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!

Briefly

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men in our lives! What a blessed day of relaxation and joy we had honoring our favorite guy! To express in one day our love and adoration for this man is insufficient, but the kids did an awesome job.
J had his normal pastoral duties, but he loves being a pastor, so it never seems quite like work! And our whole family was involved in the service yesterday, lending our support and pride for who he is in Christ! :o) He came home to BBQ Bratwursts (spicy and greasy!) and chips and Tiger Woods leading the US Open. After lunch he took a nap while our landlords and I tried to figure out the mystery creature living in our wall. (I'll tell you later) Then Tof BBQ'd 1.5" thick steaks, and I made Green beans and Taaka Marsala Noodles for dinner while J opened cards and gifts. We gave J $$ for a new pair of dress/casual shoes, & Tof took us to see Kung-Fu Panda! (Totally, Freaking Funny movie!) .

Saturday we had a farewell party for some friends. Spring weather arrived Friday. I hope it decides to keep smiling upon us for more than just a day or two.

I get to cross off another accomplishment on my life list~ Friday we arrived home to find a fawn walking up our driveway. She was still damp from being born, probably an hour old. Mama watched her at a close distance while I stroked her little head and scratched under her chin. :o)

Friday we also went to a Party. This one was to celebrate with our friends, Sam and Sara, over Sam's National Title as Champion in Cycling ~ Gold Medal, baby! If you would like to read more about Sam's journey from avalanche survivor to national champion click here, here, here, or here.

This has been one of the busiest weeks I have ever experienced. God's grace and love has been so evident through it all, though. I feel strangely energized and happy. (and thankful another week like this one is not facing me in the future!)

I have a friend here who is the director's wife of the campground we spent the week at for VBS. She has not had a day since January (other than the week she spent in Africa working with patients at Bongalow Hospital.) that she hasn't had to cook for 60 - 150 people. 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. I can't even fathom the weariness that would induce. Please pray for her and for help/relief to arise.

More Power to Him

More from VBS!!

Quarentined Lepars.

Every Move I Make.

Ben is Brave!

Cheese Its!

the POWERS Christ gives

I'm photographing VBS this week, so I won't be posting a whole lot.... Bunch of Mad Science goin' on as we test out and discover the Power from Christ to be thankful, to help others, to be brave, to live forever, and to tell others about Him! Our whole family is involved and it has been a blast the past few days - except for the 6" of snow out at YAA campground where we are holding it!

Conner's Visit

We Meet At Last!

Anna, Conner, Mom and Dad drove over from Moses Lake for a short visit this week! They got in Saturday and we didn't waste anytime getting to know our little man. Sunday J preached and they all got to be a part of that! It was very poignant to have our family join us and J honored Mom & Dad by thanking them for the Godly heritage they bestowed on him.

I'm so grateful they made the 8 hour journey! Shaun had to fly back to San D to finish out his final 2 weeks in Coast Guard and we missed him, but we are so blessed that didn't stop Anna from comin' on ahead! We'll get Shaun over here yet!

We had lots of floor time. Conner army crawls everywhere. We alternated middle names with him throughout the weekend ~ Conner "Poops-like-a-man" Oliver; Conner "Danger" Oliver; ... He liked James and Tofer best. He seems to know instinctively "I'm one of them!" and he watched them with great interest. Especially if Uncle Yimmy went into one of his special Arias.

We did Frogmore ~AGAIN! It's just such a great communal meal! Mom bought a special wine (viognier from hermit crab vinters) that perfectly set off the seafood and oldbay seasonings. Later we played Apples to Apples and teased one another mercilessly.

I would go so far as to say that family has to be the greatest invention of all time. God fleshed out in love and relationship, laughter and tears, hugs and kisses...

It's just plain awesome.