White As Snow

Brigham City, UT

Idaho

Last winter while in the freezing northwestern states, a friend told me to adjust...adapt...embrace and become one with the cold. Well, for five VERY LONG days we adjusted...adapted...embraced and became one with the bone chilling, frigid, icy, raw, arctic winds, blizzardous and numbing weather of Idaho. I hope you get the picture....it was COLD!!!!! I'm not sure who was happier to get out of the snow Carl and me...or Spice. We were so excited to say good-bye snowy Idaho and hello sunny California.

Not sure who's walking who?

The morning we unloaded in Idaho it was a whopping 7 degrees and it would be one of those tarped loads...not just one tarp but five. All winter Carl has been trying to get me to buy a pair of long johns but NOOOO I never would. "I'm not wasting money on those things, besides I probably won't even be able to get my jeans on over them." So, the night before we unloaded I wanted to go to Walmart and buy some....oh yeah...long johns. When I told Carl I wanted to stop at Walmart, he was like "What do you want to go to Walmart for?" With a smirky little grin and a very soft voice "to get some long johns for tomorrow." Oh, I wish you could have seen the look he gave me! Without saying a word I knew exactly what he was thinking and then ...it came. "I tried to get you to buy a pair just last week." "No, you did not." "Oh, yes I did. I said, look Lynne, they even have a pair of pink long johns for you. And you just kept right on walking." "No, I didn't. I don't even remember seeing any pink ones....WHATEVER!!" I did get me some long johns...just not from Walmart...from Carl's drawer. They were about 10 sizes too big (Carl strongely disagrees with the size. I wish you could have heard him when I read this to him.) I had those suckers rolled up every which a way but I wore them and yes, I was able to get my jeans on and yes...they kept my legs so, so, so warm! When I told Carlos how warm my legs were he was like, "YEAH...I've been trying to tell you and you wouldn't listen!" Well, I'm listening now.          

The warmth and sunshine of southern California was such a welcomed sight. The fact that I could wear a short sleeve shirt made me a very happy girl. We didn't even mind the fact that our load had to be tarped.  As we were tarping Carl said, "We are getting really good at this...we are tarping professionals." "Yeah, we should start giving tarping classes." From the warm sunny days of southern California off to the warm sunny days of south east Texas. I quickly polished up my little toes one morning and drug out my flip flops. Yes, my feet are as white as white can be but they were glowing with excitement of being free...free of socks...free of boots...free, free, free at last.. for two whole days! Oh yeah, when I say warm I don't mean 80 degrees I mean high 60's low 70's. But after dealing with single digit temperatures...that is warm. Unfortunately, I have had to pack the flip flops back up. We are now in Kentucky. Carl said, "Woman, we just left the cold and you sent us right back into it." Yes, me...I am the one that found the load which means that when I'm complaining about being cold, it will all be directed right back at...ME! Instead of smelling like money, it will be feeling like money!

Getting into a pickle seems to happen to us quite often, our Kentucky delivery was certainly no different. We had to deliver to a town that is built up in the mountains...not good. Traveling up skinny two-lane curvy roads in the dark in a big truck is always a stressful event...now...add getting lost on top of that! We called for directions but the guy had no idea where we were. He tried giving us some directions for where he thought we were and said,"If you go past the CVS Drugstore, you have gone too far." Well, just great we were right there at the drugstore and it's not like we could just whoop that truck around. So our reliable Tom-Tom...NOT..told us there was a fuel stop just ahead. That fuel stop ended up being a little gas station with a bridge that looked too low for us to get under...can you say OMG! There just happened to be a Pizza Hut right there. It didn't really have a drive, the parking lot just kind of opened up to the road, so Carl hooked it in there. Now, there we are...it's dark...we're taking up the whole parking lot and no where to go. Carl jumps out and goes inside to ask the Pizza Hut people if they could give us some directions. It was quite obvious by the look on Carlos' face that he was totally lost. So, in situations like this...you pay the delivery boy to escort you to the delivery sight. With the pizza delivery boy leading the way off we went. I bet you are wondering how in the world we got turned around. Would you believe there was an ally behind Pizza Hut, so we back up into it and were able to make a sharp enough turn to get turned around. Was the LORD watching over us or what! You may be thinking but you got lost...yes we did...but, in probably the only place in town that had room for us to get turned around...plus the pizza boy was there with no deliveries to make. So yes...God was there...He's always there...in EVERY situation!

Oh yeah...let me add in my experience with Spice at the delivery sight. She had been in the truck for a pretty long time and really needed to go for a walk. I got her out and off we went to what looked like grass...wrong! Splosh, splosh, splosh right in the mud and water and ice she went. She was going so fast that as soon as I hit the ice my feet started slipping and sliding. When she finally got finished walking ME, she was wet all over. Carl said,"What did you do? Let her lay down and play in the water!" "No, it's dark and I couldn't see the puddles until she starting splashing through them and had me splashing through them after her." Not a fun walk!!

As much as I dislike the cold weather, I do love the beauty of a snow covered mountain or field. Every time I see a field of snow I want to stop and make a snow angel, which I usually do. I love the look of it and even the feel. It has a way of bringing out the child in all of us. It has such a stillness and quietness to it. It has a remarkable way of turning the unsightly things into things of beauty.  Yards filled with junk, trash along the roads, brown dead grass and trees are all covered with the beauty of white fluffy snow. Even at night, as the moon is shining down, the snow just glows through the darkness. The unsightly, becomes a sight of beauty. That is exactly the way it is with us and God. As humans our lives are filled with sin, (the unsightly) but as Christians we can go to our LORD...pray and ask for forgiveness...turn away from our sins and our loving gracious Father washes our sins away until they are white as snow. He turns our unsightly to a sight of beauty. Sometimes we may still see the unsightly in our lives. It may be hard for us to forget about things we have done or said but what a blessing it is to have a forgiving Father. He not only forgives us when we confess our sins...He forgets about them..never to think of them again. Our unsightly, ugly, dirty sin is not just covered up it is completely washed away. It is white as snow.  "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18 I love how the beauty and awesomeness of God makes me think of songs. I don't always remember all the words but just the fact that one phrase or verse sticks in my head helps to keep me focused on Jesus Christ. This time it was a hymn from church and I just kept singing "Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." The name of the song is "Jesus Paid it All". I pray that if you have not turned to Christ and repented of your sins that you will do that now. Turn them over to Him and let Him wash you WHITE AS SNOW! May you see the beauty in yourself that He sees in you. What a glorious, glorious moment that will be!

My Snow Angel

Idaho

I have mentioned before how we always have people begging us for money or food but last week we even had a dog begging for some food. We had stopped in Shiprock, NM to do some grocery shopping. Now, this is a little town that just lets their dogs run free. Every time we stop the parking lot is full of dogs just roaming around. Well, on this day as we were putting up our groceries we heard a knock on the door. It was a man begging for a few dollars to get a hamburger and as soon as he walked off a dog walked up to the truck..sat down ..looked up at Carlos and started barking. It wasn't a mean vicious bark. It was an, "I want something to eat also" bark. Carl said, "Do you hear this dog barking at me? I guess he wants something to eat also." So Carl grabbed some dog food, got out and walked across the parking lot and poured three little piles of dog food. One pile for each dog that was standing there. I told him,"Not only do we help two legged beggers we also help the four legged ones. I must say though, Spice was not thrilled at all about us giving her food away.

Now for an update on Spice. She has adjusted very nicely to her new life as a trucking dog. The riding part anyway. The snow, the sand spurs, the stickers and lack of grass are still a work in progress. Oh, and being on a leash...she really dislikes that. We bought a retractable leash and when that thing tightens up on her she goes to bucking and a jerking like some kind of a wild animal.  She will see something, take off after it and the leash will run out before we can catch up with her, which results in her acting like a crazy dog. The other night I was out walking her and she kept getting closer and closer to a little ditch, which was filled with water, and then she saw something and off she went. I jerked on the leash...she jerked back and pulled my feet right out from under me...flat on my bottom I went. One night with Carl she got the leash wrapped around her tail and in the process of trying to get it off she got it wrapped around her nose. She was bucking and jerking trying to get it off but the more she jerked the tighter it got. She wouldn't be still long enough for Carl to get it off. She ended up pulling it so tight that she had herself pulled side ways. I always wipe her paws off before she gets back in the truck but the other night after walking her Carl said,"Better get the heavy artillery!" I looked down at her feet and they were just as muddy as they could be. It was dark, and she found herself a little mud-hole to walk through before her daddy realized it. For fourteen years she has eaten only dog food but in the last five weeks she has eaten everything under the sun. She has found more ham bones, chicken bones, and leg bones ever thought possible. When we take her out for a walk, she is on a mission, a mission to find a bone. We try really hard to watch her but she has a nose on her better than any hound dog. She can find those things and have them in her mouth before we even know what is going on. And oh my goodness, don't even try to take it away from her...talk about a dog going crazy. It is never a dull moment with her. Most of the time I feel like I am living an episode of "I love Lucy" and now we have us a "Lucy dog." She just cracks us up!!

Every night before going to bed she has to go back up front, check things out
and then she stands there looking back through the curtain at us.

Life is great!

Getting ready to bomb somebody!

Do you see his snowball?

Til We Meet Again!
Only By Grace!
    Lynne

Surrounded by God's Beauty

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." and it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

Working our way from Mississippi to Washington...one beautiful state after another. No matter how many times I ride through the Western states I am always amazed at the beauty of each one. The last time we were out that way everything was covered with snow. This time it was all green with bursts of yellows, purples and oranges from all the wild flowers. The streams, rivers and lakes were crystal clear....like looking through a piece of glass. I loved looking out my window watching the rushing streams as we were riding down the highway. It was like riding through a painting. We even got to travel in the light of a full moon and didn't have to try to peek through towering trees to see it.



Full moon peeking through clouds in Wyoming



Northern Idaho



Northern Idaho is a lot different from southern Idaho



Northern Idaho full of mountains. Southern Idaho is  a lot
flatter with farm land..potato country

 I am always hoping to see wild horses and cowboys. No wild horses this trip but I did get to see me some Montana cowboys. They probably thought I was crazy because I was hanging all out the window with my camera taking pictures. They just waved and smiled with a smile that said "You've never seen a man on a horse!" Why, yes I have but not one in a cowboy hat and tight jeans riding across the hills of Montana.



Montana Cowboys



Montana



Montana



Montana



Montana

The weather was perfect. Cool nights and mornings but as soon as the sun starting peeking through, the temperatures started rising. We got so tickled because Washington had weather advisories a few days before we got there. The temperatures would be soaring into the 80's....what?? We are used to temperatures soaring into the high 90's low 100's....now that calls for a weather alert. Even though the afternoons were warm, the water was still very cold..just think about it a few months ago there was snow and ice everywhere. But that didn't bother those people, they are some water loving folks. Every creek, stream, river and lake had people in it. We saw more people enjoying the water than we do when we go to Florida. Boats, jet skis, canoes, rafts, kayaks...if it went in the water they had it. I can't image swimming in freezing cold water but if you live up here and you love the water...you do what you have to do. I do love the water but swimming and skiing in freezing temperatures just isn't on my bucket list of things to do. We also saw a lot of bike riders....not motorcycle bikers....bicycle bikers...in the mountains.....up and down, up and up and up the mountains. I am sorry but riding a bike in the mountains is also NOT on my bucket list. Every campground was packed with campers, motor homes and tents. Oh my goodness, and if the campground was near water you can bet it was packed. Some of them looked like little towns with tents stacked on top of one another...it was crazy. I wouldn't mind camping in a camper with a toilet and running water but getting up in the middle of the night traipsing through the woods to a bathroom is not my idea of fun. So, I guess you know what else is not on my bucket list. By now you're probably wondering what is?



Couer d' Alene lake...Idaho



Rimrock lake, Washington



Wanetchee National Forest, Washington



Another lake in the Wanetchee National Forest

One of the things that amazes me the most is how the landscaping changes within each state. We saw more changes in Washington than any other state on this trip. The northeastern part was farm land nothing but fields as far as the eye could see. The northern middle part of the state was mountains then over to the northwest...the coast. Our final stop was the very top...coast and mountains....absolutely beautiful. As the landscaping changed, so did the temperatures. We went from hot to warm to chilly and from sunny to overcast to rainy. The one thing that never changed was the beauty of it all.


Washington farm land- outside Spokane, Washington



As far as the eye could see



Rolling hills and farm land..beautiful



LC is not a fan of the mountains



White Pass, Washington

Washington coast



Cathlamett, WA...riding the coast

It is always nice when we can find view points to pull into so we can take in all the magnificent wonders of God's work. Of course, those view points usually lead to some hiking. Carl quickly told me on one occasion before I had time to say a word "Now we are not hiking on this stop." Right...only because it was a steep cliff and there was no hiking trail...other wise you know what we would have been doing!


Columbia River, Washington
No hiking here...only because of the steep steep cliff



Carl is learning a little history



A river in Wanetchee National Forest, Washington that ran along side
of the road. Another beautiful stopping/viewing point.

Carl would not put his feet in



Just had to put my feet in and yes it was very cold!

Sometimes our loads can get us in a pickle and this was one of those loads. We had to travel some narrow winding roads along the coast to get to our destination. It was beautiful but I am afraid I am the only one that really got to enjoy it. Carl was having to focus on all his surroundings.. me on the other hand...I was hopping from one side of the truck to the other trying to take pictures. Carl tried to imitate me at one point and was like "Which way do I go...which way do I go?" There were views on both sides and I could not decide which side was prettier.



On our way to Cathlamett, WA to make our 2nd drop
Helena, MT was our 1st drop



Road to Sequim, WA for our final drop



Where we made our 2nd drop..Cathlamett, WA



Carl contemplating the game plan

God's amazing beauty is everywhere and in everything. We just happened to be in enjoying the beauty of the west. I hope no matter where you are that you can enjoy the beauty around you. The beauty of the stars shining bright at night or the sounds of the owls as they hoot in the dark. Sit outside and watch the sky change colors as the sun is setting. Watch and listen to the birds as they call one another during the day. Listen to the rain as it is falling on the roof. Just sit and take in all the beauty around you. Listen for the still small voice of Jesus speaking to you.
 "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10a

Til we meet again!

Only by Grace!

       Lynne