Today Eric and I have been married for 14 years! It hasn’t always been easy or fun, but they have been the best 14 years of my life. He’s my best friend and I love sharing my life with him. We were down in southern California about a month ago, without any children, and I got to meet my first “xanga” friend, @maryhurlbut,in person. She’s in awesome photographer and agreed to take our anniversary pictures. I love the beach, so that’s where we went. 

And, a side note, a few of you have pointed out that I didn’t post pictures after I got my braces off. So this can double for that!

 

Heres our day playing at Coffenbury Lake. Strange name. I know. And there is nothing other than speculations as to why it is named this is.

 

We spent the last 8 days on vacation. Kinda.

Vacation- noun, An extended period of recreation spent away from home. 

Our trip definitely fit that definition. But I had to look up the word, because as I typed it, I was thinking more along the definition of…

Vacation- noun, a period of time away from ones normal, everyday activities, where one rests and relaxes and returns home refreshed and rejuvenated…

I am super thankful we have a huge travel trailer. It sleeps 11. It’s 1/3 the size of our home we lived in while Eric was in dental school! So when I say we went “camping” on our vacation, it’s not as bad as you might be thinking. We did that. A few times over the years and once with 6 children and that was the last time. We went to the Redwoods and woke up in our tent to an inch of water. Everything was soaked. And the forecast called for rain for like 6 months. So we rolled, and I’m really not kidding here, everything up and shoved it into the back of the car and drove home. And I did laundry for a week. And swore I was done camping. So Eric bought this big, fun RV to accommodate his camped out wife. And we use it all the time. It’s like having an extra little house. I have it well stocked with everything we need from food to diapers and everything in between. And what I forget, the children add to it. This time we brought along ALL of our bikes. That was 7 and a bike trailer. Enough food to make 243 meals, beach toys, clothes for all types of weather, because it was the northern Oregon coast and you never really know whether the sun will shine or the wind will blow or the rain will pelt you. 

We picked Ft. Stephens. It’s an awesome State Park. And they have full hook ups which means we have all the water, electricity and sewage drainage we could use. The other option is “dry”camping. Meaning we only have the 70 gallons of water we bring, the electricity from the batteries and when the black tank (where the toilet empties) is full, well, it smells. And really, we can only dry camp for a few days. But this trip was an 8 day camp out, so having full hook ups was a necessity. Another reason for choosing this place was because of all the rich history it has.  This area is THE END of the Lewis and Clark trail. and after having studied it over the past few years in school, it would make for a great “Field Trip”. 

And it did. We had so much fun. There were amazing bike trails, forts to explore, museums to wander through, beaches to swim and play on and perfect weather. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.

 Day 2 (going to post pics over a few posts to keep uploading time reasonable) 

 

After working all morning on the property hauling brush and cleaning up the old chicken coop, we packed a lunch and drove to our favorite swimming hole on the river. The boys packed the car full, and I do mean full, of kayaks and boats and toys. It was quite a site to look back and see everyone’s heads every which way to avoid being bumped by the kayaks. It was super hot and the water was so refreshing. We played all afternoon. Water wars, a water version of Cops and Robbers, exploring, eating, hunting, the children never stop moving. I love these days!

 

The other day, Laura came to me and showed me that we had three pairs of converse tennis shoes that were ALL pink and fit ALL three girls! Some were a little more snug than others, but we managed to squeeze everybody into a pair and headed down to our little bridge. Jules is my most challenging child to take pictures of. She would rather do anything than look at the camera and hence I must be super creative with her. But, shoe pictures were so much easier! LOL!! The brothers all hung around and helped keep Julia entertained. And asked for pictures of them as well!

 

Maryann just bought these sunglasses at the fair and wears them everywhere! A girl after my own heart! 

 

A few weeks ago we went to eastern Oregon to a wedding. We towed our trailer and spent the weekend. We always have SO much fun on these trips. Saying the wedding was beautiful was an understatement. The joining of these two lives was one of the most blessed events I have ever witnessed. After the weekend of the wedding was over, we towed our trailer down the road about 2 hours and left it for a family camp the following weekend. 

 

Maryann, all ready for camping

 

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Sunset in Sisters, OR. It looked like the mountain was on fire!

A buck and doe down the street from our house.

 

At the lava rock beds.

 

Hunting for dandelions like weeds to blow for pictures.

~cheryl

I’m so behind on summer posts. Mostly because we have been having a crazy, fun, busy summer and there is not enough time in my day to fit it all in. So my blog has been neglected.  It doesn’t help that we live in the country and have super SLOW internet, so uploading pictures can be insanely frustrating. But tonight it’s quiet. I’m in a hotel with fast internet, so I’m working on catching up.

So we have these friends whose parents have this super awesome house sitting on top of a mountain with a pool like you would imagine at Disney World…and they like us enough to invite us there for swimming and a BBQ on the fourth of July. AND, Grandpa Luke and Grandma Beth were here visiting from NC. Need I write anything else? It was a super fun day for all of us! 

 

~cheryl

A few weeks ago we spent Sunday afternoon hiking one of the trails up the river here. The children have SO much fun on our hikes. The oldest 6 (this just leaves Jules) like to run up ahead and leave us little signs along the trail. Like SOS out of pinecones. The waterfall we found at the end of the trail was amazing. Beautiful. Breathless. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing around in the water and on the rocks and bridge. Then came back and had Blizzards at DQ. (thanks Paul!)

 

We love, love, love going to the rodeo. This year only Maryann participated in an event. Mostly because of after all the neck and spinal injuries that come from the bull riding. And it’s just to close to home right now. But Mutton Bustin seems much calmer. You pretty much just roll off the sheep onto the ground instead of being bucked off and thrown through the air. And I make her wear a helmet and chest protection just in case the sheep were to step on her.

I was thrilled when we walked over to the bleachers and I saw Eric’s Aunt and Uncle. This meant I had 2 extra sets of hands to help and that I could run around with my camera and take pictures.  Something I have really missed these last 6 months of remodeling. 

 

 

 

They put a “greased” pig (and I’m not kidding!) in the middle of the arena and let every kid under the age of 12 race to be the first to grab it and pick it up. Poor,poor little pig. Hundreds of kids stampeding to fight over him. He’s probley going to need therapy for the rest of his life.

 

A real Cowboy and his Cowgirl

 

Watching from the stroller.

Caught Michael jumping off the bleachers as I was shooting the bull riders. 

 

The little boys playing in the sand/dirt with empty water bottles. Racing to see who could fill theirs the fastest.

Girlfriends 

 

Love this little girl and all the spunk in her! She’s waiting for her turn Mutton Bustin. 

Hard sign to obey…

Front row viewing

The only colt I saw there.

Our friend Calf riding.

 
Presenting the American Flag at the beginning of the rodeo. 

Our crazy friend…this one’s just for you Jim!

Biggest bite ever!

 

Her Horse’s tail was full of sparkles. If I ever ride a horse in the rodeo, I’ll definitely put glitters in my horses hair too. 

Loved seeing these guys walking into the rodeo. Most handsome man ever!

Dreaming about owning her own horse someday…

 

A favorite Auntie spoiling little Jules.

When I think of this word, it makes me think I should be writing a post around Thanksgiving. But this word has been used a lot around here the past few weeks. 

Grateful for life.

In the matter of a few seconds, my father in law lost so many things that we take for granted every single moment of every single day. But he’s still grateful…for LIFE. We’re grateful for his life. We have painfully watched and listened to the reports of his recovery. Some doctors say he may never walk again and others say maybe with a walker. He says he will walk on his own. And we all can’t wait for that day. 

Every day, as I replay in my mind what happened that night, the accident, the phone call, the broken neck, the loss of movement of his arms and legs, I am reminded of how grateful I should be. For every single thing. For the bigger things like life, breath, the ability to move my body how and where I want to. Feeding myself. Taking a shower. Driving. Hugging a child. And then there are the smaller things. Holding something in my hand. Making a phone call. Writing this blog post. Checking the mail. The list never stops. And I am grateful. Grateful that these gifts are still a part of my life. Everyday. 

We have been amazed at God’s graciousness to him. All the prayers that have already been answered. And yet it can be so difficult not being grateful for what he still has. He can talk, and see, and taste, and hear, and think. All of this is each a gift in its self. As I make a list of things  I am grateful for in my father in law, it would be something like this;

~I am grateful he served our country, coming back home from war injured. 

~I am grateful that he married my mother-in-law.

~I am grateful they choose to have a second child. (my husband)

~I am grateful that he worked hard to provide for his family and protect and take care of them.

~I am grateful that he passed the baton of believing in Jesus to his son, (my husband), that his Dad had passed to him.

~I am grateful for the years of parenting a very stubborn child. For never giving up and always believing in him. (this would be Eric, just in case you’re wondering)

~I am grateful for the years that I have been his daughter-in-law.

~I am grateful for all the times that he has been around to love on my children.

~I am grateful he is still living. That we can now go and visit him. Even if it is in the sterile walls of a hospital. 

~I am grateful that in all of the pain of this he still looks to the future with optimism. That he can smile and laugh when we come and visit. That he is determined that one day he WILL get up and walk again. 

 

 

I want to encourage you to stop and think of all that you have to be grateful for. From the biggest thing you can think of to the smallest thing. Sometimes life can seem so unfair and cruel. So much to grieve and weep over. But we are children of a God who gives us gifts and blessings every single moment of every single day. Thousands of gifts every day. And even though the sadness can seem overwhelming, there is ALWAYS a gift to be found. And God doesn’t jump up and down like a small child, saying”It’s from ME! I gave you this gift!” He sits back quietly. Waiting. Wanting our eyes turned towards Him. Gifting us over and over and over…

 

 

 

all verses from NASB

~”Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

~”For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Romans 6:23

~”Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15 

~”For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” Ephesians 2:8

 

 

God’s greatest gift to us is eternal life. With Him. There’s always eternal life in hell. Which is separation from God.  F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  And once again, we get to make the choice. We can accept this gift. Given simply to us. Or throw it away. And when we choose to accept His gift of eternal life, it doesn’t really take the accidents or “bad things that happen” away. But it gives us hope. Joy.  Gratefulness.