2020

Our last stop in Oregon was to see the Hell's Canyon overlook. We anticipated stunning views of the Snake River. However, the most exciting part of this detour was getting stuck in a cattle drive. We couldn't see anything from the overlook -- not a drop of water in sight. But since we'd had a recent attitude change, we didn't want to give up on Hell's Canyon. So we crossed the border into Idaho and decided to check out the Snake River from the other side. And we were not disappointed! We drove for miles along the water's edge to the dam, admiring the river and the canyon walls. We'd heard that one of the U.S. President's thought this canyon more beautiful than the Grand Canyon. Perhaps we would have agreed if we'd taken the time to hike or whitewater raft in the area. I certainly think that exploring a place deeper than from your car window helps in your appreciation of it. But we'll have to save that for another trip! The last time Ran...

You may have noticed that I was a little grumpy during our last 2 legs. I certainly did. And Rand seemed a little grumpy too. When I approached him about it he said, "I'm thinking about what we are going to do when we land... where we'll live, what I'll do for work..." We hadn't been having nearly as much fun as we'd had in the beginning, and the biggest reason for that was because we were so much in our heads. Randy was thinking about how he was going to take care of us once we got to Ohio. And I was thinking about the kids we'd left behind in Mexico. We received an email in May letting us know that Mari, one of the dorm moms in Mexico and the daughter of the administrators who we worked closely with, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. She'd lost her vision and was preparing to start chemotherapy. Our hearts broke, and mine was still broken a month later. I felt so helpless, unable to do anything for my friends, unable to ...

Because we were having so much fun hiking the Redwoods, we left California late on Saturday afternoon and rolled in to Portland, Oregon, around midnight. While there was much to see in between, we rushed to get to Portland so we could go to church with Randy's brother and sister-in-law the next morning. Roy and Suzanne were enjoying a neighborhood progressive dinner while waiting up for us, so we all mutually agreed to go to the late (11:30 a.m.) service the next morning. I was so glad we were able to make it to church. Many of you know that I’ve been claiming a “ word of the year ” for the past 5 years. This year’s word is “fierce.” While I no longer dislike the word like I did in the beginning, I haven’t exactly owned it either. So I was thrilled when the band started playing a song I’d never heard of – one called “ Fierce ” – that was all about the fierce nature of God’s love for us. (Apparently I've been living under a rock – or in Mexico – because this song came ou...