Multitude of Thoughts: Washington --> Montana

Thankful that we had a fabulouso rest of our week in Marysville. Our hosts were ahhmazing. Love you guys!!

Check this out... such a cool way of how God helped me overcome my selfishness on Friday... on our last day in WA....
My selfish bratty side peeked out on Friday afternoon.... when I had a little too much park time & too little espresso... and was inwardly stressing about reloading our van for our Eastward trek that next morning & a million other things... my funk was quickly changed after a very strange encounter... has this as her mantra: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." -Philippians 2:3:

has this as her mantra: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." -Philippians 2:3:

We were driving home... with literally 1 hour to change- all of us,.. showers too... and pack stuff up before VBS... yeah ... but then we saw 2 boys fighting on the sidewalk. One was walking away with a backpack and the other was yelling and crying, trying to follow him. We dismissed it and drove around the corner, but my nosy self kept peeking back and as we turned the corner- the older boy with the backpack looked like he was going to attack the boy behind him... we turned around and super long story short... Silas was trying to run away ( and did until the cops found him at 11:09pm that night), Caleb was trying to stop him. Their mom had a crazy past, but had found the Lord in the late 80s! She needed to connect with the Lord again and couldn't believe how He was working. She committed to coming that night to VBS with the Caleb and their middle brother Ethan. We walked in VBS together a few minutes late... but perfect God timing... message being recapped was the Women at the Well and then how Jesus calls the children to Him... these boys who had and were being mistreated... feeling neglected... now being told how important they are to Jesus. How they could have hope. The mom's tears didn't stop all meeting. My heart just ached at my selfishness ( yes I did get a shower ;), but if we had left that park even a minute earlier ... that encounter most likely wouldn't have happened... Oh how awesome our God is... even in these crazy selfish stubborn moments of mine.. He works... mightily!! {Pray for Jenn - the mom, her 2 daughters, her ex hubby who she is living with, her alcoholism, ADHD and Panic attacks, and those three teen boys Silas, Ethan and Caleb}

We left WA bright n early Saturday morning.... and had a quiet, fast drive ( 10 hours-ish) to Montana... A car with a DVD player is life saving... snacks galore are also life saving :) The amount of squeezeable applesauces, string cheese and juice boxes that our kids went through is kinda embarrassing- but the peace... was there... almost the entire 10 hours! We were in awe.

Montana... This place is so peaceful. So simple- yet gorgeously complex all at once. I am no cowgirl at heart, BUT we sure love our cowboys Si and Noah & they showed our kiddos how to "rope" and we loved exploring their ranch!
Not only were the views of the mountains spectacular...but family time... guys, I hadn't seen my cousin Penny since my Grams funeral & that was nearly 11 years ago. Reconnecting was beyond amazing. Like seriously. So so awesome. Pictures captured some of the memories. Our hearts captured them all. To bottle up the time together would be ideal. Those conversations that only can happen with the nearest and dearest family. So special. So thankful.

Memories

First visit to Mod Pizza ( Still in WA)