1000 Gifts

So now I'm feeling embarrassed.  So many of you have written after my last post.  I thank each of you.  Your words, prayers, thoughts expressed  here on my blog and elsewhere have truly lifted my spirits and I can see how silly it was to feel alone! Thank you! 

A few months ago I read a book by Ann Voskamp called One Thousand Gifts.  It started me on a journey of noticing the blessings, the gifts that come my way from a God who actually loves us.  I thinks its time I started noticing again....

 The Wood Artist worked with Mr. Blueberry Eyes on a play fort the last time he was home.  They're starting to trick it out with finishing touches.  Mr. Blueberry Eyes had me park our car near so he could use the sound system to play a story about the Revolutionary War while he painted.  He spent hours being a kid.  Peaceful gifts.

 Here is my first, home-grown-to-perfection watermelon from my hoop house.  Yummy gifts.

 This lil' nuthatch hit our window so hard one day, he was convulsing and twitching.  I knew he was dying, but didn't want him to feel cold, so I gently put him on a cloth in my bathroom.  When I checked to he if he had passed yet, he was sitting up.  I took him outside and offered him his freedom, but he didn't want to leave my hand.

 So I went into the bathroom again and slid to the floor, offering him my knee.  He looked at me for a long time.  When his eyes cleared and he fluttered around, I again offered him the forest with my cupped hand.  This time, he looked at me for a brief, heartstring moment and siezed the day once more. Nature's gifts.

 Sometimes you just have to be goofy.  Making pineapple cupcakes with chocolate frosting late at night seemed like a good idea at the time

Bonding blessings.....

Nanette

Digging In

 I think our life can best be described as "digging in" right now.  We are in limbo.  There is just no other way to describe it.  There's no work here and no housing there.  We're spending a small fortune on train tickets just to keep our family together a little.  Last week, the kids and I went to see The Wood Artist.  He is living with my grandmother, so we at least had a place to stay for the weekend - a true blessing.  (That's where Mr. Blueberry Eyes found this little donkey to play with.)

 Being separated is tough stuff.  How thankful we are for the work, though! 

My social network has really come unravelled the last few months due to numerous circumstances, leaving me feeling shattered and insecure.  I guess its just a time of life to dig in and not think about it.  The only thing that is keeping me from giving up is my husband and kids.  It bothers me because I usually try to be a positive person, but I'm really down right now.  I guess the only reason I even feel like I can write this here is because hardly anyone even reads this anymore.....

 The kids loved seeing The Wood Artist's truck

The day we left, he had a run that took him right by my Grandmother's Farm.I had to park the car way off of the drive because there were so many oilfield truck driving by me on the driveway.  What struck me was that he was just one of so many, many trucks.  Just one.  But so very important to us.  I guess it was the moment my shield got a crack in it.  I got back in the car and just broke.  I cried so hard I embarrassed Laughing Water.  She asked me to please stop because the truckers on the drive were going to think something was terrible wrong!  I guess I just needed the release.

That load of pipe, by the way, is worth over $100,000!  All in a days work. 

Sorry, if anyone is actually reading this.  Its pretty disjointed and emotional.  I'm done now! - Nanette

Hiking and More Camping

 One morning we made chocolate pancakes and had some of the first eggs from our chickens.

 On one of the camping days, we took a seven mile hike to some waterfalls.  The terrain was pleasantly flat and the scenery varied quite a lot. 

 We had to cross a swinging bridge.

 I wish I could remember the name of these falls.  We hiked above what you can see in this picture.

 We had to cross a log to get to the other side so we could hike above the falls.  Laughing Water is crossing in a cloud of mist.

 It was a hot day and the kids found relief by dunking their heads in the glacial waters.  Brrrr!

 Back at camp, Mr. Blueberry Eyes found a buddy of the squirmy kind to play with.  Later in the day, they joined a group of Blackfeet children and played happily with them for quite some time.  Their favorite story to tell is that the native children said, "Wanna know how Indians fish?  Butt naked!"

 The camp store had some huckleberry soft serve that we couldn't pass up.

 This little black bear hung out for several days on the mountainside above our tent, feasting on ripe huckleberries and elderberries.

S'mores on chocolate graham crackers....perfect ending to an outdoor adventure.  - Nanette

Our Summer Camping Trip

 Camping for a week was a high priority for us this summer.  It became obvious that The Wood Artist would have to leave for work in the North Dakota oilfields before we could do it, so I realized if it was going to happen, we would have to do it without him.  We had never camped in the Two Medicine region of Glacier National Park and were intrigued with its wild beauty.  So we packed up and headed out for the adventure.  We were not let down!  The water and the rocks in the water were just amazing!

 The kids took Stratego and had fun playing it at the picnic table.

 We situated the tent in the trees, but if you looked through the trees, the view was truly magestic!

 On morning I left the children sleeping in the tent and snuck a couple hundred yards to the lake to meditate and pray.  Its pretty hard to beat a church like that!

 We visited a little restaurant in East Glacier that had this huckleberry French toast.  They said it was world famous and I believe it.  I ate only about half and I'm pretty sure I still have it with me!

 We found a new game we fell in love with. Its called Moose Farkle and played it everywhere!

Sorry if this seems odd.  You'd have to live here to see the humor in this  This was the most beautiful bear poop I've ever seen!  It was a deep, rich purple from the huckleberries in season.  I'll have to do another post or two to get in all the pictures I want to share. - Nanette

Uh-Oh! I blinked!

 They always told me not to blink.  If I did, my children would grow up!  But I must have blinked, because Laughing Water grew an astonishing amount over the summer!  When did that happen!

 Here they are at the start of a very long swinging foot bridge The Wood Artist took them on while he was home.

Chillin' by the river on a gorgeous fall day. - Nanette

Daily Life

This year, I enrolled my kids in several classes offered to homeschoolers by other homeschool parents.  One of their favorites is an Anatomy and Physiology class.  They are in different classes since they are in different grades, but they are using the same curriculum.  One of the experiments they did was to soak eggs in vinegar for a week.  They chose to add food coloring to their eggs, hence the strange colors.  They have graduated to more technical experiments since.  Today, for example, they extracted DNA from their cheek cells and make necklaces out of them.  They are really enjoying it.  Mr. Blueberry Eyes was even pretending that the cell phone was a centriole.  The resemblance was so striking, I burst out laughing when I heard him chattering on about it!

 So Mr. Blueberry Eyes has decided he must have a horse.  He is working like crazy, doing little jobs here and there to earn money for a horse.  He actually has well over $100 saved.  But he got a bright idea to give others the opportunity to help him out and this is what he came up with! 

And this is the rough life he has at school!  -Nanette

I'm Back

I knew it had been a long time since I'd added a post, but I was surprised when I saw that my last post was the last day of May.  There are a lot of reasons for that.  Our family came to a place where we had to make some tough decisions and I just couldn't break through the stress enough to write.  In all honesty, we aren't dealing with anything that millions of other Americans aren't dealing with right now, so I feel like a bit of a weakling to admit that it really took me down a bit.  I guess its just that I don't like change and change had to happen.  I never really dreamed our life would look like it does now, but its all good.  God will see us through.  I can finally say that.  I haven't always had that much faith.  But now I know He is good and He will bring good out of it all.

We had to close most of our reading therapy business and The Wood Artist had to go to another state for work.  Since I actually like my husband, this has been hard.  But, we are thankful for the work!  He is home right now, but will soon leave again.  We have so much to be thankful for, though.  I'm blessed that I live in a safe place and have family and friends at my fingertips should I need them, and I do!

 I'm posting some pictures of a hike I did with a dear friend in Glacier National Park.  It was 19 miles of pure majesty and we had a lovely time.  I have so many pictures to post of our summer.  Be prepared for a lot of posts soon!

 The views were breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

I'll try to catch up soon. - Nanette