February Beach

As much as I miss our old home and the many lovely things about it, I can admit that it is nice to be able to go to the beach in February.  

A Nature Walk: Jackson Bottom Wetlands

 We went on our first nature walk to the Jackson Bottom Wetlands, or as Libby calls it, Marshmallow Land (because she heard us call it a marsh).  We Utahns had a rough time negotiating the marshy wetlands.  Ethan, who grew up here, came out of it without so much as a drop of mud on his shoes.

 Libby fought the slippery mud and the mud won.

 All the kids had to shed their shoes when we got back to the car.  Two kids even ended up having to lose their pants as well.  

Mud aside, the kids are having a great time exploring the new area and all the different things it offers.

New Things

We've moved to the rainy Northwest.  And, as one would expect, it's quite different than the desert climate we came from.

We're having fun exploring all the new things around us.

Growing things.  Everywhere:

There are wetlands close to where we live.  We all pause as we hear an approaching gaggle of geese and run outside to watch them fly overhead:

The kids' reaction to seeing what seemed like thousands of geese flying over at once:

The kids are enjoying the nice temperatures.  It was -13 degrees when we left Utah last Friday.  When we arrived in Hillsboro, Oregon it was in the fifties.

We've Moved

We've moved.  And there is a whole lot of this:

Everywhere.  Moss in every nook and cranny.

I always meant to, but I guess I never did make an official post about our move.  We've moved to Oregon.  It's kind of an act of faith, really.  I should write a post on that some day.

The blog has been neglected during the moving process.  But I'm back now, and I'm sure that I'll have lots of things to post about as we adjust to and explore our new home.  

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

This is my favorite song:



Here are the words:

My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy's sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death,
Thy presence is my stay;
A word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fear away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise!
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

Snowy Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings are always great.  Snowy morning are always great.  But a Saturday morning that's also snowy?  Well, that's something different, isn't?  That's something extra special.

Moments

Here are some random moments from the last little while:

 I woke up one morning to find Libby had gotten breakfast ready for each of us.  Carrots and mozzarella cheese.

 I came down just in time to see her trying to cut the end off the carrots with this huge, totally dull knife.

 Libby fell asleep in a laundry basket on a chair.

Every now and then we get snow.  It doesn't stick around for long, but that's okay, because my kids are the kind of kids not to waste a moment.  They are always out playing in it as soon as possible.