The Stuff of Life

Yesterday, the forecast called for record high temperatures and nothing but sunshine and blue skies. So naturally, I opened up my calendar, picked up my friend Beth, and jetted up to the Mountain for some late-season snowshoeing. Twas a wonderful, wonderful day, filled with great conversations, laughter, warmth, encouragement, and refreshment. Twas a day of delighting in the promises and goodness of our God.


















































































I completely got sunburned, even though I sunscreened twice! And it was SPF 30, not SPF 4, thank you very much! =) So I'm continuously slathering on the Ocean Potion Aloe with Lidocaine, generously donated by BJ&Melis.

After we got back from the Mountain, I quickly showered and headed off to Girls Group with my Jr. High girls. We went to get some ice cream, laid a blanket out in the day's last rays of sunshine, and thoroughly enjoyed discussing the stuff of life. I have been greatly blessed by each of my girls. They have snuck into my heart in ways that I never expected, and I am so privileged to be able to share in their lives.

Then, I was off to the other Koning's for some 24. I love my monday nights with Brian and Melis! Being able to share the victories and hardships of Jack Bauer with people I love - well - it can't get much better than that!

Snow and Sunlight

On Wednesday, the whole world was working.
Well, everyone except me.
And the forecast showed nothing but warmth and sunshine.
And I had been dying to get out of town and into the mountains.
Simple solution: I went snowshoeing.
Solo.
And let me just say, it was a sweet day!!

The snow had a tiny, trace layer of ice on top, and powder beneath, and with every step I took, a delightful crunch filled the still mountain air. And whenever I climbed, or walked side-hill, or descended, every piece of snow that I dislodged succumbed to gravity and went scurrying down the thin ice layer, creating a sliding, soft swooshing sound.

The sunshine filled the crisp air with warmth, and I spent the entire day in complete freedom from the weightiness of a coat, hat, or mittens. The sleek snow intensely reflected the sunlight, and sunglasses were a wonderful necessity of the day. The scent of the mountain was sweet, refreshing, and simple, filled with hints of melting snow and subtle pine swirled about by the light breeze.

I love spending time with God in this way, surrounded by the largely untouched portions of his beautiful handiwork. I love praising Him in this way, my own awe of Him complimented by the declaration of glory given to Him by His creation. Life is crazy sometimes, and I often don't understand what His purposes in my life are. But He is Good, and I will choose to rejoice and delight in Him, together with the mountains and hills and trees (Isaiah 55).





































































































































































































































See the Sundog?

Storm Story

Let me tell you...it's been one crazy week! Mostly due, of course, to the unusually wintery weather that's been continuously hitting western Washington (and, apparently, the rest of the country as well). Transportation has been pretty bad, and I realize I completely take for granted going to the grocery store for 'just a minute' or taking a 'quick jaunt' over to a friend's house. The only thing that's 'quick' these days is the rotation of your tires as they spin out, trying unsuccesfully to navigate through the snow!
It's snowed over a foot up here on Tumwater hill, and Sunflower Lane has not once been plowed! I know that full well, because as I was trying to get to Matt&Amanda's house last night, I got very stuck about 15 feet from my parking spot (even though I was trying to go downhill!). I tried to put on chains with a couple guys in my apts, somehow got the chains stuck in my axle (i know, i know: not the smartest thing I've ever done!), realized I couldn't even move my car without the risk of breaking my brake line or whatever else is around there, called AAA and was told nobody would be able to help me cuz they were all too busy, and called a few tow truck services and was told they were refusing to go up Tumwater Hill because it was too dangerous. I ended up leaving my car right where it was for the night, hoping nobody would slide into it, and was so very grateful to be rescued by Tom and Matt, who safely transported me to Matt&Amanda's home for a night of adventure.
This morning, after being driven back up the hill, I called AAA again and they sent a tow truck out for me...finally! He couldn't make it up Sunflower Ln, but walked up, magically got my chains out of my axle in about 10-15 min and helped me get down the lane. Problem solved - thankfully!
It's really cool to see how everyone comes together to help each other out at a time like this. There have been so many people stuck, but people are so willing to stop and take time to lend a shovel and some strong pushing muscles for the cause of anti-stuckness. Yep, it's definitely a season of giving! =)


















































































































































Michelle and I live in Apt building 39. The foreground damaged carport occurred around a week ago when the icy conditions caused a huge RV to slide right into it.




































I thought I'd conclude this storm story with a contrasting shot of dryness and warmth: here's the first fire that Michelle and I had in our fireplace, taken around a week ago. It was wonderful!

Dry Creek Trail and Lake Cushman

Yesterday, Melis, Abigail, Mark, Matty and I headed out to Lake Cushman and hiked along the Dry Creek Trail. This is the same trail where Brian&Melis heard the low, gutteral roar of a mountain lion just a couple years ago. There were warning signs about the big cats at the trailhead, but thankfully, none were heard or seen while we occupied the trail. The weather, although threatening to rain, turned out to be quite pleasant: mid-50's, cloudy, but only a few wandering sprinkles. The autumn colors were gorgeous and the trail was matted with large, soft, bright yellow leaves.











































We passed these little falls there and back, and on the way back Melissa very randomly put her head under and drank three large gulps. I was aghast and chided her for drinking beaver-fever water, but then gave into the very strong temptation myself, and had my own gulps of very refreshing goodness. I'm not sick as of yet, so hopefully we were lucky. Mark, prob very wisely, opted out of our little water russian roulette game.

My favorite part of the trip was hiking along the eastern edge of Lake Cushman in an area filled with very large old tree stumps. The trees were cut in the 1920's when the city of Tacoma built a dam on the North Fork Skokomish River, thus enlarging the lake.

Here I am, pointing with humor and disbelief at the action that resulted in Matty looking like.....
























this! Clearly, Matty (aka Spot) was in paradise and loving every minute of it!































































As always, the star of the show, showing off her walkin' skills....

Glacier National Park '08

Here's another long-overdue blog: Last July, we had a family reunion at Glacier Nat'l Park. All of the immediate family was there, as well as Grams, Aunt Eileen, and Uncle Ron&Aunt Karen and Anna. It was such a wonderful time of relaxing, spending time with each other, and spending time in the beautiful creation of our Creator.

The whole fam


















Doin a little P&W:


















The picking of a fine musician (aka Steve Man Koning)


















Up and coming guitarist, Dillon Michael Koning


















More Dillon:















































Aunt Karen, Grams, Anna, and Aunt Eileen: playin some cards




































Mom, this one's for you! Zoom in if you so desire























Sharing some good ol' Cheerios:




































Dillon: "Ooh, this is a perfect time to pull Mommy's hair!"


















The sisters: Mom and Aunt Eileen























Steven, finding himself in an all-too-familiar precarious position


















Abigail, chillin in the arms of Uncle Steven (BTW, nice VSP plug, Steve!)























Oh, the beauty!


















Sisters: Serena and me























My other sister: Melissa and me















































Padre and me























Ansel Adams style:


















Mi hermano y yo:


















I really, really like this picture:























And this one too:


















Blongo Ball: Steven vs Aaron


















We watched a homemade fireworks show on the 4th, just a mile or so from our cabin. This is us, waiting for the big show to happen: BJ's trying to make a scarier face than normal, Steven's holding the puppy who adopted us as his family for the evening, Aaron's trying to be a pirate (Arghhh, Matey!), Serena's chillin in the back, I have a daisy in my hair for some completely unknown reason, and Annie's proving herself to be a very candid photographer, just like her dad.




























































More Blongo Ball: Aunt Eileen vs. Me


















The cousins: