Cold, alone, worried, acused, scared and in pain

I feel cold, alone, and worried. Cold because it's freezing outside. Alone because I haven't been able to talk with my husband all day, and worried because of all the snow and traveling in it.

Bob was still at home when I left for school this morning. Roads were awful getting down our hill. Didn't hear from Bob at lunch, hoping at least he got to work safely. He was supposed to stay for a staff meeting beginning at 7 (they typically last 2+ hours), but was thinking of going to his parents for awhile between work and the meeting. Still haven't heard anything and cell is now dead, which for some reason also makes it so I can't get through on his office line. No response on e-mail either. Argh! Just hope everything's okay.

I feel frustrated and accused. I'm frustrated because no matter what we do for Storm, it doesn't work. Today I got home and the neighbor came over and told me that she had been out all day and that the neighbors 3 houses down were keeping her. I feel accused because of statements from neighbors such as, "Is she going to be inside tonight, you know it's really too cold for her to be outside," or "You know she's been out all day. We couldn't call because she doesn't have her collar" and, "I don't know what kind of collar doesn't break. OUR dog has free reign of our yard." WELL MINE WOULD TOO IF THE CRAZY THING DIDN'T JUMP IT! And she didn't have her collar because SHE BROKE IT! And of course I'm not going to leave her outside in the blizzard and single digit temperatures. Pretty sure these are the neighbors that reported us to animal control.

I feel accused. Like I'm a negligent and abusive pet owner. We do our best for her. Yes- we leave her outside during the day. But she has shelter, food and water. More than we can say for lots of people out there right now. But nobody cares about that, let's make sure our animals are taken care of. Stupid. Yes I care about our animal. But she's that- an animal.

I'm also extremely frustrated. At school we have to get in 10 hours for a "community experience". Some classmates were assigned to an adaptive sports program, others to a women's shelter, and I was assigned to the local veteran's home. The other two programs had variable times you could go get your hours. But mine doesn't. Tuesday from 2-4pm. Written in stone. I don't know why. I just go and visit with my client in his room. I could do that any time. But our professors aren't moving. Most of my classmates are now on Thanksgiving break. But not me. So about the time the UCA bus (driven by my husband) is passing through the Tri-cities, I'll be beginning my 2 hour stretch of my community experience, spending time with a client who would rather not spend his time with me. I'll come home to an empty cold house, and start out the next morning to drive through the dicey roads on my own. Oh wait, not on my own. Storm will be there. Can't leave her home and let the neighbors watch her for us. We learned last time what happens when we do that.

Oh- and I went to the chiroporactor today, got some work done, and my shoulder hurts like the blazes. And he mentioned two separate surgeries, not for the first time.

Hope the rest of you are feeling more optimistic right now. I am feeling quite down.

Bald Eagle in Portland?

Last weekend, Bob and were in Portland visiting my family. As we were packing up and getting ready to drive back home, Nathaniel ran inside and told us that a bald eagle was in our neighbor's tree! Nathaniel, Mom, and I had seen one the day before on a walk, but it had been from somewhat of a distance and we didn't have anything to see it more clearly. This time, we were able to get right under the tree it was in and gaze up at our nation's majestic bird. Here are some pictures of him:

Visiting Grandparents in Montana

Snow at Hayden Lake

Thursday afternoon, Bob and I drove up to Michael and Tonia's for a long weekend. We've had a wonderful time up here relaxing away from the business of every day life. It's taken me a couple days, but my stress level is finally lowered, and I've been able to relax after finals.

Friday it began snowing, as I know it has in many places. It was fun to watch the snow fall as I looked out the window at the lake. Although it hasn't snowed a lot (about an inch), it's very cold outside! It's about 2-3 degrees right now, and it's supposed to get even colder tonight!

Here are some pictures that Michael took for us on Sabbath:

Thanksgiving

It's hard for me to believe that it's already December! The last couple of months have really flown by. Today I realized that I hadn't posted any pictures from our Thanksgiving festivities. Unfortunately, Eric and Kandice were not able to come home, but we're looking forward to later this month when we'll all be together. :)
These pictures are from our family's Thanksgiving meal on Thursday before the big family meal at Matt and Judy's house in McMinneville on Sabbath.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from church, but it was a very special Sabbath. The family went to Hopewell SDA Church. Mom, Laura, Bob, and I led the song service, and Laura gave a sermon on her mission trip last spring to the Philippines. Afterwards we went to Matt and Judy's and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Following the meal, we took a walk and then played charades. The following picture is from the charade that Grandpa, Laura, and I did when King Solomon threatened to divide the baby the two women were fighting over to see who the real mother was. Later today, I'll post a blog on our Christmas tree adventure. :)

Camping at Upper Priest Lake

This last weekend, Bob and I went with Spokane Jr. Academy's 9th and 10th grade class on a camping trip to Upper Priest Lake, Idaho. We left Spokane late Thursday night and got to the campsite sometime after midnight. Instead of trying to setup our new tent, we opted to pull out the bench seats and spent the night in the van.
The next morning, we broke camp early and piled our gear into our boats and canoes. Bob and I (as adult chaperons) got to use one of the motor boats, while the kids paddled their canoes. It took about 2 hours for us to travel up to our campsite. Bob and I set up our tent near the beach, where we could hear the peaceful sound of the waves crashing on the shore. We were miles and miles away from our busy lives, and it was wonderful!




It was quite cold while we were there. The daytime high was probably around 60, and it got down to the upper 30's. Although it never poured on us, it did sprinkle occasionally. On Friday, Bob and I went out on the boat to explore the rest of the lake and to seek some peace and quiet (I had forgotten how much energy high schoolers can have!!).

Friday night was so peaceful- it was amazing! I love welcoming the Sabbath while surrounded by God's beautiful creation- it's the way it was meant to be! We enjoyed a beautiful sunset while singing worship songs around the campfire. Afterward, we crawled into our tent for some much needed sleep.

In the morning, we woke up and enjoyed a breakfast of hashbrowns, peaches, and bread. After everyone had finished eating, we had Sabbath School and church.

Later, after lunch, we again went out on the lake for a relaxing afternoon. It was so peaceful and quiet that we were both lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the boat. We later woke up sunburned and groggy. :)

That evening was filled with s'mores, hotdogs, and hot drinks as we all tried to stay warm by the fire. Later on, the kids played sardines and other games until bedtime. We woke up early the next morning and began the journey home.