I'm Home, and The Kids' Visit

Hi,

I flew in late last night and ended up not going to church this morning. I'm grateful we're able to stream the service because that's what I did instead. It's been a busy couple of weeks. The Lord answered my prayers about perseverance, and not getting sick. You know how there are some seasons where you go and go and go, and eventually you end up not feeling well and before you know it you're exhausted and sick? I prayed against that before it all began and I can say today, I'm rested and I feel good.

The day before our family arrived from Pennsylvania, Beth had an appointment down in Seattle. It was a gloomy day, and I'm glad Chuck took the day off to drive us. The last time I was so stressed about having to navigate downtown streets, and about the appointment itself. But because Chuck drove, it was much less stressful. Beth got changed, and then she and I waited for the technician to call us back.

Beth was able to do a seated mammo and did much better this time. The images were much clearer. I took this pic from the internet to show you a little of what it was like for her.

Unfortunately they are concerned about an area and really want to do a biopsy, but they know Beth wouldn't be able to handle it due to her body shape and her cognitive ability. So for now they will continue to monitor her with more frequent screenings. If the area of concern changes at all, we'll have to revisit the idea of a biopsy.

Then Diana, Peter and the kids arrived! They explored everything! Adelaide is at that age where everything is met with one word, "Why?" 😊 And Oliver is crawling and learning to pull himself up on things. 

One day we all went down to the waterfront, and stopped for some ice cream.

We tried to keep the kids busy, that's for sure!

It was so good to have them here! We love you guys and are already looking forward to the next time we get to see you!

What a Difference a Few Short Weeks Make

 On November 3 I posted about things being quiet. Today I came home in tears.

I don't know what it is about this season at work but I get so overwhelmed. I came home and got on my knees. I asked the Lord if He was trying to teach me to be one of those people who don't get bothered by a lot of things coming at them all at once. Because I don't seem to be learning that lesson. I still get so overwhelmed.

I cried for a while, then Chuck came home and he listened while I told him everything that went on today. Then I made some tea, ate some chocolate 😌 and began to feel a little better. Whew, tomorrow is a brand new day! I'm thankful the Lord's mercies are new every morning!

Our big Thanksgiving Outreach is just three days away. We're praying for a lot of people to experience His presence for the very first time, or in a new way.

We'll have our family Thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon. Sharaya and Ally will come over, Sharaya will make her amazing mashed potatoes, and we'll try to video chat with Diana and Peter. Then I'm hoping we can go look at lights or go see a movie. I really want to do some Christmasy things this year. Now that the girls are grown, we just don't do them like we used to.

Beth's CT scan is on Wednesday. She'll still be able to go bowling - they're having a big Thanksgiving party that day - then instead of  her coming home on the bus, I'll leave work early to go pick her up. Thankfully this doctor is very close to where she bowls. Maybe we'll even do a little Christmas shopping!

I put out a few Christmas decorations on Friday. I've wanted to decorate for a while and finally thought, 'Why not?' I just love to sit and look at the lights.

On Saturday Chuck and I ran errands - he needed new shoes, filled his car up with gas, we did a little shopping (we have 4 birthdays in December!) ... then we stopped for coffee and watched the ferry come in.

I'm going to close this and sit in my recliner for a while before I head off to bed. I pray you have a blessed week and a very happy Thanksgiving! 

     

Super Mini Vacation

Chuck had today off (Wednesday) so we decided to go over to Poulsbo, a Nordic style town not from us. There's a 30 minute ferry ride then just a 15 minute drive. 

 

The weather was sunny when we left our side of Puget Sound and still cool and cloudy when we got to the other side, but it cleared up quickly and turned out to be a beautiful day! On the ferry you're able to get out of your car and go up one flight to the Sun Deck. It's a beautiful view and gets windy pretty fast.

 

 We wandered around, ate lunch at the Green Light Cafe, did some shopping, and bought some chocolate for when we got home. 

 

 

I just realized I never got any pictures of me and Chuck! Sigh. We sat at a beautiful park and watched the boats come and go from the marina.

 

 

We were there for a few hours, then got in line to catch the next ferry

 

 

You can see Mount Baker to the right of the ferry

 

Pulling back into the Edmonds Ferry Dock

As we pulled onto our street, it was like we had been gone for a week! We hadn't driven onto the ferry in quite a while, the different scenery, new shops, a fun restaurant... It was exactly what we needed!

Last Minute

Beth and I were sitting at the kitchen table this morning waiting for her bus. Every Wednesday she goes to karaoke at All Aboard. Her bus was coming between 10:30 - 11:00 so she got up to use the bathroom one last time. At 10:28 I got a text saying All Aboard was closing for the day due to too many exposures to covid. They had already canceled all the DART buses and were sorry for the inconvenience. She was so disappointed. I asked her if she wanted to go down to the waterfront she said yes! I was shocked because she usually always says no.

When we got out of the car back by the street and behind some condos, the temps were very mild so we left our hats, gloves and scarves in the car. Mistake! By the time we got out onto the pier the wind was SO cold! So we found a bench inside a wind-breaker. 

We took pictures, watched the ferry come and go, admired the boats in the marina, and tried our best at some selfies.

 That's Mt. Baker. About 120 miles from us.

We left there and went to the grocery store to pick up some meds and saw some granola that made us smile! Purely Elizabeth!

What could have been a really sad day turned out pretty well!

Saturday Snippets - Totally Missed It

I came home from work on Tuesday and Chuck was cleaning out the garage and side yard! He had rented a truck and had already taken one load to the dump. I changed my clothes and went out to help. He got the side yard completely empty and we got about 2/3 of the garage cleaned and swept.

Sharaya and Allie came over for dinner on Wednesday and we played Mexican Train again. One of the reasons we love it so much is because we can all play it.

I completely missed Thankful Thursday. It was a long day at work for me because I redid a few things at my desk.

Earlier this year I had put up a taller wall to get some privacy between me and the front office. I had so much work and trying to help run the front office was just too much. It worked well for a while, then a couple months after I did this, Covid hit and we closed. Now all the reasons that caused me to put it up no longer exist.

I also needed more storage space. There was always stuff piled on my filing cabinet, I just didn't have the room to store everything.

Before

After

Now I can't wait to go back to work on Monday!

Beth and I took the ferry over to Kingston yesterday. This time we walked to the little shop and ordered ice cream. (We had crepes there when my sister was visiting.) It was so good on a hot day!

I took this hoping Mt Rainier would show up better. I've outlined it so you can get an idea of how big it is. The small shapes below it are the skyscrapers in downtown Seattle.

Have you been on any adventures lately?