Big Turkey, Bilblical Times, and The Minature City

I am blogging again. 2 months is too long, and I have a bit of updating to do. In November, Will had the honor of being Moses in our Church Festival. All of the kids had a blast and Will did a great job. Rygh enjoyed the face painting.




We have been reading "The Shack" during Nov. and Dec. in our small group that Will leads. We all enjoyed the read and had some indepth conversations.

Will also had lunch with our pastor and the president of MAF. Our pastor was asking us what brought us out to Idaho, and we told him about our desire to do mission work and to get connected with MAF. Pastor Steve let us know that the president of MAF, John, is a member of our church. He decided to invite both Will and John to lunch. It was an incredible opportunityy to get to know each other and talk about what is going on in the mission field. God has blessed us with a wonderful church and is opening doors in our lives. We are truly grateful.


Rygh was also busy. Now that he is in 3rd grade, homework is getting more involved. He had his first project that needed to be completed outside of school. His class has been studying communities and towns. They built an entire suburb with ordinances and dues. Their project for home was to build a business that would belong in a city. Rygh chose to do an air force base. We found that there really aren't any books out there (at least at our library) that shows pictures of any bases and how they are layed out. I imagine it has something to do with the security of our military. We were finally able to google earth an air force base. Granted we couldn't get a very close view, but it gave us an idea. The only challenge was that the base has too many building and things to fit them all in a 18"-20" cardboard base. We improvised a little, but It still turned out well. The kids all had to bring their projects in, and they assembled the entire 3rd grade town in the gym. It was really neat to see.








Thanksgiving found us at Barbs. It was so nice to see her and the kids again. It was such a wonderful little vacation. I was glad that I could spend time with family. The drive was really pretty and the food was incredible! Rygh enjoyed playing with Trevor, Amelia, and Ariana. I know that Barb was missing Travis, but I am so glad she had us over despite Travis not being there. It was a wonderful rest. Amelia and Ariana are sooo lovable. I loved the fact that they gave both Will and I hugs and kisses. It almost made me want a little girl of my own to cuddle. I am hoping that I can visit again in the Spring. The weather is a little crazy right now for traveling.
Here are a few pictures of the kids.








Now this brings us to December. We have had quite a bit of snow. Will thought that it was quite funny to see me shoveling snow in my heels. One of our neighbors said that it was a first for him to see.

Mazes

Life is so similar to mazes, is it not? So many times we can look down at a maze and "know" all of the directions to go from one side to the other, and then we actually have to do it. We usually do very well in the beginning, but then things start to get a little fuzzy. We don't quite recall if we should go to the right or the left. We can become terribly lost and confused at times, and despair of ever finding our way in life. But I think that if we just let go and enjoy the experience of getting lost and not knowing which way to go, we will get to the end just fine. I am an eternal optimist. I believe if we are meant to get out, we will, regardless of our state of mind. In that thinking, I might as well enjoy it, instead of always trying to figure it out. So I will strive in letting go, and enjoying the path as I go along, looking and learning and (and sometimes) wondering what great maze I will enter next.

And of course, talking of mazes, we had the opportunity to go a corn maze last weekend. We had a blast and became thoroughly lost and loved every minute of it. Rygh even had the opportunity to "frighten" a few high school girls that were lost as well. It really was quite funny. The girls were strolling along, laughing, and Rygh realized he had a wonderful chance in the making. He turned around and held his finger up, saying "SHH". Being me, I am completely clueless as to his intent, until it is too late. He stops, waits for the girls to get to the "intersection" of the maze, and then jumps out in front of the girls screaming "Grrrr". Of course, they scream, and one asks "Do you want to die kid?" Rygh runs down the path laughing and I am just standing there in the midst of it all. I start laughing uncontrollably. I found the fact that a little 8 year old boy could scare the snot out of a bunch of high school girls, quite hilarious. They somehow did not find the humor in it.

Will also had his birthday on Thursday. He spent the day at the hot springs to the north of Boise, and then we went out to eat for dinner. We celebrated with cake, ice cream and gifts before bed.

We have also started a home group through our church. We have approximately 15 people in the group. We did a study on Hope Lives, and just finished it. We have decided that we will do something a little out of the box this next study. We will be doing a discussion on "The Shack" Will bought the book on CD and we will be listening to it and following it up with some discussion questions.

Carolyn gave me the book "The Shack" by William P. Young, and I loved it. So much so, that I decided to read it out loud to Will and Rygh every evening. Will (who is not much of a book person) thought that our group would really benefit from it. We should be starting it next week.

We truly enjoy the group and find that we are making some good friendships.

Sometime during the last month, Rygh has lost a tooth.

Rygh has been doing great in school. He has been making friends quickly, and has been invited to 2 birthday parties. Yeah- Will and I use that as our dates. We haven't had as many of those lately.

As well, we were able to experience a First in history. It snowed here in the Boise valley last week. Apparently that was the earliest recorded snow fall for the Valley. I thought it was beautiful. The snow stayed on the mountain tops for a few days before it melted. I think it is in the 70's currently. It has warmed up considerably.

Over a month...

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since I blogged last. I have really been busy.

At least it seems that way.

In late September we all had the opportunity to go to the air show in Mountain Home. It was held at the base. We brought our chairs and snacks and had a great time. (I ended up getting really burnt)

Birthday Surprises

I was surprised several times on the weekend of my birthday.




















Will took the time to make Saturday a special, and secret, eventful day. He drove us up north about 2 hrs to Cascade lake. The drive there was beautiful. When we arrived Will pulled up to an Inn and told me just to follow him. We went around the building to the back and there sat my surprise. He had booked us on a wine tasting train ride on the Idaho Northern Pacific. The experience was great. We were able to taste 4 different wines, a variety of hors d'oeuvres, and listened to the music and enjoyed the views of the Payett river. He did such a great job getting our birthday date put together.




























Sunday, Rygh made sure that I knew that he got me something too. He presented me with a very beautiful card with a gift card. He knows how much I love to shop, even though I don't get to do it very often.





Of course Will and Rygh had to make sure that I had an ice cream cake (with all 28 candles), the birthday song, and a day of rest. It was good.





To make the weekend perfect I was able to hear from a lot of my family and friends. I haven't talked to a few of them in a LONG time. Thanks so much for the calls! I really enjoyed hearing from everyone, and learning what was going on in their lives.

17.1 miles

The length of the most grueling hike to date.

Top Elevation: over 5,300 feet.

Bottles of water consumed: 5.75

Duration of hike: 5 1/2 hrs.

State of energy at end: depleted


What does all of this mean - total bliss.

Rygh and I hiked 8.55 miles up the mountain, and then back down again. He did not complain once. (OK maybe just twice)
I picked the hardest hike just to see if I could do it. And we did.

Mission accomplished.

Secret Places...

We decided to check out the weekly market downtown this morning. I loved it. I don't know many cities that shut down the middle of downtown every Saturday morning to have a farmers market. There was the usual of course - fresh produce and bread, flowers, wine, and donuts. But the market had a lot of art as well. Pottery, stone, paintings and what Rygh found the most fascinating - wood carvings with Secret Places. He liked it so much, that he decided to spend the money that Will's mom sent him to buy one with a cross on the front. He already added some polished rocks (courtesy of the market as well) to all of the hidden drawers.

Mission accomplished - 1 hidden places wood art, 1 bag polished rocks = 1 happy 8 year old boy.

Summer recap

Hey, just thought I would share some of the pictures that did not make it to the blog.

Starting with our first ever (away from home) family Vacation.

Rygh had a chance to program our flight from Denver to Cancun.

Made his day.

View from our room at the hotel

No explanation needed

Tulum Ruins

The lobby.

Catastrophes of the move. (Along with a few other things). But the couch is fixed and looking like new now.

I think it is safe to say that I love to hike -

with my camera (I was trying out prolonged exposure times. Not too bad for it being night)

We went to the spray (water) park last weekend before the school started.

Rygh is back

Rygh is finally back with us. His plane came in late last Tuesday. It is great to have him home.

My days are a little more full, and my time is not my own anymore, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have missed having "mom" moments with Rygh. Shared hugs and kisses, falling asleep on the coach together, and countless other things.

Rygh's first day of 3rd grade was today. He was so nervous and anxious about it last night, that he (wich means me as well) was up almost all night, not able to fall asleep. He did great today though. And if you were to ask him the best part of the day - making a new friend.

He is growing up so fast, and I keep praying that God gives me the wisdom and courage to do the right things and to continue to grow as a parent.

Busy Bees

As most of you know, Will and I are trying to "discover" all of the activities and places in the area, and we are definitely keeping busy. Friday we went downtown to the Basque festival.



We will pause for a little history lesson: Apparently the Basque people are from a mountainous region of land located between Spain and France. They have a language of their own and do not appreciate being called anything other than Basque. Because the region is very small, there tended to be a lot of intermarriages, causing a very high rate of O negative blood type and high numbers of the RH factor. Their food tends to be a mix of many different groups. At some point in time there were a lot of immigrants that moved to the Boise area to be sheep herders. Therefore - the Basque festival every year.

Anyway, we enjoyed the food and the history lessons, but we didn't get to see any of the dancing.



On Saturday, we went to the horse races. The races are every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday during the summer. I couldn't quite understand all of the information on the program, but I think I did a decent job deciphering the "horse language". I was able to predict which horses would show or place in some of the races (even though I didn't place any bets on them). I will more than likely go back before the season is over.

Monday was just as busy. After work, we had a nice salad for dinner and then we decided to head for the hills.

This is a picture of Table Rock. One of the most popular hiking trails to the east of the city. The cross is lit up at night and you can see it from the city.

A view of the city half way up to our destination. We were able to time the hike for sunset. It was so beautiful, even with the haze caused by the stagnant air between the two mountain ranges.

Just another pretty view from the hike.

Scripture of the day:

2 Peter 1:3-4

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Baseball!

Well, this is a picture of Rygh (#1) at one of his last little league games in Englewood. I thought the picture fit the theme and added it because I forgot my camera last night. We went to a Boise Hawks game, and I didn't get to take any pictures. I told Will that I need to have the camera attached to my hip so that I remember to bring it places.

The church had the tickets available for $1 a ticket. We thought that was a pretty sweet deal, and decided to check out the team. The Hawks are Boise's minor league and they do pretty well. I enjoyed myself and plan on taking Rygh as soon as he gets back (even though the mascot looks like a chicken instead of a hawk) We are staying busy and we will keep you posted as we go along.

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate it and hope all is going well with you. I can't wait to hear what is going on with your families.

Scripture of the Day

1 Peter 3:8-9

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Insomnia

OK - I apparently have a severe case of insomnia tonight, so I thought I would at least be productive. I started work this last week at Micron. There are about 8,000 employees there. For all of you that aren't sure, Micron makes computer components and such. I work in HR Operations. Work went really well this week, but I was really wiped out by today (Saturday). I had a couple of weeks off and I wasn't used to getting up at 6:00 in the morning any more. I didn't even get up that early at my last job. The drive there should only take about 25 min, but I leave so early because of all the crazy people out here. I joke about that because any where else, crazy means fast driving and cutting in front of people. But around here it means just the opposite. I was totally floored when I realized that no one goes the speed limit here. It is usually UNDER the limit. People are so laid back and on there own time frame. I leave 10-15 min early for work just to accommodate the "slow" people. In Dayton, I probably would have been shot or run off the road for driving the way everyone else drives here. It isn't necessarily bad, just takes a little getting used to.
Anyway, Will went white water rafting today. The church we have been going to had a rafting trip, and they asked Will if he wanted to go along. (It was a men's trip) He said that he had a really good time. I think that he is going to be going to some of the men's meetings. I think it is a great idea. I have yet to get hooked up with the women's group, but I am sure that I will be joining in soon enough.
Along with insomnia, I am having a Really bad case of the "missing Rygh" blues. I haven't seen him in a month, and it will be another before he comes home. I know that he is having a great time with his dad and doing fun things, but I miss him terribly. I have been trying to give him his space, by not calling too much and such. This is his time, not mine. It is a real test of faith for me. Talking about faith, I was laying it all out to God today when I realized that it is possible that God might feel the same way that I do when we choose to be away from Him. I agonize over what Rygh might be doing or saying, or if he is making the right decisions and such. I so long to be there to help him, but I can't. I think that is what God feels like when we take our lives out of his hands and want to do things ourselves. He longs to be there and help us if only we would let him. So through this I am learning a little more.
I think that I will see if I can get any sleep. God bless and take care of yourselves.

Scripture of the Day:
1 Peter 2:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, soil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

I finally started blogging!

Hello everyone,
As you can tell, I am finally up and running with this (a little slow at it though). Just to catch you up to speed, Will and I are getting settled in our new place. I have some outside shots of it for everyone to see. We love the community here and are having a blast learning all of the fun things to do. Downtown is great - tons of shopping and restaurants. I still have boxes and boxes to unload yet. A bit lazy on that. I ended up getting some flowers to add to the back flower beds. I like the added color. It reminded me of all the times that Mom had us help her plant flowers when we were younger. It seemed a lot easier back then. A clear sign that I am getting older.

I am striving to read scripture every day, so I will share it with you as well.

James 4:11-12

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?