WOW! It's Been Awhile!

I can hardly believe that it's been almost a month since I last blogged. This past month has just flown by and we've been running, running, running! We've spent several weekends at the cabin while trying to catch up on house work and paper work at home during the week. We head out in a couple days to go to our nephew's wedding, I feel old! This little guy (not so little anymore, as he's 6' 4 " tall) was only 6 months old at my wedding....EEEEKKKKK! It's hard to believe he's old enough to get married. We'll also see his sister who's married and just had her second child 6 months ago, she was our flower girl. Oh well, time marches on.

Here's some recent pictures of the fire and how close it came to some of the cabins in our little subdivision, neither of the houses is ours, we can't get a good picture of our cabin from the lake.



While we were at the cabin last weekend, we were treated to the site of dual helicopters circling, dipping into the lake, and then dumping on a nearby ridge. We are still unsure as to whether there was a fire or not, it seemed to be more of a training exercise, plus we didn't see any smoke. But, it was fascinating watching them.

Every time we're at the lake, we see people jumping off this rock at one end of the lake. The boys have always thought it looked like fun. Well, this time they were brave enough to join their cousins and they all jumped off the rock. I did ok watching them, I was just glad they went for the lower rock rather than the much higher one that some older teens and adults jump off, although I'm sure it's just a matter of time & maturity! LOL! Jonah thought it looked a little too high from the very top of the rock so he found a bit lower ledge that he could climb down to and jumped from there. I was proud that he faced his fear and took the plunge...it only took once and then back up he went to jump several more times. The first two pictures are Levi jumping and the third is Jonah jumping.

When it's rough on the lake, the boys don't like the knee board or wake board so they tube! I'm not sure who has more fun...the boys riding in the tube or their Dad driving the boat trying to flip them out of the tube! LOL! After a long day of play, Jonah sacks out on the back seat with our chocolate lab, Cabela.

There's always a ton of animals along the lake. One night we were kept awake by the large herd of elk that moved in around our cabin to munch on the grass just after dark. They spent the whole night around our cabin and in the draw that's behind, they didn't just spend the whole night eating they also "talked" to one another the whole time! It wasn't the most peaceful night spent at the cabin, but it was neat to listen to them "talk." These pictures are of some mountain sheep that were down along the edge of the lake getting a drink and enjoying the green bushes alongside. It's always fun to stop and watch them a bit.

Although the fires have burned lots of area and blackened most of the hillsides around our cabin, the smoke has made for some absolutely beautiful sunsets. Here's one to share with you all...

Well, I think that about catches it up for the past 3+ weeks. Have a great day!

Our Cabin Still Stands!

YEAH! Just wanted to update a bit, our cabin still stands, yeah! I have included some pictures of the back burn that was done by our little subdivision that has so far saved all the homes in. I tried to place the yellow pointing finger to where our cabin is located as best I could. These are not my pictures and when I increase the size to try and see things, it all gets really fuzzy, but I did the best I could. We still cannot get in to our cabin, in fact not only have they shut the road down to our cabin, but they also shut the waterway down so we're doubly locked out! The fire is now up over 11,000 acres burned, quite a jump in the past couple days. Thankfully it's growing on the opposite edge from our subdivision burning deeper into wilderness area.


This week will probably be a quiet week as Levi is off to Bible camp and Jonah leaves Thursday to go to a 4 day Diabetes Camp. So, my hope is to clean more on the house!

Cabin and Fire!

We just spent the last 3 days at our cabin on Holter Lake outside of Helena enjoying the hot temperatures combined with cool lake water and lots of water play.
Here’s Jonah wakeboarding…


And here are pictures of our cabin…


Sunsets at the cabin are always gorgeous, but even more so right now. Here are a couple sunsets to share...

About the fire...

The fire is going strong and we were notified last evening of a recommended evacuation of the subdivision where our cabin is located. Although we were already home we are praying hard that our cabin still stands. Though it was built with mostly reclaimed materials, so the material cost was low, it has uncountable sweat equity invested in it…along with our hearts! Prayers for rain and good fire-team management are greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of the fire as it crested a ridge about 5 miles from us (as the crow flies, about 50 or so miles in terrain to cover.) After just 3 days the fire is now approximately 2 miles from our cabin (as the crow flies, about 20 miles terrain) and is moving at an alarming rate. Our state has the policy of not fighting naturally started fires (like lightening caused) in wilderness areas and in the tinder-dry times like now, it causes the loss of a lot of land. I won’t comment on this policy other than to say I’ve never really been in favor of this policy and at the moment it’s especially loathsome to me as we contemplate the reality of losing our cabin.

As we contemplate losing something that we worked so diligently on and is precious to us, we also have come to the acceptance that is not truly "our cabin", but rather it is God's. He blessed us with the finances, the materials, and the ability to build it and it is His. Yes, we are praying that our little cabin is spared, but we accept that He is with us whether the answer to our prayer is yes or the answer is no. If we will give Him praise for blessing us with beautiful sunsets, we will give Him praise for sustaining us through loss. And loss has been felt deeply over the course of the past couple years, but that is for another post at another time.

I cannot help but be reminded of the works we are to be doing on this earth for the Lord's sake and that one day they too will be tested by fire. May the work we do for God withstand His fire better than our wood and concrete cabin will withstand this earth's fire.

1 Corinthians 3: 10 - 13 says...

"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work."

Church Picnic - Hot, Hot, HOT!!

It was a fun, wet, and extremely HOT! What better place in 100 degree weather to have a church picnic than on the banks of the Yellowstone River. Even hubby felt hot enough, he and a friend decided to cool off by sitting in the river! LOL! I won't laugh too loudly though because my sister and I soon followed and joined them.



Here's Levi (blond), my nephew Keith (dark), and friend Zach (Blond with shirt on) heading out to do a little "tubin'!"


Jonah's favorite activity at the church picnic is the big sandy mudhole that's available for all to play in! He carted along his whole Tonka construction outfit and built all kinds of bridges and tunnels to play on. He followed it up with a little tubin' of his own, just to clean off!

Jonah's Baptism!

This past Sunday, July 22nd, Jonah made the decision to be baptized, praise the Lord! He accepted Christ at the tender age of 4, but waited until he could publicly speak of his faith before becoming baptized. When it was announced a month ago that our annual church picnic down by the river would be held in July and that a baptism service would also be taking place he has spoke of little else. He made the effort to speak to Pastor Tofslie, set up a meeting with him, spoke with Pastor, typed up his testimony with a little help from Mom on the computer, and was ready early Sunday morning. The testimonies are given during our regular morning worship service so that everyone can hear them. Jonah chose to read his as he was nervous and his heart was so tender towards the Lord that it required several practice readings at home before he could make it through without choking up and getting teary-eyed. After the morning service we all headed out to an absolutely beautiful place on the river for the church baptism service followed by the annual picnic. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, hotter than hot, but the best time to be on the river. Jonah was not the only teary-eyed one in the bunch, Pastor choked up while talking with the crowd just before “the dunking,” and you’re blessed that any of the pictures are in focus due to the tears in my eyes (thank the Lord for auto-focus!)

Here are the pictures of Jonah’s testimony and baptism…

Reading On and On and On! LOL!

Ok, I am a self-professed book nut. I love to read, I haven't met many books that I didn't like, I read very fast, and I read with an absorption that often astounds my husband and boys alike. They truly believe that a tornado could roar through our living room and that if I were reading I'd never even notice! So that said, I was actually quite impressed with myself that I was able to complete two more segments of my house for the summer clean-up challenge along with finishing "The Decaffeinated Corpse" for the summer reading challenge. I thought that was pretty good considering there have been times I've missed making lunch for the kiddos while in throes of a good novel. Not one to fall too far behind on things, I immediately started another book! LOL! I've read most of Patricia Sprinkle's books, but while in Borders the other night (waiting for time to pass so I could pick my Dad and his wife up at the airport...I was ecstatic to learn that Borders stayed open until 10:00 PM! YIPPPEEE!) I found two new books in her MacLaren Yarbrough series. Yeah! So I have started "Did You Declare the Corpse?" with great anticipation as I truly enjoyed the earlier books in this series. Waiting in the wings to be read next is the latest release for this series, "Guess Who's Coming to Die?" If you haven't read any in this series, I highly recommend them for good, clean, cozy mystery reading.

More Cleanin' Up!

Well, my adventure to clean up the chaos is continuing. The past 2 days I've worked on the hallway connected to the kitchen and the bathroom, both that were seriously "pile-mastered!" I just finished them today (I was a little slower on them as I worked diligently on the summer reading challenge as well...shhhhh! more about that in a bit.) I even vacuumed or swept the floors in both areas along with the kitchen floor. I have honestly found that posting my goals and knowing I need to take pictures of the completed projects has helped me stay on track with this challenge. So, even though I don't have many readers, as long as you all don't mind reading about this type of mundane every day thing, I'm gonna keep at it.

Here's the before pictures of the hallway and two shots of the bathroom...


Here's the after pictures of the same areas...


Ok, just because I know some of you are going to be saying, "What's with the flames on the toilet lid?" First, you must understand, my husband has been an autobody shop man for over 20 years fixing and painting more vehicles than I can count. Second, we have 2 sons that also love cars, trucks, and anything with wheels. So, one evening I came home to a "surprise" from my beloved guys....a new customized toilet seat lid. Please notice the details...fancy prismatic color changing paint, green color tones to "go with" my bathroom colors", and of course the Chevy logo embedded in the flames. Randy just couldn't understand that I was a wee bit upset with this customization; somehow he didn't think it clashed with my swans and flower motif at all. LOL! I can honestly giggle about it now, but just as honestly I will tell you that at that specific time I didn't think it was humorous at all. Here's a close-up for the details...

Summer Reading Challenge

I can honestly say that I probably don't need to be challenged to read...I tend to read too much, which is why I also need to partake of the two cleaning & organizing challenges that are going on as well...LOL! But, lover of books that I am I could not resist joining in this challenge and actually tracking my reading for a bit. I just finished the 14th book in Joanne Pence's series, Angie Amalfie mysteries. They are fairly good books, quick to read, and for the most part have good plots. The latest book, "The Da Vinci Cook" had a somewhat predictable ending, but was an enjoyable read. I'm afraid that my reviews may not be the best for others, as I haven't met many books that I don't like. I am also one of those truly annoying types of people that must read an authors book in the order they were written. In fact, to facilitate this obsession I have a subscription to a website, http://www.fictiondb.com/, that I can pull up an author's books in the order they were written. This also helps greatly when I'm buying my books off of Ebay, I can make sure that I have all the requisite books needed before I begin reading a series. LOL! I had thought to take a little break from reading for a few days, since I just read the 14 books in Pence's series over the past month, at least that was until I stopped by Borders Bookstore last night and found several new softcover releases that just insisted that I bring them home! Now I'm off to sneak in a few pages of Cleo Coyle's newest, "The Decaffeinated Corpse." Another note in case it wasn't too obvious, one of my favorite genres to read is that of the cozy mystery.
For more information on the Summer Reading Challenge, click on the graphic in my side bar and you will visit De'Etta's blog where she explains all about this challenge. Of course, I do need a challenge about reading less twaddle and more "good" stuff, but I'll get around to that shortly.

Summer Clean-Up Challenge

EEEEKKKKKKK! After the house becoming the "dumping grounds" during baseball season I really need to do this. Thanks so much Lisa for posting this challenge, it's one I'm taking on. If anyone else is interested, just click on the summer clean-up graphic in my side bar and it will take you to Lisa's blog and original post about the challenge.

Yesterday (and a bit this morning) I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up. I still have the floors to do, but I will do those once the connected hallway is picked up as well. I plan to move onto the hallway this afternoon so I'll publish before and after photos of that area when I'm finished. By the way, I have received many commendations for being a supreme pile-master, so you will see many examples of my fine work in most of the before pictures! LOL!

Here's the before pictures....ugh!!!


And now the after pictures....much better looking!!