Friday

9am drop off Cassia and Tof to clean the church 10am Minda meets Druckenmillers to go participate in the Summer of Hope

11:15 am Pick up C & T from janitorial and drop off recycling

12:20 Lunch

1:15 - 3 PM clean house

3 pm drop off Tof to hike from M to our house with Julia's family

7 PM Date with J @ La Parilla 9 PM arrive home to weary, dirty hikers - serve iced tea and popcorn 10 pm return Julia's family to M to retrieve their vehicle

10:30 pm PJ's, and into bed!

Summer Delights

Summer seems to have made up it's mind to stay awhile in Bozeman! Although the weather hasn't been hot, it's been warm and pleasant. It's made us dream of picking raspberries at Grama's, and eating cherries as we sit in the crook of the branches... days gone by.

The sunshine has also made us want to eat right ~ cold vegies and fruits, high Omega 3s, grains and nuts. Lunch today was cold Pacific Sockeye in a Garlic Dijon Pesto, fresh organic Strawberries and an organic green smoothie (Kale, Orange, peach, carrot). It was absolutely perfect. Makes me wish I had leftover Salmon more often!

We've also been walking a lot more as those rays grace our days. Minda and I (& Cricket) walk to the mailbox both to send out and again to pickup. Coming home this morning, we had to stop and pick some wildflower bouquets. Doesn't Min look cute? She had just finished watching "Fiddler on the Roof" the night before and came upstairs this morning en-kerchiefed!

The evenings are glorious displays of color. Greens, blues, lavenders, pinks, oranges, and yellows. I'm not usually awakes when the sun is going down (I still like to be in bed before 9) but, when I am still up, I do so love the Evensong hour.

At the bottom of our driveway is a hill that is tall and wild with a muddle of weeds and flowers ~ God makes it seem less of a mess and more of an orchestrated chorus during this magical hour. Moments like this make all feel right in the world.
Are you finding your summer full of delights?

Play Date

Sara made a date with me to just go hang out in town and shop, photograph, chatter, eat, drink coffee and hunt for bargains! This is only the second time in two years I have gotten away for an afternoon with a friend to just play. (The first one was with Sara too!)

We started the day at Rockford. It's so funny that Sara doesn't live here, but everyone knows her! Yesterday reinforced to me how different 2 people can be and still be friends. She is super outgoing, I'm subdued. She is all or nothing, I'm more hmmm, sounds good, I'll try it. We do both love photography (but she is much more advanced), we do both care about the enviorment and being good stewards of this earth (but she is doing much more about it), we are both moms (but at total opposite ends of the spectrum)...

There is no real explaination for our friendship other than Christ and our love for Him. What a great foundation though. How blessed a friendship can be because of that foundation!
Both Sara and I love/appreciate Ani's voice in the world. We so wanted to go together to this concert, but their schedule won't allow it. Anbody want to go with me? I think they still have tickets on sale.
We wandered into Luna and Sara found happiness! Sheer happiness in the form of a purse! Wool with felted flowers stitched on, in bright oranges and greens and reds and blues! Later in the day when we were paying for lunch Sara said, "Every time I see it, it makes me happy. I need things in my life to make me happy, right?"

She makes me happy. So glad she is in my life. So blessed she made time with me a priority.
Love you, Sara.

Sara's Dream

We heard from Sara today! She is in Gabon with other missionaries, and loving what God is doing both in and through her! It was just a quick note, but I am rejoicing at the fulfillment of this dream for her.

From Sam's blog ~ "Today, or is it yesterday now, Sara went to a small village for church. She said that the ride was pretty wild with 7 people in the front of a small truck and 8 more packed in the back. The service was amazing Sara said with all the African singing and dancing etc. For those of you that know Sara you can only imagine the smile she must have had on her face and her heart hearing the African’s singing and worshiping."

I can't wait to hear all her stories (She is a great storyteller) She sent some pictures! (Clinic of the English Christian & Missionary Alliance in Gabon)Sara took stickers. Look where the kids thought it was cool to stick 'em! :o)
So thankful she didn't have to fly by herself. Another CMA girl flew out from Arkansas for the International leg of the journey!
Thanks everyone for joining with us in prayer for Sam and Sara during this time. She doesn't arrive home until the 23rd. I'll keep you posted as I hear from Sam or Sara.

Together Again

Who would have thought 2 years ago that God would have connected me to a someone in such a round about way... I'm so thankful He did. Sara and Matt were 2 of the founding members of our small group, so of course we had to have them come since they are back from tour! We had everyone bring some fried chicken, and we made Potato Salad (a Vegan one and a regular), Tabouli, Watermelon Salsa with Flax and Grain Chips, Mint tea with lime, and Homemade ice cream!

Sara brought this awesome salad (that I had 6 helpings of)! It had Hemp seed in it. My first encounter and they were yummy!

Our Ms. K is off to Gabon in the morning. We love this girl so much. She and Sam have blessed us beyond imagination since we have been in Bozeman. She is getting to fulfill a life-long dream by going to serve the orphans in Africa. How exciting that God is not just the dream giver, but also the fulfiller of those dreams!!! Please keep her and Sam in your prayers.

Of course there was the testosterone side of things too. :o) Bags - in the cool of the day, with an incredible view, but they only had eyes for the prize! We have no yard (just forest and hillsides), so we set up on the deck!

NayNay taking her 'turn' at the deep freezer! Grampa would be proud!

I just made vanilla last night, but I sauced some of the rhubarb from market for a topping - Cassia told me that Rhubarb sauce is for store bought ice cream, home made can stand on it's own 2 feet! heehee

The reward of the Crank!! Delicious!We kept our Footprint lighter last night as well. Everyone used our picnicware and kept the same cups (thanks to glow-in-the-dark stars with their names on them attached to each one!) So at the end of the night, the only thing we tossed were the glasses and forks. One small (10 gallon) bag of garbage with well over 24 people here! I wish you could recylce the plastics we had to toss, but I'm going to be looking for picnicwares in those arenas too, as well as more cloth napkins, so there isn't even one bag of garbage to toss at the end of the night!

J invited a couple he recently met to come hang with us and they did! Kristine and Mike came and even got their game on! Kristine had the guys worried that they would no longer be Lord of the Bags! I hope they'll come again.

Moments of Joy

Matt, Sara, and Bella are home for a short visit from the Live Lightly Tour!! What a joy to have my Sara home. I've missed her more than I knew. When they walked into service on Sunday I wanted to do back flips! It's a special thing to have someone by your side that cares about you as a person, calls you outside of your comfort zones, but doesn't judge you for those zones, and is rooted in Christ. However long she is here will not be long enough.

I recieved a late birthday gift Saturday. Ingrid sent me this beautiful necklace she made. With all that life has dealt us lately, it was a timely reminder of the blessing of each moment. The other saide reads : "Joy is not in things, it is in us." I love this gift both for its funky awesomeness and for the love behind it.

Minda has been gathering flowers. Little peeks at girliness. I so enjoy how many facets there are to this little sprite of mine. (She's wearing her brother's old camo shorts and a t shirt she cut up and ran ribbons thorugh and drew sharpie pictures on!)

Summer Days Driftin' Away...

Home Group this week was with the Kavy's. It was a night of pizza, Corn in the Hole (as Abbs calls it), Canasta, and frisbee (which is why Tofer is on the roof and Sara and Lily are "watching so he doesn't fall")

We decided this summer to just do fellowship nights. We've been rotating homes and sharing meals, and bringing our whole fams. It's great for those of us who are beyond babies because we get to snuggle and kitchy-coo the wee ones. Kalen Charles (seen here sporting he polar bear unionsuit!) is a fave because he wants you to feel you are doing well and encourages you with tons of smiles.

When Maizy passed away, Per and Sue immediately bought Abby-girl. She is finally big enough to come up to play with us. Still very much a puppy and not ready to do the hike but, frisbee - ball - wrestle - etc ... Ready, willing and able!

We got to go to our first Bozeman Farmer's market. In comparison to where we came from, it was produce-lite (actually it was like a gnat's eyelash) but it is early still, and so we remain hopeful. Yummy Butterheads, and some nice garlic, but most everything else was crafts. I'm hoping to go again on Tuesday at the park instead of the fairgrounds.

Scott and Sadie had us over for some serious grub. They feed you well (or as Scott would say, "Feed you well - in a mug! You know what I'm sayin'?! Ya, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout right there!") Ribs, black bean salad, corn, acorn squash, baked beans... and I brought Scotty's favorite dessert ~Triple Berry Crumble. I literally felt like I was going to pop.

Dan, Jess, Doug, Kaitlyn, Minda & I took in Montana's Shakespeare in the Park this week also. It is the best performance of MacBeth I have ever been too and the first one that was free! It was fantastic! Of course, it was also gory, demonic, and a testament to pride and the true nature of man ~ but that is the best of MacBeth! And they did it so well that you walked away saying, "God keep me from myself! Let me always look to You alone as my source." Scary stuff.

The greatest is love ...

So, I'm trying to let God speak to my wounded heart. Wounds don't like to be spoken to. None-the-less, Holy Spirit is speaking and even getting through somehow.

Having Holy Spirit speaking and moving is humbling. I am constantly at the verge of tears it seems. A few days ago these verses were running through my head :

I Cor. 13: 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. - - 13 ...Faith, hope and love will endure, but the greatest of these is Love.

I've also been re-reading A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, & A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'engle. I came across a conversation in A Wind that cut to the quick. A Cheribum is giving a lesson to a human girl-

"To be named is to be known, & to know who you are meant to be. ...to be known you must be loved. If someone knows who he is, really knows, then there is no need to hate or envy. (Satan) is an Un-namer -- causing people to not know who they are -- causing hate."

"If I hate someone whenever I think of them, am I naming them?"

"No. You are un-naming." You are a tool of Satan.

"How do I name someone/thing I do not love or find lovely?"

"Only love makes a person know who they are. You are full of love, but you do not know how to stay within it when it isn't easy. If you fail to name someone, you yourself are open to being un-named. You must find something worthy of love & begin there."

"Loving makes us wholly ourselves as well as making others whole?"

"Yes, Meg-let, whole and real and alive..."

How many have I kept from Life by not choosing to find something worthy of loving? What have I gained from witholding protection, trust, and hope from others?

Have I un-named myself by not giving others a name that declares His love for them?

At the end of the day faith, hope and love abide -- at the end of life will I be known for the greatest of these?

Life Questioned ~ edited

It is our own heart, and not someone's opinion of us that forms our character

Frederich Von Shiller

Our church is making cutbacks. Money is a rudder. It isn't a storm, or the helm, or even the sail or the wind in the sail. It just makes all those things way more obvious when it is lacking. Sadly, it does turn the ship. It creates panic and unrest on board when you know that one little piece of wood has been cracked, damaged or removed and you no longer have the power to control the ships movements.

It has been an emotional week. Our dearest friends, and the associate pastors of our body (the Murrays) have been let-go. We are heartbroken, discouraged, at-a-loss, and reeling from the blow. I don't understand the decision, but what I do know is that these are some of the most God-honoring people I have ever had in my life. God is for them. He is completely able to turn for good something that doesn't look that way in the natural. I know they will let Him lead them into the next glory beyond what He began here, as they look to Him. My heart will be bowed low for a long, long, time ~ both in prayer for understanding & comfort, but also because that is the only place it can be right now... low, at the foot of the cross ~ in sackcloth and ashes.

Don and Jen, River and Mo, we love you way up to the moon and deeper than the ocean. We will miss having you by our side everyday. Thank you for being our friends. This is one of the most difficult things we've ever experienced.

(J felt that I shared a bit too much, so I have edited this post. Please forgive me if I helped to start a root of bitterness in any of you, and please, please know that wasn't my intention. I journal here. Sometimes I forget that others even read it, so I must be more careful in content. Thanks for understanding. ~D)

Baby Bliss

Getting lots of opportunities to capture all that baby pudge! More babies on the way (Daum's, Rassi's, Summerford's, Coat's, Mann's), so I'll be posting those as they arrive and get their moment of stardom before the lens! Cameron

Noah and Mama

Lily and Noah

Conner

Birthday Duet

We had birthdays in May but waited until it actually looked like May outside before we took our anual shot!