I am such an analytical psycho when it comes to making plans for anything!! Write it out, research it, make a spreadsheet, do some more research, make a pie chart, write more information you found on a new piece of paper and add the old information to it to make it make sense,decide you have made new plans, and start the process all over again... Ah!! How I love it! And this time it was plans for our Greta Alaskan road trip, where we will be driving from Mississippi to Washington state, and from there... To Alaska! Ehh!!
And amidst all the excitement, I think it is slowing hitting me to a degree of how far we really going. Up until a certain point, you kind of live in a haze of some distant future realities, until you start to really take the first step towards the journey. Well, this weekend felt like a first step. I was a little frightened, I am not going to lie! But I never claimed to be super woman. If I was not for sure that this was a natural reaction, I think I would be questioning whether or not my future existence in Alaska would happen! Haha! BUT God makes no mistakes, as Cory Ten Boone states (if you haven't seen 'The Hiding Place', you need to see it!!) So I am sure where He has us going is without a doubt his will for us.. Especially since it has been so prayerfully considered!
And to help ease further doubt, God sent us some friends to help shine the light to what living in Alaska is really like... Spiritually and physically. Their names are Brent and Clark, but we have come to know Brent the best. We all went on a Saturday hike and just picked his brain a bit. It was a huge blessing- God is so faithful to us :)
Here are some pictures from Saturday's fun:
Oh, and the leaves are finally starting to change!! Yey, fall is in it's way!
Rock climbing... Too bad Eli couldn't come up too. He missed out on a good family picture opportunity! Haha.
..weeding the forrest!
We proceeded to go from there and meet up with Andrew's flight buddy Austin and his group from Wichita Falls, TX to camp! We didn't end up really doing any camping, but we did have a really good time fellowshipping with other people from the ministry there and hanging out around the campfire!
(Bonnie, I took this picture of the ridge line because somewhere in those shades of blue is your favorite color of blue!!! :) )
Question: how many pilots does it take to put up a tent? ;)
And we actually did put up a tent too (just to look like we were camping, haha!). The others really did camp... We were just the impostors!
Check out our view!! ( and if that wind off the water wasn't so bad, it would have been just perfect!)
Off to get firewood.
... They searched high and low...
Cut up the wood and made a fire!
Yey for campfires!!
It makes us all so happy!!
(Brent and Andrew took a break from their hard work to give the camera a smile for me!)
...and even played with Eli pup!!
Eli thanks you!
Our dinners were the hobo packs you see roasting in the fire (mine actually was a bit more than roasted... Charcoaled is a good word for it, ha!)
(little heads enjoying the setting sun! This is one of my favorite pictures!)
(can't see him real well, but there is baby Easton!! He is just having a ball!)
Well, that about does it! We are headed to Dallas now for some one-on-one time and time with family since this will probably be our last trip down. Be praying God be glorified as we just learn to take his lead to love one another and love others around us during our trip (pictures to come!). Until next time...
'With songs of joy I speak of Thee, for I know not how to cease',
Kati Thornbury
-- Jeremiah 20:9--