IS IT SPRING YET?

"My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Hi all my family and friends. Is spring here yet? We wouldn't really know here in the northwest. It has been raining and cool most of May. Things are progressing though but at a very slow slow pace. My heart goes out to all those being effected by the tornadoes and flooding waters. Because of those uncertainties in life, we count our blessings everyday and are truly thankful for a God who does meet all our needs. Not our wants, but needs. He knows whats going on and reveals His grace and glory when we need it most. Even in disasters. And there seems to be plenty of disasters, trials, etc going on. I trust all is well with you readers. Its been some time since I last updated the blog. We are all doing well. Update on Hannah is all is going very well. Due date is still on for June 21st. There have been no other issues with her kidney so thanks for your prayers. Leah came home on the 13th of May and helped with Hannah's baby shower that was at out home. What a grand display of creative fun, generosity, love and support for Hannah and the baby. There were 26 ladies there and they had a wonderful time. Some pictures down below on that special day for Hannah. During that time, I got out of the house and went running.
Last time I posted my Salt Lake City Marathon trip. I finished with no major problems. Weather was very nice. Stayed downtown SLC within a couple of blocks of all the activites. SLC is a very nice city with great views of mountains all around. Here are some pictures:

This is the finish line. Started over at the University of Utah about 3 miles away from the finish line but the run took me way south and back up north. Met some very nice people from New York who are doing the 50 state Marathon goal. They were on state #47, with three to go for them. I am on state #7. Will be doing a marathon in Missoula MT in July. Also doing the Coeur d'Alene marathon this Memorial Day weekend with Nathan and Jason. Sarah will be doing the Half Marathon.
After the race, and oh look over my shoulder, there is a Starbucks. Went to have coffee right afterwards. Caffeine tasted so good after exercising. I do like running though. Keeps me going. Makes me thankful for abilities. Thankful for health and for a chance to do these activities with my wonderful kids.
At the end of April was the ever fun 'Bring your kids to work day' at my work on the Navy base in Bayview. The kids look forward to this every year, young and older, they just like spending time at my work. Here is a picture on the floating barge where I work. That is Cutthroat in the background (head-on view) high and dry, out of the water so we can reconfigure it and work on it. It is a quarter scale submarine model that we operate for the Navy and special projects. Mary, Laura, and Kayla usually come up but this year, Mary wanted to go to school (weird huh) and Jason decided to go. When Aaron found out later on, he wondered why he wasn't invited. Next year Aaron. On Mother's Day weekend, our near by Amusement Park Silverwood opened up. So Saturday, Laura, Kayla and I went and road the rollercoasters in between rainstorms. It eventually got pretty nice, when the girls convinced me of going camping at nearby Farrugut State Park near my work. SOO, that afternoon we shifted gears and went camping.
We took Kaiser our german shepherd along with us. It rained right after setting up the tent and awning. But we built a fire, kept warm and then snuggled in for the night in the rain storm. It was actually very adventurous and fun for an early May camping trip. We were the only one in the campground. So we had the pick of a favorite campsite. Kaiser did pretty good but we brought the kennel in the van for him to lay in at night and during the rain storms. Wet dog in the tent just didn't sound good to us. It was fun. On Mother's Day, rain stopped and we packed up and went back home. Visited Susan's gravesite to reflect on what a great Mother Susan was and the impact she has on the children's lives. We miss her dearly.
Here is a picture of Kaiser. He is now about 9 months hold. On this trip, one ear is up and one is undecided. As I write this, both ears are now up and he is maturing into a pretty good dog. He still is naughty and has a lot of puppy still in him.
Later on Mother's Day, we decided to go back to Silverwood. Sarah and Mary joined us too. We have Gold passes there and so six of us get in on the passes. Here is a picture in rollercoaster alley. To the right side of the picture is TREMORS wooden rollercoaster. In the back is AFTERSHOCK, which is a steel smooth rollercoaster, but full of twists and turns upside down. Not in the picture is TIMBER TERROR, another wooden rollercoaster. We all love riding them. Kayla has a school trip to Silverwood, and I volunteered to be a helper. Just another excuse to ride the rollercoasters. Waterpark should be opening up soon too, but dependent on NICE weather. Someday.
Riding the antique cars, Mary driving Laura. A glimpse of what is to come. Mary is going to be taking drivers training this summer and will get her license next spring. Mary turned 15 in March and Laura is 13. They are maturing into some very beautiful young ladies.
Here is a picture of LUKE. He is now 17 months old. And guess what!!! HE IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!!! Found out from Nathan and Michelle on Easter that they are expecting on November 20th. We found out in a game that Nathan and Michelle made up. It was a word scramble game that we were divided into three groups. And the words that were formed told us of the news. I was a little slow in getting it until everyone else started cheering. I think some of them already knew. So our family is getting bigger. And that is exciting.
And here are a couple of pictures from Hannah's baby shower. There were a lot of hands that went into the preparations for this event. Gina Hardy was very instrumental in preparing the food table with all the decorations. First picture. They all had a ball.

Here is the "MOM TO BE". Pregnant women just have a certain angelic glow about them don't they!! Jake and Hannah and baby are all doing great.

This was cool. This baby train was all made by hand. It is made of diapers, blocks, rattles, baby wipes things, wash clothes, etc. All things that can be used for the baby but displayed in a very creative work.

Prayer requests:
-Sarah is thinking about moving out of the house. She found a place over in Post Falls with a Christian lady who has rooms in the basement. It is a very nice place and would be good for Sarah to experience renting and being on her own. She is excited about this as we all were when we first did this. Her help around the house will be missed. But the rest of the kids will just have to step up the plate and fill in the gaps.
-Jason has been looking at Christian colleges in California. He visited Asuza Pacific and really liked it. So he is gearing up for his studies at Asuza next January. Be praying for plans, finances, and just what God has for him at college. He continues to work as a server at a local restaurant.
-Aaron is also looking at Christian colleges in California. Not as defined as Jason but looking. He is in Communications at N. Idaho College right now. He is working with kids at the KROC CENTER in Coeur d'Alene. He will be full time this summer and working some other smaller jobs just to make money.
-Mary will be taking drivers training. Not sure if the prayers are for her or for me. But I am not new to this. But still, sending my kids out to drive is always a concern.

Email me or respond to the blogs. Would love to hear from you all. Blessings to you all.