A time of Thanksgiving - and reflections on the year

 The sight of these regal birds flying overhead is one I will miss.  We have seen more eagles than ever in my whole life before this year..and they are magnificent.

Spending lots of quality-time with cousins that I never really knew before was another highlight...drives around the Olympic Peninsula, hikes to Marymere Falls (along with several of our guests), the beauty of the San Juan Islands and our quaint little cabin, ferocious domino games around their dining room table, my cousin's culinary skills which he generously shared...all this we will miss.

Renewing of old friendships that have lasted through the years...memorable Sunday "family nights" with Greg & Bobbi, and their son, Jason and Shaundra, with grandson Jake...a friendship that began in 1964;  walking through this year with them as Greg battles cancer;  Joe and Jane's numerous trips to worship with us at SPC from their home in Port Orchard, a friendship that dates back to 1972 when Jane's family and ours moved back to Marshall MO about the same time, and Jane used to babysit with our daughters; Jerry's college fraternity brother and wife who live nearby in Edmonds and with whom we shared several meals...these folks we will sorely miss.  

New friendships in our church family with ties to our past - Stan, who was not only a classmate of my cousin's but also a fraternity brother--and they hadn't seen each other in over 50 years; Chris, our Associate Pastor, who comes out of Eastminster Church in Wichita where Jerry did his first interim; Becki, our Associate Pastor, whose home church is FPC Las Vegas, where Jerry helped out for a couple of months shortly after his retirement because their then-new pastor, Jim HH, had been our Associate in Midland; Donna, chair of the Interim PNC, whose daughter was a seminary classmate of our daughter's at PSCE; Zach, our Youth Minister, who spent one of his college summer's as an intern on daughter Carla's staff at Village Pres in KC;  a church member who introduced us to her mother visiting  from El Paso, who knows well our cousin in EP;  Robert and his family at SPC, whose older brother was one of our "kids" when he was in college at Missouri Valley College and we had an incredible college-age youth group (and you should  hear the story about how we discovered THAT link in our lives!)...all these folks and many many more whose lives have impacted ours in this one short year, we will miss.

Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, the Lavender Festival, the phenomenal flowers that bloom all the time in this part of the country, Snoqualmie Falls, Pike's Market, the Ballard Locks, the salmon running, the gentlest rainfall you can possibly imagine (and almost all the time), orcas, the Space Needle, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, crabbing on the coast, bike-riding and walking on the numerous trails all over the area, a marvelous library right next door to our apartment, Trader Joe's, Costco, Whole Foods--shopping options we had not enjoyed before--all of this we will miss.

And the food--the very best salmon ever; and clam chowder that is unforgettable (so far we haven't found one we didn't like--just some we like better than others; the Thai restaurant right across the street from us; and Pine Lake Alehouse, the closest thing to a British Pub we have found in the US, also almost across the street from us; we will miss this fresh seafood area.

Many many friends whom we were able to see during this year - especially since Seattle is a most desirable place to visit!  Some stayed with us, some we met somewhere for a visit - and all of it was much appreciated.  We are grateful for all of you -- friends and family from Midland TX, Wichita KS, Enid OK, Providence RI, Marshall MO, Kansas City MO, and Phoenix AZ...and if I missed any of you, I apologize.  But we loved your time with us.

We've made so many new friends....our first "new friends"  were Diane & Peter, whom we met a year ago at Bloys Cowboy Camp in Ft. Davis TX.  We saw lots of them this year, as they live close - and we look forward to our reunion at BCC next August.   Our church family has provided us with many new friends.  All of you have touched our hearts in some way, and we will remember our year shared in the great northwest.

Thank you, everyone, for your part in our year in Sammamish - Thank you, Donna, for the pieced quilt  full of pictures of sites in the area..we will treasure it, wrap up in it to keep warm during our RV travels, and think of y'all when we do that.  Please keep in touch--for all of you are an important part of our life. Isn't the Family of God amazing?