Ship Shape

Things of note today-

It was a summery day - ah.... I spent part of the day on my deck swinging on my 60 dollar swing reading a book "Extreme Grandparenting" by Tim Kimmell. Grace filled grandparenting.

The squirrels are back full force collecting nuts two at a time from the front tree - over the roof - a big leap down to the deck railing - another big leap up to the cedar tree and a final flying fling onto the apple tree where they finally disappear somewhere.

The squirrels are SHARING our peaches with us. We have lots of peaches for the two of us and they are delicious.

My mom is home and I have seen her with my own eyes in her green chair in her own living room after 11 weeks. Thank you for your prayers. She's pretty weak but she is home.

I thought I would tell you bit by bit about my summer which included lots of company, the Abrahams, the Odegards and their friends the Zipricks (sp?), camping, a family reunion at Princeton, two fairs, visiting in Bellingham and who knows what else I'll find as I review the pictures.

Big news is that this summer yet we are taking Sarah CAMPING. YES the time is finally here for us to take our first grandchild camping. I know others will be wanting to sign up soon :)

Now onto some more cruise pictures -

I thought I'd say a bit about the boat, Serendipity of the Seas. It's one of the Royal Caribbean cruise line and it is one of the newer boats, built in Germany four years ago. It's huge - one of the biggest cruise ships able to carry 2500 passengers if I remember correctly. The crew is from around the world - often working far from family and loved ones - sad and yet maybe a financial step along the way. It felt one sided to me to be waited on hand and foot by those whose lives were considerably more difficult than my own.

This was our beautiful stateroom, with its comfy king sized bed, beautiful wood, and the deck we made so much use of - always running out to enjoy the view.

And a favorite place - especially for LK - the coffee shop. The food on the ship was great - but the coffee - not so much. Thankfully there was a coffeeshop that did have really good coffee for a little bit extra - coffee and a great view. Turn the chairs around, put feet up on ledge, read, observe, savor the coffee. I brought a new book just for the trip. In the picture, I am content. The last day I took a photo of LK and the two ladies who ran the coffeeshop. I told them how important their role was in making LK's trip a success and he told them that he owns a coffeeshop and so good coffee is really important to us and enjoyed very much.

A Few Words

OK so back to this blogging business. I'm fine thanks for asking. It's summer and I've been having a full spectrum one - fun, worries, more fun, peace, action.

My mom is coming home from rehab this Wednesday after almost 11 weeks. She got pneumonia a couple days before our Alaska trip. In fact the morning we were to leave, we visited her in the hospital and I honestly thought she might not make it. I spoke quietly with my dad and he assured me that we should go. We kept in touch throughout our trip by cell or ship phone and in a couple days she was a tiny bit better. It was very bitter sweet leaving under those circumstances and yet it seemed God gave me the ability to compartmentalize a bit - to have periods of concern and prayer and also have many periods of great happiness, enjoyment and wonder.

Speaking of wonder - here are some shots of the Hubbard Glacier, the farthest point of our trip. We sailed cautiously though a bay filled with ice chunks and small icebergs. Dark clouds filled the sky. We got WAY closer to the glacier than we expected, and the sun broke though to show off the astonishing blue ice. The sounds of thunder roared as the glacier calved and chunks of it feel into the sea making great splashes and giant ripple effect waves. I was grateful. It was a theme of the trip for me. Gratitude.