We have been so busy in the yard – when the weather allows! It has been such a long, cold spring! I was excited to have some sun while pulling weeds!
Here are the dew drops!
Q
Spider Web
Here are the wild flowers!
Here are the puppy dogs!
I am so glad to take this time to blog today! It’s been a long time! Life gets too busy, hard, fun, full plateish! (how do you like that word?) Anyhow, I read this paragraph out of a book recently and I found it delightful. I am going to post the paragraphs and then some pictures of clouds that I have taken. I hope you enjoy and I hope to write soon!
Fenced in Clouds
Rainy Skies and Raindrop on Windshield
Rays of Sun and Low Lying Clouds
Big Billowing Clouds
Kimmy
Some of you might already know where I am going with this. Anyone who has had to drive from Cascade to McCall and back again will have the same wish. The Frost Heaves are vicious this winter and not only are they huge (so huge in fact that they make shadows on the road) there is a plethora of them all along the drive! It is bad enough in a car! But to truly experience them you must ride in a bus!!! It is crazy!!! It is so bad that we, none of us passengers, even say anything about it anymore. One bus driver, about a month ago, made the disclaimer that there are too many to slow down for them anymore. (In years past that is what they would do. I would think, why is the bus slowing down, and then realize the driver was being nice and preventing us from bumping too hard over a frost heave.) BUT NOT THIS WINTER!!! Trust me, I get it! The drive would take twice as long if they slowed down for every heave. Therefore, we rattle along risking broken backs and chipped teeth and anyone who wears the seatbelt has bruising from the strap. Some people, in particularly bad spots, just hang on to the ceiling bar suspending their bodies like sides of beef on meat hooks in the cooler. It has been next to impossible to squeeze in a little snooze because you risk bashing the back of your head against the hard plastic head rests. At times you have to even put down the book you are trying to read because the words are moving all over the place. There is one guy who is the father of three young children, he usually sits in the very back seat so that he is left alone to catch up on his sleep, but as you know the bumps are always worse the farther back you go so he has been forced to move up. He sat across from me the other day and we ended up having a profound conversation about child birth. It was crazy. When I got off the bus and stumbled to my vehicle I thought to myself “I can’t believe a guy just got asked me if I had had an episiotomy!!!!” It’s proof that those heaves are rattling our brains.
It makes me wonder if there will be frost heaves in heaven. I doubt that golden streets will be immune to frost – oh wait – there will be frost heaves in the OTHER place for sure!!
The road to McCall
Morning View from Bus
vs 12 Who else has held the oceans in His hands? Who measured off the heavens with His fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?…
vs 28 and 29 Hear This! Understand This! The Lord God is EVERLASTING, He created the whole earth! He never grows weak or weary and no one can measure the depths of His understanding! …
vs 31 Those who TRUST in the Lord will find strength, they will soar high on wings like an eagle. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
SO… when the times come, times we all have, when I feel that God does not care, or understand, that He just doesn’t want to give me what I think I deserve, and such thoughts as these only makes me weary, and faint and ashamed of myself because of my lack of trust… THEN I just need to go back to vs 12, 28,29 and several verses in between and I am reminded that it is not about me or my circumstances. My only hope is to take my eyes off myself and my struggles and try to grasp the truth of God’s immeasurable wisdom and love for me, for us, and it is there that I begin to move back into the position of trust.
The Homestead at Winter’s Gloaming
Things are starting to emerge out of the snow!
Winter Beauty
Sunny Clouds
May you begin or continue to grasp the greatness of God so that you can also begin or continue to walk in trust! We are all at our own spot in the road!
Kimmy
I had a very sad thing happen. I somehow lost most of my pictures from last year. They’re gone!!!!! There were some Herrmann family reunion pictures, birthday pictures, more cute dog pictures, some other holiday pics and much more and I can’t find them. I am sick at heart. So, to prevent further loss I am downloading a few pics I do have in chronological order. Lesson learned — only I am not sure just how it happened. Here’s what I have:
Easter Sunday 2016
Mother’s Day in Missoula 2016
Mid Summer!
Siblings and two spouses
The whole Meyer family! Minus only a few!
Later in the summer:
We all met up at a water park and then went out for dinner!
Older cousins, just missing one older girlie!
The other two – one hungry one sleepy!
The grown ups
Thanksgiving 2016
Darling Grands!
Thanksgiving 2016
Thanksgiving Day 2016
Saturday after Thanksgiving – Get Christmas Trees Day
Our Eight Grands all lined up! Tally, Zeke, Hudson, Paisley, Ava, Malia holding Miles and Ezra!!
Caleb Meyer Family Dec 2017
Christmas 2016 at the Berndt home in Twin Falls
Be smart and take care of your pics!!
KIMMY!
Words can paint pictures such as the following paragraph out of a book I am reading:
The three infants in the cots were asleep, swaddled securely, eyelids pale as moonstones etched with a tracery of blue veins. Newborns should be rounded and padded and pink, but all of these babies were angular as bundles of sticks wrapped in paper.
Pictures can make you feel words such as the following Caleb Meyer painting that made me ache deep in my gut and brought words like: Powerful Storm, Run for your life, God’s glory is astounding,
Painting entitled: “From the Ground Up” available at Dana Gallery in Missoula, MT
Actions can speak louder than words such as when you take a grandchild by their hand and hold them to your heart with a big smack of your juicy wet lips. That shows them you love them more than just saying you do!
Praying that you find words that move you, pictures that punch you in the guts and plenty of of chap stick to hold up through all the smooching your lips can possibly perform!
Kimmy
Life has been very different for us for a while, thus the lack of blogging. Between knee surgery for myself, a busy work schedule, a trip to Missoula in October, a fun filled Thanksgiving (with one special day getting the whole family together, including all 8 grandchildren to get Christmas trees for everyone), and many weekends with our three year old granddaughter – life has whizzed by. Sometimes I have fallen far short of having a grateful heart in the midst of a trial even though I know my heavenly Father always has the best for us. Often I have forgotten to look for the good and instead focused on the bad/hard! I know I am not alone in handling life in this fashion but I know the cost is not worth it. So now as we turn our thoughts to the upcoming Holiday festivities I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS (which we are guaranteed here in the heart of the mountains), I have been DECKING THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY (maybe not as much as I usually do), and looking forward to a SILENT NIGHT (Oh for a night of good sleep!). The holiday season is drawing to a close but I am going to post this blog that has been sitting in the hopper for quite some time – like I said things have been a bit upside down lately!!!
But truly, life is a blessing, every second, and we have so very much to be grateful for!!! A little effort towards enjoying yourself and your loved ones has a big payoff – JOY TO THE WORLD!!! (At least your little part of it!)
Some interesting pics!
Beauty in the morning!
Foggy River Bend
Moonscape with some crazy shadows.
Before the month comes to a close (OOPS! Didn’t quite make it!) I thought I would share some of the highlights for Poppy and me!
First this boy turned 61!
This darling girl turned 9 the first week of September!
Here is the rest of the family!!
Next, we took a trip to Montana! We had such fun and the time went by so quickly. I didn’t get many pictures but here are some:
Cute boy full of fun
Sweet girl full of giggles!
Smart boy full of compassion! Turned the big 10 in September!!!!! What???
The Three Stooges!
The Three Amigos!
Jumping!
Sliding!
Sliding Also!
When we got to the riverside beach, Zeke took a look around and said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do!” Then all three proceeded to dig holes. They play together so well!
Holding hands and so cute!
Look how deep Sis got into the cold water. I went in up to my ankles and skiddadled right back out – too cold! This is the only picture I have of either of their parents.
It was so good to see them and spend time catching up. A bonus to the trip was that Carrie was there for a craft show in Missoula, Jacqs helped her, so we got to laugh and play! They have done so much to their home and yard and have put deep roots down in their small Montana town!
This girl stayed with us while her mama recovered from kidney stones.
Bedroom slippers, pjs, kitty and doggy! Busy girl!
A girl who loves animals!
Some critters have had enough!
And finally, we celebrated this little girls birthday:
Pops and Mimi, Mama and the birthday girl!
Playing games with a cute friend!
Mama playing games too!
Chooch snuggling up to her Day Care Giver! Chuck Cheese scared her! See all her friends from daycare? They helped celebrate too!
Dancing a jig, Chuckie with friends!
It was a great month, chocked full of fun! Now on to October!!!
Kimmy
I can’t let this whole month go by without posting SOMETHING! First here are some pics to enjoy!
Early Morning Pinkness
Pink turned to gold with rays
Heart shaped cloud with sun
Star Ship Enterprise!
The season of fall is a dichotomy of emotions. It’s my favorite season because of it’s fleeting beauty. Yet, the feeling of sadness prevails. It’s the icy cold mornings, needing to build a fire to warm up the house, and having to start the car ten minutes early to remove the frost from the windshield only to come home to hot afternoon sun.
It is the knowing that the growing season is over, no more cheerful flowers gracing the window boxes or scattered amongst the berms. We turn our thoughts to the coming of blowing snow and bitter temperatures, and yet our hearts yearn for the cozy evening before the crackling fire and snuggling down into our beds in a room that is comfortably cool, (if we remember to keep the heat from the fire out by closing the bedroom door.) Sometimes you catch the bright, flame-like color of a maple tree blazing in between two deep green pine trees and you have to stop and gaze at the beauty. The reds, the oranges, the yellows in the tree leaves, pumpkins, and sunflowers bring joy to the heart. The candy corn in a glass dish, caramel apples on a stick, hay bales and scarecrows – all these fall icons thrill the soul!
Yet, when the rain falls, the low clouds hover, the fog encloses, the blowing wind pulls the leaves off the trees we know this fleeting magic is drawing closer to it’s end. Then we are so thankful that the wood pile is stacked up and ready for the long winter. Grateful that the lawn furniture and flower pots are stored away. Happy knowing that the windows have been washed and the house made ready for the long winter hibernation.
May you, each one, find your joy in the cascading leaves, the fat pumpkins with twisted stems and the days growing shorter ushering in the season of fall. Love to you!!
Kimmy
I heard this on a show I was watching and wrote it down. It is good and true yet quaint (I like that word!) :
“I endeavor to always forget the words of idle tongues.”
I will work on practicing the words of the wise woman who made this statement. One way I can endeavor to forget it is by putting my mind on higher things. Things like this:
NOT THIS!
Yes this!
Beauty, goodness, peace, and joy – set your mind on such things (also, on any pretty flowers you may find in YOUR yard)!
Kimmy
crazycascadecountry 