We had about 30 women that attended from seven different churches. I love that! Women came and we worshiped together, we prayed together, we learned together. Hopefully we will grow together in His character :)
I was mightily blessed - now just applying all I learned. Staying still in this dark season and letting Him accomplish His good purposes.
Retreat ended Saturday night. Debbie spoke again Sunday in services and blessed our whole church. What a special weekend.
Monday morning, we got up early and we were on the road before 7 am. Elijah, Gabrielle, Judah, Bekah, KJ and I traveled west with my dad. It was SO hard to leave three of my men at home!!! Unfortunately, however, we simply did not have enough seats for all of us to go this time. Daddy took some of us in his vehicle, Elijah and I drove our small car and headed to California.
It was a LONG trip -- I remember when I go back how long it is and how grateful I am for my family that comes to see me so regularly. It is a HUGE sacrifice of time, money and travelling. I can't wait to get out of the car when I am travelling so many hours. Is there any part of your body that DOESN'T hurt when you sit in the car that long??? We had not been back to the coast since KJ was a week old -- three years! Aside from the marvelous opportunity to see our family there, Tim's brother, Mike, had given us a flatbed truck and we needed to bring it home. So off we went.
It is probably the last time my two oldest will travel back to see family with us. They are both working jobs in the summer that are long-houred. I was grateful to have this time with them, and I was SUPER grateful to have an extra driver. Elijah proved himself responsible, careful and capable. It was marvelous to have an extra driver. We spent ten spectacular days with our family. Catching up on conversations, life experiences, hugs, and so much more. I LOVE my family!!! Mom and Janine planned a lovely tea for the little girls -- a Peter Rabbit tea. It was marvelous. Bekah had never had the opportunity to participate in one of mom's teas. She was in heaven!!! Mom is so meticulous with the details - it really is over-the-top. I love her teas, can you imagine a six year old girl's delight when she gets to use a china cup, have EVERYTHING bunnies from the dress to the sandwiches to the cookies! Grandma Nonnie read them Guess How Much I Love You - I cried. Auntie Marilynn read Peter Rabbit. Mom and Janine did so much to make each detail special. Mom and Janine are so much alike -- creative, gifted in making people feel special, and super girly :) It was very special. The Martin's extended their hospitality to us again -- they are so very gracious to host us. AND.... my sister and her family were staying there while their house closed escrow AND my mom drove her camper out to stay on their property. We all got to visit late, get up early, share meals together. What precious memories they gave us!!!
Sunday I got to participate in service at EFB. Mom, Janine, Gabby, and I sang together; then Janine, Gabby and I sang together. I got to watch as my kids joined my mom, the church choir, Janine's kids, Pastor Cassie and of course the worship team as they did a worship medley of old hymns. It was a blast. We celebrated the Feast of Booths in a Sukkot at the church. We sang, ate, listened to a devotional by Pastor Cassie, danced a Hebrew round dance. It was fabulous.
In addition while we were there we got to spend time with Tim's family which was so special to me. Mike had us for breakfast and visits. He really is a treasure.in earthen vessel as I have said many times before. It was amazing to see what the Lord was doing in his life and of course he spoiled us rotten. He is very kind to this "married-in" and has been a dear brother to me for twenty years. I also got to spend some time with Melody and her family. Her boys are getting so big. Melody is just as gorgeous, vivacious and gifted as always. Jay is still steady, quiet and strong. It was wonderful to reconnect with them and hear what God is doing in their lives also. We also enjoyed Lyle and Bev's company; it was fun to see them enjoy good memories at Tim's childhood home. It was so encouraging to see God's hand in the lives of my SIL and BIL -- I am so thankful! God is good to have blessed me with two families that love me!
We also enjoyed visits with Grandma Nonnie, Auntie Marilynn, Uncle Gavin, Uncle Kim,cousins, friends, and others from Eureka. We didn't get to see anywhere close to everyone but we had a very full, very marvelous visit. Marilynn, Throssels and we went to Trinidad to play in the touch tanks at the field office there. We also ran in the ocean waves, played in the sand and explored the tide pools. We picked apples on my grandparent's homestead (thank you Uncle Kim), at Mike's and a few other places in Eureka. We visited places that held memories for me and I showed the kids lots of things that marked my childhood. The olders made fun of my "emotionalism" and they are right -- a lot of emotion in the course of ten days. We picked blackberries and came home with such an abundance. It was a fabulous blessing!!!
We left with many tears; Bekah cried for about an hour as we drove away. Thankfully we only drove about three hours --we stopped in Redding for a little more time with my dad. We missed Nancy as she was visiting her new granddaughter :) Maybe we can catch Nancy and all her girls next time! We enjoyed a little more time with Daddy and left the next morning -- again it was very emotional. The kids cried again for a long time -- I cried some more. SO hard saying goodbye! We drove up through Alturus and hit Lakeview. We had the opportunity to see our sweet friends, the Mann ladies! It does my spirit good to see those ladies -- they are an encouragement and we enjoyed a long lunch with them and then traveled on.
Here is where things got a little sticky. We drove along through the Oregon desert with very spotty, very temporary cell phone coverage and it was getting dark. When we finally popped out just before Vale cell coverage returned and I pulled over to check in with Elijah and Gabby (they were driving the truck). I had been following them in my rearview using the travel-lights on the cab to keep track of them. At least I thought..... the truck I thought was my oldest children was not. I started calling..... surely they were out of the canyon. I waited. I called. I prayed. 5 minutes....ten minutes, fifteen turned to twenty and I started worrying. If I turned around to look for them we might pass the in the canyon; there isn't anywhere to turn around. No cell phone coverage..... what to do. Thirty minutes and I could not wait any longer. I turned around and flashed everyone with running lights, slowing down and trying to find my kids. Miles back, they had run out of gas. The gauge on the truck did not work; he was on the side of the road. My heart started beating again. The Lord had taken care of them -- perfectly as He always does. The only spot where there was a turnout for miles and miles and the truck had stopped right there. I grabbed the special gas can Mike had made; regular ones wouldn't fit under the bed to fill the tank. I drove to Vale, got gas, drove back to the kids and we were on the road again. We drove into Ontario that night and we decided to stop. We were all exhausted and it was 1 in the morning. Elijah commented the truck wasn't running right. I didn't care.
We straggled into a hotel room and slept in our clothes (LITERALLY). I got up at 5 am and called Tim. The truck isn't running right? What could it be? Tim suggested I get some carburetor cleaner and fuel injector cleaner. It probably was not the freshest fuel in a side stop like Vale. Okay.... I wake the kids up and we have breakfast. We wash up, load up, and think we will leave. Only the truck won't start at all. I charge the battery - won't start. I call Tim - he gives me some ideas - still won't start. I call Mike and he gives me some different ideas - still won't start. I call a tow truck. We are out of options.
I call my dad and give him an update. I love my dad -- he offers to come get me. No, I'm okay. Just have to ride it out. The tow truck calls - his brake line is messed up. He can't come until tomorrow. We wait; we pray. I try to encourage my children. We have nothing to be in panic over; the Lord took care of us. We got to Ontario. We broke down in the hotel parking lot -- not the canyon and not in the middle of the night. The hotel was gracious and let us have our room back with no extra charge. We called more tow companies and finally found one that could handle a fully-loaded, 1 ton flat bed. He took us to a mechanic who rearranged his schedule to fix the truck. A new starter and a few hours later. We are off again......
We left Ontario, drove through ID and turned towards home. Tim calls and talks to me -- just about life. Are you doing okay? How is Elijah? How are the kids? Don't fall asleep. Can't wait to see you, hold you, love you! I have missed you desperately. He waits for us. We get home at 4 am and he is at the door, helping me carry in our littles, hugging the olders and holding me. I love that man.
God took such good care of us -- every detail.
We got home and I started canning. We had brought home 6 gallons of blackberries, a couple of salmon (Mike spoils me!), some clams, quinces and 500 pounds of apples. Peeling, coring, canning. I made jar after jar of applesauce and then jelly from the peelings, cores and bruises. In addition, I can 100 pounds of tomatoes from our garden, shred zuchhini and we can pumpkin. My friend Glenda comes to help me finish the three weeks of work and I learn how to make homemade apple pie filling -- SO super yummy!
On to gearing up for Christmas craft shows -- life is high gear. The olders end their work for the year. Hunting season starts.
My due date approaches. It didn't come when or how I expect.... I work through another grief cycle a week or ten days before the baby should have been here. I grieve; I hurt. I try to focus on the needs of day to day.... I come back to the cross.
I have struggled with the expectations of it all. Expectations.... that is a huge word. Really....
Our life is composed of one expectation and then another. We expect our parents will care for us when we are children. We expect that we will have days of schooling. I expected that I would eventually marry and have a family. With each pregnancy I waited in expectation of who God would add to our family. In expectation I was waiting for the arrival of our new child. In expectation I wait for His glorious return.
Yet what happens when our expectations are unfulfilled? Are we angry? Are we bitter? Do we lose hope?
I was reading my friend's blog recently and she had this same struggle. Her son, due just days before mine, born too early, taken from his momma's love too early, placed in the arms of our Heavenly Father. It seems too early for that also even though baby John is in a far better place than we are.
She also is struggling with expectations. What we expect will happen -- what we expect God will do when things are not as we plan......I come back to the cross. I lay my expectations at His feet.
Thanksgiving comes........ my favorite holiday. Time to reflect and to focus on thanks-giving. We share our Thanksgiving feast with my cousin's family, and a few friends from church. Quiet, simple, and perfect....
The kids keep hunting..... I see them only briefly for a few weeks of time during season. They stay out in the woods until they 1) run out of food 2) need to handle laundry 3) get some game 4) need to recoup
We keep working at school, rearranging the house. The new rooms are finished. Elijah is out of the den and everything is moved into his room. Gabrielle moves downstairs. I start to move KJ into a room with Bekah. I work on soap.....
Season ends. The Lord blesses us -- we have three elk tagged and several deer. Our freezers fill for the year as Tim and the boys butcher out the meat. I am so grateful.
Tim and I celebrate TWENTY years of life together. Almost half of my time on this planet has been spent with this man. Where did the years go? It has been one adventure after another as we grow, live, and strive together. We rub rough edges and help Christ in the process of each other's sanctification :) I hope the Lord gives us many more years of His blessing.
More soap --- more craft shows, more market weeks. And here I am...... preparing our family for the celebration of Christ's first coming. Advent -- the coming.
Christ gave everything so I may live and live abundantly. What a marvelous gift!
May you walk this week in the wonder of the manager of Bethlehem! I will try to write again soon!
