Christmas in Idaho 2011

We had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' Birthday in Spirit Lake & Post Falls this year. It was relaxing, beautiful with new snow, and fun to spend time with family and friends, and most scrumptious with wonderful food and fellowship.

Enjoy some of the many pictures we took!

Tis the Season..

Home once more

We arrived safe and sound late last night as we drove straight through from Reno, Nevada to Richland, Washington. It was so good to walk into our 'home' and take off our shoes. The kids and I have a little different way of looking at things than some people and one such view is that "home" is where ever the three of us happen to lay our heads that night. So you may hear one or all of us refer to "going home" when we are traveling and we are merely referring to returning to a hotel, family member's house or even our tent. Yesterday we were home-home and it felt good to walk in the door. We had a wonderful visit with Uncle Jack and Aunt Betty McGahan this week and met Doug and Lynn Chapman from Kingman, AZ who were all mining near Ridgecrest, CA. We had an amazing time and could have stayed a week up there just exploring and treasure hunting! Enjoy the pictures.

In Reno, we met an amazing lady, Lorie Perry USAF Retired. What a wonderful woman who is full of adventure and life! Her story is one worth hearing and I hope one day to hear even more. We shared a feast in celebration of Thanksgiving and laughed, shared, and prayed together.

Viva Las Vegas

We are down in sunny Las Vegas/Henderson, Nevada just hanging out and chillin' in the pool. The breeze is a bit too cool to sit by the pool so we make sure we are submerged in the nice warm water or in the bubbling hot tub. The weather has been in the high 60's (65-70 degrees) all week which I have been loving.

A U.S.M.C. Ball was being taped for television on Wednesday night and Pro Bowling Championship has been taped all week next door to the resort at South Point Casino and Arena. Pretty cool watching all the taping.
We have enjoyed the exploring and just hanging out together. Today we colored Thanksgiving pictures and wandered around Bass Pro Shop and laughed till we cried. Life is good, eternal life is better!

I love Autumn!!

No matter how cold, chilled or downright frozen I may get, I absolutely love the weeks of Autumn! I love the crisp smells, the beautiful colors, the changes. I love seeing the way that nature prepares for the coming winter months and how intricately God planned every detail! Watching the squirrels squire away their treasures and the leaves fall down gracefully to prepare a bed for the coming months is simply facinating to me. Ah, it is such a peaceful time of thanksgiving and blessing to me!

November Chill

This morning I got up and ready for a long run and put on my long running tights, two layers with a long sleeve jersey, hat and gloves and headed out the door. Jordan was riding his bike to keep me company for the hour and a half I planned on running. We made it as far as the end of the street before I said this was craziness! It was sooooooo cold! I suppose I have gotten soft in my years because I was freezing and decided the treadmill would have to suffice because I could not tolerate the weather without pulling out my extra heavy winter wear. Jordan got back inside and said his hands felt like they were burning as they slowly warmed up. It was only 43 degrees out at 2pm so I can only imagine what the temperature was at 8am! Ice was on the cars and grass looked white instead of green. Well, the treadmill will become my friend and I will have to find some good books on tape for the winter runs. : )

We head for Nevada next Friday so maybe I will get some good trail runs in while we are there. Blessings to all!

Our New Neighbor!

Welcome to our new neighbor!! Grammy Elaine is moving in next door and we are so excited!!

She arrives Wednesday and her apartment is just waiting for her to get here. It is going to be fun to have her just 25 steps away and ready to go have fun with us at the drop of a hat, or leaf, or scarf, or flip-flop, well, you get the idea.

Goodbye September, Hello Fall!

This seems to be the yardstick of my life lately. Months, Seasons, and Celebrations are what appear to be the way that life is measured. Whatever happened to minutes, hours and days???

In all seriousness, God has continually blessed and sustained us and it is not that I have nothing to blog about but rather have chosen to spend my 'free' time doing other things. Actually, free time is a misnomer and it is simply a matter of choosing not to do one thing over another. : )

School is going well for the kids and work is going great for me. We are very excited about where God continues to lead us as a family and grateful for where we have been. Life is a good busy with lots of silly moments thrown in. Start training this week for a long range goal of a 50M race next Spring. I have three races picked out and have not decided which one to enter yet. I will choose in December. I miss the 'training' that is part and parcel of racing. Kyra and Levi will keep me motivated along with the rest of the Jackson clan.

Goodbye, Summer...

So it goes. This morning there was a nip in the air and school buses are running once again. Alas, I do believe that Summer is almost gone and Autumn is around the corner. Seasons are reminders, a way to remember special times in our lives and to mark the passing years, months and days.

1 Peter 5:5
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for " God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (NKJV 1 Peter 5:5)

Yes, my daughter selected this as our next memory verse! Praise the Lord!!

Jennifer and Jordan have left for Bible Camp with the Break Through Youth Group. They are both pretty excited to see what God has in store for them. The camp is up in Idaho and so Jordan will visit with family afterwards and I will pick him up next Tuesday but Jennifer will be back home Sunday evening.

Wow! A whole weekend to myself... Long run, house cleaning and nice quiet think time. LOL!

Memorizing the Word

Proverbs 7:1-3, "My son, keep my words, and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."

This is the first family verse for us to memorize in a long time. Much too long between our last memory verse! Jennifer has determined that she is going to put a fraction of the effort into memorizing God's Word as she does in her artistic efforts. I applaud her and have decided to join her by making each passage she has chosen a family effort. Iron sharpens iron!

Check out this link for some ideas for your family.

Creation Northwest 2011

Photos from Hydro Races Columbia Cup

Happy Sweet 16, Jennifer!

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The Launch!

Pictures of Jordan's duct tape boat launch! Finally! Papa and Jordan worked long and hard on building this boat and we finally gave it a test drive.