Wouldn't You Know It

We have had our typical Northwest spring. The weather has been nice and cool. Jackets have been necessary in the mornings and Jeremy is still living in sweats. So now that I am down to crunch time on packing it is going to get up into the 90's and will probably break some records. Oh, the joy!!!

The good news is that I should get the kitchen and dining room today -- hopefully this morning. I've told the boys their rooms have to be done before they go to the lock-in at church tonight. My biggest challenge will be the laundry room, a.k.a. the dumping room.

If all goes according to plan, we will have everything packed up Monday. That will leave me Tuesday to do some cleaning, take the beds apart, etc. Of course, it never goes according to plan, but I guess we'll get moved in the end.

House Hunting

So, I was sitting on the couch
"working" on the computer (i.e. not packing) when my attention was drawn to the door. At first I thought hummingbirds had come to get nectar from the flowers hanging on the wall outside. The two plant holders are faux birdhouses, complete with a holes for the doors. These two cute little birds had flown up to investigate, one to each house. They had seemingly found the perfect houses. Beautiful flowers camoflauged the doors and the houses looked quite roomy. There was just one snag. The holes were blocked by the wall behind them. Once they found out they coudn't get in their door, they switched houses to test the other. Too cute!

A couple more weeks...

Just a couple weeks until we move. Did I mention I hate moving? Well, actually, what I hate is the process of moving -- packing, getting the truck, people to help, and unpacking. I love living in different places. In fact, when I live somewhere more than three years, I get itchy feet and am ready to move on. It is fun living in different places. Each place has it's unique qualities. Lynden will be interesting since it is a Dutch town and is so close to Canada.

I've only been to Canada once. We took a road trip just so I could say I've been there. It could be interesting taking the boys over the boarder. I'll have to take their birth certificates and proof of citizenship papers. Mike still has his passport. I think I'll get the special Washington State drivers licence that allows us to cross the boarder without a passport.

But that is a few weeks away. Now I have to pack. These five years in Fircrest have the longest I lived on one house since I graduated from high school. It will be harder to leave here than some other places I've lived. We've been here long enough to make good friends. But life marches on. :^)

Weird News, Good News, Bad News, Good News

The District Superintendent met with the Staff Parish Relations Committee last night to introduce the incoming pastor. Apparently the pastor is a Korean man with a very heavy accent. He is presently serving just a couple miles from here at a church with about 25 people. They have yet to appoint someone to his church. I don't know why they don't make it a two point charge. Most conference will not appoint a pastor to a church within driving distance to their old church so that the parishioners won't follow them. It is an interesting appointment, to say the least.

The good news is that according to the DS, Mike is getting a raise at the new church. Whew!! I'm sure it won't be much, but it surely beats a drop in pay! Hopefully it will be enough to cover our insurance.

The bad news is that the conference is giving us a whopping $1,000 to move. My friend, Charlee, got estimates for a local move and it was $2,000-3,000. Mike isn't supposed to do any lifting, so this makes things interesting. We will have to do the U-Haul for sure. Last night I thought of a couple people we could probably hire to help us. With any luck they have a couple of friends who can help, too.

The final good news is that Mike's latest blood tests shows his cholesterol and triglyceride numbers are all back in the normal range. Yea!!! So if his high blood pressure doesn't get to him, he may survive the stress.

Teresa Goes to Camp

So, we had family camp today at Camp Indianola. It is a beautiful place on the Sound. The boys spent most of their time on the big swing. (See posts below.) I don't think Josh even got down to the beach.

When I go to camp, I make a big impression. The first year I went I was on the beach when all of the sudden a large stream of water came up out of the ground and soaked me. It scared the hooey out of me, and I screamed. Everyone thought it was hilarious. The source of the water was a gooey duck. Gooey ducks are the grossest and ugliest creatures you can imagine. As I told a friend today, they are proof that God as a sense of humour. They are enormous clams that borrow down in the sand and if you step on or near their hole, they squirt you. It's kind of fun to make them squirt -- as long as you know it's coming.

This year some of the kids found a dead mouse near the fire pit. We were standing around talking after making s'mores and someone mentioned the dead mouse. I realized it had been right around where we were standing, so we all looked around for it. I was standing on it. GROSS!!! Of course I had shoes on with treads on the soles. Thank-goodness it was long dead and not a juicy critter. Later the camp cat came around and searched the area. I'm sure he is the one that put the rodent there.

The Big Swing

We went to family camp today. The boys had a blast on the big swing...

Jeremy's turn