At the closing of a chapter...

When the blog has been quiet for a while, it usually means life hasn't been. ;)

Working part time has been a real blessing this summer. It's starting to get busy with back-to-school shoppers, even though it feels like summer has barely started. Staples is a good place to work. There are high and low points of course, but I am so grateful for where I am right now. Having a few days off each week means there's time to help with laundry and cleaning, as well as work on my crochet and sewing projects. And I was even able to take a week off to visit some friends on their farm and doing a bit of camping with my family.

As it's getting busier at work, I'm coming face to face with the reality that I too, will be going to school this year. And not "back" to school either. For me this is a first. After a good 13 years of home learnin', I'm going to sit as a student in one of those dreaded "institutions" for the first time. Though I have my moments when I feel like a kindergartener, I'm excited. I know I'll never fully know what to expect until I begin, but I feel prepared, and secure in that while I may not know what the Lord has for me in the next few years, I am where He wants me to be right now.

I'll soon be entering a new chapter... one in which impromptu family vacations and my dear familiar online teachers are relegated to the happy memories of bygone days. But as I leave some things behind, and stretch in new directions, I know that Christ will use all for my good and His glory, to conform me more into His image. There are many possibilities opening before me that I never would have dreamed of a year ago. Perhaps the road will lead me there, perhaps not. But I know this: the Way beneath my feet is firm.

Summer...

Life goes by so quickly... but it is so full.

No posts in June... but that's okay. I'm not a "blogger", really. ;) I just want to record parts of my journey, and hopefully encourage some in theirs. I've been spending a lot less time on the computer this summer, as I'm not taking any courses right now, and it's so nice.

After a cold and rainy June, we're finally getting some summer weather. It's been sunny and around 30 degrees celcius for the past several weeks, and the forecast predicts it to last until the end of the month! I'm loving it - the garden is finally growing, flowers are blooming, and we've been doing lots of barbequing and making smoothies. It's wonderful! :)

I've been doing a lot of reading, more housework, working on different projects, and working at Staples - I just got a job there in May. A very nice change from school. :)

I'm off to deal with some mint I harvested from my chocolate mint plant today... I'm going to experiment with drying and freezing some, as well as keeping some fresh for tea and garnishes. It smells delicious!

I'll be putting up a few more spontaneous, shorter posts as I have opportunity. May God bless each of you, and draw you more fully into abandonment to Him!

Family Vacation Part 3 - Seaside

 

Port Townsend...

 A seaside tourist town...

shopping

antiques

mexican food

old buildings

To the lighthouse and fort at Dungeness Point later that afternoon.

So beautiful there...

A goofy game of golf in the evening...

last day...

hiking along the bluffs

at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

 the ocean below

gnawing at the base of the cliffs

barely visible through the fog

 the sandy grasses

like brave sentinels

piercing the salty air

a beautiful conclusion

to a refreshing holiday

Family Vacation Part 2 - Travel and Olympic National Park

On Tuesday morning we left Ferndale and took a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula.  The fresh sea air was so refreshing. On our first day in Sequim, we decided to do some exploring, and made our way up to Olympic National Park for some hiking.  The air was so clear and refreshing up there, with breathtaking views.

This deer was right beside the path outside the visitor center.  They seem quite used to people.  Such beautiful and graceful creatures!

wildflower meadows...

We decided to take a different path on the way back, but right when we were almost in view of the parking lot, we hit a danger zone.  It was slippery and steep, but we survived. :P It was neat to be hiking in snow in the middle of August.

I feel so blessed to have been able to have that time up on the mountains, looking at things so delicate as wildflowers and butterflies and fauns, at the mighty mountains and the vast ocean in the distance.  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." (Rom 1:20)

Family Vacation Part 1 - Food and the Fair

I just returned with my family on Saturday from a week-long camping trip in Washington.  I suppose some would say it's not truly camping because we borrowed my grandparents fifth-wheel trailer, but what's wrong with luxury camping once in a while? ;)  Our first two nights were in Ferndale, and we took in the North West Washington Fair on Monday. Before we went to the fair, we stopped at a beautiful park in Lyndon to eat our picnic lunch.

I'd have to say the highlight of the fair was the food... although we by no means went crazy with it.
Our family motto is "all things taste better shared".  So we bought two plates of Pofferjes to share, four 50cent cartons of milk, and one moo-wich.

It was interesting trying to share that, but apparently you can cut things with spoon handles.  Just for the record, it did taste better shared... ;)

Besides waiting in endless concession lines, we wandered around the various booths and exhibits, lego collections, painted masterpieces by 9-year-old Picassos... that sort of thing.  We were hoping for a free show (I was hoping horse), but being Monday there wasn't much going on.  Still, it was fun to absorb the carnival atmosphere.

We did have a campfire that night - sadly, our only one of the trip, but with wood costing $5 a bundle and us all being so tired at the end of the day, we didn't feel like we missed out too badly.

So that is a summary of our first couple days of family vacation! More to come tomorrow. :)