Home For The Holidays

It has been a while since my last post. I promise I am still breathing and active! Very active, in fact. So active that I haven't nearly had the time or energy to update you guys. My apologies.

I absolutely love all the snow that God has blessed the Klamath basin with. It seems that the last two years I've lived here we didn't get loads of snow until December-ish... but to get snow in late October and most of November is wonderful. I'm really thankful that I have been able to enjoy a white winter before I sail off in January to summery weather in Maui. Definitely not complaining about that, either.

 

Over Thanksgiving I drove to Medford and in turn traveled up north to Portland to spend a week with my family. It was great overall! We celebrated the holiday at my grandparent's house with family friends (who traveled along with us), aunts, uncles, and cousins. I haven't been up there in four years, so it was great to be there after so long. It was one of those moments when I walked through the front door where nothing had changed, but so much was different. Odd. After a delicious, filling turkey & mashed tater dinner, the family lounged around laughing at jokes and stories from way back when. I have to say that one of my biggest joys in life is laughing at laughter. We also enjoyed a Christmas movie together. Very cozy! Black Friday was more of a sleep in - eat lunch - shop in the afternoon - relax, no rush - kind of day for the girls. That following Saturday the family hopped in the car and headed down to the Rose Garden to watch Duke gracefully beat the Ducks in basketball. It was so fun! We then went to enjoy a fantastic meal at the Macaroni Grill. Fantastic! And topped it off with a tasty, and oh so interesting treat at a little hole in the wall place called Voodoo Doughnuts. All in all... my family, friends, and I had a week blessed beyond words.

  

When our Portland excursion came to an end I drove back over the hill to spend a week in Bonanza and little more time with friends and what I consider more of my "family". The first day back in the basin I trekked into the woods with my friends Nicholas and Alicia to go Christmas tree hunting outside of Bly. We had an absolute blast! Even though we got stopped for about an hour from a bad car accident down the road, we were determined to get the perfect tree. Once the way was clear for us, we 4-wheeled up the hill, and were knee deep in snow.. it only took a measly 20 minutes to find our winner! At the end of the evening road tripping back to Klamath with the tree strapped to the hood of the car, we enjoyed an evening of decorating, pizza & "cheap chicken", friends, and a Christmas movie. Unforgettable moments with some amazing friends. The next Wednesday I had my going away dinner at our church, New Horizon.. it was incredible! God is so awesome! I want to give special thanks to those of you who helped, attended, donated, and prayed about it. I was able to raise a significant amount of money to fund my DTS. Super exciting! That was a bittersweet night as Maui was becoming more real, but leaving the fellowship is definitely not easy.

At the end of my visit I had to say goodbye for a couple weeks and come home to Medford for Christmas with my family (I will be back to visit Klamath and Bonanza one last time after Christmas). We already have our tree, and just yesterday we got a new pug puppy - she's a doll!

While I'm home I have a major task of unpacking my things from living in the bunkhouse this last summer/fall.. gutting things out, and getting rid of an abundance of things I just don't need.. gather a few last minute things before I fly out.. pack.. and just enjoy my time home with family and friends before this major transition. If you happen to remember, one of my major prayer requests is for my heart. God is doing some intense molding, and I'd like to be open to it... He has been teaching me a lot about submission for the last half year. It's soooooo good, but just as hard to learn! I am ecstatic for my trip. It is official that I am flying out January 6th. That's only a month away! I can't wait to see what the Lord desires to show me...

Thank you all for your prayers!  

Goodbye Sweet Summer...

Oh the joy of late nights and struggling to get up the next morning! After getting my blog up and running with my best effort, I decided I couldn't stop there... I wanted to write my first post... despite the hour. Now that we are well into October, and November draws near, the harvest season for the farmers has been finished. That being said, my job on the dairy farm has been completed as well. With summer ending, the short autumn season we seem to be experiencing is already bringing light snow fall. Crazy!

For the next month or so I plan to stay in Bonanza, OR spending time with close friends and at church.. investing what little time I have left before I leave for Maui. When Thanksgiving rolls around I will be Medford bound with my family for the holidays. In the midst of it all I will be situating my flight details, raising funds, packing, and prayerfully anticipating my departure!

I have been told by a handful of friends that this DTS in Maui will rock my world and I will come back a different person. I can't wait! I am excited to draw closer to Jesus Christ, above all. Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare to leave. Thank you to those who have already been praying!