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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Ethan's been gone a lot, looking for work. Here's Hudson pretending to be like daddy:
Ethan's been interviewing with a company. I'll post more about that later, when things become official. Right now, I am working on packing up the house - a truly annoying job. It seems to me that people tend to fall into one of two categories: those who like packing and hate unpacking, or those who hate packing but like unpacking. I'm an unpacker. I love that and look forward to being able to do that some day.
We're not 100 percent sure how things will turn out, but for now, we are preparing for a move, and hoping Ethan can come home soon. We all miss him like crazy.
