April 30

My dad had surgery Monday, hernia surgery. This required a two night stay in the hospital. There were many conversations among siblings regarding his care. 

Thankfully, he seems good. Lots of people willing to check on him.

I find it best to grab onto a few positives and hold on tight while experiencing a bit of head spinning and over thinking.

A friend stopped me the other day at Taco Time and asked if I am always at the baseball field. My answer "um, no, no I am .... sometimes... at Taco Time." The days are good. Friday I was pulling weeds, spreading mulch, baking for the weekend, doing laundry, playing play dough and watching baseball under the lights! The Dirt Brothers first game of the tournament, first game of the season resulted in a sweet win! Yesterday a tie and a loss.

Today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday in heaven! I will think of her all day I am sure and be reminded of her in small sweet ways. I love how God works like that.

Willem's team has two losses so far this tourney and they play again at 9, pics to come.

Tuesday Update

First, a little weekend recap. It was influential for sure. Friday I was a third grade teacher. There is a girl in this particular class who was homeless for some time and now her housing situation is better. She has shared her story and her life with me. It is only appropriate for me to share a bit here. ... she is a "late bus" kid which allows us ten or twenty minutes after school to often connect. Her story is heavy. But it is difficult to see that within her. What I see is a friendliness and kindness and certainly a yearning to learn. She is the kind of kid who never seems to have a bad day. Her teacher is caring and the young girl adores her. I leave wondering what exactly I am supposed to be for this girl. And I pray that I may know.
Friday night I attended the IF Gathering at Moses Lake Pres. Wow. It impacted me in a big way. I left inspired. The idea of it is sort of a back to basics approach. The speakers encouraged us to share Jesus love in our homes, with our neighbors, co-workers, students... to DO LIFE with people, we were reminded to consider Jesus "doing life" with his 12 disciples. We have gotten busy and rushed. We turn to social media to be socially fed or recognized at times. It is so important to invest in people and spend time with them. The IF Gathering rebooted my system.
And through it I was introduced to great speakers and great reads! (got time with a couple of very dear friends too)

Then a double header for Will and his team Sunday, two wins! So much fun to watch these guys play!

 A fun BBQ between games!!

 Cam and Oren!! Oh this warms my heart!!

And these two, they friendship they share is so fun. 

Boating

Saturday was beautiful! And taking the boat out on Moses Lake, FUN! 

I love the lake.
Spring seems so much sweeter after a longer than normal winter.
Cheers to boating, biking and BEING in the sun.

The Thrill of the Hunt

I love shopping thrift stores. I am always on the hunt, often for friends. I have a friend who is a kindergarten teacher who is always excited about good books, items for her writing center, toys for choice time. Delivering fun finds to her classroom is a favorite past time!  I was looking for months for a large wooden bowl for my friend Shannon! I found one, different than what we had envisioned, but still pretty cool.

My friend Bethany is doing a recipe exchange with a Women's Bible Study at church. She thought it would be fun to find lined white index cards and also decorated recipe cards for the women to use. It is hard to find recipe cards anymore. (Not to mention Bethany and I really weren't wanting to spend full price on NEW packs) It seems it is a thing of the past. Makes me a bit sad. But, Bethany and I found "the hunt" to be very fun! She visited Rock Bottom Treasures, a funky thrift store on the way out to my house. She found two packages of recipe cards there. I made it my mission to keep searching for more in Moses Lake.

Today I went to the Calico Cat. The owner, Twila, improves my mood every time I walk in. I don't know if she knows the therapy she offers. Thrifting, in general, has been therapeutic for me. It has been a way to clear my head. My opportunity to visit with Twila on top of the thrifting has made it more fun.

I told her a couple of months ago that I am always on the hunt for Gonzaga gear. Through the years I have gotten some great Gonzaga, Mariner and Seahawks apparel while thrifting. She told me her late husband was the biggest Gonzaga fan she ever knew. When the Zags played, everything stopped. You simply watched the game! She was excited to be on the look out for Gonzaga donations to pass onto my crew.

My appreciation for Twila may have began when I walked into her store several years ago with my sis Natasha. We were going to do a treasure hunt for Merit, Willem and Lane later that afternoon at my place. The prize at the end would have been a real treat if it included baseball cards. We asked her if she had any. She handed us OLD packs, classics, the ones that come with the bubble gum. And guess what? Hard as a rock, the bubble gum was still in them. I asked how much we owed her. She said she had just been saving them for people like us.

This morning I walked in. She smiled and asked "what are you looking for today?" I told her I was hoping to find "birthday" children's books, index cards, recipe cards and Zags stuff. She told me she would be tucking away Gonzaga stuff for me. (It is risky for me to report this on my blog!) Together we scoured for recipe cards. We talked about the sweetness of a hand written recipe and we laughed a bit.

As I left I said "Have a good day." She said "They are all good. Just some are better than others."

I could not agree more. Thanks Twila.

Easter

This girl has never dyed eggs! Oh! This was right up her alley. What a great way to spend our Friday early evening. Friday I taught kindergarten and was so blessed by the little people I interacted with all day! 

When I look into their faces and see a piece of their story, I just can't wait to read to them, teach them, encourage them! It was fun and challenging. We got home and dyed eggs. They turned out so cute. 

Then Friday night, Hazel, Willem and I went to the Good Friday service. Late Friday night, Matt and Brenda arrived at our house! Our Saturday was spent soaking up the sun, mostly. Brenda and I stuffed Easter eggs and baskets, with some help from Hazel Jane, while the guys took the boat out. We joined them on the lake for the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous. We packed sort of a picnic lunch and cruised the lake. Our friend Jeff's dock seemed to be the perfect place to soak up some rays. 

Boating pics to come

He and his mom have the same reaction when they find YORK peppermint patties!

 Oren and B

The hope we have because Jesus died for our SINS. He was risen from the dead. 

We have life after death because of  His resurrection. 

I am thankful. So thankful.

Spring is here

Lunch at Inca! YES!

 Spring is here.

 Vance and the kids got me a kayak for my birthday!! I love it!

Hazel's desk is now at the cabin. Her room was just too full. I love watching her write when we are down there. 

Cabin Cozy

April 7

 Sweet conversations on an evening hike.

My friend Maria is oh so dear. She remembers that yellow roses were my mom's favorite! I found these on my front porch a week ago!! They are STILL beautiful!! 

 Her depth, intensity, sensitivity and kindess are so dear to me.

 We took the boat out on Moses Lake yesterday. I was concerned it would be chilly at first, but the ride was comfortable and really pretty.

My friend Marilyn's boat house.


Merit is back from D.C.! the big kid home, ALL the kids home because of spring break and the sun trying to peak through the clouds, is what I ordered for my Bday! I am so thankful!! Thankful for friends, (my birthday "twin" Jeff came by last night!!) thankful for spring break, God's beauty, my family and another year!!