Deuteronomy 22:1

Deuteronomy 22:1  "You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them.  You shall take them back to your brother."

This verse came alive to us today in an interesting way.  I read it in my Bible reading this morning, then  I read an interesting story about some others who tried to live this out concerning a goat they saw out of its pen on a roadside.  Then this evening after I got home from work, my 5 year old son was coming from the neighbor's house where he had been playing, and forgot to shut their gate properly.  Their dog got out and the neighbor had to go after it.  When I heard this, I didn't immediately get up and go help look for the dog to make sure they got it back in the yard.  Honestly, I didn't even think about it until supper time.  I remembered the story about the goat and was telling it to my children when it hit me like a brick in the head:  the dog!  My son and I went to the neighbor's right after supper and he apologized for leaving the gate open (he was very brave and did a good job).  I made sure the dog had been found, which it had, and apologized for not coming to help find it sooner.  I am hoping that this experience helps me to be quicker to do what is right in the future, and I know that our visit helped heal relations that were strained by this with our neighbor.

Here is another fun puppet show regarding this passage:  http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/1060624/jewish/Miracles-Tales-of-Rabbi-Chanina-ben-Dosa.htm
It is taken from a Jewish story about Rabbi Chanina who took literally Deuteronomy 22:1-2.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Sea Kayaking

Mt Iliamna was out on our way to Homer the morning of our trip.  I also took the picture of Mt Redoubt from my last post at this same time and place.

I am so proud of myself for being able to post this.  I used to be afraid of kayaks, but was very interested in hearing about other people's experiences sea kayaking.  This year for a belated anniversary celebration, Tim and went down out of Homer and experienced a day of sea kayaking with a man and his wife and a group of 5 others on the other side of Kachemak Bay.  I hope this won't be our only experience... I'd love to get some of our own kayaks and do this more, and even get the kids into it!

That is me at the back of our sea taxi ready to go over the Kachemak Bay to our island kayaking adventure.

Tim on the back of the sea taxi

That is the only pic of us together that came out :(.  We were exploring a little grotto and also got to see some cool little red birds on the cliffs.

My faithful partner and kayaking buddy.

Our guides behind a natural arch of rock near the grotto

Here our guides are displaying what will be part of our lunch - bull kelp

They also showed us some other edible plants on a little island which they chopped up and added to a salmon chowder that was quite tasty.  They served it with homemade bread a butter.  It was delicious!

 

Summer has come to an end officially

This summer was wonderful and busy with the kids being home, three families coming to visit, and working in between times.  Tim started a raised bed garden with hoop houses that did fairly well for the first year.  Jaedyn and Eliana played soccer.  Josiah and Ciara took swimming lessons.  All the girls went to camp.

Abby and Elly at the bow getting the full experience

Laurie, Josh, Jaedyn, Abby and Elly

Josiah, Ben, Bob, Jaedyn and Jessa

I am posing before Alialak Glacier

Now school has begun and the kids have finished their first week.  Josiah is in kindergarten.  Eliana is in 3rd grade.  Jaedyn is starting junior high, and Ciara is starting high school.  It was not a hard transition to put my youngest into school this year, as he has been chomping at the bit to do it for over a year now.  Even now he is asking me to go talk to his kindergarten teacher to "give him more challenging work".

I started a new job at the end of May, and that has been a good transition.  I work with great staff and we keep very busy.

In July my sister's family came at the beginning of the month.  You may have read about that in my last blog.  At the end of the month Tim's sister's family came out.  (Pictures above on a Fiord Glacier Cruise with them).  We did some of the same activities, but with a bigger group of kids, but also went on a wildlife cruise out of Seward and went to see the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage.  Our time with them went wonderfully and we hated to see them go.

At ANHC Ciara, Josiah, Jaedyn and I

Three of the kids got to ride on a cart pulled by the Iditarod champion dogs

Last weekend Tim's brother, Andy, and his wife Monica stopped in for a couple days at the end of their tour of Alaska.  It was great to connect with them again, although I had no time off to take.  We did get to hike to Russian Falls and see the salmon there with them, which I never have been able to do before.

Russian River Falls...and salmon trying to climb these things!

Monica and Andy at Russian River Falls

Josiah and Ciara on the way

A cool, albeit poisonous, red mushroom