Three Wishes

Birthday s'mores, of course. My mom always makes different colored candles represent numbers. This is for you mom: This candle stands for 37! 

   I turned thirty-seven as I slept crammed into a tent with Erik and my four children. Above us, pine trees reached for the sky, and alongside our camp the wild Umpqua River flowed on its journey to the sea. I was exactly where I wanted to be, enjoying a long weekend in the forest with the people I love best. I had three unofficial wishes for my birthday and I felt incredibly blessed that they all came true! Here, in no particular order of importance, are my three wishes:

    Crater Lake. The last few years we've made a big poster listing the things we want to do during the summer. I keep writing Crater Lake on it and we keep not making it. This year I was determined to make it happen, and a few weeks ago I told Erik that for my birthday weekend I wanted to go camping and make a day trip to Crater Lake. It was perfect. We had a gorgeous campsite in the forest and spent a day driving around Crater Lake. The whole weekend was full of fun and a relaxing retreat from the responsibilities of life at home.

Yes, I shared. 

    Thimbleberries. This was just a little wish, that I would find ripe thimbleberries on my birthday. I'd seen some growing on the side of the road the day before but they were in a place where it wasn't possible to pull over.  We drove up the road to hike to Tokatee Falls, and there by the parking lot I found a little patch with a few ripe thimbleberries. So yummy; soft, sweet, melt-in-your mouth deliciousness. If you've never had them I suggest you get yourself to the nearest forest and look until you find some. 

Pending Sale!

   We accepted an offer on our house! Yep, you read that right! Our home is officially "pending sale". With three days left until we planned to take it off the market, our realtor negotiated an offer on our behalf while we were happily out of cell range. So, we've been launched into several levels of craziness here, with the targeted closing date only three weeks away. We realize anything could happen between now and then, but we're going full steam ahead. We are thankful, excited, apprehensive, and a whole range of other emotions. It was on my birthday weekend seven years ago that we put in an offer on this home, and Erik started his current position on August 1st of that same year. I thought it would be neat if it all came full circle after seven years, and here we are. 

    And so I enter another year, thankful for the many blessings God has given, and excited to see how He leads as we go forth!