glorious and majesty

So, my first "camping" experience was a lot like my past "camping" experiences ( which basically just proves that Abigail was not meant to rough it), meaning that we were in close proximity to nice clean bathrooms, we ate lots of yummy campfire foods ( super important), sat around chatting with great friends, and finally retired in the back of a truck bed on top of a futon mattress!!! hahah! that's right, I didnt even have to sleep on the ground! awesome! And then we woke up and went to a nearby lodge and ate a breakfast buffet followed by a lovely lounge by Crescent Lake ( if you are ever in need of a vacation spot....that is reasonably priced and has a KNOCK OUT view, I've got some places for you!) and then a nice walk to a totally cool waterfall ( just so that I could feel relatively close to nature)-we then came back to the lake and had a prayer time with Mike and Katie before heading home. In so many ways it was a great way to spend some good quality time with our dearest friends here at Fort Lewis, we're going to miss their friendship SO much! But, I'm pretty sure I deserve any kind of making fun of that people want to do regarding this idea of "camping" ( with air quotes included).

Anyway, after "camping" Brett and I headed home to find Chuck and Bethany in the exact same location on our couch that we'd left them the day before, watching the exact same movie ( granted it was Lord of the Rings Extended Edition... which is long)...but it turns out they had actually moved around a little bit, they had gotten ALL the groceries we needed for our Fourth of July celebration (which was soooo great of them, I can't tell you how much I hate going to the grocery store sometimes!) and so with Bethany's help with all the side dishes and Brett and Chuck doing all the grilling our Fourth of July food was pretty much on par with Thanksgiving dinner ( i.e. I felt incredibly over full after)....and waaaay low key and relaxing. Oh! And now to my favorite part, we watched fire works in Steilacoom ( I've decided this is what Stars Hallow would be like on the west coast), at a small park overlooking Puget Sound-with dear friends ( I know I've mentioned that I'm glad Daniel and Tim are back, but seriously, I am so grateful!) ...we could see small towns all along the edge of Puget Sound having their various fireworks shows as the sun slowly began to set...and then at 10:30pm (finally!) we saw one of the closest most intense firework shows I've ever seen! It was truly incredible.

Of course, during this truly amazing few days my heart has been incredibly heavy and prayerful for the Hiebert Family and all of Kathy's friends and family who truly lost a dear one on Thursday. I know that God has a plan for those left behind and He was truly gracious for taking her Home and yet I know she would appreciate it if everyone would continue to pray for her five children and her husband Todd, I know my heart is with them right now....I cannot imagine their loss...