As most of you know, Rygh went to Ohio for Christmas break and came back home after the first of the year. He was really excited to go, and ended up flying solo. He handled the flights well and we were very proud of him.



We are getting back into the swing of school, church, and activities. Rygh's report card should be coming home soon. We just started a new study on marriage and relationships, for our small church group. I just started working with Canon Business Solutions. The department I was in, was being outsourced to them. The transition went smoothly, and all is going well at work. Rygh's Birthday is coming up soon, and we still haven't figured out what we are going to do for a party. I would like to check out the black light (indoor) miniature golf course. There are a lot of different ideas that we have been discussing.

One of the gifts that we received as a Christmas gift was Guitar Hero. All of us like to play it, and have a blast. Rygh also bought a fighter pilot game with the gift card he received from Cathy and Bob. I need to see if I can get a picture of Rygh and Will playing the game together. They take the office chairs and sit in front of the TV. Pilot and C0-Pilot style. Rygh loves it.



Will took this one of me after I came home from work and decided to play a quick song

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.