is 5:00... and starting to get dark. We are back on the road.... Now, if you know ANYTHING about me, you know i HATE to drive in the dark. I have great trouble seeing the road when there is oncoming traffic and the road is unlit. So we are on the road again after telling Jody he can NOT race ahead of me, and leave me with no tail lights to follow.

He zipped ahead of me about 5 min out of Redmond. It was my undoing. I started to cry. So now i can't see the road because of the headlights AND because i am crying. Something is on the inside of my windows, and it is making the outside look foggy.... and i am a wreck. Tayler is next to me praying out loud... telling me i am doing great... being my cheerleader... Hunter is wiggin out in the backseat cuz he is bored... and Jeremiah has decided NOW is the best time to begin making screaming noises because he is bored. Did i mention that i was a wreck?

I have Tayler text ahead to Jody's car... and tell him we need to stop in the next town to fix the window, cuz it is really hard to see and i am wiping it down on the inside every few minutes. The defroster isn't helping me see any better.

We get to Madras... and we get the window clean. Jody looks at me crying... ( i still hadn't been able to stop that yet...) He asks me if i want to just stop for the night... i nod yes. So now we hunt for a motel. We find one next to Taco Bell ( the kids were thrilled! ) I took a bath... and decompressed.... it was money well spent.

The next day we drove the rest of the way in the sunshine... and the road ice had melted... and i was a VERY happy mommy... I enjoyed listening to the sounds of Hunter run a military operation from the backseat of the car. He shot out the tires of the enemy ( the oncoming cars ) He threw grenades at the enemy bunkers ( lone trees ) and called in for air support to blow away the factory ( some poor farmers house with grain elevators next to the barn )... it was hilarious... they boy has a SERIOUS imagination!

Now we are home safe and sound.... and i can't wait to sleep in my own bed!

Thanks, Thankfulness....Thank You......

it seems to me, that culturally, we tend to focus on 'thanks'... for one day a year... and not really well if you ask me.

Maybe it is because I am getting older, but has anyone else noticed how Christmas decorations are up in the store now even before the Halloween Candy has run out? I seem to remember a time when they waited for the decorations until Thanksgiving was over. Now we hear more about Black Friday sales, than about what we are thankful for, we seem much more preoccupied with our own greed.

All throughout the Psalms, David gives thanks for his God. In Psalm 100 David tells us to be joyful.... Not because of what we are going to get in the next big sale... but because we have a Lord ... and HE is GOD!

Make sure you take a bit of time.... whatever day it is, and be be joyful and glad for God and who He is.

He is near to those with broken hearts

Many of you know that my dad very recently passed away. It helps me to think of it as he graduated to glory.... passed away seems so empty , and dad's life isn't over, he just went to be with the Lord.... and that is so much more joyful to me than "passed away".... anyway... sorry for the tangent... i will get back on track now..

So dad is in heaven, and mom is sad. This we have discussed. .... So today, being Sunday, I asked her if she was going to come to church ( she hasn't been since we found out that dad had a new tumor.) As i expected... she hemmed and hawed.... so i pushed a bit harder... after her saying " don't bug me " and me leaving her alone, she decided that she would come.... and in my head, i was doing the happy dance!

I told her, people love you, and care for you, they ask about you all the time. They know you are hurting and they want to love up on you.... knowing that the mere kind look by someone, can make her and I go into tears, we planned to meet up and i would walk the lobby with her. So armed with Kleenex... we brave the lobby. We actually made it through without too many hugs and tears.

When service started, that is when it happened. The music came on, and the words go straight to your heart. And the tears begin to flow. Since i have been here in Ca. and since we knew dad had a new tumor, and all that it entailed... i haven't made it through a service at church without tears. Today, with mom, was no exception.
The tears come as almost an overwhelming expression of worship. The words to "shout to the Lord", where you are singing ( or trying to rather... cuz it is hard to sing out loud when you are crying ) praise after praise... affirming WHO God IS... in the midst of this time of sadness.... well, it is just beautiful. So beautiful that the tears just flow. "Great is Thy Faithfulness" again has so much more intensity when viewed through a valley in your life....

I am beginning to understand how perfect His strength is in my weakness.
And today, I experienced Psalm 34:18. It was the essence of my experience today in church.... and i hope and pray it was my mom's too... because neither of us could sing.... just say the words in our head... and let God take the pain we had.


" The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit" ( NKJ ) .....Amen!

following

one of the coolest things about these blogs, is that i am not the only goober to have one. I really like this way to peek in on people. i think that i like it because you get a pretty real sense of what someone is like. What they think, more of who they are.... instead of just the " Hi, how are you" that we seem to do when we meet folks.

That being said. I added a new blog to "follow" on my list to the right. This one is by Angela Erickson. For those of you Redwoodians that read here... the last name might seem familiar. She is the Bride of Dan Erickson, who is the son of Marty and Sharon. So now that you know her family tree...at least on the hubbys side.... Check her out.... I did at the recommedation of her mother-in-law :)

Change.........

I was reading a good friend's blog... she changed it up...(check her out... she is the lily one ).... and this was the comment i made on her site.... and then i got to thinking... i should put it on here.... so a cut and paste later... here you go.


See there is this verse that keeps coming back to me, in personal study, in Sunday school classes…. it is one of those bugger passages that gets you every time you read… and takes on new perspective when you read it in the light of a new issue in your life. Amazing how God’s word is alive that way.

It is for those times when we tend to RESIST change. When we fail to yield to a Sovereign God, who has our best interests in mind.

“You will say to me then, ‘why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’ But indeed oh man who are you to reply against God?” (Romans 9:19,20a)

It goes on to use the analogy of us as clay and God the one who designed our very vessel.

If he designed my vessel, He knows it’s purpose. He will ensure i will get the work i was created for done.
All i have to do is be willing to be molded and shaped and fired into that vessel.
That is how i like to think of change…… it is my metamorphosis into the Woman GOD wants me to be.

blah....blah....blah....

so much going through my mind... and so little time to actually sit and write about it.
I can't decide whether or not to share comical moments, or the things that i have been learning in the last weeks. So probably i will just ramble, and you will just get to read whatever comes out....

I will say that i am ready to go home. I miss my house, my schedule, my church.... so many things. I know why i am here. Wanting to go home, sounds so selfish.

People ask, "how are you" or "how is mom"... I am ok. Then they look at me with a squint, and almost the evil eye, like they are trying to look in my brain and see if i am telling the truth.
Let me set the record straight..... really i am OK. Dad is gone. That sucks. But there is life to live and kids to raise and school to teach, and life goes on. If i sat and sulked.... i don't think my dad would be very proud of me. I cry. Some of the cards people send really are sweet and thoughtful, and they make you cry. Maybe i am too practical, or less emotional ( although i am not sure my husband would agree with that one...lol.... i am able to cry at a commercial sometimes) Maybe it is because i am the oldest... i don't know... but really folks. I am ok.

Mom, She is sad. She feels like we all have lives and things to do, and she doesn't anymore.... she is lonely. last night she fell asleep in one of his shirts. That will make you wanna cry....trust me.... Good news though, she is off and out of the house for a few days. She is visiting friends, and that is a good thing. Keep her in your prayers. Her hurt is deep. God is good, and He will supply for her in her need, but her hurt is deep. Their 42nd anniversary is this week. 'nuff said.

Another horribly sad note is the loss of our puppy. He somehow contracted parvo, before i could get him in for any vaccinations... he was 7 1/2 weeks old. Tayler has taken it very hard. she is our animal gal. She would have me living in Tayler's ark if we didn't have boundaries. She has always said she someday wanted to be a vet. Hopefully this loss doesn't change her mind. Now i need to get the other dogs at home vaccinated ( don't look scandalized... my dogs are healthy!! ) I just need to get someone to the feed store in Pasco and give them the shot. This parvo, is on our clothes and shoes, and will be for a long time, and we don't want to bring home something to them either. Seeing one dog with this disease is enough. I never want to see it happen again!

On a good note.... I am learning lots. Mom has my grandmothers ( dad's mom ) library here. I have been reading a book about Hudson Taylor. There is one on the 23rd Psalm that i want to read. The kids and i are going through the pursuit of holiness by Jeff Bridges. I am learning alot, and I really hope that they are as well. They seem to be finding new truths, and are excited to do the reading and the study work.... so i will take that as a good sign. I will get back to you on more about what we have learned.