Nov. 22, 2009
Oh, man.
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Bummer deal. Once again our hard drive on our laptop has crashed. Yep it just died this past Feb., November 2008, and one other time before that. This will be our fourth replacement. It is still under warranty so we should be back within a week or so. Not the end of the world but an inconvience. You would think that we would learn to back it up. Maybe we will this time. |
Nov. 16, 2009
The death of a warrior.
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The other night we watched the movie Taking Chance. It shows in great detail the process of bringing home a Marine who was killed in action. The honor, respect and reverence is amazing. Tomorrow will be the funeral of another warrior. Not one that ever wore a uniform but one that faithfully served none the less. Marion McChatton was one of my prayer warriors. It is amazing how quickly you can feel a bond with certain people - Marion was one of those people for me. Marion was a grandma who was fighting a battle with cancer when I met her in Lolo. Even in her own pain, she was an amazing warrior for others. She loved people and she loved Jesus more. She prayed for more people, and most will never know. She was an amazing and humble servant. My times spent on my knees next to this dear lady will always be precious to me. My time with this dear lady was short but she taught me tons and I am blessed to have known her. She will be missed. This precious lady will not receive the warriors honor on earth but I know that she will receive a greater honor in heaven. |
Nov. 14, 2009
Silver Falls
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Oh, how I wish I had taken my camera!!!! We went on a family hike up to Silver Falls past Entiat. There was a couple of inches of snow and it was an enchanted winter wonder land. We were the only ones up there and as we hiked we saw the falls which were full of icicles and frozen places and yet there was still water falling. It was so cool. The higher up we went the more snow there was. We were able to go out behind the falls, which was really cool. We never cease to be amazed at God's creativity and the delightful places that he has created for us to enjoy. It was such a fun day and we stopped at a quaint little store/cafe for hot chocolate on the way home. It was a great family day full of lots of fun memories. |
Nov. 13, 2009
Snowing in East Wenatchee, WA!
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This morning it is snowing here! It is not sticking at the moment but there is still frost on the ground. And so begins the winter weather... There is something special about the first snow of the season. |
Nov. 6, 2009
What I have been reading lately.
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It seems like I go in spurts when it comes to reading. Either I am reading a lot or I am dragging myself through a single book over a period of time. I am on a spurt and getting lots read so here is what I have been reading besides school books and kid stories. I finally finished up Satisfy My Thirsty Soul by Linda Dillow. Then I took off reading more.  Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel    LORD, Heal My Hurts by Kay Arthur  Seizing Your Divine Moment by Erwin Raphael McManus  Mountain Top by Robert Whitlow  The Tail That Wags The Dog by Max Myers  I have also read a bunch of Colleen Coble books which I won't take the time to find pictures for. In my Bible reading I have just finished 2 Samuel and I am starting I Kings. |
Oct. 10, 2009
Gleaning
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Grandpa Burgess has a friend who owns an orchard here in East Wenatchee. He let us go glean in his orchard. We were able to get lots of apples today! What a great gift. We love apples. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. It was cold enough to need a coat but not freezing. It hasn't gotten cold enough yet to freeze the apples although it might get that cold the next few days. It was fun to be in the orchard with Paul's mom and enjoy the sweetness of nature. Gleaning makes me think of the ladies in bible times, especially Ruth. God is such a faithful provider. |
Sep. 27, 2009
Fun weekends!
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Last weekend we went to Concrete. On Saturday, Michael and Mark went fishing with Mr. Corey and they all caught a salmon. I posted pictures on Loeffler family pictures, if you forgot the password e-mail and I will give it to you. This was the boys first time to catch salmon! We had some for dinner Saturday night and brought some home in a cooler to enjoy later. Sunday Paul taught Sunday school and played the piano for worship at CBC. It was a fun weekend visited friends. This weekend we went up past Lake Wenatchee and went bike riding as a family. It was a great day! We found a rock slide and went bouldering on the rocks. When we finished our bike ride we went down to the White River and threw rocks and got our feet wet. The water was freezing. I could only keep my feet in for 20 seconds at a time. It only takes about 5 seconds for them to go numb. I posted pictures of the boys on the rocks. Today we enjoyed church and a luncheon at church. The boys have played all afternoon and I canned 14 qts of pears. I still have another box of pears that is not quit ready to can yet. All in all it has been a great couple of weekends. |
Sep. 9, 2009
My Baby is Five Years Old!
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Benjamin turned 5 years old today. A momentous event for our little guy. Being five means no more baths, he gets to take showers. Being five means he gets to chew gum. Being five means he gets to be in Kindergarten. Being five means no more baby stuff, he is big now. Being five means that he is almost too big for Little Einsteins, but not quite. Being five means that he is a Sparky now. Being 5 means that life is good. Being 5 is cool! If you don't believe it just ask him. We had a family party with dinner, presents, cake and ice cream. Great Grandpa and Lois came over for the night. Grammy made a very cool Scooby Doo cake. We had a fun night! |
Sep. 7, 2009
Happy Labor Day!!!!
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Today is Labor Day! It has been rainy and cold this weekend. It feels like fall. The rain has not slowed us down though. We had company Thursday and Friday night. The Lanahan's came and we spent park of a day up at Lincoln Rock Park letting the kids swim. We played games and enjoyed hanging out with these guys. It is so good to connect with long time friends who really know us. Saturday, we took a family hike up Blewett Pass at the Discovery Center Trail. The leaves are starting to turn colors up there and some are already dropping! We took a picnic lunch up there and then hiked in the rain. It was a fun hike. It became windy towards the end so the boys were happy to see the car. The rest of our time we stuck to the car and expored National Forest roads. Then we came home and had chili dogs. Sunday we went to church and then Paul took Mark and Michael on a bike ride around the Wenatchee Valley Loop Trail. While they did that I took the other two boys and we explored Lincoln Park and another park, both of which we had never been to. Then we headed for home just as it started to dump rain. An hour later we went and rescued Paul and the boys who were wet and cold. They came home and had hot chocolate. Then a bit later Paul and I went out on a date. We went up Mission Ridge and explored trails up that way. It was fabulous. Not sure what we are up to today. We are starting school tomorrow, so I am mentally getting prepared for that. Benjamin's turning 5 on Wednesday! So I need to figure out what we are doing for his birthday. He is so excited and is counting down the days. I am no longer a MOPS mom - all of my boys are now in school and I am enjoying not having any preschoolers! Summer has sure flown by like normal. So now we switch gears and head into fall. |
Aug. 26, 2009
The Loss of a Prayer Warrior
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While we were living in Concrete, WA, before we even had children, Paul became friends with Greg Wilkinson. Greg, Vernie, and their kids had come to the Concrete area to care for a elderly parent. Greg became a prayer partner with Paul, and over the years Greg has been so faithful to pray for us and our ministry. In the summer of 2006, Greg received the diagnosis of cancer, and this week he past away. We will be headed off to Spokane for his Memorial Service this Sunday. This has been a long battle for Greg. Even in the midst of it all Greg's heart stayed soft toward God and his faith remained strong. And even in the midst of his suffering, he prayed for us. I am humbled by this and know that we will miss this faithful partner in ministry. "To live is Christ, to die is gain." I know that while we feel a loss, Greg has definitely gained. |
Aug. 26, 2009
Schooling in transition.
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I am coming to terms with the fact that we are not going to be settled somewhere before school starts. So Tuesday night, Paul and I went and dug two school desks, a small bookcase, and all of this years school books out of storage. I spent that night and the next day getting stuff organized. I will most likely start school in the next two weeks depending on when the peaches and nectarines need canning. In the mean time the kids are wanting to get going on some things so we are. Michael is starting his science. We are doing Apologia General Science this year. Benjamin has been working on his Kindergarten stuff really since we got it. He loves to read me books so we are doing that. Matthew, Benjamin, and I have started working our way through History for Little Pilgrims. Mark has not really started anything yet, but has his nose stuck in a library book most of the time. Benjamin and Matthew also continue to work on Art projects, which is fun. The 2009-2010 school year is upon us so we are getting started and are looking forward to a great school year even in the midst of transition. |
Aug. 12, 2009
Milestones
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Tonight Michael got to attend his first youth group event as a 7th grader. I am not sure why I had such a hard time with this but I did. My firstborn is in youth group. The reality that he is growing up is hitting me hard. The fact that I am old enough to have a kid in youth group may be the bigger issue. Man, time sure does fly. Michael on the other hand had a fabulous time. The youth group met down at Confluence Park for hamburgers, games, boating, tubing, swimming and the like. He was so funny on the way home. He talked non-stop the whole way home. It was great to hear him carry on about the evening. Michael continues to grow up and I really do like the traits that God is working into him. He is a great kid. So I guess that makes it all good. |
Aug. 11, 2009
Summer fun.
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The boys are having lots of fun at Vacation Bible School this week. The church had a fabulous turn out. Michael is too old to attend this one but talked his way into being a helper. He is enjoying it. Matthew did not want to go, but I made him and now he loves it. I spent yesterday afternoon making grape jam from last years grapes that I had pureed and froze. I haven't even made a dent in the grapes. We had so many last year. I am grateful since I won't have any this year. So I am planning to make more jam today and maybe some syrup. Paul's mom found a recipe on line for a grape pie - I have never heard of such a thing. It doesn't sound good to me but I will try almost anything once. We will have to see how it goes. Zucchini is abundance right now. We had zucchini cooked on the grill last night. It was so good. Thanks Karen for the recipe! Today I need to grate some up and freeze it. We have also been given a ton of tomatoes that I need can, too. I have been told that we will be getting a lot more soon. Peaches and nectarines should be ready in another week or so and we will have those to do up. I am thankful that it has cooled down. Canning back when it was over a 100 degrees wasn't even my idea of fun. The weather is so pleasant this week. It is great. |
Aug. 2, 2009
Good weekend!
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We got to spend this weekend in Moses Lakes. Friends took us to the Aquatic Center and we spent Saturday playing in the water and visiting. It was lots of fun and it was great to reconnect. We spent the night with some other friends and enjoyed visiting with them. This morning we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Grace Harvest Church. It was a refreshing weekend and we are now back in East Wenatchee. I just got back from a walk and it is just too warm to be seriously exercising and now Michael is challenging me to a game of Phase 10 so I need to go beat him! |
Jul. 22, 2009
Finally!
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Almost a month after our original closing date, our house finally closed today!!!!! It is so good to have that done!!! We are thanking God that we have completed that step of our journey. We moved to Wenatchee, WA July 6. We have settled in here until God shows us the next step. It's an adventure and God continues to show himself faithful to us. He is good! |
Jul. 11, 2009
Good times!
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Today we took the boys to Lincoln Rock State park to go swimming. We all had a good time, even though the water took your breathe away. If only I had known, I would have taken my camera... The three oldest boys decided that they wanted to learn how to dive, so we taught them. Matthew has the best form but they all did great. I love their willingness to try new things. It was fun. There was a few bellyflops that looked like they hurt. After almost three hours of watching Ben decided to get in past his feet. He had fun even if he was only in the water a short time. |
Jul. 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July!!!!
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Happy Fourth of July!!! I hope you all have a great weekend! The boys and I spent yesterday at Splash Montana with friends. And then we enjoyed a BBQ, campfire, friends, and fireworks last night at Pastor Jeff's house. There was five families there and we had a good time. Today Paul is helping Pastor Jeff move into the offices at the church and then this afternoon he is going to see a movie with Tony. Then they are coming back and Tony is going to BBQ for all of us and we are going to watch the Missoula fireworks. We should have a great view from Tony's house. Michael received a going away gift from some friends - it was My fantasy football Monopoly. So we are going to play that this afternoon and spend the day relaxing. Tomorrow is our last Sunday at church and then Monday morning we are headed off to Wenatchee. It is proving to be a relaxing weekend. We are so blessed to live in America! |
Jun. 23, 2009
Moving out!
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We are finishing up the packing today and the moving truck gets loaded tomorrow! We are finishing up all the last minute details. |
Jun. 20, 2009
Packing, packing and more packing
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My world right now is revolving around packing up our place. It really is coming along. Packing up a house of six people is a big job. In the midst of our packing, the world still goes on. People are still hurting and needing God's love. Paul got one of those phone calls and is out caring for some hurting folks right now. We have prayed that God would use us to love people and point them to Him. After 15 years of marriage that is still our heart. We want to see God at work in people and to be available to be used by Him. I pray that never changes. The boys are all sleeping now and the house is quiet. It is nice in the midst of chaos to have a few minutes of stillness. Tomorrow is Father's Day and we have some simple things planned for Paul. We are looking forward to it. I am off to spend some time reading and praying. Hope you have a great Father's Day! |
Jun. 15, 2009
Weekend in Review!
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This weekend brought an end to baseball season for us. Michael's last game was Saturday and unfortunately the lost. We have had a great season! Allergy season has hit pretty strong and my allergy medicine is not doing the trick. Thankfully, the last two days have brought rain and that seems to have helped some. Saturday, Paul took our three oldest boys rock climbing! They all had a great time. I will try to get some pictures on our Loeffler family pictures page. Sunday after church, Paul and I dropped off our boys at four different homes and took off to celebrate a belated 15th anniversary. It was so nice to get away. We had a fabulous time up at a friend's cabin up at Seeley Lake. It was great. We just got back this afternoon and all the boys seem to have had a fabulous time, too. Tonight, Paul is off at a board meeting. I got the boys to bed and then packed a few more boxes. We are getting there slowly but surely. |