Unexpected

This week we have had some unexpected things happen.  Some have been good, and some – well, not so good.  On Sunday, the church in which we were ministering gave us money for new truck tires.  This was a great blessing, since our tires have about 80,000 miles on them (they are rated for 60,000 miles), and really needed to be replaced.  We had prayed about this need, and God saw fit to answer in a miraculous way! 

We also had an unexpected side trip – to Montana.  It seems hard to believe, but it is one of the few states we have not visited in our travels.  Another is Hawaii, but I’m not holding my breath for making it there this summer! :)  We were just a few miles away, so we drove into the great state of Montana and had lunch there!  This was the first sign we saw after entering the state.

That’s what I call a great sign!

 

Gotta love the name of this guy – wonder how he got that moniker?  Perhaps indigestion?

We also stopped at the Little Bighorn Museum where George Armstrong Custer met his famous end.  It was a blistering hot day, and as the ranger explained the battle, I could see the tragedy unfolding in my mind.  Abigail, after listening to the story, asked this question: “So, who were the bad guys?”  Let this quote from the memorial wall answer the question.

It is obvious from these quotes that the Indians were only protecting their homes, lands, and freedoms.  The white men were definitely the aggressors and therefore, the “bad guys.”  It was a great opportunity to explain the principles of freedom and the need for its preservation.

Monument to all the fallen soldiers, buried in this mass grave on the top of the hill.

This is where the battle took place, with each white marker representing where a US Cavalry soldier fell.

White markers were placed for the fallen soldiers, and red ones for the fallen Indians.

After our short field trip, we headed back through Wyoming with the plan of heading toward Yellowstone National Park for a few days with our family.  The country is beautiful out here.

However, while driving through the mountains, we had another unexpected event.  Our truck overheated.  Several times.

Cooling down – with the benefit of a magnificent view!

And again…

We ended up turning around and heading back to Sheridan, WY in hopes that we can figure out why the truck is overheating and hopefully fix it (at minimal cost).  In the meantime, our mini-vacation has to be postponed.  We are hoping that we will still have time to go after getting the truck fixed, but right now , all is rather uncertain. 

Here is the scenic overview where we turned around.

I also managed to get some pictures of the kids as they played on the side of the road. They were having a great time, even though we were having truck issues.

Diggin’ in the dirt

Canadian goldenrod

Trying to call for help

Studying the Prairie Field Guide

Love these little guys!

I kinda like these gals, too!  :)

Everybody say, “Cheese and pickles!”

I guess the moral of this story is that unexpected things will happen.  When they are good things, praise the Lord, and when they are not-so-wonderful things, praise the Lord, and enjoy the everyday blessings that He gives us.  I am so thankful for my family, and also for the Lord’s protection and provision. 

Independence Celebration

I never know where or how we will celebrate our nation’s birth from year to year, and as a consequence, it varies a great deal.  This year was by no means an exception.  We ended up with some college friends in Colorado and they kind of took us in hand and included us in all their plans.  We left early in the morning to go to the Fourth of July parade in the next town over.  We had to get there a bit early to get seats on the sidewalk, and then, of course, all the shady spots were already taken.  It was a nice day, though, and it wasn’t too hot unless you were in the direct sunlight for a long time.

Here we all are, lined up in our chairs.

The lady who lived in the house behind where we were sitting was rather inconsiderate and kept asking us to move down, for what reason we never did figure out, since no one sat in the place we had vacated.  As the parade progressed, she kept spraying the parade participants with the garden hose, and drawing the return fire of the ones who had fire hoses and water guns.  By the end of the parade, we were all soaked, since we had been directly in the crossfire.  Oh, well. 

Here are the girls with Jack, the pastor’s new puppy – he really was so cute!

The guys – waiting for the parade to begin

The parade began with the flags and the firemen, carrying a banner honoring the 19 firemen who lost their lives earlier fighting the forest fires in Arizona.  It was a sobering reminder that people are still giving their lives for our safety.  There are nineteen families who are grieving a terrible loss this week.

Rural parades are so very different from the big city parades.  There tend to be a lot of old vehicles, farm tractors, and makeshift floats on wagons.  Definitely not the Macy’s parade, but very fun and appealing in a down-home sort of way.

The kids thought this bicycle was totally awesome.  The adults wondered among ourselves how one mounted and dismounted this vehicle without personal injury…

There were also horses – lots of horses.  This is the local rodeo royalty.

And you thought Santa lived at the North Pole!  :)

More horses and cowboys

Another cool truck – Josiah wants one of these

A huge tractor hauling a giant, flag-painted bale of hay

The local tractor dealership squadron

And of course, there was a lot of candy.  Most of ours got soaked, though, thanks to the exuberant hose-toting woman behind us.  Makes for a sticky mess.

Good place to keep your spare candy!

This is way too much sugar for my kids!

Don’t they look happy about it, though?

I love this picture.  In a way, it reminds me of one of those activity book pictures that says “Which one does not belong?”  Daniel didn’t have a red shirt, and he didn’t want to wear his hat.  Love the independence of this picture!

Later, at the rodeo grounds, my kids put on their own rodeo, complete with bucking broncos…

Look at that ornery face!

My cowgirl wanna-be. 

Ride that bronc!  I want to say here, that it is extremely difficult to take pictures of bronc riding and bull riding.  You have 8 seconds to get a shot of a wildly moving target – if they can stay on that long!  I was not able to get any of the bull riding for this reason – none of them was able to stay on for even 8 seconds!

Barrel racing – fastest time of the night was 17.78 seconds

And of course, after the rodeo was over, there was a pretty good fireworks display!

All in all, we had a wonderful time together, enjoying our freedom and celebrating the great nation that God has given us.  God Bless America!

Still Thankful #4

I am thankful for our Veterans.  Those brave men and women who have given their lives to serve and protect our country deserve a special day of honor.  I have never served in the military, but I have a lot of friends and relatives who have.  These people know the meaning of sacrifice, and sadly, too many people take them for granted.  I have the highest respect for those men and women in uniform.  The freedoms we enjoy on a daily basis would not be except for the efforts of others.

Thank you to all our servicemen and women.  Happy Veteran’s Day!