You see those buck teeth over there ~> (look to your right) - you will NEVER see those teeth like that again!  In just a few weeks, my teeth have moved so much that they all line up in front!  It looks really strange to me as I've lived with big front teeth jutting down below the other front teeth for so long.  No wonder my mouth hurt so much.  Things were moving!  I have days when it feels like my top teeth are all loose.  A disturbing feeling to be sure but I am promised that this won't last.  As long as they don't all fall out, I'm o.k. with it.

We had one of those surprising, go with the flow days, the kind of days I love for homeschooling.  I had a doc appt this morning and when I returned, my oldest son had done nearly all his schoolwork, my middle son had done some of his and my daughter had just behaved herself, which was about all I could ask out of her (she's only 8).  She did study her spelling words without me and we did math, a lot of math actually, which she loves.  After finishing the work and lunch, I took the kids across the river (the Columbia) over into WA, to take some kids' clothes to an awesome consignment shop my friend owns over there in Chinook.  Chinook is right on the water so we drove around a bit and then went to an old military fort that was built to protect the mouth of the Columbia River.  I think it closed down after WWII but all the buildings have been restored and there were several concrete structures that my kids love to walk around and through.  The two big guns are still sitting there, surreal-like, in such a lovely place, with grass and trees, and the water sparkling in the sun.  I was wondering what it was like, being on duty watching the river for any enemy approaching.  I'll bet more than one solder fell asleep in the warm sun on top of one of those bunkers! 

On our way back over the 4-1/2 mile bridge that spans the Columbia, we spotted 3 Navy ships making their way toward Astoria.  One was an American destroyer and the other two were Canadian.  We hurried across the bridge and found a good viewing spot along the river back in Oregon.  My kids love military ships so this was pretty exciting.  Portland is having their annual Rose Festival and every year, at least one military ship comes down the river and docks in Portland for a few days.  We are so fortunate to live where we can see them come and go on the river.  But we would have missed them completely if we hadn't have gone over the bridge when we did.  God is so good to give us these opportunities.  I love it when things like this happen.  It just reaffirms to me that God cares about my kids, in big ways and small.

It got us home later than I had planned, however, so I had to hurry over another bridge (across the bay this time) over to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner.  Todd is working tonight so time was tight.  On my way across the bridge (we live around a lot of water), brakes slammed unexpectedly and I was fortunate to be able to stop in time.  I don't know what the deal was but we finally got going again and I went on to the store.  I wasn't there all that long and on my way back, the bridge was completely stopped.  This usually means the draw bridge is going up for a taller-than-usual fishing boat.  There were a lot of fishing boats on the water today so I thought nothing of it except that time was ticking by and I worried about getting dinner ready.  We finally creeped along to my side of the bridge and then I saw a tow truck hauling away a car with a smashed-in front.  It dawned on me that this accident probably happened not that far behind me when I was going to the store.  Once again, God spared me of harm.

One of the songs that comes to mind frequently is one I learned as a kid in Sunday choir.  "God cares for his people wherever they may be.  Come sing praises, sing praises ... joyfully."  Amen.