Wonderful Alone Time!

This past weekend something amazing happened - I had the whole weekend alone with my hubby! Jared is really into bird hunting, and since we've moved he hasn't had many chances to hunt. He just doesn't know where to hunt on this side of the mountains yet, and it's quite a drive to hunt on the other side of the mountains. Well, the end of the hunting season is quickly approaching, and I wanted to make sure that he had another chance to hunt this year. So I made sure he could have the time off work, asked his parents to watch the kids, and booked a hotel room for this past weekend. I was going to surprise him, but I ended up telling him about it. We drove over on Friday night, hunted Saturday and Sunday, and came home Sunday evening. It was so nice having that time together, just the two of us! I used to go hunting with Jared pretty often when we were first married, and I don't think I had gone with him at all since having kids. We sat and waited for geese to fly in the mornings, and then hiked around and hunted ducks and quail in the afternoons. The weather was really cold, but it didn't rain or snow on us. What a blessing is was to spend a whole weekend together! It is so important to take that time for our marriage, but all too often we don't take the time. One of our newest goals is to take more time for each other!

Jared and me waiting for some of the geese to fly

A porcupine we came across - he was in a tree and Jared got nice and close for a picture (with his gun in hand just in case).

Daddy's Little Princess:)

A few weeks ago my sweet husband came home with a bouquet of flowers for me. When he came through the door holding the bouquet, Ellie ran up to him and said, "Yay! Are those flowers for me?" Jared told her that they were for Mommy, and she almost started crying, she was so heart-broken. So last night Jared ran to the store and when he returned he had a bouquet for Ellie. She asked if they were for Mommy, and Jared told her that they were for her. Oh, was she excited! She just lit up, knowing how special she is to her daddy! It really made her feel like his little princess. It was priceless! Now her bouquet is sitting on her dresser, where she can see them all day (and night). And, to top it off, Jared also brought me a beautiful red rose! He is such a wonderful husband and father, and we are so blessed to be his girls! We love him so much!

Moving

For the past 5 1/2 years my husband and I have lived at a Bible Camp in central Washington, where he works doing maintenance and running the paintball program, among other things. Jared has worked and lived here for 7 years. This is where we have lived since we got married. It is a beautiful place to live and a great ministry. However, my prayer for a while now has been for change. Right now we live in a house with another family. We live downstairs and they live upstairs, and we share a porch, entryway, and laundry room. I am thankful for the house and the neighbors we have, but it's not easy sharing a house. Also, we live about 25 minutes from the nearest town, which is sometimes a little lonely. We have generator power, which often doesn't work real well.

So....when God opened the door for us to move north of Seattle, to another Bible Camp, I was thrilled! We were not looking for another job, but just happened across this one. In every detail, it has felt like this is where God is leading us. We will for sure miss this place, where we started our lives together and started our family. I'm sure we will come back to visit. But we're so excited for this new adventure, and to see what God has in store for us. We will be moving in September. We will be in a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house (we are very excited, as right now we're in a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom). We will live only a few short minutes from the nearest town. We will have regular power. And Jared will be working with outdoor ed. groups, which I think he'll really enjoy. It will be a nice break from doing maintenance. We really feel like this will be a wonderful opportunity for our family. I am so thankful for a God who listens to our prayers and who cares so much!

Lake Chelan

During the summer our camp goes to Lake Chelan once a week for "Lake Day." Of course, the kids and I try not to miss a Lake Day. We love going! It's a chance for us to see Jared, during a season when that's somewhat rare. Plus, it's just really fun. The water is great for swimming; there is a huge grassy area where we like to play, eat, and take rests; and there is a great playground. Not to mention all the camp staff, who make the days very fun for my kids. They love Ellie and Parker, and Ellie and Parker love them, too. We have had two Lake Days so far this summer - tomorrow is the third. Last week there was extra room on the camp bus, so the kids and I rode on the bus. I was a little nervous, but the kids did great, and had a great time! At first Ellie was a little afraid of all the noise that the big kids were making, but soon they brought out a guitar and sang praise songs, and my kids sang right along! Ellie and Parker didn't know the words to many of the songs, but still they sang loudly! Last week Jared brought our sailboat to the lake, and Ellie and Parker got to take their first ride on it. They did great, and loved it! It will be so much fun when they're a little older and we can all sail as a family often. Lake Days are a fun time for all of us, and I think the kids will have wonderful memories of these great summer days!

Thankfulness

The past few days I've been feeling whiny. I really haven't felt like I should sit and write anything while I was feeling that way. But I've decided instead of avoiding this blog, I will attempt to list 10 things I'm thankful for. It will give me something positive to write about, and possibly even change my mood in the process. So here goes...

10 Things I'm Thankful For (not in any particular order):

1. The beautiful wildflowers we see and pick every day. Thanks to an extra rainy spring, they are extra beautiful this year.

2. That my kids get along (most of the time). While it often irritates me that they spend so much time at night giggling when they should be sleeping, it does mean that they enjoy each other's company. I know they love each other very much.

3. A wonderful, almost traffic-free place to run in the spring, summer, and fall (just too much snow and ice to run in the winter).

4. A healthy body that allows me to run, and to play with my kids.
5. A God who loves me and gives me a new start daily.

6. My husband, who loves me in spite of my crankiness, and who makes me proud every day.

7. My MOPS group, which has meant the world to me these past few years.

8. Friends who encourage me, challenge me, lift me up in prayer, support me, and love me.

9. The most comfy bed ever.

10. Living where there is lots of space outdoors for my kids to play.

Hey, I feel better already! It helps me so much to look at all the great things in life, rather than focusing on the things I wish I could change. I wish it came more naturally to me to see all that I have to be thankful for. But I'm challenged, knowing that the more often I practice this exercise, the more natural it will become. I think I'll try to make these "Thankfulness lists" a regular thing!

My wonderful hubby!

I have been having a hard time knowing what to blog about the past couple weeks. Today, though, I was thinking about how much I love my husband, and how wonderful he is, and I knew that that's what I should write about. Jared and I have been married for almost 6 years. I cannot say that it's always been easy, but I can honestly say that I wouldn't change a moment of it. Going through hard times has helped us to appreciate the good times even more. I have seen us both grow since the day we got married - spiritually, emotionally, and yes, even physically! We've grown so much closer to each other, and there is not another person I'd rather spend time with than Jared. I'm so excited to experience many, many more years together! Jared is my other half - literally. Where I have weaknesses, he has strength, and vice versa. It's easy to become annoyed with the differences we have, but when we see them for what God intended them for - to strengthen each other - than we know that they are blessings.


I think I'll just end by listing a few (of the many) things that I love about Jared.

*I love that he can fix anything.
*I love that he is such a great father. He's a wonderful example to the kids, and they love spending time with him.
*I love that he's easygoing, and doesn't get uptight about things like I do.
*I love that he gives people the benefit of the doubt, and doesn't jump to conclusions.
*I love that he often knows me better than I know myself.
*I love that he would drop anything to help out a friend in need.
*I love that he's adventurous, and often pushes me out of my comfort zone.
*I love that he listens for God's will in his life.
*I love that he's loyal - to me, to our family, to his friends, etc.
*I love that he loves me!

Camping!!!

This is our last week before the craziness of summer camps, so we decided to take a night and go camping on Monday night. We got a new "family tent" this past winter at Cabela's, to use in place of our little 2-man tent for now. We tried to surprise the kids, but they heard us talking about tents and figured it out. They were so excited to go camping! Our first stop was Walmart, to pick up air mattresses, a tarp, and a few other things we needed for the trip. Then it was off to the campground. It was a campground that I had never been to, and Jared had been to years ago (it was his suggestion - thanks, Hon!). It's right on a lake, and there are tennis courts, a soccer field, volleyball nets, a big playground, a nice place to swim, lots of area to run around. It was perfect! We had such a wonderful time. It was just nice being away together as a family, since I know we won't see much of Jared this summer. The weather was really nice and warm when we arrived, and got super windy that night. The next morning was not quite as warm, but still wonderful. Parker didn't sleep real well, so we were all pretty tired yesterday, but it was so worth it! I love camping, and it's something I want my kids to grow up loving, too.Jared "roasted" marshmallows over our camp stove for s'mores, because we forgot to bring any wood for a fire!What a sweet smile! Parker sure loved the playground!Ellie really enjoyed the obstacle course on the playground. At first she wanted Jared's help, but before long she could do it all herself! It was a real confidence booster for her.Both of our kids really love to climb. They liked having so many things to climb (including some boulders right in our campsite!).

Parker is a fair-weather water boy. He enjoyed playing near the water, but wouldn't go in because it was too cold.

Ellie loved getting in the water, even though it was pretty cold. She's our little water lover!

Jared and Parker sleeping in the morning - what sweet angels!

Busy life

Well, by now you are probably thinking that I've given up on blogging. I promise I haven't; I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post anything new. We have been out of town more days than not this past week and a half, and our few days home were filled with getting ready to leave again. But here I am, writing from Oregon. Lets go back a little farther, though, and I'll try to fill you in on the past couple weeks. I will add pictures once I'm back home, in about a week and a half.

Last Thursday our family packed up our car and travelled over the pass to Woodinville, where we stayed the night with some good friends of ours. Jared and I were able to go on a double date while we were there, with our friends Sean and Cathy. We went out for very yummy Thai food! The next day our friend Phyllis, with whom we were staying, took the kids and I around Woodinville. We did a little shopping and then went for lunch at a super fun place called The Tot Spot. It was a restaurant with a huge play area in the middle for kids! Ellie and Parker loved it! Ellie found the dress-up clothes right away, and Parker quickly found all the riding toys. Later that day Phyllis took me with her to the YMCA, where she has a membership, and we worked out together. It was so much fun! If it weren't such a long drive for me, I would definitely join a gym! Friday afternoon we left Woodinville and drove to a camp a little north of there, where our friends Sean and Cathy work. The staff from our camp was having a retreat there for the weekend. I really didn't do much with our camp staff, besides eating meals. I spent most of the weekend with Cathy. We went to the outlet mall Saturday morning (without kids!), and had so much fun. We spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at the camp, playing outside, on the playground, and in the gym. It's a beautiful camp and we all had a wonderful weekend (although it was nice to get home and get a little better sleep again)!

Monday and Tuesday were spent recovering from our trip, cleaning, doing lots of loads of laundry, and preparing for our last MOPS of the year on Wednesday (the past three years I have been coordinator of our MOPS group). Wednesday was Ellie's last day of preschool for the year and my last day of MOPS for the year. It ended up being an emotional day for me (sometimes I wish I wasn't such a crier). We packed up the car, washed the car, cleaned house, and got ready to leave for Oregon early the next morning.

Thursday morning I got up at 5:00 (planned on 4:00, but was too tired to get up and drive), and we left the house at 5:30. The kids and I headed down to Oregon, while Jared stayed home to work. It was a long, mostly fun day of driving. Unfortunately I got a speeding ticket on my way. You know, in my younger years I sped intentionally, and of course I felt I deserved the two tickets that I got in my first couple years of driving. However, yesterday's speeding was completely unintentional. I thought I was in a 70mph area, and hadn't seen the sign marking that it was now a 60mph construction zone. So I was pretty sad about getting the ticket. Oh well, I guess I need to pay better attention to signs!

So now we're here in Oregon, enjoying a week and a half with family. There's a wedding reception on Saturday and a graduation the Saturday after, and I'm sure we'll be busily getting ready for both of those. But I'm hoping for some great relaxation, too, and just enjoying spending time with family. So for now, that's what's going on with us. I will hopefully continue to post updates daily, and will post pictures as soon as we get back home. God's blessings on you today, and I am off to visit.....