Learning From Children

Ok, so my child is going to be 20 years old in three days.

I learn something from him every time he visits.

There are lessons he probably doesn't even know he's teaching in most conversations!

Is it wrong to just beam with pride just looking at a picture like this one?

Well if it is, then I'm in trouble!

What is he doing here? Reading a "self help" book of some type.

Not an assignment for school. Not a required read.

A hobby.

A constant striving for improvement.

A continued willingness to stand up in front of congregations of people and preach Christ.

Yes, he taught Bible class and preached for us on Sunday morning.

Later, he asked me to recite one memorable thing from either class or the sermon.

My answer?  

When he discussed Jericho and how the Lord (The Commander of the army of the Lord) instructed Joshua to defeat the city. The instructions probably sounded pretty silly, don't you think? Yeah, march around the city for six days. Oh! Then on the seventh day? March around the city seven times and have the priests blow the trumpets

and have all the people shout!

Really?

Then what?

That's all! God's in control so just do what He says and you will win.

PERIOD.

If God's in control and we do what He says, then we can not go wrong.

If we do not do what He says?

We LOSE.

Bottom line. No ifs ands or buts....the end.

He loves the ocean, so when he visits, we frequent the Pacific beaches.

You find solitary in watching, hearing...feeling the rhythm of the waves.

Ever curious as to what he is thinking...I pick his brain as we comb the beach.

As he looks out over the beauty of the Pacific he says,

"Can you imagine how incredible heaven will be? The beauty God has laid before us is impossible to describe with words, and yet He had to use words and images of things we are capable of relating to in an attempt to show it to us...."

To what does he attribute his intense passion for God and self improvement?

He wants to make a difference.

He does not want to be a mediocre human being.

I don't think there's much chance of that!!

I don't know how many 19 year old young men have this type of thing on their mind when they are at the beach, but I would venture to say that it is quite rare. Maybe I'm biased?

A deep discussion continued as we strolled along.

The sheer power of water.

He bent down to dip his fingers in the fluid & splashed me with it and said,

"This wetness should not be powerful enough to toss these massive logs around like twigs, but it is...and God just spoke it into existence."

It reminds me of how insignificant we truly are and yet...

 God send Christ here to be perfect and to die for me.

God gave me a wonderful child who has taught me valuable lessons through the years and continues to do so today. He is devoted to being a man after God's own heart.

I thank the Lord for blessing me so greatly. Especially because I know I am so undeserving.

What an awesome God we serve.



Visiting Baxter & Pals

I am a die hard animal lover. I can't say that Kory shares my (bordering on obsessive) love for almost any critter...but he did seem to be having a great time when we visited the

Olympic Game Farm.

It's a drive through animal sanctuary where you may feed them wheat bread only!! Along the drive there is a variety including:

Yaks, "Ricki" the rhino, zebras, bunnies, reindeer, wolves, tigers, cougars, llamas, ground hogs, emu, ostrach and....

Elk lazing around.

How majestic he is!

An adorable baby! He's the only one of the herd

who would get up to come get snacks from us!

The mascot! Bison!!

Yes, I'm fascinated with babies of every shape & size haha.

The highlight of this adventure was meeting "Baxter".

No, this is not the name they gave him, but this is the name Kory gave him. In fact, Kory calls most every animal (stuffed or real) Baxter. It is quite comical actually. In Maine (where he just spent his second summer in a row working as a youth minister) the family he stayed with even got slightly irritated with him because before the summer was over, he had their dog coming to his NOT new name.

We decided that Baxter was a perfect name for this Kodiac though.

He catches his bread mid air.

Then poses with a smile for you.

When he's ready for another piece, he waves at you.

BAXTER!

Taking a little break to cool off.

Doing his best to chill, one of several other Kodiac bears in the park.

It was an enjoyable and relaxing way to spend a couple hours with Mom & Kory.

A Walk On The Ridge

Mount Angeles is the set of peaks on the left.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun beaming down

 creating temperatures in the 60s on the ridge. 

Me & Kory enjoying a nice hike.

The last time I ventured out toward Mount Angeles, I made it to the top.

Unfortunately I have not been out much this year. I did not realize how out of shape I was for hiking in high altitudes until we were fairly close to the top.

Yes, I wimped out.

I now have a goal to work toward :)

A view from the trail.

Kory enjoying the splendor.

A couple more shots along the trail.

We got of to a bit of a late start, so it was late afternoon/early evening

when we reached the highest point of the hike for the day.

Since we are in cougar country we made a point to remain watchful for any signs of wildlife. We saw several species, but (thankfully) no cougar!

We spied a large black bear about 75-100 yards away. I tried to get the camera out before he ducked into the pines, but wasn't quite fast enough.

Kory noticed a mountain goat wandering around in the woods nearby, but he did not show himself. Considering the fact that one of these goats actually killed a man last year, we were quite relieved that he chose to let us pass without a standoff.

We stopped & had a snack along the trail when this gal came along.

She was brave enough to get pretty darn close, but decided to walk behind us rather than continue on her trail route. She stopped and studied us for a few seconds, then sauntered off.

We had the pleasure of several different types of wildflowers in full bloom!

At first glance this looked like a family, however, the little brownish guy on the left didn't belong. The poor baby couldn't get any of the others to accept him. I watched him trot around, bleating the entire time as if he was looking for his Momma but none of the deer in the area wanted anything to do with him. They kept charging him & running him off. It was actually pretty sad :(

I am (obviously) still quite a novice when it comes to photography.

As the sun dropped and the moon rose, I set up and attempted to capture the glow of the sunset.

One day, I'll get the light balance right!!

A beautiful close to a marvelous day.

Excitement

Jumping for joy!!

In less than 24 hours, my baby boy will be here!!

I get to spend an entire week with him!

Since he first left home for college...3 years ago...I have had to make major adjustments in my attitude just to cope with the fact that he is "gone" and doesn't need me anymore :(

Of course when I get a text (the new world form of communication) saying,

"Mom! Help!"

I get a little excited. Not because he's in a pinch, mind you, but because he DOES still need me!

If it's all just a ruse to make me think he needs his Momma, please don't burst my bubble though.

I like it in here!

It is amazing to me how quickly they grow up. Since he is across the country in school, I only have the opportunity to see him about 3 times a year...Summer, Christmas and usually Spring when I can't take it anymore and I just have to book a flight to wherever he is running in a track meet.

Just to get a fix for a day or two.

We have several hiking adventures planned, and I took the week off so I can

soak up every last second of time with him. I'm beyond excited!

I get the greatest birthday present ever--to spend the week with my baby boy.

My BABY boy who will turn 20 this month.

Wow...I can't wait!!