Thursday, May 27, 2010

On The Mend

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, but I haven't done anything worth talking about. Last week I sprained my ankle and have spent the last many days with my foot elevated, lots of ice, and an air cast. I started walking on it yesterday as the swelling is nearly gone. YEA!

Don is spending this week at camp with his boys scouts and having a great time. He'll be home soon. Before he left he bought food for me so that I wouldn't have to do anything this week other that lay on the couch with my foot up...such a sweetheart!

When life gets back to normal, I'll post some pictures. Hope you all are well.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Busy Two Weeks

We decided to get away for a week and go up to the land. We love it there because it allows us to slow down and regroup. We get plenty of rest, and the solitude is so peaceful. In terms of altitude, we are about 6000 feet above sea level. Even in the spring, the nights are a bit chilly; the days are warm, though. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and came home rested.

The land doesn't look like much during the day, but the sunsets are spectacular, and the stars are incredible! We took a small telescope and enjoyed gazing at the enormous sky. The creations of God are a wondrous thing and bring peace to the soul and perspective to life.















On the way home we shared ice cream cones with our very happy (and tired and dirty) dogs.



We've been gone every night since we got back. We enjoyed a neighborhood barbecue and a celebration of Austin Thies's graduation from law school. Here he is playing guitar and singing for everyone. (Actually there were about 30 people there, although it doesn't look like it from this picture.) Austin and Kayte are singing together in this picture.

I smile to remember that I taught Austin and Kayte to play guitar when they were in their early teens. I'm glad they still play and sing as adults. How quickly time goes by!

Monday, May 3, 2010

That's Not Santa In The Chimney!

This week we got a phone call from a family that thought there was something stuck in their chimney. When we climbed on their roof and looked down, this is what we saw:



Then we zoomed in on it, and this is what we saw:



When Don tried to coax the raccoon to get up, he noticed a litter of new-borns that the mama was keeping warm. They were just little fuzz balls that still had their eyes closed. Don estimated their age at less than a week old.

The owners of the house brought all of their children onto the roof to look at their visitors. Don explained that the little ones would die if we removed the mama, so the family decided to let them all stay until the babies get big enough to follow their mama out into the night to get food (about 3 months from now). We are SO glad they made that decision!

We'll go back some night in August when they are all out hunting and seal off the chimney with wire mesh. They'll have to find a new home then, but at least they will be big enough to do so. Until then, we are happy that they all get a chance to live.