Family Update

Here we are in the middle of May, moving quickly into Summer Mode!  Josh’s ministry schedule is very full for the summer and the boys and I are looking forward to joining him on a couple of his trips. 
Mostly though, we’re excited to cultivate relationships that God has begun here in our area, while cultivating the ground in our backyard. :) That’s right, my garden last year was a complete and utter failure, but I am optimistic (perhaps delusional) about more success this year.   Of course, in my defense, I'm working in a garden plot that was incredibly overgrown and FULL OF ROCKS when we moved in.  AND I have to combat every garden "dilemma" known to man (think slugs, aphids, ear wigs, paper mildew, birds, and perhaps a sneaky rabbit or two!) I have kale, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots and onion seedlings all poking out of the ground currently, and have only lost 6 or 7 seedlings to vicious slug predators so far! Victory! ;) ​

Last weekend, I had the privilege and blessing of attending the Women's Retreat with our new home church.  It was a precious time of teaching, worship, and fellowship.  What a gift to have that time away to begin to develop relationships with the women at my church.  Two days after I returned from that retreat, I drove to the ranch (where we lived before moving here) to spend two and a half wonderful days with the couple who own the goat ranch and are "family" to us.  During both of those getaways, I was reminded repeatedly that the Lord is my Shepherd.  I felt the peace, comfort, and refreshment that my Savior knew I needed!  I came home renewed and ready to face the challenges of parenting and homeschooling, that have left me feeling a little weary lately.  I am so grateful for that time!

Speaking of parenting and homeschooling, T-1 and T-2 finished their annual testing this week and our homeschool co-ops have ended for the year. So we are transitioning into our summer school routine.  If you’ve followed this blog for long, you know that we school year round, but our summer schedule is much lighter.  We’ll do Math most days and then sprinkle our other subjects (mostly lots of reading aloud) and some fun field trips and projects throughout the next few months.

As I said earlier, Josh’s schedule is quite full!  God continues to open doors, allowing him to connect with new churches, which is always exciting!  Because Josh has many churches that he’s been to several times, he spent time early this year prayerfully studying for a new message to share at repeat churches.  Also this Spring, Josh began a new CD project.  He is in the early stages of recording, so there is no release date yet, but I'll let you know when we have more info.

​In a few weeks, we'll be traveling to Montana as a family.  Josh has a very busy ministry schedule while there, but we'll also enjoy some family day trips and time with Josh's parents and grandmother!  We have a few other camping trips scattered throughout the summer and look forward to our big adventure of traveling with Josh to California in the fall.

​Well, that's your update for now!  As always, thank you for your prayers!  Blessings to you!  Keep following the Good Shepherd!

Here are a few more pictures from the past few months!  

Basement Room project - My New Office

Date Night Hike by the River

​My Mother's Day Chefs