I have come to learn that this life will often throw you a curveball and just leave you crumpled in the dust to fend for yourself. But this is when I rejoice because we have Christ on our side and He provides for His children.
Yesterday morning, 5:45am, my cell phone rings and I see that it is Jesse calling. My spirit sinks because the only reason that he calls me this early in the morning is to tell me something bad has happened. I answer, half asleep, and try to sound positive. He proceeds to tell me that the Jetta is on the side of the road, broken down. After telling me the story of his "adventurous" attempt to get to work, he tells me that he needs the phone number to the tow company and that even though it is EXTREMELY early in the morning and raining and cold, that I will need to wake up the kids and go pick him up...in Portland. SAY WHAT!!??!! Everything inside me was screaming at that moment. There I was in my WARM bed, half asleep, with a quiet house full of SLEEPING children, and now the tides have turned and are about to stir up a storm. Despite my feelings of..GRRR!!!....I refocus and realize that my husband in stranded on the side of the road in the freezing rain and needs me to come to his rescue. Long story short, we pick up Jesse, call the tow truck a couple hours later, and the Jetta is now in the shop.
Now usually this would send Jesse and I into a state of grumpiness and worry about how we are going to come up with all this money for the tow truck and the car repairs, and usually it ruins the entire day for us...but we have come to learn that worrying about small things like this will not accomplish anything. We have learned to put our trust in the Lord and rest in His peace, knowing that He will provide. So instead of sitting at the house all day, wallowing in self pity, our family enjoyed a wonderful, care-free day together.
We rejoice in the fact that God has blessed our family and that we are not in need. We have a roof over our heads, food to eat, electricity to warm us, running water and clothing...even the luxury of owning two vehicles so that we are not completely stranded. God is so good. So even though we may have obstacles thrown up into our routine, we will conquer those challenges with God's help. If you put your trust in God, nothing can get you down. Why worry when you have the Creator of the Universe on your side??
This last weekend, lil J and his best friend Hunter, along with my best friend Nycole and I, went on a well deserved road trip to Culver, Oregon to visit our friend Heather. We left Friday evening and were back home by Sunday afternoon, but it was the perfect length for us. 
We stayed with Heather in Culver but she took us down to Lake Billy Chinook on Saturday and we lounged in the sunshine all day long. IT WAS WONDERFUL!! I sat Jesse down in the waves on the beach and he was timid at first but then came to LOVE it...as you can see in the picture above. He actually cried his eyes out when I took him out to dry off. LOL!!
Nycole and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and came home very relaxed, yet thankful to be back. Hopefully we will be able to make it a summer tradition...although I can't see leaving my family at home when I am going to such a beautiful place that I know they would love...so perhaps next summer we will make it a full family road trip. Who knows. 
Jesse and I started off the 4th of July holiday with a night at the rodeo. We went with Dave & Kelly and some other friends as well. I would have to say it was a bit slow and uneventful this year, but maybe that is how rodeos become when you have gone to them almost every single year since you were 8. LOL!!! My parents watched the kids so that we could enjoy the night as a couple. It was so nice for us.
The morning of Independence day came quickly and we were up early to see the parade in Molalla. We sat in front of Bimart with our friends the Taylors, and my parents. Because we were at the end of the parade route, the girls didn't aquire very much candy in their bags, but I was thankful :) haha! 
After the parade, we went back to my parents house for a little grub and relaxation before heading over the the Wilson's BBQ. Once we arrived there, the kids were able to swim in the pool, goof around in the yard, and play on the playset. We enjoyed chatting with family and old friends. Wayne and Carol are always such perfect hosts. 
By this time we were beat. But we still had one more BBQ to attend at a friends house. We arrived there at about 7:30pm and stayed til around 11pm. The boys lit fireworks and blew up manequin heads while us ladies tended to the children and snacked on junk food.
