Tickets!

After praying, planning, waiting, crying, praying, planning and replanning, the Lord has opened the doors for us to move to Belize! We are flying to Cancun, MX on the 23rd of August, taking a bus to Chetumal, MX where we will meet up with our very sweet and special friends who will help us through the border and customs. That is about all we know right now. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to leave.. and may we glorify the Lord in all we do!

~

..and Fauna

It has been such a blessing to live here at the Kersey's house. Being a master gardener, Terri has a beautiful garden in the back yard which Ryan has been dutifully weeding and planting (more on that in another post) Additionally, they have a very beautiful 2 acre grassy sloped back yard. The upper back deck looks over the grassy lawn which boasts of a magnificent evergreen forest beyond that. It is our own private wilderness oasis! Our view is spectacular~ On the deck we have placed both a traditional bird feeder as well as a hummingbird feeder. From our living room the children and I have been watching with amazement as scores of birds, native as well as migrating ones have come to eat. We have been trying, without success to snap photos of the visitors.. we finally gave up and snatched bird photos from google to display our friendly feathered friends.. Here are just a few of the types of birds we have seen so far this season:

Our deck with a few Evening Grosbeaks

Tree Swallows~

A lovely male house finch~

Ruby-throated Hummingbird~

Chickadee~

Black Headed Grosbeak~

Beautiful male Evening Grosbeak~

Goldfinch~

Red-winged blackbird~

Stellar Jay~

Flora

This afternoon my boys graced me with these bouquets of flowers, picked from our yard. Having only lived in this rental for 6 months we have yet to learn of all the floral treasures that are hiding out there on the property! It seems as though every day something different blooms~
We will sorely miss the flora and fauna found here in the pacific northwest- however, when I went to google what exactly 'flora and fauna' was, the second google entry for that phrase was this- " Belize has one of the world's richest habitats for flora and fauna. No fewer than 4,000 different species of native flowering plants are found within its borders, along with about 700 species of trees and several hundred species of other plants." Now that is what a true nature lover loves to hear! :)







~

♥ 20 Year Wedding Anniversary ♥

For our honeymoon in 1991, we visited Astoria, WA and Seaside, OR. The first few photos were taken (over the years) in front of the same statue. We are so truly humbled when we look back to the beginning of our marriage and then look at it now. The most notable thing which is different now as opposed to then is that both of us, as well as our wonderful children have a very real relationship with the Lord Jesus! Since neither of us came from a God fearing family, that was a miracle (and struggle) for us. Although we have so many shortcomings and although we have so far to come, we marvel at the works of the Lords hands! We are blessed beyond measure.. May we, in all we do bring glory to his Holy name.


Grady May 1991 Seaside

Kelly May 1991 Seaside

10 year anniversary May 2001

20 Year Anniversary! May 2011

We woke up on our anniversary.. the sun was shining brightly and we got a 'wild hair'! Grady called his boss to see if it would be possible to take the day off.. we threw a lunch together and jumped into the car and drove 2 hours to spend the day at Seaside to celebrate our special day. We had not planned on doing that ahead of time but that made it all the more special! The children, Mom and Dad had the most wonderful day, reminiscing, playing and fellowshipping with one another. Tears come to my eyes as I look at these photos and realize just how very blessed we are. Thank you Lord for 20 years together. Thank you for placing it on our hearts to homeschool our children which has allowed us to build these precious relationships and memories. Please help this Mama daily to become more and more like the Lord Jesus so that I can pour out even more to them.. and let the next 20 years be spent serving you and one another as you see fit.


Behold how good and how pleasant it is for bretheren to dwell together in unity~
Psalm 133 KJV

An absolutely lovely day on the Oregon Coast

Mandy, did you step in Grant's trap??

A little Kelly look-alike

Laura 10 months with Mama

"You can't get me daddy!"

Grant is at it again! :)

Lugging the stroller through the sand back to the boardwalk

Two Tired Punkins

Make that three tired punkins

Heading back over the Astoria bridge which takes us into WA again

Wallapia Bay

South Bend, WA.. headed home and inland from the coast

She finished this epic book in a day!

Parked under the cherry trees at a park while Mama tends to Laura

As the sun set, we thank the Lord for a precious day and sweet fellowship with one another ♥


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