August re-cap

summer didn't arrive until July, and then August 29 we had this huge hail storm, so once again summer felt very short!  Thankfully we had reason to keep out the summer gear until October.

We attended the local Tri-County fair in order to see what ribbons Ella's 4H projects had received.  The girls were so excited to see projects from our house at a fair, and Tessa is now exuberant about joining the Clover Buds as well.  I have completely loved 4H as a complimentary activity to homeschooling.  It only requires 1 evening meeting per month, instills healthy values, always involves a cute craft and lots of fun!  A lot of people still don't know that involvement in 4H doesn't require that you have farm animals; the art and craft entry selections seem endless!

Ahhh, the joys of summer ~ like drinking out of the soaker hose!

A family trip to Storm Lake

Gleefully throwing rocks into the lake!

Amazing scenery and amazing little blessings...

Daddy & Aaron in the float tube, ready to go fishin'

adrian & jaci out on the float tube

They caught one!!!

mmmm, those made some yummy dinners!!

<3

An ominous looking sun while the skies were smoky with nearby forest fires

Oh what fun, with friends from Michigan!!!
Our daddies had fun in the Bob Marshall together, and then we got to play too!  Here they are lined up, in order of age ~
Jalynn, Ella, Jocelyn, Madelyn, Tessa, Jaci, Aaron!

July Memories

4th of July!

Aaron's 1st sparkler

Just in case those sparklers are noisy...

So this is *part* of the process of packing 6 people for a 2 week trip.  Actually, I only pack for 5 of us; Adrian graciously takes 5 minutes to pack himself x amount of tshirts, jeans and socks... and wonders why it takes me so long to pack.  :{  On Day 1, I make sure all the laundry is clean so that we're not limited in what to pick out ~ I want to be able to choose comfortable clothes for traveling, play clothes for the beach, and formal clothes for Sundays without having to pick through laundry baskets!  On Day 2, I pack all of our clothing, which requires matching tops to bottoms, and sometimes coordinating matching outfits.  You also have to think about socks, shoes, and jammies...  On Day 3, I pack "everything else", which is, of course, more than half of the list.  Since we travel so often, I have a packing list that I print off the computer and just cross off as I go ~ so I don't forget to put the mail, milk and egg deliveries on hold, or a camera cable, or underwear for somebody.  I am looking forward to the day when the girls can be trusted to pack for themselves!  :) 

So we took off on our 2 week road trip, and saw a variety of landscapes ~ The main destinations were the Doland Family Reunion in Grants Pass, OR and David Oakes' reception in Eugene, OR.  But we also managed to visit Heyburn, ID, Bend, OR, Medford, Applegate Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, Crecent City, CA, Lincoln City, OR, and Wilsonville.  Our camera broke about half way through the trip or else we'd have more to share ~ but I'm sure you're glad I have to stick to the highlights here!!

We weren't prepared to see *S*N*O*W* on our climb to Crater Lake!  In my 22 years of living in Oregon, I had never visited this famous landmark, so we were glad to go as a family on our way to Medford.

Freezing at the top

The kids enjoyed the view, yes, but not as much as the little chipmunk that darted across the rocks beneath them!

Drove through the Redwoods on our way to the CA beach.  Looking at these monstrous trees just forces you to say "WOW!" and marvel at God's beautiful creation!

The reunion began at Crescent City, CA where my grandparents honeymooned 60 years ago in June. 
It was an unusually sunny and warm day for the area, we were told...

Crescent City, CA
From there, we all traveled back to Grants Pass for our 4 day reunion.  We managed to rent a large property that provided plenty of beds for all, in addition to a lake, game room, basketball court, hiking trails.  Forty-five of us were able to attend, only missing 6 of my cousins and 1 dear Auntie!

Basketball games for all ~

And then the fierce competition showed up!

Honoring these wonderful people, my Doland Grandparents.

A new favorite photo ~ sleeping angel

The whole group: Grandpa and Grandma with their 9 living children and spouses, 16 out of 22 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren

My brothers and I



Another favorite: this crisp photo clearly depicts the relationship enjoyed between Uncle Darryl and Aaron.  I think because Darryl was able to be at our house in June, Aaron really bonded with him, and recognized him again in July.  Any moment he had a chance, Aaron would RUN to Uncle Darryl and demand, "Uppie!".  Mommy's arms got a break for all the toting Uncle Darryl did! 



From Grants Pass, we went to Lincoln City, where we enjoyed a few days with just my parents, brothers, and us.  I have no photos.  From there we went to Wilsonville where we stayed until it was time to travel to Eugene for the wedding reception of this happy couple: David & Jeanelle Oakes!

Little girls in summer dresses and a rope swing ~ what could be better?

June Memories

What Adrian does at work!  Well, not usually.  This was a special training; usually he is not working on the high voltage stuff.

The girls got to see Daddy's work "Snow Cat" up close & personal!  Adrian drives this to mountaintop sites during winter, when no other vehicle could access it because of snow.

Does this photo need an explanation?  Uncle Darryl just makes everything fun!  Like finding a stump while you're hiking, and pretending it is a bucking rodeo horse!

Jaci loved this natural little pond we found on our hike

The hiking crew, minus Adrian!

Mr Dirt Man.  I can't keep him out of the dirt.  And that's bad, not because I don't want to let my little boy be a boy, but because we live in Anaconda, one of the biggest superfund sites in the nation, where the dirt is known to be unhelathy.  I wish we had room for a sandbox... but winter is coming, and hopefully we'll be moving soon!

Summer means weather for pony rides!!!

Aaron's first pony ride ~ it went better than the girls' first; they all bailed very quickly!

Soap Giveaway

How would you like to win a free bar of Montana-made Goat's Milk Soap?  The soap is manufactured in Kalispell MT, good for you and are all natural: the ingredients are Goat Milk, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Fragrance Oil and saponified Lye. If you're interested in entering the contest on my friend's website, click here and leave a comment!  Good luck!

10 years with my best friend

I meant to be posting little updates of our 10 year anniversary of this and that this summer... but honestly, we can't remember every date, and don't have it written down. In the summer of 2001, Adrian spent a lot of time out of Skagway for the power company, and I spent all my time in Skagway driving horse & carraige tours. We seemed to miss each other while apart, but didn't really want to admit that to anyone else. We emailed and instant messaged (via dial up) when possible.

Some long summer night we met for dinner at the Bonanza (Adrian asks if that was our first "date" but I didn't think so!). Afterward, we met up with some of his cousins and their cousins at the old haunted Pullen House. We had quite a freight as darkness fell. Another day we went out to lunch together, and he got back to AP&T much later than he was supposed to-- because my lunch "hour" consisted of unhooking the buggy, getting the horse his lunch, and then going to lunch myself. We went to the Fish Co that day and sat at a 2 top; me in my long hot velvet 1800's dress & felt hat. One Saturday in July or August, we hiked AB Mountain together. Keen memories and the embarassment of our descent lives on...

It wasn't until the end of summer (and after another road trip from Alaska to Montana) that we decided to admit we liked one another. That was prompted by one day in late August when we went innertubing on the Blackfoot River. We were with some of Adrian's childhood friends, and it was supposed to be a good time. At Thibodeau Falls, however, I flipped out of my inner tube and went under the cool water. In the commotion, with water rushing and rocks bulging all around my head, I couldn't tell which way was up. Even if I could, would I be able to propel myself that direction? The water was far stronger than I was, and the undercurrent was holding me down. I thought to myself, "so this is what it's like to drown"....

A few seconds later, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the waves. It was Jason, Adrian's childhood friend whom I had only met once before. I got dragged to the river bank, coughing and sputtering, having swallowed a bunch of the river. Adrian came and sat beside me, and I could tell he was scared. That experience opened a good opportunity. That night, I told him I had once before promised myself that I would never hold back expressions of love for someone (I had deeply regretted that before). And that I felt a "connection" to him and didn't want to ignore it. I can't remember if it was that conversation, or another during the same time period when Adrian had me listen to a Tom Petty song about "changing the locks". He was a Tom Petty fan anyway, so we listened to a lot of his music to/from Alaska. But I was quick to recognize that Adrian had plans to "change the locks" -- in other words, disappear and cut off contact with me (out of fear of hurt, I believe). I asked him directly if that was his plan, to which he replied "I don't know" (translated: yes)! I told him I hoped he would reconsider.

We drove back to Oregon, where we attended Boring 1 together; his cousin Denita snapped this photo, and it was on impulse that I put my arms around him for the first time ~

Then in September, I went on our Doland Family trip to Hawaii, a gift from Grandpa & Grandma for their 50th wedding anniversary. I used the time to pray about what I would do next, and felt like moving into Mary's would be a good idea. Our romance heated up while we were apart, and we decided we didn't want to be apart. I was on an island in Hawaii on Sept 11, 2001. The no-flight policy delayed one of our inter-island flights (not really an inconvenience in my opinion!). Once we were ready to leave Hawaii, planes were allowed to fly again. When I got back to Oregon, I quickly packed to move to Montana. Upon arriving there, Adrian was back at school in Bozeman. On the weekend, I was both nervous and excited to see Adrian when he made the 3 hour drive back to Bonner ~ and we sealed it with a kiss Sept 21, 2001.

So here's then & now ~ September 2001

and September 2011

do you think it looks like we've survived having 4 kids, many sleepless nights, and 10 years together? Yes, we're a little older, and a lot happier! :)

Homeschooling Is....

     Homeschooling is the joy of coming to a quiet park, the grass still green and lush, the sunshine perfectly warm, the quiet because public school is in session.     Homeschooling is the freedom to dictate our own schedule, to go where we need to when we're at our optimum, to catch the sales, to have time to devote ourselves to the Lord & His Word first.
     Homeschooling is being flexible.  It's realizing I may be teaching my 3 year old & 5 year old to read simotaneously.  It is soaking up the days and seasons and not being tied to a clock or a calendar.  It's rolling with the interruptions and learning to love the way every day is unique.
     Homeschool fills me with responsibility.  I am to answer for the childrens' safety, manners, education, the soil of their hearts and the seed of the Word.  Sometimes we homeschoolers focus too much on the product of our instruction and it becomes a source of pride when all is going well, and delivers a sense of defeat when it's not.  But what really, truly is the goal?  Jesus Christ, the righteous.  Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all the rest (yes, the manners, the discipline, the character, the education, the patience, the energy) will come.  Sometimes I believe I'm just as responsible for keeping our calendar free, open and non-stressful as I am for teaching a basic education.
     Homeschooling is hard.  But so is sending your children to public school, I've heard.  Dealing with the classmates and the teachers and the principal and all.  The stress of what they are exposed to, and the trials of all interpersonal conflict.  I've heard a LOT about this from friends, and I think that's a word from the Lord.  Perhaps public school is a more easily measured progress.  Perhaps not.
     You see who the local homeschoolers are when you come to the park in mid-day, school year.  God, may my words & thoughts be pleasing in your sight (Psalm 19.14).  May my secret thoughts be humble, so that my life will be.  It's my heart you want, Dear Lord.  And there's no experience that gives me opportunity to turn it in quite like homeschooling does!

treasure in heaven

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other--- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.  Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  -- Romans 15.5, NLT

Today, this verse made me feel satisfied that ALL of us ~ souls on earth and those already in heaven, together with the heavenly host, lift one voice praising the only Worthy One! 

Saturday night I had a dream about my friend Angel who died nearly 12 years ago.  The dream itself was kind of unexplainable, as dreams can be, but I awoke with the overwhelming feeling that I would do ANYTHING to see my friend again.  The way human life goes, all feelings left on their own weaken with time.  Memories become blurred, and the sharp pain of losing a loved one thankfully fades.  However, this dream dramatically and unexpectedly propelled me to feel that same intsense urge to be with Angel that I felt for most of 1999.  That was the year I met him, and that was the year he died.  I had to cry some after waking up, just to let that feeling go somewhere.  I don't remember ever crying in the morning before now.  It was good.  God lovingly reminds me that I have more than one reason to joyfully anticipate heaven!

Gone but not forgotten ~