Puppy Day!

Up in the morning and off to an adventure! Caelan could hardly wait for puppy day to arrive. Gabby knew she was going to log some series drive time, including Interstate practice. Buck left late enough for work, that he could drop the boys off at their prearranged buddy day (so much football!) . . . and away we went!



It was such a pretty drive! Baby cows everywhere, bright green pastures, spring-blue sky, all the meanders reflecting the sunshine . . . ahhhh!! 

A couple of hours later, we arrived at the home of our longtime friends. I debated contacting them to let them know we'd be in town picking up a puppy from their daughter-in-law, because of the whole virus thing. But the night before, I got a text saying, "You are coming to lunch and, if you are okay with it, I'm going to hug you!" Well, it's hard to turn down homemade lasagna and hugs after months without either!

We had a fun, noisy lunch in their giant turn-of-the-century home. Grandkids were climbing the walls, stories of our families from decades ago were retold, memories and check-ins on how everyone is doing now. It was also fun that the friendships started between my parents, I am a bit older than their kids, but remember spending time with them when they were little--and then getting to know their spouses a bit as an adult--and then, now the kids of their kids and my kids were visiting and getting to know each other. The second and third generation relationships likely will not ever be as close as that first generation, but it's still neat that our families are staying in touch.

But really, the whole time Caelan just wanted that puppy to arrive :) When she did, there were oohs and ahhs aplenty! We would have stayed longer, but we had a long drive and the girls needed to work that evening. So we said our goodbyes and headed home with Caelan's furry baby.


Muriel has the cutest nose and prettiest eyes! She fell asleep on Caelan's lap during the drive.



The boys got to meet Muriel at the same time as our pastor's family did. So many happy squeals (moreso from the little girls than Brennen and Graysen :) meeting Muri. Chauncey was maybe not as impressed, ha! But she took an instant liking to him and now cries when he leaves her sight. She learned the stairs in record time, trying to keep up with him trying to run away from her, lol!





Personality traits: Muriel Rose is a helpful dog. She tried to chew some of the pages out of the dictionary so Brennen could look up words faster :)



She also loves to pounce on toys. We were delighted with this cute behavior. Chauncey was like, "What's the big deal? I can do that, too." :)



We sort of force Chauncey to let the puppy cuddle him. She's just so much happier when he's near! He's eventually getting used to this behavior, but also not thrilled when she chews his tail like Sunny used to! (His fur is so clumpy right now as he starts his summer shed, that's why it looks weird in the pictures).





So far, Miss Muriel does not like to be contained . . . at all. She doesn't like the leash, she despises the kennel, and she figured out how to climb over the baby gate the first time she looked at it. She also got out from over and under a laundry basket and taught herself to open the sliding screen door to come and go as she pleases (that's not great!) But if she could just learn to sleep at night as easily as she does during the day, we would all be a lot better rested and probably a bit less grumpy :)







All in all, we like our new addition to the family. She's a pretty sweet and friendly little (really little!) girl :)

Mother's Day

This picture was taken before Mother's Day, but I think I can count . . . twice . . . that we have taken Chauncey for a walk :) This being the second time. So it had to be recorded! I'm proud to say (well, maybe not proud) but I think Chauncey was more winded than I was at the end of the road. Poor dog! Anyway, it was fun for all six (seven) of us to go for a wander together, like we used to in our old town . . . that's been a hot minute!



On Sunday morning, my Mother's Day gifts seemed to be focused on a central theme . . . can you pick up on what it was? :)





We finished this puzzle of a mommy wolf and her babies the night before . . . false advertising, it had 999 pieces not 1,000! Good thing Graysen is really good at disguising the location of the missing piece ;)



We watched church and then Buck headed to work. Gabby and I worked on masks all morning (I think, or maybe I was reading; I do get my days' activities confused sometimes :) Suddenly the downstairs kids started hollering that a baby bunny was trapped in our window well. It was soooooo tiny! Can you spot it under the plant?





Caelan grabbed a pair of gloves, just in case the baby bit or scratched--but it didn't even try to get away from her. She scooped it up, first try! I think the little guy or gal was exhausted from trying to jump (we watched through the window for a minute to see if it could escape on its own). Also, it was cold. It snuggled into Caelan's hands and seemed pretty content.



So then, of course, comes the question . . .  "Can we keep it?" Graysen was ready to get the old hamster cage set up and we were discussing baby bunny food when a tiny, tiny tick crawled across the bunny's fur. "Nope!" Since IDK how to treat a rabbit for ticks, it cannot come in our house. Plus, although it was wee, it likely would be better off caring for itself. So, we took it up to our freshly cut scrub tree pile and released it in a sunny/shady hiding place. The bunny just sat on Caelan's glove and wouldn't move! Not much bigger than the length of a Nerf bullet, so little!





Then, all of a sudden, the bunny bounded away! You can see Caelan is still looking at where it WAS, but if you look even more closely, you can see the bunny running (towards our house :)



Back inside, I had my usual unusual treadmill challenge (I post these obstacles on facebook every once in awhile . . . seems like there's always a workout to get to my workout :) Then I made myself a salmon salad with the leftover salmon that Buck grilled earlier in the week. I thought, "Finally the perfect ratio of fish to lettuce," but it was waaaaaaay too much fish! Lol!



Later in the day, I got my pic with my Crew! Happy to be their mom!

Caelan and Gabby Take the Lead

Who are those familiar faces on the TV? It looks like they are looking at their brother :) Caelan and Gabby thought it would be fun to lead youth group for their peeps on a recent youth group night. Caelan wrote a devotional, Gabby edited it, Caelan sent it to a bunch of pastors and leaders for feedback. Then Caelan rehearsed it, Gabby listened, color-coded, and helped Caelan figure out where to slow down and where to breathe, Caelan rehearsed it some more (I'll include what she spoke about below). Caelan also worked on music, so she could lead worship. Gabby helped with games, and the whole thing went off smashingly well!



The girls were at our church for the recording or I guess it was recorded as they were live--that's confusing :) We all watched from home, as did everyone else in the youth group. They haven't had worship sets since the Covid shut down in-person meetings, so it was fun to sing along like we "used to." Way back, when :)



Caelan realized she makes lots of faces when she speaks--I can't imagine where she gets that from :) She really did an excellent job! Buck said that watching it at work (after the live stream had ended), he had to walk away where other people weren't because he was all teary-eyed from being so proud of the girls :)





Here's the message Caelan shared:

At the beginning of the social distancing, I was mostly frustrated. I wasn’t just frustrated that everything closed down and all my activities had stopped, I was frustrated with God. My family has had a rough year. First my grandpa passed away. Then my aunt died young from cancer. The compassion child I’d chosen to support died when he was only 4 years old.  When the Corona Virus hit, the mission trip I was going on to Africa was postponed and the Sunday gathering I was going to play worship for was cancelled. Then the world shut down. I was like, “Why God? Why can’t I have a break from things going wrong?” Maybe you guys can relate. It can be a day, a week or a month when you just want something to go right.

Sometime in the middle of social distancing I found these verses:

 “Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
   Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
   He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

When I first read those verses my reaction was something like, “Wow these are great verses but I am definitely not feeling it right now.”  I was frustrated with God. I was annoyed with him for letting all the pain and inconvenience happen. I didn’t understand what the problem was. I knew God was supposed to be my fortress, but it sure didn’t feel like I was in an apocalypse bunker.

A couple days after I found those verses, I went into my backyard, by myself, and did something I had never really done before. I had a quiet time with God. This is something I had wanted to do; I’d just never found the time. As I was praying, I felt unrest in my soul. I asked God, “Why am I so frustrated?  What am I missing?” Straightaway the words of the song I sang earlier came to me, “Peace, bring it all to peace.”  That is when I realized I was not at peace. I was angry and annoyed.

My soul felt tired and embittered. I prayed to God for his peace and instantly my entire mindset changed. I was joyful and no longer frustrated. My soul felt at rest. The verses I had read earlier felt relevant.

I want to go back and look more closely at those verses,

 “Truly my soul finds rest in God;
   my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

This verse says our souls find rest, or peace, in God. It is easy to try and find peace in other things especially during this time when we are stuck at home. You can try and find peace in staying busy and not thinking, or completing a new level in your favorite video game, or just doing nothing and mindlessly scrolling on your phone. But when the day is done, our time just feels wasted. We are troubled and still not at peace. That is because only God can give true peace.

Peace is a deep feeling. Peace is more than a freedom from worry. It is more than calm in a storm or not being in conflict with someone. These are all aspects of peace, but peace is so much more. Peace is a state of flourishing. It is like when you put a flower in a vase. Now the flower may last a while if you stick it on a shelf and let it be. But the flower will last much longer if you trim the ends of the stems, give it water with the little packet of who-knows-what, and set it in sunlight. If you dump the flower in a vase it might survive, but if you take care of it, the flower will flourish and live. When we are not at peace, our souls feel like the flower dumped on a shelf. Our souls start to wither. But, when we are at peace our souls and our lives flourish, like the cared for flower.

Going back to the second half of the verse, it says, “My salvation comes from him.” We know this to be true in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our sins. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”

Without Jesus, we would never be able to stand before God as a clean son or daughter. Jesus has made the way for us. We have been set free! That knowledge, in itself, gives a sense of peace; knowing that, no matter what we have done, God has forgiven us. In fact, it is because of Jesus we can have peace in every circumstance.

The second verse I read was Psalm 62:2. It says, 

“Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
  he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

The opposite of peace is stress and fear. We have an enemy who doesn’t want us to be at peace. He wants to amplify your stress and fear so you are distracted from seeking peace.
The enemy wants to steal that peace and switch it out for worry and fear. The good news is we don’t have to listen to him. It says in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
We have the power to tell the enemy to stop whispering his lies. God is powerful. He can give you peace. Peace that flourishes.

Psalm 62:2 says, “He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” I have never been to a castle, but I have been to the Alamo. We all know how “great” a fortress that was, so maybe this isn’t the best example; but, anyways. The Alamo’s walls and ceilings are made out of rock. I remember going into a small room, made completely out of stone. Outside of this room it was hot, loud and full of tourists. Inside the room it was cool, dark and quiet. I felt protected on all sides surrounded by the rock. I felt safe.

 That’s kind of how I imagine the fortress in the psalm to be. Surrounding us and protecting us. God is our fortress. Although it seems to be trembling, our fortress is strong and will not fall. Psalm 46:2 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” He is protecting us and he has everything under control.

The enemy can whisper lies all he wants but God is our rock and we know that we will not be shaken!

I didn’t read this verse earlier but I would still like to look at it:

“Yes, my soul, finds rest in God;

my hope comes from him.”

That is Psalm 62:5. When you are at peace a joy comes that is unlike any other happiness. This joy is deep. It is the kind of joy that can’t help but overflow and affect the people around you. With this joy comes hope. When worry is replaced with peace, you get excited instead of afraid. Imagine a life where there is no worry. Wouldn’t that be amazing! A life where you are excited for the next day, instead of dreading it. A life where you aren’t frustrated and instead joyful! The incredible thing is that we can have that kind of life in Christ.

  I know it is so easy to be worried, frustrated and scared. But instead of dwelling on those feelings and thoughts, take them to God. He is so ready to listen. Let Him take any stress and fear you have. Ask God to change your heart from worry to peace, frustration to joy and fear for strength. Ask God for his peace. He’s always ready to listen.


Our youth director wrapped up the evening and invited other students who wanted to give leading a go, to let him know. Brennen was like, "I'll do that!" So, maybe stay tuned for his youth group debut :) I'm glad our Crew is willing to try something different and to be a light for Jesus in unexpected ways; He gave them the talents they have, it's fun to see them use those talents to give God the glory ❤

Family Teamwork

The specialist of birthday surprises! My nephews wanted to support Gabby's efforts to help feed hungry kids in our community during the Covid-crisis and her mask-sewing efforts, too. With the help of our church pastor, my sister and brother-in-law and their oldest boys set up a fund in honor of Gabby's birthday. She found out about it that evening when our pastor came over for the football draft (shh, don't tell anyone :) It took a wee while to get everything into place and for us to find a time to take Gabby shopping. As you can see, when Buck did--she was able to secure a LOT of food for meal kits!



And managed to complete her shopping just $11 over budget--that's pretty impressive given the large dollar amount she had to shop with! 



She and Buck loaded the Nitro and drove the food straight to the church :)



It was great timing for a restock with the weekend quickly approaching! This process will continue to the end of the natural school year. I'm not sure what will come next for those families needing food, but God has certainly blessed the ministry thus far. Our sincere hope and prayer is that each recipient recognizes this is not from the school district or individuals or even the church, but that God sees their need and desires to meet it. He uses our hands to gather the food, but it is directly from Him. Because He loves them and cares for them. And we love our family for being creatively generous--in a community that's not even their own! Definitely the best memory of Gabby's 16th birthday. Yay family, yay God!

Timber!!!!

Can you find Buck in the picture below? :) That's his cherry tree selfie. My cherry tree selfie comes next! Buck decided to get me some cherry trees for Mother's Day. IDK if cherry trees will grow here or not, but I've wanted fruit-bearing something for years (the blueberries haven't grown an inch, but do offer a tiny crop of super sour berries once each summer).





On our prairie hill, we have noticed the ever-creeping Redcedar trees taking over the landscape (they're actually Juniper trees, but called Redcedar because apparently horticulturists think it's funny to confuse people who are not). What's worse . . . these little creeps can ruin our fruit trees! 

Do you remember a few years ago I posted the weird, orange, alien-looking, virus-shaped growths on our Redcedar tree branches? Well, that fungus is called cedar apple rust. You aren't supposed to have any rusty fungus within 500 feet of your fruit. That means we have some work to do :)







A few things we learned . . . these stinkers are incredibly prickly! Sharp slivers straight through jeans and gloves! Also, our hill has really deep trenches--hip deep sometimes, that you just might fall into with one leg or the other. And finally, Brennen needs to learn how to use a chainsaw. His offer of, "It's probably not that hard," did not fly on the mama safety scale. Handsaw it is!



We cleared 50 trees of various sizes in one afternoon. There are so many 100s left! We dragged all the cut ones down to the former garden and the pile grew to impressive heights and breadths! We worked so hard we have a busted shovel to show for it . . . and itchy rashes from contact with those creepy trees, whose roots are miles long in every direction (okay, not really, but way longer than they should be in my opinion :). If they were fun and pretty like Christmas trees, we could be friends. But I'm pretty sure, scrubby trees, we are not friends ;)





Just a few more to go to get it back to the way it looked when we arrived . . . and then our neighbor's trees within the dreaded footage. Oh it's going to be some work!



My title just reminded me, there were a few times when Brennen would say hold the tree this way or that, but would forget to tell us when he was almost through the cut. Then we would find ourselves covered by/underneath the freshly downed tree. I mean they invented the word "TIMBERRRR" for a reason. Now would be an appropriate, and might I add, useful, time to use it :)

Just Being Silly

We were trying to come up with a fun birthday greeting for Auntie Z, and the kids discovered these . . . lol! We hope her birthday was out of this world! :)



But those weren't the only options . . . how about a little R&R Brennen, hee hee :)



Sparkle bunny, stars and glasses? IDK . . . all the sillies :)