Sandpoint Surprise

Okay, so I'm cheating....I'm writing this on 11/5/11, when I'm dating it September...but what do I care?!?It's been too long since I've posted....I know....and yes, I have meant to, but life has been busy. (Jolly good!!)

I had the whole loft (1 queen size and 2 singles to myself....that was pretty fun....Loved the quilt and style...)

Anyhow, these last few months have been amazing and wonderful, and God is doing so much in my life, through me, and in those around me.

First of all, I had a wonderful weekend with my parents at the end of September, at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, up in Sandpoint, Idaho.  Funny thing was, I ended up driving them there that night, when I had NO clue where I was going!!!

For not knowing where I was going, Mom and I packed pretty good!

That weekend, we went before God, asking Him what He wanted my focus to be for this next period of time. And, guess what?! He started giving us answers!!

As a preface, my dad has expressed his wishes for all of us (including us girls) to get a college degree, so that in case the world turns, and women have to have a degree to educate their children at home, we might be already prepared for that. Up to that point, I have been planning to get an AA (Associates in Art) in Liberal Arts (which was the most basic and broad-viewed degree), and already had almost 30 credits (out of a total of 60 needed), by the time I graduated from high school, in 2011.

On the other hand, God confirmed this summer, that to serve Him in a greater capacity, I really need to get a broader education in all medical studies, specifically: midwifery, general care, emergency medicine/"dirt medicine" (when there is/isn't any normal supplies on hand), herbology/natural medicine, & veterinary medicine.

For the last few years, I have asked God if EMT Training is something that I should do, but at the time, I didn't see any trainings available in my area (yes, I'm spoiled... I like to be able to multi-task everything at the same time. ;p). Then, just a couple of weeks before our time in Sandpoint, a friend told me about an online EMT Program that has its training right here in Hayden!!

Upon praying about it, and bringing all matters into consideration, my parents and I decided that instead of finishing my AA, I am going to pursue finishing my Midwifery Certificate, and get an EMT Certificate as well.

Since then, God has brought different people into my life who have either gone through the course, or are medically-minded that I may be able to glean support/help from. The way my EMT Course works,  is that I can sign up for the course and start studying anytime for it, but the quizzes don't 'open' until December 1st.  The course ends in the middle of May, upon which, I will spend a week at Camp Mivoden on Hayden Lake receiving practical hands-on skills training for 5 days. Before I go to the training though, I need to complete 10 patient contacts, or basically "shadow" either with a ambulance agency or through the ER. (I would much prefer the ambulance if at all possible...as I've seen the workings of the ER before--though maybe not from THAT angle. lol ;D)

I most of the "domestic skills" down, but there is one area we realized that I could definitely improve on, and that is the homeschooling area... I have been greatly blessed with a little sister who is a gifted teacher, and so I have been able to get out of teaching and have done administerial work instead. Well...I'll be helping with that some this year as well!!

My 2nd and beloved mare...Raphya (means "healer") She was my dream, and was pregnant when she died....but God is gracious, and He is the best HEALER....

As for the weekend, the food was tremendous, and for the second time since my beloved mare-Raphya died in Spring 2010, I got to go riding!! And this time with my parents too!! It was a 'dude ride' (never thought I'd ever ride on one..I guess "pride goes before the fall"!! lol), and so we walked pretty much the whole time, which was NOTHING compared to what I'm used too (galloping--my favorite).

My allergies have gotten worse with horses since we sold all of ours, and so I suffered from asthma since then as well...but it was worth it!!! lol
Anyway, that's all for now folks!!! Praise, glory, laud, and honor be to Christ my Saviour!!!

9/11 - 10 Years Ago

On 9/11 - 10 Years Ago, I was a mere 8 years old. We didn't watch TV and though we had a radio, we hardly ever used it. The thing I remember about that day was knowing my daddy was supposed to come home from Anchorage, Alaska that afternoon....the agony and suspense-wondering if he was going to die too....and then the relief upon hearing that his flight had been delayed a day or 2.

I remember for the next couple days our pretty strict bedtime gone, and just sitting around the table listening to the radio like they did in World War II, with our ears to the speaker....waiting....for what, we knew not.

At the time, New York seemed forever away, and in all actuality, I really only grasped the reality of what happened in the last few years. Everyone I knew closely made it....even the girl at our church who worked in one of the Centers but was absent from the building....

Now knowing what I know, my heart goes out and grieves with all those many families....what a joy it was for all of us kids to jump my dad when he came in the door....but what about all those kids who didn't and never will again??

This short but powerful video really impacted me with the reality of it all, and how God is still and always will be in control. I hope it impacts you as well. I can say no more.

http://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blb/2011/09/09/in-my-seat/

Travel to Liberty, WA

INTRODUCTION: As I said in the last post, I am accompanying Oma to my Uncle Jim's home in Sammamish, Washington with an overnite stop at his Cabin in Liberty, where we'll be able to spend some time with him (he has some things to do up there), before he leaves on a trip on Sunday. Next Wednesday, we'll pick up Grampaw at SeaTac where he will be getting back from a Trip to South America-making 96 countries for this world-traveler!! We will then head back to the Ranch on Thursday or Friday, where I will be promptly swept off by my parents for a weekend at 'some place I've never been before', where will be seeking God's will on my life for the next year.

~~*~~

Got up at 6 am like usual for Family Devotions. After that, we had breakfast, I finished packing, and then caught up last minute with the kids...it's hard on a few of them especially to have Big Sister leave so soon after coming back...even though it is only for a week. 

James had begged me to go frogging with him (he is the world's best hand at it!!), and unfortunately, it got pushed to right before I had to leave (at 10am), and so we only had time to catch one, and I feel I rather more like "humored" him, than anything....but I promised I'd do a full-blown adventure with him when I get back..... oh that there were endless hours in a day!! I can't believe how fast my little siblings are growing up!!

Oma and I after we spent an afternoon at the hair salon last week.

Oma and I ran a few errands, picked up some food, filled up the gas tank, and then headed on our merry way for Liberty, Washington. On our way down, we (between conversations) listened to the 5 1/2 hour AudioBook "A Bride Goes West": a semi-auto-biography set in the 1880's about Nannie T. Alderson, a newlywed Virginian girl who married a Cowboy from Montana, and her life living in the "West of the West". Though I have listened to it before, it is always enthralling, and very well done. Even our boys really enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to anyone. Though is a 1-person narrative, afterwards, you think you heard more than one person, just because of the way it was written.

Miss the Alaskan Mountains!!

Right before we got to Cle Elum, we stopped at the amazing Thorp Fruit and Antique Mall, a place I am definitely going to visit before I get married....their 2-story Western Antique Mall is AMAZING!!! Good thing I don't have the assets for it right now (or the car space) ;), otherwise, I might have 'surprised' my mom with more "hopechest items".....(I'm already a joke with our ranch hands about "marrying Sarah off to get all her 'stuff' out of the house. lol ;D)

These Doughnut Peaches (that is their actual name) are sooo cute!! The peach on the left is of the top and on the far right is the bottom, so they almost literally go all the way through in the middle!!

I definitely got more wedding ideas...though of course, they're only ideas, and will have to pass my fiance's approval before they would be put in place. lol (no one on the horizon at this point)

Afterwards, I drove Oma a good long stretch. It was a bunch of fun, because we were so busy chatting, that we missed our turn off to the mountains, and had to circle around and find it, but since we had plenty of time, since my Uncle wasn't going to get to the Cabin until at least 6pm, we didn't worry about it. We had a blast once we got in the mountains, because besides driving a 'blink' through the Town of Liberty, the directions we had didn't have 'miles' on it once we got up into the mountains, and so we drove around a bit, trying to remember what the turnoff looked like. Finally we found it, and arrived at the Cabin at 4:50pm. What fun!!!!

THE TOWN OF 'LIBERTY'

There are quite a few amazing rock formations above Liberty...just amazing!!

Uncle Jim and Aunt Maria did an amazing job with their cabin, which I haven't been to since we had our Family Reunion/Cabin Raising Party there 8 years ago...lots of changes!!

This would be a gorgeous Honeymoon Spot.

My Oma...looking mighty comfortable!!

This outhouse is a favorite....you can only guess what I kept singing during my stay here!! lol

A closer look...grabeeah work Aunt Maria!!

After sitting on the front doorstep for a few hours--chatting, reading, etc. we went in and had dinner, as Uncle Jim had been delayed and didn't get in until 8:30pm.

Just a humble meal of scrumptious Chili with our favorite--Pepper Jack Cheese!!

 During our first day together, Oma and I found that we have even more in common than we knew!! We both share an insatiable love for cherries (anything), pepper jack cheese, and SO very kaayo much more.

After Uncle Jim got home, we had a good time all of us catching up, and though I retired a little earlier, Oma and Uncle kept on until 1:30am!! I'm so happy for them.

My uncle Jim (my daddy's 'double')...it's hard to keep my mischievous streak away sometimes living sometimes with someone so much like my daddy...but not used to doing pranks, they usually just stay in my mind....

For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the LORD, The God of Hosts is His name.

~ Amos 4:13 ~

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

~ Isaiah 55:12 ~

Hunting Update

The Hunt is over. In all, Papa and David brought home 6,000 lbs of meat to be shared with many as well as be our food stock for....quite a while. :)

Papa bagged: A Desert Tan Dahl Sheep and A Watusi (their story is shared in my last post.

 David bagged: A Jacob's Sheep 

David tracked this four horn Jacob's sheep to the top of a ridge and finally got a view at 85 yards. With only one shot with the 30.06 through the lungs at 85 yards, the sheep went down instantly. (At this time, they had already been tracking the water buffalo for 3 hours.)

.....And---the reason for their hunt---A Gigantic Water Buffalo

 After 6 hours of searching all over the mountains and forests of the the 2,200 acre ranch, trying to find these very fast, massive water buffalo, finally, to our hunters' shock (consisting of my dad, David, and a family friend), 15 of them came right towards them-just 30 yards away-packed tight together. After picking the bull of choice, they realized that with them being only 25 yards away and a number of the buffalo looking directly at them, the buffalo could easily stampede, and though they were in the forest, they weren't close enough to trees to be able to evade possible treachery.

What's more, getting a shot at the buffalo from more than 100 yards away was completely unrealistic because the trees were so close together. While waiting, the Buffalo herd studied the men and then quickly thundered off down the mountainside. After another and a half hour of hiking down and up the mountain trying to stay up with the herd, they found them on the other side of the mountain and had another opportunity at 70 yards, but the herd spotted them and began stampeding away from them (Praise God!), into the thickly forested valley, and NOT towards the men.

Half an hour later found the men watching a giant female water buffalo 100 yards a way with 4 little calves. The wind was towards the guys, and not smelling them, the female headed right toward the men.  David loaded his Elephant Rifle and Papa loaded his 30.06 as a backup, prepared to shoot near here if she got too close, in hopes that it would scare her and her calves away. As she kept heading straight for them, she saw them, and circled them at just 20 yards away. When she got right behind them, she studied them for a while and then kept going up the mountain.

Shortly after, 3 giants--over 2,000 lbs each--came from the same direction as the female-a tan, a black, and a gray water buffalo about 100 yards out. Papa viewed each one in his rifle scope and told David that each one looked like great meat, and so David chose the black one. David stood up and quickly setup his 2-legged, meanwhile the water buffalo continued walking past them at just 65 yards away, still not knowing the men were there. David confidently aimed his 375 Browning and waited until the tan buffalo sped up and was no longer in front of the black buffalo's side, and while the buffalo was walking, David fired a perfect shot right through both lungs. The 2,300 lb behemoth staggered for 10 seconds before dropping to the ground....

DAVID SLEW GOLIATH!!!!!

School, Hunting and Seattle!

A few new updates.....
School started the Tuesday following Labor Day (that would be yesterday ;D), and what a refreshment it was to realize that I'm not included in that anymore, besides helping Mama sometimes with the little ones!!!!

The last 2 afternoons, our ranch hands and I have been busy with "Alpaca Days", where we deworm, ultrasound, draw blood, give shots, and various other tasks to our alpacas. So far, we have only had 4 hours to work with, and so have completed 14 of the 49 alpacas that need to be done. It's so much fun to ultrasound the girls, and find little crias wiggling around inside of them!!! Shots are also always a thrill.... Oh, the fun of ranch life!! It's so nice to be back in it....now if my sinuses will only adapt to it quickly!!  :)

I had my Orthodontist appointment today (for the first time in 3 months) and realized that as of September 10th, I will have had my braces on for 1 year!!! I graduated to the largest wire on my bottom teeth, and will do the same on my upper next time. They took x-rays and moldings, to get an "exact estimate" (if that's possible) of when I'll be able to have my jaw surgery done. It's looking like I'll be ready sometime in January...so, I'm pretty excited!!

This Friday, I'm going to be traveling with my Oma (Papa's mother) to Seattle to visit my Uncle Jim's family (Papa's older brother) and pick up my Grampaw who will be coming home next week from traveling Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize). This will make 96 countries that he has visited and explored. I will come home sometime late next week...probably Friday.

As I wrote in my last post, Papa and David are in the Oregon Mountains hunting on a 2,200 acre ranch. I just got word that today, they bagged a Watusi with a 30.06, and Papa also got a Desert Tan Dahl Sheep with his 7mm...I guess it had a beautifully formed 1 1/2 curl to it's horns....it's going to be SO much fun getting that delicious meat to eat, as well as seeing the heads up on our wall!!!

In the next 2 days, David will be hunting his main goal: the water buffalo which is one of the most dangerous animals to hunt and is approximately 40% larger than the Watusi....

That's all for now folks!!!

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ~

Home Sweet Home

I'm home now....just 5 days into it.... my family greeted me with the remnants of the stomach flu, but as they tell me, my coming home chased the 'epidemic' away. :) They had little surprises planned, which was a bunch of fun, and I was able to recuperate with getting some sleep.

My parents had planned to take me out on a 2 day/night getaway, but with the flu still in the home, we postponed it 2 weeks, for which I'm glad as I'll be able to adjust to home life for a little bit first.  Meanwhile, we 'went away' to our Peace Suite and had a delightful time doing preliminary catching up and making plans for our barn renovation. The next night, my siblings ("Faith" and "Rose"....aka Rebekah and Esther) treated us to a simple and fun "4-course dinner": Course #1: Tea, Apples, Crackers, and Cheese (cheese glorious cheese!!!), Course #2: Miso Soup with REAL Spinach!!, Course #3: Chicken and Sweet Salad (REAL lettuce of course), Course #4: Icecream and Nuts.

Today was my first Sunday back home, and a wonderful Sunday at that!!! It was Communion and Potluck Sunday, and the fellowship with my Lord and my Church body was SO sweet!!!

Jubilee's male cria....newest little addition...no name yet but coming soon!!

Many people came up to me asking if I was going to do a presentation on my trip.....so I guess I may do one....that'll be interesting!!! But, it'll be easier than a speech I guess, since it's from my heart and filled with experiences. I'm pretty busy for the next few weeks, so we'll see when that will take place....

This week, Papa and David are going to Oregon on a Hunting Trip with Mr. Grassi.....that's sure to be tons of fun, and I'm looking forward to the heads and tons of meat (maybe literally??...joke lang!! ;D) that they'll bring back with them.

My sweet addition: Tekhinah Chayil

I'm hoping to wrestle some alpacas this week...you know.....the fun stuff (among the rest): give shots, draw blood, trim toenails and teeth, and ultrasound the 'preggos'....that's going to be tons of fun....especially since it'll be with my siblings and ranch hands!! Nothing like getting back on the ranch!! Now, if I can only get back into being used to animals without allergies!! :)

6 month old Misty

I'm hoping to continue posting the last few weeks from my Philippine Trip, and then (I'm told), my family is going to make it into a book.

As to near future plans, we'll be figuring that all out in 2 weeks with my parents....and I'll hope to update you then!! As to blogging, I'll still update it every while.....maybe more than not...I'm not sure yet. Meanwhile, God bless, and follow His leading!!