A Peaceful Walk

Rayna ran out ahead of us excited for a walk down the drive. We took advantage to the sunshine on this day.

Our walk photos were all taken from our son and dil’s driveway.

A different view without snow.

Horses were having a walk, too.

After the fresh air Addy had a peaceful sleep, too.

I drove Katie to the Spokane airport today (Monday April 10th) and we had snow, rain, and hail on our way. She got home to Seattle before I made it back to Colville. The flight from Spokane to Seattle is about 50 minutes! I’m sure her hubby appreciates having her back home.

Auntie Meets Her Niece

Addyson May is Katie’s first niece. The photo on the right is at their initial meeting right after we made our drive from Seattle to Northeastern Washington. We made a stop in Spokane to pick up some food for dinner for us all to share from Costco. Our next stop was at the Home Depot to pick up a new toilet which is one of the projects that were planned for Dear and Dan while we are staying with them. You should have seen us rearranging the back of the RAV4 to fit the toilet in and then to use our Tetris skills to get all our belongings and gifts and other project goods back in the car! We did it and Katie wasn’t too squished in the back seat!

On Friday we got to have lots of chillin and cuddling time while the guys worked in the wood shop installing more lights and then they installed the new toilet. Uncle Andrew is still waiting to meet his niece. The University is keeping him too busy for trips across the mountains.

Infant hands and infant feet are the best.

The winds were howling and thunderstorms blew through on Friday. When things cleared up in the afternoon we took a nice walk. I’ll show some photos from the walk soon. I’ve been taking a morning shift holding Addy while mommy and daddy sleep for a good couple of hours. It’s very quiet during that time and nice to see the dawning of a new day and good to thank God and say some prayers for family and friends near and far.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.

On this Palm Sunday my heart goes out to the people of Egypt and the senseless bombings that killed so many who were gathered to remember our Lord’s Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. Such sorrow for the police officers who died stopping the suicide bomber from entering another church. They were doing their job heroically. May God comfort all who lost loved ones. Maranatha…

Barn Mosaics

drive-home-003We spent the last 7 days of February with our kids in Northeastern Washington. We saw many great scenes like these from the road. The photo above is of a barn that you will probably see in many different seasons as it happens to be one we have to pass to get to our kid’s home.

2017-02-22-drive-eastThis mosaic above is on our road trip to Dan and Jamie’s along Highway 395 after getting off I-90 and heading north of Spokane.

2017-03-01-drive-homeThis series in the mosaic above are on the road on our way back home just off Highway 395.

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drive-home-011This last barn with the quilt was taken off Interstate 90 in Cle Elum. We are just on the East side of Snoqualmie Pass and the area that can be the most troublesome in our journey about an hour and a half from home. Thankfully on this day we didn’t encounter anything that hindered our journey. We are always thankful to God for traveling mercies.

pictures69Some of my family favorites from our time in Eastern Washington. History being made with family.

Linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller and

Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Our end of the week and weekend was not ordinary at all and we were called upon to care and support someone we love. I won’t share the story because it’s not mine to share on social media. We spent some time in an emergency hospital waiting room where we were exposed to a lot of drama from other people waiting to be cared for and a couple others who were just there to cause trouble. We got to see one of those people escorted out and into a police car. Most of all we experienced caring and kind nurses and doctors and public safety officers who were as thorough as they could be to give help. I was struck with how challenged police officers, fire fighters, doctors, nurses and other staff people are in the whole public service areas of our communities.

Hope you all had a good weekend whether it was ordinary or crazy!

This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

Courthouse Mural~

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This mural is at the entrance to the Stevens County Courthouse in Colville, Washington. I broke it down into sections so you could see it better.

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I took these photos in the middle of August and this was a very mild beautiful day.

Linking up to Monday Murals at Oakland Daily Photo.

Our electricity is off for I don’t know how long whilst Dear tries to find out what’s going on with some dead outlets. Hopefully there hasn’t been any critters chewing through wires. I’ll be late in visiting.

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

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How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding Place,
My never failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace!

By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
O Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death!

Words: John Newton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­iv­er, 1779).

Ht: Cyberhymnal

Chewelah Murals and Spokane Mosaics

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It was hard to get the whole of this mural in one photo. This mural is on the side of a building along highway 395 in downtown Chewelah, Washington. Chewelah is a one traffic signal town in the northeastern corner of the state of Washington.

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Dear and I are spending several days between Chewelah and Colville with our son and daughter in law. It’s a nice change to be out in the country, in small towns.

From HistoryLink.org:

The early settlers named the town Chewelah (spelled various ways). According to some sources, this was an Interior Salish Indian word for small, striped snake, which refers either to snakes in the area or to the narrow, serpentine appearance of the river. Alice Sherwood Abrahamson, a member of one of the Indian families still living in the Chewelah area around 1900, offered this explanation in a memoir: “The name Chewelah comes from the Indian word ‘S che wee leh,’ meaning water or garter snake. There was a spring in what is now the southwest end of Chewelah. The old McCreas lived there and their homestead was called ‘S che wee leh ee,’ for the spring that bubbled up there. The motion of the water gave the illusion of snakes moving about in the water”

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Another mural on the side of a building that I spotted along highway 395.  On this portion of the highway the speed limit is 25 miles per hour so it’s a little easier to spot gems to photograph.

I’m linking up to Monday Mural with Oakland Daily Photo.

This Sunday was a full day for all of us. Dear and our son continued work on the pump house and our daughter in law and I traveled down to Spokane for the Bubble Run on the Spokane Riverfront. In the late afternoon we joined in for a birthday barbecue for our daughter in law’s aunt in Colville.

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I’m also linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

We have one more full day in the country before we head back home to the city. Hope you all have a great start to your week.

InSpired Sunday

Backroads of Washington…

Colville, Washington.

Republic, Washington.

Republic, Washington

Holy Rosary in Tonasket, Washington. The whole city of Tonasket was on level 3 evacuation notice last week. The level was later lowered.

These churches are in areas of Washington that have been on fire watch and evacuation notice. We continue to pray for containment of the many fires still burning in Washington State. We have a mountain range between us and the major fire areas and the last couple days the smoke has traveled over the Cascade Mountain range and is hanging in the air in Western Washington. The setting sun was orange yesterday. Rain without lightning would be a very welcome event.

Linking up to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally!

Today for our Sunday Worship the church doors were closed and we had over 2000 volunteers go out to our area schools to spruce up the grounds and help teachers in their classrooms get ready for the new year. Community Serve Day is a great event that we have the privilege to participate in as a church every year. Here’s a collage of Dear getting areas ready for fresh paint before the event today. Today he painted the brick wall that he pressure washed on Friday. I helped in one of the classrooms doing whatever the teacher asked of me.

Roll On Columbia

Roll On Columbia
Words by Woody Guthrie, Music based on “Goodnight, Irene” (Huddie Ledbetter and John Lomax)

Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through.
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew.
Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on!

CHORUS: Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

Other great rivers add power to you,
Yakima, Snake and the Klickitat, too,
Sandy Willamette and Hood River, too;
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

CHORUS

Tom Jefferson’s vision would not let him rest,
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest.
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest;
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

CHORUS

It’s there on your bank that we fought many a fight,
Sheridan’s boys in the blockhouse that night,
They saw us in death but never in flight,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

CHORUS

At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks,
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks,
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

CHORUS

And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam,
The mightiest thing ever built by a man,
To run these great factories and water the land,
It’s roll on, Columbia, roll on.

CHORUS

These might men labored by day and by night,
Matching their strength ‘gainst the river’s wild flight,
Through rapids and falls they won the hard fight,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.

This photo is one view of the Astoria-Megler Bridge connecting Washington State and Oregon over the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean.

These are a compilation of photos I have of the mighty Columbia River. Some were taken this year and some in years past. The photos with Dear and I in them were taken in 2012. Some of the photos are taken in Oregon and most are taken in Washington State. The North end of the river the central part of the river and the southern part as it reaches Oregon.

 We are just back home from 4 days traveling to the Northeast part of our state to enjoy our son and his fiance. I’ll share posts later about our time there. We ended up crossing the mighty Columbia river four times during our visit. I was able to get photos of lots of great old barns.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

The Barn Collective

Mount Vernon, Washington (Western Washington)

Somewhere between Addy and Colville, Washington. (Eastern Washington)

Barns from the West and East side of the Cascades in the state of Washington.

Linking to The Barn Collective hosted by Amy from Rose Street Reflections. Thank you Amy!