Heifer Training Weekend

I flew out to San Jose early on Friday morning for the first West Coast Heifer University for Area Volunteer Coordinators. All of the current & future volunteer coordinators from both the NW & the SW regions gathered for a weekend retreat at the Raindance Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains. From Seattle, we had myself & my dear friends Lisa, Erik, Carla & even baby Lars! It was a great weekend of discussing, brainstorming, learning & listening. I got the chance to reconnect with some of the people I traveled to Honduras with, as well as the joy of meeting some wonderful new people. My work with Heifer certainly adds many dimensions to my life, not the least of which is the variety of incredible people I meet & form connections with.

It was an interesting discovery for me to find out that on the West Coast, our Seattle volunteer group is the model. This gave me mixed feelings, as I was immensly proud, but also a little uneasy as I generally feel rather unorganized & worried that I don't have the time to provide my volunteers with what they need.

My highlights from the weekend were:
--meeting & hearing Heifer's history from Jan West, the daughter of Heifer International's founder
--learning about the incredible work that Heifer is doing in sub-Saharan Africa in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic
--having a break-out session with my Seattle group & setting some great goals for the future of our volunteer group
--running trails through the sunlit Redwoods at the retreat center

This weekend served as further confirmation that this is the organization I want to work for. Please pray for this to happen for me!

Relax time on the deck of my cabin.

The view from where I am laying in the previous photo.

Carla & happy Lars.

My Heifer "boss", Isaak.

Adam providing a little music.

Lisa & I enjoying Saturday evening's wine.

Taking notes during a break-out session.

Jan West, Carla, & Lars.

The moon through the trees on my trail run.

Sunlit redwoods along the trail.

An excerpt from a passage my Grandmother wrote in 1979 that was included in the program:

Great is Thy Faithfulness
Father God, whose we are, and to whom we all go, we rest in Thee - content. For we know nothing can come our way except by Thy will or consent. No experience or circumstance can overwhelm us, for we have Thy strength to uphold us and Thy comforting love to console us. There is nothing to fear save separation from Thee, and - praise be - that fear is swallowed up in Thy promise that nothing in this world or the next can ever separate us from Thee.
And so we rest - content.

My favorite floral arrangement was fittingly so the one from all of us sixteen grandchildren--pink & purple were Grandma's favorite colors.

Part of Grandma Donnie's legacy.

Grandma's Without Grandma

Boo & I both took the day off today & spent it together. We started it with a yoga class at a local gym, which was calming & energizing. Then we drove the short distance to Grandma's house & were both a little overcome with emotion. Standing on the front porch together, we looked out over the garden, dripping wet & lush with the rich colors of fall. Then we turned around & looked into the house, to the small dining room & kitchen beyond, where we are so used to seeing our Grandma smiling in welcome. With no Grandma to hug & visit with, we shrugged into our raincoats & walked down to feed the chickens. We talked & reminiced, laughed & cried. Continuing our walk, we went down to see the creek, swollen & rushing from the recent rains. And we stopped to gather & enjoy the continued bounty of Grandma's garden. We gathered apples, pears & kale, & returned home to make some warm food & snuggle in with our husbands. My family, the whole crazy bunch of it (that includes you, Goweys, Hearns, Winstons, Hagopians, & Penicks), is my greatest blessing.

We had four trick-or-treaters tonight!

Happy Halloween, folks!!

Greetings from your favorite disco king
(he won the competition at Sportworks)...

...and everybody's favorite, uuh, poodle?
(that was the most popular vote today).

Grandma Donnie

August 14th, 1924 - October 28th, 2006
I kissed her cheek & said goodnight on Friday evening. And she slipped away peacefully in her sleep early Saturday morning. She told us how she could hear music & she was seeing & talking to people that weren't in the room, including some who had already died. In those last hours, she was somewhere between earth & heaven, giving us the chance to say goodbye before she went home.

It's so strange & sad to think that this woman, one half of the couple that brought us all together, is gone. Grandpa Ed & Grandma Donnie built this family that now includes more than 30 of us. They are the founders, the cornerstones. And now Grandma is gone. I won't come down the long driveway & find her working in the garden, or walk into the house & see her bustling around the kitchen. One of our cornerstones is gone, but she built a strong, enduring foundation for her family & we continue on. It is one of my greatest blessings.

This afternoon I sat writing & remembering & looking forward to the company of our family:

It just started raining--fat drops that shake the leaves & ping off the roof. The sky is mourning for Grandma. We all will do this together soon. As our family has always done, we will gather together, with food & love & laughter. To remember Donnie- wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt. We will gather & tell stories, eat food & laugh & cry, & love.
In memory of her.

Fall Afternoon

While our boys were home sick, Boo & I headed out with our cousin Ryan (in town from Alaska) to enjoy the chilly autumn sunshine. First we drove to The Other Coast in Ballard to pick up some yummy sandwiches (thanks, Kristen!) & then on to Discovery Park.

Boo molesting our sandwiches.

The spot where Levi & I got married--two & a half years ago now. :)

Gorgeous day on the bluffs.

A big maple leaf provided some extra fun. I've always thought that it's a good thing to be easily amused--you never get bored.

We drove Ryan back to the family in West Seattle & had a chance to visit with G-maw & G-paw for a few minutes. We joined them on the walk to their neighborhood restaurant.

Autumn Celebration

With my mother's birthday on October 1st, it has become a wonderful tradition of gathering together as a family, eating yummy fall foods, enjoying one another's company & the beginning of a new season. This year we gathered at our house.
Come on in...

Alan playing the zither in our front entryway. It's beautiful, simple music.

Here's my family.
And yes, I'm sure if I was in the photo, I would have my finger up my nose too.

Momma & her birthday pear cobbler.

The kitties love having fires.

Happy Birthday to a very special lady...
My Momma!!