Thankful

So much has happened in the last several month as we’ve transitioned to life in Bend.  I can’t believe that Fall is here, and work and school and life is just moving along.  This last weekend we spent Saturday up at Little Cultus Lake with my parents and my sister Michele’s family, then Sunday Jon and I took the girls up to Smith Rock to explore (and take pictures of course!) and have a picnic dinner.  As I’ve been sorting through and editing photos from the weekend I’m just feeling so thankful for all that God has blessed us with these last few months.  I thought I’d mention a few:

1.  We love our new home and neighborhood.  Lately our little side street has become kid-central in the evenings, as the neighborhood comes out to play.  I love seeing my girls thrive as they make new friendships, ride bikes A LOT,  run around in bathing suits and cowgirl boots, and swim at the neighborhood pool.  So thankful for how this place is feeling like home (although we still miss all our homies on 75th and 74th Place!!).

2.  I am so thankful for the girls schools.  One of my biggest prayers as the girls school life was starting over was that God would provide the perfect place for them to grow.  With Ella being in public school for the first time, I prayed that she would have people around her that love and follow Jesus, even if it can’t be taught.  It seems that He has answered that prayer in Ella’s teacher this year, and Ella just loves her.  As far as Ginny school goes, I never thought I would love a school like Sonshine Express (We miss you all there too!!), but again God never fails to surprise me.  I feel so blessed that Ginny gets to be loved and taught by the wonderful teachers at that school.

3.  Being near family.  It is so awesome that my girls get to grow up near their grandparents and cousins.  Although I really always missed this while living across the state, I didn’t realize how much.

4.  Work for both me and Jon is going really well.  I’m loving being out in the light of day, driving from home to home.  I meet a lot of really wonderful and interesting people.  Although I really miss all my Doernbecher co-workers and my pediatric patients, it has been a really exciting change for my nursing career.  I’m so thankful for the flexibility and new challenge of this cool job.

5.  While there is just so much more, I will lastly mention the beautiful outdoors.  I can’t say enough how much I love the sunshine, dry air, and outdoor beauty of this place.  I am amazed daily by the beautiful sunsets, amazing parks, and outdoor recreation that is all around.

On that note, here are some pics from our weekend.  This first ones are of my lovely girls at Smith Rock, who I am also so thankful for their awesomeness everyday.  They are such troopers to let me haul them around to mountainous places in dresses and sandals and force, oops I mean encourage, them to pose for the camera, lol.  Without them, I would never have learned to be a photographer!  Then, below them are some sweet shots of my adorable niece and nephews.  We had such a fun day at the lake with them on Saturday, so I thought I’d share a couple shots of their cuteness too.  :)

Inga had fun crushing the waves on the paddle board.  As you can see, she was enjoying the great outdoors to the fullest!!

Aksel and his brother, “Sharp Shooter Isaac,” proudly show off the garter snake that Isaac killed with the bebe gun.  This boy has some serious skills, that would be a tough target to hit!