Fall Leaves and Winter Snow

After we left Idaho, the kids and I traveled to Eastern Washington to stay with my parents for a week. And in that one week we got to experience Fall and Winter - our first introduction to living outside of Southern California.

 There were LOTS of leaves in Nana and Papa's backyard so Micah offered to rake them and bag them for $1 per bag. Nana told him he drove a hard bargain, but SURE!

I helped him out a little so we could get it into one big pile.

 

Ashlyn did her part to help out too

 

  Both kids thought it was so fun to be buried in the leaves, but Ashlyn had to clarify, "Just don't cover my face."

 

Micah, on the other hand, wanted to be completely buried, but that didn't make such a great picture, so here he is with his face showing.

 

 Then it was time to PLAY!

 Running...

 Jumping...

 Soft landing. So much fun!!

Ashlyn preferred to just wade through the leaves.

 Then we all had fun running and jumping together

 Ashlyn found one of Aunt Bonnie's old baby dolls and adopted it for the week

 And then came the snow! The first night it was just a light dusting. The kids had a ball playing with it out on the deck, but were disappointed to see it gone the next day.

 So we found something else fun to do that day... we made a gingerbread house! I kept telling Ashlyn not to eat the candy, she needed to put it on the house. She responded that she wasn't eating it, she was just tasting it (licking the sugar crystals off it)!

The finished product! (Notice Ashlyn's hand in the bowl. Can't let any of that sugar go to waste.)

 Then the next morning the excitement level was over the top as they looked out the window to find a winter wonderland outside. Micah's first request... "Can I go shovel the sidewalk?!"

 

 Ashlyn just enjoyed walking around in it.

 

 We even had a enough to make a snowman!

 

Once we were all too cold to stay outside, it was time to warm up with hot cocoa and marshmallows (or smarshmallows, as Ashlyn would say).

 It kept snowing throughout the day, so in the afternoon Papa took him out to show him the snowblower. I was a little concerned. After all, Micah has a winter full of shoveling the driveway in front of him and I didn't want him to start desiring the easy way out.

 But I had nothing to fear. Although he was impressed with the snowblower, he was much more interested in shoving it himself!

Here's Micah with his 14 bags of leaves that he bagged up. Total earned = $15 (Nana gave him an extra $1 tip).

 Any visit to Pullman requires a stop at the WSU Creamery, where college students make the best cheese and ice cream!

Ashlyn enjoyed some snuggle time with Papa.

Moving East

Thirteen years ago, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, two "kids" loaded up a U-Haul truck and headed west, from North Carolina to California. We were so young, and we had such dreams about what we thought God was going to do. It's hard to believe that was 13 years ago! We stayed in California far longer than we had ever expected and during that time God worked in ways that we never could have imagined. It's amazing to think back through the years and remember all the ways God has shown Himself faithful in our lives. He's given us two precious children and many wonderful friends; He has abundantly provided for all of our needs; He has carried us through difficult health issues; He has blessed us with great biblically-based teaching, both at church and through our educational pursuits; and through it all He has grown and shaped us into the people we are today, preparing us for our next adventure.

 
Today, 13 years later, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we're heading out on a journey to take us back across the Mississippi River, this time to a new life in the Midwest. We're excited and scared; happy and sad. There is a such a jumble of emotions, but in the midst of those emotions, we are grateful for the Lord's clear leading to move us in this direction. Our experience has shown us that we can't even begin to fathom God's plans for us. But we know that regardless of what He does with us and our family, He is sovereign in it and is moving in our lives for our good and His glory. Our hearts ache as we leave behind some incredibly rich relationships. But as believers we are grateful that although miles may separate us physically, these relationships built on the foundation of Christ are enduring throughout eternity.


Before we left California, my sister made me a book and included the words to this song. I love it as it describes so beautifully, the way our hearts feel right now.

Blessed be the tie that binds, our hearts in kindred love;

The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

Before the Father's throne, we pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims, are one, our comfort and our cares.

When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.

This Glorious hope revives, our courage by the way;

While each in expectation lives, and longs to see the day.

We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows, the sympathizing tear.

From sorrow, toil, and pain, and sin, we shall be free;

And perfect love and friendship reign, through all eternity. Amen.

Truax Family Reunion

The kids and I had a great time spending a week in Idaho with my whole family. It's been over two years since my parents have had all of their kids and grandchildren together, so it was a huge blessing that it worked out for all of us to end up in one place before we head east. With us moving to Chicago, our family is now spread out in 4 different states so it may be a while before we're all together again.

We drove up to Idaho with Micah and Bonnie so the kids enjoyed swapping cars - the big kids rode together and the little kids rode together. It was a long day (16 hours) with many stops along the way, but being together made it a little more fun. And at one point Uncle Micah got brave and took all 4 kids in the car with him so my mom, Bonnie and I could all ride together. We thought he was crazy, but he survived and we enjoyed the girl time together.

In Idaho, we all stayed together at Bobby and Joy's house. It was crowded with 3 families, but the layout of their home really was perfect for that many people. The cousins had so much fun together, both inside and outside.

Jasmine and Ashlyn loved playing with Biscuit. They thought it was a grand idea to put him in the little car and push him around.

And this was our adventurous late night trip to buy cards so we could play a game while the kids were in bed.

Ashlyn enjoyed cuddling with Aunt Joy Joy

It was cold out, but that didn't stop the kids from playing outside. They got much use out of this swing set in the back yard.

Micah was thrilled at the opportunity to help mow the lawn. Here he is learning how to start it. I hope he still enjoys it so much next summer when it's time to mow our lawn!

Ashlyn enjoyed finding Jasmine's little electric car to drive around the driveway

One afternoon we took the opportunity to go to Givens Hot Springs. It was great to get the kids out of the house and they loved the big, warm swimming pool. Ashlyn had lots of fun in the shallow end. She spent a long time pushing "Baby James" (the blue ball) around in the float ring. She loves little James Olbinski so her pretend babies now carry his name.

The girls all had a fun time going out for "tea" one afternoon. This was Nana's birthday request and we had so much fun!

These girls love any excuse for a tea party!

Barbara, Bonnie, Kris, Joy, Bonnie, Ashlyn and Jasmine

On Friday we had a Thanksgiving Dinner together (I didn't seem to get any pictures from this though) and then the cousins had an early Christmas as they exchanged gifts with one another. Let me tell you though, as a kid it is so hard to have presents out all day, but you don't get to open them until the evening. They were bursting at the seems by the time "present time" arrived!

"Hurry up and take the picture so we can open the presents!"

Micah was so excited to get Cars 2! He has been talking about the dvd since he saw the movie in the theater this summer. It was first thing on the agenda for Saturday morning!

Ashlyn loves dressing up so she was excited to get this new Snow White dress and some shoes to match.

While we were all together we got some pictures of the family. Here's Papa and Nana with their 6 grandchildren. We also received news this week that #7 is on the way! Bobby and Joy are expecting a baby in May!

In case you hadn't noticed, this is one dedicated Bronco family! Even one of the cars is Bronco blue!

Boise State played Texas Christian on Saturday and while some of the crew braved the cold to go see the game, the rest of us went to Joy's brother's house to watch it in the warmth of a beautiful home. It ended up being a sad day as BSU lost to TCU by one point, and with it lost hope for a BCS bowl game this year. But the kids had lots of fun playing outside while we were watching the game.

Go Broncos!

Cousins!

Micah and Josiah found this fun toy and ran it til the battery died.

Josh and Ashlyn

I thought it was freezing outside, but that didn't stop these kids. They had so much fun playing in the ditch behind the house. Not quite sure what they were doing, but I guess it was fun.

Ashlyn was in heaven driving herself around on this vehicle!

While we were watching the game, Nathan was busy in Chicago unloading our moving truck. We were grateful that several men from the church came over to help him get all our stuff out of the truck and into the house.

Our new home in Chicago! And our new van in the driveway. We so wish that we could have that vehicle for our cross-country drive. But our drive in the Accord will make us appreciate the van all the more.

I love the tree in the front yard! But Nathan was less than excited about it. Between this one and the tree in the back, he filled up 18 bags of leaves!

All good things must come to an end. Sunday was the last day of our Truax family reunion as the Thomas family was heading back to CA on Monday, and the kids and I were heading north with my parents to Washington. It was a hard day knowing that good-bye was coming, but was still a wonderful day together. We enjoyed going to church with Bobby and Joy (we even got to hear Bobby teach in Sunday School), then lunch out at Chapala.

Bonnie and I took the opportunity during nap time to get away for a few hours to reminisce over a cup of tea. She was a big influence in us moving to CA in 1998. During our time there we had the blessing of having her live with us for a few years and then later being neighbors down the hall at Oaktree. And even when she moved ALL THE WAY out to Ventura (it seemed so far away at the time), we still saw each a few times a month. God has been so gracious to give us much time and MANY memories together in our adult years. The greatest blessing has been raising our children together through early childhood. I'm so grateful that our kids very best friends are their cousins. Leaving them is the hardest part of leaving CA. But, we're hoping for a visit this summer so we can begin to explore the Mid-West together!

So thankful for the blessing of a sister!

For dinner we enjoyed some yummy clam chowder, compliments of Uncle Micah. Just this past week Lure Fish House (the restaurant that he manages in Camarillo) celebrated its 1st Anniversary. Way to go Micah! You've done a great job with the restaurant! Maybe you should consider opening one in Chicago?!

In the morning we reminded the boys that this would be their last day to see each other for a while. That's a big deal when they've seen each other at least once a month for all their lives. It was great to see them have a wonderful day playing together!

 Before heading to bed, Josh and Josiah had special traveling presents for Micah and Ashlyn.

Ashlyn got some lacing dolls

And Micah got a license plate game. We love looking for all the different license plates whenever we travel. This is the perfect thing to help us track all the ones we find on our way to Illinois.

Pajama clad cousins ~ It was a late night as we were letting them have lots of extra time to play together.

And of course, lots of extra pictures too!

I love getting fun pictures of these two crazy boys!

One more picture of Josh and Ashlyn. I was actually a bit surprised at Ashyln's response to saying good-bye. I didn't think she'd really understand, but as soon as I told her it was time to say good-bye to Josh, she burst into tears. The tears came flooding again the next morning when she realized he really was gone. So sweet to see their love for one another. So sad to separate them by two thousand miles.

As I said, it was a late night, especially for the two older boys. We were all hanging out in the living room, and Josiah and Micah were looking at Nana's pictures on her phone. Joy happened to notice that Micah was so tired he fell asleep on the couch behind Nana. I was astounded! This kid never falls asleep anywhere but in his bed. So I had to take a picture of it and send it to Nathan.

Soon after I sent the picture, Micah started giggling and opened his eyes. He was totally tricking us, and he got quite a kick out of that. What a stinker! Look at that picture above - didn't he look like he was really asleep?!

The Best of Friends!

One more sleepover for two tired boys.

We are so grateful for the time we had together as a family! (I only wish Nathan could have been there too. We miss him terribly - only 4 more days to go!) We are blessed beyond measure that our family relationship is strengthened by our mutual commitment to Christ. We pray that each one of these precious little lives in our family will also one day commit to following Christ and seek to live their lives to honor and glorify God. Praying, praying, praying for God's work in their hearts!