My First and Last Half Marathon

Pleasantly exhausted. There are worse ways a middle-aged female could feel in the evening after running her first and last half marathon in the morning. (Not to mention spending her afternoon walking up and down a gentle slope in a backyard, serving at a tea party!) What a satisfying accomplishment, after training for more than three months. I've been running for about a year now, and I had so much fun running the Maui Oceanfront 15k back in January, I figured it couldn't be too much harder to add another 4 miles and do a half marathon. Well, I don't know about other people, but I found it much harder! I had been surprised at how easy it was to go from 5 mile runs to the 15k (9.3 miles) on short notice.  After the 15k, I went back to my longest runs being 5 or 6 miles on Saturdays. In May, I started adding about a half mile to the Saturday run every week (and continuing my regular routine strength training and Zumba twice a week plus 2.5-4 mile runs three times a week) in order to be ready for the first Albany Half Marathon which took place today. I found that after about 9 miles, running became much less enjoyable! Oh, how the toes hurt! I grew annoyed with taking about 2 hours of my summer Saturday mornings to run. But I was amazed every time that I could do it!

So here's the story of my one and only half marathon. Let us backtrack a few days. My current favorite sister-in-law Anisa asked me Thursday if I would like to use an extra ticket to see Carrie Underwood on Friday night at the local music festival in Brownsville, understanding that I might not want to be out late the day before my big race. It took me about 5 seconds to determine that the lack of sleep was definitely worth it! Last night, I arrived home about midnight after this fantastic concert and decided I needed to get her Blown Away album on my iPhone before going to bed so I could listen to it during the run. Well what do you know, I had some technical difficulties. In spite of my determination to overcome them, I had to go to bed about 1 a.m., albumless. Amazingly, this morning my incredibly helpful husband overcame these technical difficulties with scarcely more than a slight roll of his eyes. Album downloaded, I made sure I had my headphones attached to my phone so I wouldn't forget them and drove off, quite pleased. I was a little worried because I barely dragged myself back to the car a few weeks ago on my 11 1/2 mile run on the race loop. But if I poop out today, I can blame my late night and I'll have new music to listen to. Life is good!

I met my awesome friend and co-worker Kilee, who was at the park to support her runner husband and our friend and co-worker Kerrie, and she said she would be driving the route during the race to check on us and see if we needed anything. Just as we were lining up at the start, I realized my headphones were no longer on my phone. Hmmm, did I absent mindedly detach them and place them in the pocket of my sweatpants, which I had removed and left in my car? I quickly sent a text to Kilee asking if she could bring headphones to me and we were off! The bitter disappointment over the lack of my new music faded as I listened to the chatter of some ladies running near me. Three of them were planning to try to run the loop twice to train for a marathon and then drink a lot of beer. ("10 more miles til beer! Oh no, actually, 23 miles!") They wanted to run five minutes and walk a minute but were a little disorganized. Before long they were behind me as I gracefully sprinted down the road.

About an hour into it, the sight of Kilee's smiling face behind the wheel and her hand stretching out to me containing a pair of headphones cheered me considerably. Around mile 9, I was wishing the end were a little closer as we were heading up a slight hill, when I came up on a runner and read the back of her shirt. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:12"  I repeat that to myself frequently when I run, and I hadn't thought about it for a few miles. When I passed her, I told her that her shirt made me cry. And it was true.

I finished strong, feeling great, listening to tunes and passing people who were pooping out. I marvel  again at how blessed I am that I feel no knee, hip, or back pain even at the end these long runs, and that I can breathe easily. My toes are the only painful part during the last miles of a run.  We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.

It was with great joy that I came to the finish line and saw my two fans, Anisa and Will, cheering me on, along with thousands of strangers. Well, maybe hundreds. It was fun doing this race in Albany, visiting with friends and acquaintances before and after the race. I met my goal of finishing in less than 2 1/2 hours with a time of 2:27. Good thing I didn't stop to take a clear picture of the shirt above!

 I love chocolate milk at the end of a run. And water of course.

 I wasn't able to hang out long because I had people to see and places to go. My brother Dave was at another area of the park at a Veteran's event with the group he's a part of. When we got to their table, he was AWOL.

 I was only able to spend a few minutes with Dave when he showed up, but he invited me to sit on his bike. Pretty awesome.

Then I hurried home, got in the shower, dressed, and was picked up by another favorite sister-in-law Carol to go down to serve at the Tea with Hope that my sister Jean offered at the auction. I put on my makeup in the car on the way down and didn't even forget anything.

The tea party was lovely in every way. (I will blog about it after my favorite niece Janelle sends me some pictures. I have a few but my phone died.)  I must have walked another half marathon up and down the gentle slope of this huge backyard to the gazebo by the river, serving water, tea, and too many assorted delicacies to even count.

I was pretty proud of how good my body felt, until after I arrived home this evening after a half hour in the car. I have to admit to some slight stiffness and soreness in the upper legs. 

I still can hardly believe that someone like me, who two years ago was overweight, suffering severe foot pain from plantar fasciitis, and unable to run for more than a minute, could run 13.1 miles without stopping for almost 2 1/2 hours, and not feel like she is going to die. I used to feel like I was going to die after running the distance between two telephone poles! It is only by the grace of God and his marvelous design of our bodies to respond to healthy food and strengthening and conditioning efforts.

I feel good! I don't ever plan to run 13.1 miles again! Oh, how sweet those 5 or 6 mile Saturday runs will be! I look forward to running some 10ks and maybe a 15k now and then, and I love to walk 5ks with my non-runner friends too. It's always good to have some sort of challenge to work toward!

Sacramento Patients

Summertime. Have you ever spent six weeks of your summer in a hospital at the side of your child, a five hour drive away from the rest of your family? That's the summer my niece Jewel is having. Her six-year-old daughter Heidi, who has had long-term ongoing issues with her colon and digestive system, went to the hospital with salmonella poisoning in June 13. After enduring much pain and many complications, she was finally released on July 15, just in time for the entire family to enjoy a great day together in Sacramento at the State Fair before her 12-year-old brother Victor was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled surgery to reverse a colostomy the next day. 

During this time, as I read Jewel's Care Pages and Facebook updates, I wanted so badly to go to Sacramento and spend some time with them. To know Heidi is to love her. In spite of all she has suffered, she is a high-spirited, energetic, loving little girl. Her parents are pretty amazing too! Here's a couple updates from Jewel's FB and Carepages while Heidi was in the hospital:

"Music Therapy came again...Heidi wanted to sing "Hakuna matata"...loudly and over and over and over again! "It means no worries...for the rest of your days!" :)

"Heidi said this morning, "I have some worries, mom. What if I miss my first day of second grade?"

"I have been listening a lot to Nick Vujicic lately. He has such a good perspective on life. He says, "We are blessed when we are in a circumstance where God has our attention." I've been thinking about that one. There's nothing like trouble and pain to keep us constantly looking to God...so it turns out that God uses for our good what the world would call evil. So we really are blessed."

I mentioned my desire to visit my dear niece and her family to Will, thinking a vacation to a hospital might not be at the top of his list, but he immediately got on board. We decided to spend one less week at the Metolius on our upcoming vacation and take a trip to California instead, visiting the hospital, taking a slight detour to Lake Tahoe on our way north to visit Canby, CA where Jewel and her sister Faith's families live, and then an overnight stop at Crater Lake. 

So last Friday, we showed up at the hospital there, a day after Victor's surgery. Our arrival coincided with his first attempt to get out of bed into a chair, and it was a heartbreaking thing to witness. The day after your stomach has been cut open and you have tubes connected to you all over the place...getting out of bed hurts, to put it mildly. He wasn't the only one shedding some quiet tears. Here's my brother John holding his hand after he's back in bed. 

Victor needed rest, so his dad Steven and grandpa John stayed with him. Heidi was more than willing to stay with Great-Uncle Will while we ladies went birthday shopping for Jewel's oldest daughter's upcoming 14th birthday. As we left the living room of the Sharing House where they stay, Heidi leaped off the couch to Will's chair and said, "Tell me a story about Zeek!" I took this picture when we came back.

While we were out, they made some paper airplanes, which did not meet Will's expectations. We did some shopping before we came back the next day and he made a few purchases. When we sat down with Heidi later, she was puzzled about the bamboo skewers. "What are these?"

"Toothpicks, of course," was trustworthy Uncle Will's reply.

 "Really?! I don't ever have anything that big in my teeth!"

 The scissors were too small for Will, so he assigned Heidi to cut some paper strips. When he asked her to guess what they would be used for, she brightened. "Are we making halos? I really like halos!"  They were actually for a special airplane, but she got her halo anyway!

She also got a crown!

 Jewel stayed pretty close to Victor's side in the hospital, but Grandma Betsy stayed with him one evening while we went out to dinner. When Heidi got the crayons from the waitress, she immediately had to move over beside Uncle Will, because she just knew he would want to color with her. "Which page shall we color? Which color do you want?"

 John and Steven drove up to Canby on Saturday, and it was decided that Heidi's 8-year-old sister Emme would return with John on Sunday. Heidi was so excited! Here she is as they are pulling in the parking lot.

 She ran to the car and they hugged...

 and hugged some more...

Then they danced...

 and danced some more....

 and talked....

 and hugged some more...

 and danced some more! This was less than a week after they had last seen each other!

It was truly beautiful to see these little girls reunited.

Victor was sleeping when it was time for us to go, but here we are.

Victor is a trooper, and puts up with so much. He really hates the NG tube which goes in his nose and down his throat and thought it would be out by now.

His grandma Betsy posted this picture with the following update yesterday:

"Two strong soldiers, because of an inner Man that keeps them going beyond their own strength. No the NG tube did not get removed. Things are not moving through the body, so we keep praying for a miracle"

.

So how much more of this summer will Jewel spend in the hospital by her children's side, feeling their pain, advocating for them, praying.....(and Facebooking!) while they sleep? Though Heidi is not a patient, she needs to stay with Jewel because of the level of care that she needs. John and Betsy have returned home. Steven comes as often as he can, and her sister Faith plans to spend time with her next week also. There is so much love in that hospital room and so much faith and confidence in the goodness of God. It is just an amazing thing to witness the grace of God in the people who trust Him.

Please pray with us for healing for Victor, that the NG tube can come out soon and that the reversal will be a success, and for healing for Heidi as well. Pray for Jewel and Steven, amazing parents of five beautiful children. And remember the rest of the children, Emme, April, and Betsy, who have been home without their mother these past six weeks. 

And another quote from Jewel's FB: "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow..."

Many years ago, I went through bouts of being upset with God for taking my mother when I was in 8th grade and asking "Why?" At one point, I felt Him asking me, "Do you trust me?" Well, yes, I trust God. "If you really trust me, then you don't need to know why. Just trust." I think of that again as I wonder why these sweet children and this entire family have suffer so much. And I trust that the God who gave life to them, who put them on this earth to be a blessing to others, is fulfilling his purpose. I am once again thankful that this life is temporary and that we are living with eternity in mind..

Hope and Healing: 6 months

Friday, July 12, marked six months since the day I rushed to the hospital after getting the phone call that my sister Hope had fallen and broken her neck.  This is a much better place to be. Though her recovery has seemed slow, it has been amazing to watch her regain so many abilities and movements, and to see her unwavering commitment to thank God for her blessings and to choose joy every day.

At her son's baseball game last week, Hope and I were talking about the good things that have come out of this experience.   I hate it that she has endured so much pain and suffering, but I am so grateful for the precious gift of the renewed relationship with my sister and her beautiful, loving family that this ordeal facilitated.

About 20 years ago, a wall went up between us, not of our own choosing but beyond our control. For awhile, I fought to tear it down, but in the middle of a sleepless night as I was praying about it, I understood God was telling me that I had to forgive those I held responsible and let go for a time. I mourned the loss of this relationship almost as if it were a death, but clung to the hope that someday God would change the situation. Eventually, a door in this wall was unlocked and I occasionally opened it and went for a visit.  In recent years, the door was slightly ajar, but I didn't pass through it as often as I  could have. It seemed like we were too different, too many years had passed and so many changes had occurred - and I had to protect myself in case the door slammed shut again. But when Hope took that life-changing fall, it shattered the wall around my heart, and I couldn't scramble over it fast enough.

As I hurried to the hospital that day, not knowing if my little sister would survive or be paralyzed, my heart was broken to think of how little time I had spent with her during the past 20 years and how little love I had showed to  her and her family.

In spite of all that she has endured since then, it has been so much fun really getting to know her again, to see the wonderful mother she is (to nine terrific children!), to talk and laugh and learn again how much we have in common (such as a passion for purple and an extreme antipathy for outhouses),  and to realize what amazing woman of God she has become. When I observe how she manages her children, her home, and her life, it's hard to believe I once saw her as my hopelessly flighty little sister, aptly nicknamed "Hope Dope Cantalope"!

Hope constantly inspires me to be a better friend, to love God more, to be thankful, to put others first, and to look at life through an eternal perspective. When I go out to walk or run, I am so aware of the blessing of a strong, uninjured body, and I thank God for the strength and health that I enjoy and pray that she will experience it as well.

I still wear the purple "Pray for Hope" bracelet that I got at the beginning of this ordeal.  Please pray with me that God's healing touch will continue to bless her life. I pray that by the time the one year anniversary comes, the numbness and tingling in both her hands will be completely eliminated, that the pain in her neck that so often plagues her will be gone, that her strength and stamina will be restored, and that she will continue to bless and inspire others.

And I thank God that I am privileged to see Jesus in my sister, and that I long to be more like Him because of her.

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

P.S. I'm watching for the leather jackets to come out so we can go shopping!

Really I'm not a Loser!

So we all know that some people lose things more than others. I feel I have a somewhat undeserved reputation. I rarely lose something permanently, I just temporarily misplace items. I can't even tell you how many times Will has said, "If you always put something in the same place, you'll know where to find it." In spite of that annoying and repetitive advice, my keys just don't  always make it to the peg where they are supposed to hang. They end up on top of the fridge, or in my purse, or on my dresser, or in the pocket of the last jacket or pants I wore. The peg is not always in front of me when I need to get the keys out of my hand.

The week before last, I separated my car key from my work/house keys so that a friend could borrow my car. I thought I might as well keep them separate. Friday when I got to work, I remembered why I keep them together. My work keys were still at my desk, and I couldn't get in to the building. I called the custodian, but I only had his home number, not his cell.  The Officemax delivery gal came and I signed for my packages outside the locked door. Fortunately, when I got to looking through classroom windows, I found a custodian and was able to get in. It was a lovely day, and it only took me about 10 minutes to get in, but I learned my lesson and decided I needed to hook those keys back together. But I didn't get around to it that day.

On Monday morning, I got to work and once again realized I didn't have my work key ring. Really, did I leave them at my desk again? My co-worker was there and let me in when I banged on the door. Although I checked all my drawers, looked in all the rooms in the office, under my car seats, and my trunk, no keys were found. I searched my house and my gym bag when I came home. No luck. Mystifying. I seemed to recall using the house key on Saturday night, so they must be at home. What would I do? It's kind of serious to lose the keys to a school. To put it mildly. I have worked there for 13 years and never lost them. Really, it's not like I'm some key loser.

(Okay, I did permanently lose one set of keys in my life, the most expensive one I could lose. It just happened to be the electronic key for the Dodge Durango that we bought way back in what, about 1998? And I lost it shortly after we got it and was stuck using the stupid manual key for the rest of the time we had it.  And back in 1998, I was still a mere child, barely 40. I've matured and become so much more responsible since then.)

So I was fretting about my missing keyring last night, and Will smugly said another one of his favorite phrases, "Well, you know it's wherever you left it. That's where you'll find it." So infuriating. Not helpful. I believe I responded with a cold fake smile. Not easy when it's 95 degrees out there. I tossed couch cushions, but found nothing but popcorn. I searched the house again, but no luck.

This morning I awoke a little after 5, and by the time my phone alarm went off at 6, I was nearly finished with a beautiful sunrise run. I was in a great mood and hungry for a little oatmeal for breakfast, but I opened the cupboard and remembered I had none. (No, it wasn't lost, I clearly remembered emptying the container.) I was hoping I had left some in the trailer last time we camped, so I went to where Will keeps the trailer keys, stretched as far as I could to reach a set, when what to my wondering eyes should appear......Wait, let me just go grab my keys off the countertop so I can take a picture instead of trying to describe this.

Will is a man of many talents, and a few winters ago, he was really into making these awesome little key fobs. If you were at our house, you were likely to walk away with one of these in varying sizes. I didn't ask for this, I kind of prefer to have a key ring that doesn't make a huge pocket bulge, but he graciously gave me this small version. You never know if you might get lost in the woods and need a length of rope. If you do, you can unravel this and do all kinds of useful things with it. Yay. Needless to say, all the key rings in this house have these handy things attached to them. Including the keys for the trailer.

So, as I stretched with all my might to reach the trailer keys, I see my gym card, which you can see above, attached to one of these key rings. None of the other trailer rings has a white card like this. My key ring was underneath the two trailer key rings. Oh, the joy. I danced out to the trailer. Shucks, there was no oatmeal there but who needs oatmeal when you've just escaped a possible prison sentence for losing your school keys. Just then Will returned from his morning walk with the dog and I exclaimed that I had found the keys, and indeed, they definitely were NOT where I had left them! I led him to the location of discovery, and he knew exactly what happened.

Just  before my keys disappeared, I had gone out to the trailer. He noticed the keys hanging on my peg, and thought that I had left the trailer keys in the wrong place. He did not chide me, but graciously took them and hung them where trailer keys belong. He was pleased to note that a long missing third set of keys had apparently returned. In the meantime, he did some reorganizing and put the keys in a little different place, so the top keys ended up on the bottom.

Did you get that? I put the keys on the peg, exactly where they belonged, and they got LOST!! This just goes to show once again, that I am not exaggerating or making lame excuses when I declare that when things go wrong here, it is almost never my fault. It is either Will's fault or a technological/mechanical malfunction. And he fully agrees with me now. It is a wonderful life. I just wish technological malfunctions didn't happen so often. While writing this, I had a song playing twice on the computer, and one had started about 30 seconds after the other one. I am ashamed to admit how long it took me to figure out how to get the last one found and stopped. But I did it all by myself

I really do not deserve my patient, long suffering husband. But I am very thankful for him!

And yes, my car key is now with my work keys so I can't drive to work without them.

Planting Party

I can't imagine my life if I did not live near my family. Yesterday around 4 pm I sent a text to my brothers Doug and Galen and their wives inviting them to come over at 5 pm today and help plant flowers at the flag memorial in honor of our nephew Tyler Troyer at the park behind my house. I mentioned homemade ice cream with fresh strawberries and other snacks would also be available. Not only did they all come, but my lovely niece Venisa and her husband Anthony also joined us. 

I forgot to tell them that the weeds had been neglected for quite awhile too. I also forgot to take a "Before" picture. 

 Did I mention that Venisa and Anthony brought their new labradoodle puppy along?

 There were tons of snails in the spiky plant that Anisa is pruning above. Carol actually touches them! We needed nephews Cody and Brenden to see how many they could collect!

 Doug found time to visit some friends who live on the other side of the fence.

 These girls are such great workers! Notice how they stayed focused and on task!

Here we are with the finished bed. Red geraniums, purple and white wave petunias, and blue lobelia. Not very original but easy, dependable and beautiful. I invited Michael and Terri to come check it out and Michael was kind enough to take this group picture.

 Then back to our backyard where we partook of refreshments and Will showed off one of his latest projects, a little "wood gas reburner". It's supposed to be smokeless. As he explained it, he is tired of people complaining about smoke and putting a bunch of wood on the fire just before they leave. He's always looking for a solution. (I think he's still looking for a solution. I believe there was a bit of smoke.) But entertainment is never in short supply.

So, thank you, brothers, for marrying such awesome women and for having such wonderful children! And perhaps you should all plan to come back in a month so we can have a deadheading and weeding party!

Hope Update: 4 months

For those of you who aren't Facebook friends with Hope, I'm sharing some of her recent posts and pictures so you can hear in her own words how she is doing. Thank you so much to all of you who are still praying and asking about her. It means a lot

She was very thankful that she and Brian were able to visit her daughter Adrienne and her new little one in Ontario a few weeks ago. See how good she looks!

Here's her posts, and I'll put some pics at the end:

May 18:  "I've been doing a lot of thinking today.. actually it's about all I've done. Saturdays have always been such busy days.. cleaning, baking, catch up on laundry or whatever, but not today, not me. I've been on fb and emailing.... and thinking. I came across a quote by my cousin, Janna Pastin, (who I haven't seen for 40+ years).

"When you deliver a praise, your praise will deliver you."

I have found this to be SO true these last 4 months. Giving thanks and praising God gets me through every time, it's just that sometimes it takes me awhile to remember that.

The other thing I read today was the May 17th Holy Experience blog post by Ann Voskamp, writing to her son as he turns 18 and graduates..

"Look... you get what we all get - a life time. Just you or none of us ever get to know how long that will turn out to be."

"Don't waste a minute of your life on anything less than love. Don't waste a minute of your life on anything less than eternity."

"Think of eternity and live backwards from that."

Adrienne and I were talking about this idea last week. Those little quotes like "Everyday moments make the best memories." always used to seem so trite, but with one slip on the step, life changed completely. I'm trying to treasure the moments, the days, they go by so quickly and there is no promise that my "lifetime" will the "threescore years and ten."

"We have this moment to hold in our hand

And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand.

Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow may never come.

But we have this moment... today."

"Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God..." "

May 23:  "Yes, I am doing better... but I'm not Better.

It's a long road, this recovery thing.

I am walking better, but still can't run.

I can do all my own personal care except comb my hair.

I'm having more muscle pain in my upper back since I'm not wearing the Aspen collar.

My hands are still numb/tingly and nasty feeling.

My fingers can work the keyboard now, after a fashion.

I don't drive a car yet, but can buckle my own seat belt most of time. I usually don't go very far from home because my back complains.

The triceps are coming back very slowly. I don't cook or bake -- I can't open packages or cans, chop onions or lettuce., shape bread or scoop cookies. I did actually slice bread yesterday! I can't really wash dishes, but I can load the dishwasher. It takes triceps to wash counters and clean toilets... I can sweep the floor, and I actually managed to vacuum the other day. I can do laundry, the children usually transfer from washer to dryer, but I can fold clothes... if my back isn't hurting too bad.

It's so true what the therapist told me before I left the rehab center, People will think you're doing better when they see you out and walking around, but you're not, you still have a long way to go.

It's been four months now since the accident. I don't know how long this recovery road is, but my Father does. It's hard, this giving thanks in everything. I am trying to rest in His plan, I know He holds tomorrow and I know He holds me hand.

.. His strength is made perfect in weakness, and His grace is sufficient for me."

May 27:  "We were discussing "Life" in Sunday School yesterday when I was prompted to share something, and as I emailed my family about it today, I knew I had to share it with all of you, too.

I was 11 years old when my mom died of cancer. I thought it was terribly unfair that I didn't have a mom like my friends did. It seems I've heard that her prayer was that she would live long enough to see her first grandchild, and God granted her request. I don't remember how old I was when I started praying that I would live long enough to see all of children grow up and to enjoy years of being a grandma.
I've been told by different medical staff what a miracle it is that I survived the fall of about 18 feet that broke my neck and caused spinal cord injury, and not only that I survived, but that I am walking and still making progress. While I was at the Rehab Center, maybe three weeks after the accident, I got a letter from our daughter, Jenna -- one of the many letters/notes that she sent.
"Mom, I thought of you as I read through the first part of Psalm 21 - Here is a paraphrase of thoughts.....'Your daughter is rejoicing in your strength... You have given her her hearts desire ... She asked life of you and you gave it to her - even length of days....' "
It just made me cry, and still does -- He gave me Life! .. and I'm holding onto the length of days promise!! :)
"For she trusts in You, Lord, through the unfailing love of You, Most High, she will not be shaken." "

So, Hope is definitely OK! It breaks my heart that she still experiences so much pain, and I pray for complete healing.  I love my Tuesday evenings with her and her family, and am having a great time watching those athletic sons of hers play baseball. But they're also pretty good in the kitchen! Here's Justin baking some cookies to share with his team.

And Brandon making some cherry cobbler for his family!

Hope's delightful children make every visit to her home a joy!

Memorial Day Weekend

Friday I was fortunate enough to be given an unpaid furlough day. I'm not special, all the employees of the district I work for received the day off. It was nice of them to add it to a holiday weekend so that we could have four days off. So we headed to a beautiful RV parks nearby, only a 90 minute drive south-east.  Casey's Riverside RV Park in Westfir is on the banks of the Willamette River. I enjoy walking the loop around the campground, looking at the beautiful river as well as all the flowering perennials, shrubs, and planters all over the place filled with flowers as well as veggies such as lettuce, squash, rhubarb, etc. We didn't plan ahead in time to get a river spot, but when I looked out my dining room window, I had a view of a blooming lilac next to two other flowering shrubs. I was happy.

Friday after we were all set up, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.  Will sank into his chair declaring it was time to take a nap in the sun…but he just kept sinking.

 How many chairs have McAnulty men broken in the past decade, I wonder? The chair has been repaired. It seems fairly sturdy, but reclining in it is not recommended.

We did some exploring around the area on Saturday, including a stop at Salt Creek Falls.

 I love it when I see flowers blooming on the edge of a cliff with no help from anyone but the Master Landscaper Himself!

We found some time to take a rest on our evening stroll and enjoy the view from this awesome swing. (This picture was taken on our last visit there in 2009.)

We saw an osprey grab a fish, then flounder trying to get out of the water with his large prize. After some thrashing around, he was finally able to get airborne!

It was a very relaxing weekend, though I was very troubled by the news of the arrest of a young man who is accused of plotting a Columbine-style event at the high school right next door to where I work. I'm acquainted with some of his family members and know that they are kind, caring, well-respected people. I am so thankful that this was reported and stopped. I pray for him, his family and friends, and that all of us will be kind to each other and care more about others than ourselves.

So tomorrow will be a different kind of day than we expected when we left school on Thursday. I'm planning to get there early.