Streams in the Desert

          I am wandering in the desert ... literally and figuratively.  Yes, I live in the Arizona desert.  And on October 11th, I entered my own personal desert as I learned that my brother, Garrett, was killed in a military training accident.  I thought of writing about it here, sharing with each of you, but the truth is, my brother's wife, Meg, has begun to chronicle her journey on her own blog.  Please read her beautiful words here.
          As I've wandered through this valley, I know that I am never alone.  Jesus walks along side me.  God promises that "water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." (Isaiah 35:6).  He promises to bring beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3).  In the words of the Psalmist, "I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13).  And in so many ways, I have the beauty God brings already... Day by day, moment by moment, he is leading me forward.  Thank you, God, for your goodness and love, even in our darkest moments.

We are Still Here!

          I'm sorry for the long absence of posts... To be honest, the summer has sped by and I haven't devoted much time to my computer.  I'm behind in emails and everything else on the internet, including this blog!  I do have plans to back post and let you see a bit of what we've been up to over the past few months, so stay tuned...

Made from Scratch

          Audrey has been asking to make barrettes for her hair since we had lunch with wonderful friends on Monday.  She saw that her friend made her own barrettes out of felt.  Inspired, she began asking for me to get the necessary supplies.  When I made our "summer fun" list, I simply added "make barrettes" as one of our activities.  So, I gathered our supplies:  basic barrettes from Wal-Mart, felt, glue gun, poms, scissors, and a computer (to give me ideas, as I am not naturally this type of crafty).  Audrey picked the colors, I cut out flower shapes, and she layered the flowers to make her barrette.  I put a dab of hot glue on the felt, and she layered her creations.  In the end, we had over a dozen very cute, wearable hair barrettes!  (Audrey even added some to a headband so Claire could wear a few in her very fine hair).

Peaches!

          We kicked off our "Summer Fun" by picking some peaches at a local orchard.  Fenway Park Orchard is about thirty minutes from us, so the girls and I drove up early Tuesday morning to beat the heat and the weekend crowds.  We were not disappointed.  Yards from our car were trees loaded with fresh, organic peaches.  They were also easy for the kids to pick, as many of the branches were hanging to the ground with the weight of the peaches.  Within fifteen minutes, we'd filled our little box with nine pounds of peaches!  We've been sharing with neighbors as well as eating them.  I even made peach pancakes (which was REALLY good)!

Adventure to Williams

          This past weekend, our family drove north for a camping adventure.  We traveled with our good friends, the St. Aubyns.  We left Phoenix Friday morning, stopped for lunch in Prescott, and arrived in Williams early that afternoon.  Our families modified our camping experience by staying in "camping cabins" at the KOA campground.  We still cooked our food over a grill (no fires allowed because of the lack of rain), used bathrooms up the hill, and slept on sleeping bags, but we didn't have to set up tents.  We had four walls and a roof over our heads.  These little cabins turned out to be quite a blessing, as the winds gusted between 40 and 50 mph the entire time we were there!  It also rained and hailed for an hour in the night, so we truly appreciated our roofs!

          While we were camping, we explored a local lake.  The kids were so entertained by throwing rocks into the water and hunting for dead crawfish.  The adults were thankful for such a peaceful location to play.  After exploring the lake front, we cooked burgers and hot dogs for dinner.  The kids were excited to sit on the ground to eat their food, too.  Every one slept ok that night, and we woke up to a very chilly morning.  The rain brought a cool front, so the temps on Saturday never got above 42 degrees!  After a week in Phoenix with temps above 100, we felt cold!

          We spent Saturday exploring the Route 66 town of Williams.  We ate breakfast at a fantastic local restaurant, watched the Memorial Day weekend parade, and popped in and out of the stores (trying to stay warm).  The kids loved exploring the train and train station (part of the Grand Canyon Railway).  I loved drinking hot coffee from the local coffee shop.

          At 2 p.m., we drove over to the Rodeo Grounds for the rodeo!  The kid's rodeo began at 2 p.m., and Audrey was hopeful that she could be part of the show.  When we walked into the rodeo grounds, we immediately learned that she COULD be a rodeo participant in the horse stick race!  (Her response: "You mean God did answer my prayer!! I get to be in the rodeo!!")  She won the first race and came in second the second time, so it was a good debut for the newest rodeo princess!  

          After watching the rest of the kid's rodeo (complete with mutton bustin', calf riding, steer riding, and pee wee barrel racing), we began our drive back to Phoenix.  It was a quick trip, but a great one!

Summer Fun!

          Summer is here!  Audrey is officially finished with pre school.  It's hard to believe, but it is true.  And the heat is here, with temps well above 100 on most days.  So, with extra time together as a family, I figured I should do what comes awkwardly to me -- plan!  Inspired by a creative friend, I decided to make a "Summer Fun" list to hang in our house.  It's a work in progress, as I know we'll add to it.  I started the list, then Matt, Audrey, and Claire all contributed ideas.  We want to check off several of these a week, but we do not have to go in order!  And I'm sure we'll also be doing lots of fun things that are not on the list (for example, we swim or get in water almost every day, since we have a lovely pool in our back yard)!  Happy summer to all of you, too!

Phoenix Zoo

          I just realized that I never posted pictures from our most recent trip to the zoo.  The zoo is always a favorite in our house, and we have two to choose from here in Phoenix.  So, Matt and I took the girls to the zoo one morning to play, see animals, and enjoy the last of the temperate weather before the heat arrives.  Our girls were in great spirits, so we stayed as long as we wanted and took our time exploring.  I only really snapped lots of pictures of the girls riding the camel.  Audrey rode by herself, but Claire would only ride with Dad.  (I, unfortunately, wore a skirt to the zoo and did not feel comfortable trying to ride the camel in a skirt!)  They ALL loved the experience (especially Matt)!

          And what would a trip to the zoo be without a few pictures of the kids in (or on) some strange animal sculpture?  A giant clam?  And a kangaroo?  Why not?!