Swat op/Photo op

Wellllllll folks... The ultra-relaxing retreat away that I so joyfully posted about came to an abrupt halt exactly 2 hours following that post. It proved to be the Calm before the Storm.

...I should have known better than to get used to anything...

But don't feel sorry for me. No sir'ee. I've got two little lovely ladies that keep me wellllll-occupied, and some great neighbor friends who we have shared dinners with. My husband is who the sorrow...no I take that back...PRAYERS should go to.

Let's recap his week:

Day 1. Two hrs post-post (ha), we are informed of a swat op, and decide to pack up literally right then. We got home at midnight.

Day 2. Hubby leaves in morning for 6hr drive, is up all night working, drives back home.

Day 3. Gets up following morning 4am to go crabbing (okay don't feel too sorry for him yet? I understand. Especially since they caught 15 dungeness and 28 red rock crab!! Holy Crableg!)

Day 4. Home for a mere 24 hrs. Gets called out for swat op at midnight.

Day 5. Manhunt begins..."Hunts" 15 hrs through the night, on 2 hrs of sleep.

Day 6. Sleeps in hotel for 4 hours. Works another 15 hours straight through the night.

Day 7. Sleeps in hotel on 6 hour break. Is currently working through the night on an expected 12hr shift...

(Day 8. Home??? Or repeat day 7...)

I'm guessing that right about now the average human being who has been working physically & mentally for that long on that little sleep/food/energy goes dilerious. Just plain dilerious.

These guys need to be covered in prayer!!!

This is when they especially need their guards up the most.

On a lighter note, Audrey has taking a liking to our digital camera lately. And no, it doesn't work as well as it used to....but I'm going to discount the careful toddler using it, and acredit to the fact that it's about 7yrs old and anyone who uses it can attest the need to upgrade, as the frequent comments are:

"oh this is one of those old ones huh? Man the screen is really small!"

We hope to get a new camera soon...and it looks like we may need to be careful with our prayers, as sometimes they come in the form of many a sleepless nights away from home working on your off days in order to get a crableg load of overtime pay.....

In the meantime, I present to you, Audrey the photographer:

That's my Mom. She lets me use her camera sometimes. I have to be real careful, especially if Daddy is watching me.

It's my Momma again, Hi Momma!!

There's my Mom again, just sitting around being silly....

Thats my fish tank. We've had a lot of fish in there. We only have two in there now.

There's "Sharky"! He's my favorite.

This is one of my new books. It's actually for Ellie, but I like to look at it too.

My Mom had some stinky breath, I guess.

There's my dog Lucy! She likes it when we play tug of war with Mom's kitchen towels. And she loves it when I scratch her ears!!

And this is me! :)

Relaxing Retreat

How blessed I am...

Here I am sitting by a constant roaring fireplace with 80 foot ceilings (feels like it anyway), in a completely beautiful large, yet cozy, log cabin. Right now I am sitting by a wall of windows overlooking a pond where a fun activity has been to gaze out at a family of ducks splashing, dunking under and swimming about. On the other side of the large great room Indiana Jones is on tv, where the smell of popcorn has just entered the room. Behind more windows there are trees nestling us into this pillared entry, fenced private drive at the edge of the base camp. Right outside is a large green pasture where Elk have frequented by the dozens (50+ yesterday grazing). I have not done nor thought about doing any laundry...unless you count adding to the "dirty clothes bag", and i have only done the same few dishes and pans necessary to survive. I have had nothing hanging over my head and therefore I have been completely relaxed. I have spent the days here almost entirely in my pajamas, warming by the gas fireplace at the convenience of pushing a button, thoroughly enjoying the heavenly view out every window as i feel myself becoming increasingly refreshed as each moment passes.

I am not alone. Infact, just yesterday as I gazed into my youngest daughters smiling face while we finished up our lunch together, making each other giggle, the sounds of a piano rang from the other room as my oldest daughter and her Daddy joyfully harmonized made-up songs about her favorite Toy Story characters. The only interruption were the sounds of their laughter and her requests for Daddy to include more characters. Pure joy. That is what I felt at that moment. Infact, I felt so completely overwhelmed with my feelings that I began to cry. Smiling and tearful I looked out the nearest window, looking high into the heavenly skies and smiled my thankful praises!

Sometimes the best memories for me have been the unexpected ones... A family walk to find the roaming heard of Ek. Playing hide-and-seek until our sides hurt from giggling. Learning how to play Candyland, from a 3 year olds perspective. Finding a nearby pool for a family swim hour. Spending hours by the glow of the fire talking with my love about everything that's important to each of us.
Packing up a picnic, driving out to the beach to look, but instead finding a nearby state park overlooking a lake to eat in the sun (the sun in January!!), while we watched some fisherman catching dinner. Realizing, based on the amount of diapers packed and leftover food, that we are able to stay one more night to extend this total relaxation...

My heart is full. I am abundantly blessed by this little family God has placed in my care. And we are very Thankful that my Dad allowed us to stay here as long as we have. It has been a refreshing change of pace, scenery and memories made...