What a Difference Two Years Makes. . .

Lake Quinault 2009

Lake Quinault 2011

~And So That's What She Did.

The Long Weekend

Last Wednesday evening I was doing a little cooking and the girls as usual were standing on the step stool beside me. Apparently Thumbelina got a little too close to Belloise so she took a step sideways to get some space and toppled right off of the stool and fractured her arm just below her elbow. Thankfully we already had a doctor appointment set for Thumbelina the next day so we had the doctor take a look at Belloise as well.

We had to go get an x-ray, which was pure torture for her, then they sent us home so I went and did my shopping, went home and began to make a Peach Cobbler to take to our family reunion the next day. Just as I had the cobbler ready for the oven I got a call from the orthopedics office saying they had an opening right now. So I grabbed the girls from their nap and asked my kind neighbor if she wouldn't mind baking my cobbler for me, which she did, we have some great neighbors.

Belly had such a good attitude about having the cast put on and she really seemed relieved to have the protection on her owie.

Poor thing she had such a rough day Thursday. We went to the doctor for Thumbelina's check-up and Belloise got the vaccines, then an x-ray, a cast and then as if that wasn't enough trauma for one day when we got home she got stung by a bee on her good thumb. Not her day at all.

Friday came and we hurried around running last minute errands and got out of town around noon for a two hour drive out to Trout Lake for a family reunion. This was the first year that we were camping overnight. Usually, since My Beloved is working crazy summer hours by this time, we just come up for the day. But this year I decided I was camping with or without him. Unfortunatley it ended up being without him.

As soon as we got out of the car aunties and cousins came running to sign Belloise' cast.

My dad had brought his camper and we had borrowed a tent, ours has mysteriously disappeared since the last backyard camping adventure. I was excited to be able to bring Penny this year, only to find out that since she has an un-curbable urge to explore the fields searching for vermin, which is a no-no, she had to be tied most of the time. Poor thing I don't think she enjoyed this trip.

There is a small river that runs by the park that we camp at with a swimming hole that is perfect for kids of all ages. The water is pretty shallow for the most part.

Breakfast time.

Saturday morning song service, led by my Dad, with the guitar, and my sisters, with the violins, and a few cousins. They called all of the little kids up to sing Jesus Loves Me.

Penny joined us as well, but she didn't do much singing.

Here you can see D-man with his guitar in the far left. He did a great job.

Belloise found someones baby doll and bottle and would give some to the dolly . ..

and some for herself.

This is the view from behind my tent. The fields and cows that surround this park make for a beautiful foreground for Mount Adams in the background.

Belloise thought it was hilarious to lift up her dress and say bah, which translates blow or blow fish as we call raspberries or zerberts.

Thumbelina found a little friend to play dolls and hide and seek with. It was so sweet to see how quickly she came to trust this little girl and would follow her almost anywhere.

After lunch it was back to the swimming hole for the rest of the afternoon.

Dogs enjoy this refreshingly icy water, right alongside of the kids. Tucker here seemed to enjoy bringing the water to those sitting along the bank with a shower only a retriever can give.

When everyone finally piled out I couldn't help taking a shot of this beautiful little spot.

On the way home however, I hit a deer. A nice big buck, with antlers that I would have loved to grab as a souvenir if, a) I had killed it and b) I was the kind of person to cut into an animal (gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees just thinking about it.). I was very thankful that this was all the damage that was done and that we were all safe. Although I was surprised that it happened only after I had gotten back into town not out in the more rural area's along Highway 14. City deer they just don't know they are animals and not cars.

~And So That's What She Did.

Tuesday Morning Coffee Break

Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, in the worst sort of way. . .

Well I might be exagerating just a little, but it was at the very least a frustrating day. So I thought I would share one of my stress relieving activities with you.

My Beloved put up a clothes line last week and it has been instrumental in my not locking our children in a room just to get some peace and quiet.

There is something about slowing down and pinning each piece of clothing on the line and then a few hours later taking down each piece and folding it to place in a basket. The laundry gets folded sooner and in such a pleasant environment too. It's like washing dishes with a dish cloth instead of a scrubby brush.

Sometimes I think that life is all about finding little ways to slow things down and give yourself time to think a little. So pour yourself some coffee and sit for a minute maybe more.

But first if you have any stress relievers I would love to hear them.

Then and Now: The Slope

The Slope

When we first moved into our house, four and a half years ago, this was the back slope.

Frankly I didn't realize that it was part of the property we were purchasing. I just thought someone else had a big blackberry problem.

Turns out it was our problem.

Since my Beloved works in excavation, he decided to bring in a machine

and begin the process of building rock walls and creating a terraced backyard. Most of this work was done the same weekend I went into labor with our oldest daughter. I was in the house bustling around pausing for contractions and waiting for things to get serious and he was outside racing to finish his work. That would be why there is no picture of the finished rock walls before the grass was planted. We were in the hospital for a week.

The garden bed and rock walls were already in place but the rest was one big ol' pile of blackberry bushes.

 Now, this is our little slice of the country smack in the middle of the city.

Even after all the changes around it this rose bush somehow survived and is now a beautiful part of the rock wall around it. Really says something about deep roots.

And here is our next project. . . hmm what will to do? What to do?

~And So That's What She Did.

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. Isaiah 45:15

Three years ago, when I was very pregnant with our first daughter, my husbands truck was stolen from a lake where he and a buddy were fishing.

I remember talking with Gladys, Fishing Buddy's wife, on the way out to pick up our husbands. She was irate about the truck being stolen. Somehow the Lord gave me a peace about it, perhaps it was reverse pregnancy hormones (my first pregnancy was that way), all that I could say was "Well the Lord is in control and everything happens for a reason."

She was astounded.

So was I.

This was on a Friday. Around midnight on Saturday we got a call from the Sheriff saying that they had found the truck and if we wanted to go get it we could. So with optimistic anticipation we headed up to the trail we were told the truck was on. Beloved called Fishing Buddy and he was kind enough to climb out of bed at 3am and come help us.

We searched up and down every trail in the park, and found nothing. We did see a few burnt out vehicles which made my heart sink. I was still holding out hope that he would be able to drive it out of the park.

 No such luck, when we finally found the truck this is all that remained.

The truck had been sacrificed in some strange drunken hillbilly rave. The kids that stole it took it up into the hills stripped everything of value off of it then rolled it over and drug it around in the mud for a while.

Scoot over I'll drive

The truck was gone, we didn't have comprehensive insurance, and we didn't have much money available for a new truck. But as my title suggests the Lord had a hand in this.

For a week I drove my Beloved to work and either I picked him up or he got a ride home with a coworker. Every truck we looked at in our price range was on it's last leg. My Beloved kept telling me if only we had "this much more" I could get a decent truck.

Wednesday night we went to prayer meeting and one of the brothers handed my Beloved a check for "this much more".

I cried, we hadn't told anyone, that I remember, that we were in need of more funds but the Lord knew.

By the next week we had found a reliable pickup for my husband.

We were able to scrap what was left of the old truck and get a few hundred dollars. Which covered the license and registration fees for the new truck.

As if that wasn't enough the culprits were caught, sentenced and ordered to pay restitution. Which is where my Facebook post comes in.

 It seems that nearly every Friday that ends with me looking at my Beloved and saying "Uh, Honey don't spend a dime this week and by the way we are having chicken every night" is usually followed by the Saturday mail with a check from the court house. Nothing major or life changing but always just what we needed.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

~And So That's What She Did.

P.S. Perhaps someday I will tell you about how we were able to write checks for every bill that came to cover the week long stay in the NICU that our little bundle needed when she arrived a month later. 

A Frog, A Bulldozer, Some Friends and a Silly Child

A Frog

My husband is always bringing water animals home from work. This last week he brought home a new pet for the pond.

The girls were intrigued.

That is until Thumbelina touched it and the frog leaped out of daddy's hand. Then the girls began to scream. . . This encourages me, I am raising them well :).

He likes to hang out in the center of the pond or under the leaves along the edge.

A Bulldozer

On Saturday we took a snack and some drinks to visit Daddy at work. He was working on a private job, clearing a mound where a house had once stood. Apparently the lot is prone to flooding so the original owners built a slight hill to lift their house above the flood line. The house has since been condemned and demolished. My Beloved's job was to level the mound.

Since we were there gave the girls a little ride.

I felt a little sad that such a nice piece of land had come to this. I am sure that at one time it would have been a delightful piece of land. Great open field plenty of room and sun for an orchard and a garden. The mound was smack in the center. The property was at the end of a quiet street with a school and a park only a few blocks away. Sad that such an ideal location had become a hideout for people with unsavory motives. The mound made it hard for police to safely patrol, which in turn made the surrounding neighborhood a little less safe. So I understand the reasons it's just sad that someone had to leave what had to have been at one time a lovely and peaceful place.

I pondered all of this while sitting in the car with my feet out the window, reading a book on potty training.

I did all of this while waiting for my children to tire of the dozer and the dog to stop chasing rodents through the field.

 

Thumbelina wanted another ride and so did Penny.

Then it was time for Daddy to get down to business.

And we had to leave to get ready for some dinner guests.

Friends

You know how most of the time when you throw a party you can only count on about 75% of your guests showing up? We had 150% show up.

It was great. Our neighbors stopped by so their daughter could play with Thumbelina and so we invited them to stay. A friend of my Beloved showed up for something else and so we invited him to stay. I loved it.

I think we need a bigger back porch. . . or perhaps a new location for the grill.

When the sun went down we headed inside. My Beloved tried to rustle up some enthusiasm for a fire in the fire pit but no such luck this night. I was okay with that.

This sweet little flower just loved our Penny. She was crawling all over her, it was so sweet, Penny loved it.

Silly Child

Thumbelina: Are you upper case kidding?

~And So That's What She Did.