One Year Ago Today:

One year ago today: Mom, Jenny, Baby Char, Carson, Baby Kenny and myself headed off on a big adventure. We arrived at the Cincinnati airport very early. I have no pictures of this trip; I had other stuff on my mind. But, imagine with me the sight we must have been. 3 adults, 1 toddler, 1 four month old and 1 six week old; 2 car seats, 2 breast pumps, 2 diaper bags, 1 saxophone (no I could not put my saxophone in the moving truck!) 1 small backpack of toys, and 1 large backpack full of who knows what. You got this picture in your mind? If I remember correctly, our flight was good to Salt Lake City. Here we discovered that our continuing flight to Boise had been canceled. How can you just cancel a flight? Well Nana, taking the situation in hand, marched bravely to the counter and went to work, and soon we were running and dragging our belongings to catch a flight. Actually, we got a cart to transport us and our treasures since in our current conditions we weren’t really into running.
We arrived safely in Boise, Idaho; we were picked up by my dear, sweet Andy. He along with his parents had arrived ahead of us on the 10th with the humongo moving truck. The church people had met Andy at our house and unloaded the truck and unpacked some of our “can’t live without” boxes. So when we, the weary travelers, arrived. The pantry was stocked, the fridge had goodies in it, beds were set-up and made. I was very touched by these acts of kindness!
This year we have been very blessed. It hasn’t all been a walk in the park; in fact, it has probably been one of the toughest years for me. But knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that we are where God wants us and doing what he wants, holds me steady. God is good!
In some ways it feels longer than a year and in other ways, I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I have learned much about myself, and yet at times I feel as if I am wondering in the dark. There are things I miss, mostly family and friends, but now I’m working to adjust to a new normal. Making friends has never been easy, but I am blessed by the kind people here. I loved my job of teaching music, and being involved with things at GBS, but I knew that my time there was done and that God was calling my heart home. I love being home with my kiddies! I also enjoy being a part of the church music, the Youth group (Life4ce), and being a part of Community Bible Church. I love this small town, I love the beautiful scenery, and I love Idaho. God is good! I am blessed!
I also love being a part of Z-girls. This is a ministry started by Stephanie and I, we both felt God talking to us, unbeknownst to the other. This is a group of high-school girls, usually numbering between 7-10, that come to my house every Tuesday; it’s a time of mentoring, connecting, studying the Bible, talking and eating. Maybe I should have listed eating first, because this group can put away the food. Side note: this past Tuesday, we had 7 girls and a puppy and they devoured 1 ½ bags of tortilla chips and almost 2 jars of salsa and ½ a pan of brownies. We can eat! Check out my Facebook and you will see pictures and a video of a recent boating trip that z-girls took.
Ok, enough rambling…. The church picnic supper is in an hour, my children aren’t clothed appropriately, the oven is beeping that the Swedish peach pie that I am taking is ready to come out of the oven, my house is a disaster, Kenny is dragging the swiffer around the floor, and tomorrow is Sunday; I better get to work.

Happy Sunday

Yes, I realize that today is Monday, just running behind a little....

Classic looks

Recently "kenny" has started putting things on her head and running around. This just cracks me up and usually Carson joins in the fun. Pardon my little lady's state of undress.

On my way to church, 8:15 am, I had just turned on Washington street, the major street through town, and there standing on the corner was a pre-teen/teen girl holding a huge poster. I glanced at the poster, thinking car wash, bake sale; why so early on a Sunday morning, and there was only one car parked there behind her ... Then I read the sign "I will not LIE to parents again" I looked away quickly, my hands were shaking, my stomach was sick, my mind was reeling, embarrassed for the child; wondering/questioning. This has been heavy on my mind, why was this necessary? what is the story? why was this the form of punishment used? will this actually work, or just cause anger and bitterness. I don't know and I will never know; but my heart aches, my hands shake, and my stomach is knotted.

Ok, that wasn't very happy, but the rest of the day was good!

Hope you had a worshipful Sunday as well!