Happenings

Greetings To All:
Overcast. Crisp. Cool days. Chilly nights. These are all ways to describe Salem in the Fall. You can also throw in the word RAIN. While some of you are experiencing frost that kills vegetation, we are experiencing rain. Like Alaskans have about fifyt words to define snow, Oregonians have many words to describe rain. Hey, at least it keeps everything green.

Here's a warning: this entry is of previously undetermined length. So, grab a cup of coffee or a pillow, clear your schedule, and make sure the kids are down for a nap. It seems like so much has happened in the past five weeks since the last entry. I don't know where to begin. Our season on the Ropes Course is winding down. Last week our number of participants broke the 5,000 mark, and there are several more groups to come. Since the frequency of groups is slowing down, Jeff, Bill, and I have been building a new high element for the course. This one will be extremely focused on building trust. I would try to explain it in writing, but pictures would be very helpful. Once it is finished, I'll post some pics.

Another time-consumer has been Kathy being sick. She had a virus, NOT the Swine Flu, that zapped her energy for almost three weeks. She is almost 100% better and is gaining her energy back. We had an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay, and the baby is. The doctor was concerned about a low level of amniotic fluid and prescribed another ultrasound in two weeks to see if the fluid level is up to par. We are extremely thankful and blessed that the sickness wasn't worse than it was. Any of you mothers out there know that your body takes longer to fight and recover from illness when pregnant.

Two of our teammates got married (to each other). Dakota was one of the flower girls for the ceremony. She did a wonderful job. And she looked like quite the little princess. There was a little figgeting five minutes into the ceremony, but she didn't cause a scene.

One of the great blessings we received since the past entry was my mom visiting for ten days. It was good timing with Kathy still being a little sick and things slowing down on the course. We got to spend time with her. One thing we did was visit the old Swartzentruber homestead (no longer in the family) where one of my grandpas grew up. That is in McMinnville. Also while we were there we found an old cemetary where one of my great great grandpas is buried. That was something to see. Beside his grave were three of my what-would-have-been great uncles. They passed away at different times, but none of them lived past their early twenties. Dakota got her picture taken standing next to her great great great grandpa's grave. For some reason that seems special to me. It was great to have mom here. I think she enjoyed it, too.

Oh, our little house just got a little bigger. Because of some other people moving around on base, a loveseat became available. We traded out full-size couch for the loveseat. And as is par for my course with furniture, I thought we weren't going to be able to get the couch out of our door. But, we did; and no windows had to be taken out. The floor space we gained in the living room is very nice.

We're looking forward to sharing more with you, but I've taken up enough of your time for now. Please keep in touch with us. We like to hear what is going on in your lives.

God's Blessings To All,

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Baby