Our week didn't exactly start off restful though...
If you remember back to the last post about Idaho, I mentioned that we shortened our stay by a night. This put us into Washington a day early...which was a blessing because of multiple reasons. One of those reasons is that snow was right on our tail. I'm not sure how severe it was, but I am thankful that we didn't have to think about it! Secondly, we had planned an update luncheon to share with everyone about how the trip was going. This required far more work than we had predicted, so an extra day was abundantly helpful.
The first two days we were there we worked morning until night to prepare. We made greeting cards to sell. Alyssa worked countless hours on a slideshow video of our trip. The table settings, food, and arrangements were made. It was tiring, but so worth it in the end! Twenty or so people came from all areas of my life in Washington. It was an incredible show of support and love. There were people from my mom's Moms in Prayer group, a next door neighbor, friends from my Book Club, and others who have been touched by the trip. We showed off our dirt collection from the states we had been; we played the video of highlights while answering questions. I loved hearing what people wanted to know about! Even though Alyssa and I were physically exhausted, this time gave us the encouragement we needed to continue pressing forward to the finish line. Most importantly it showed us all that God had done in and through us during our time of obedience on the road.
Two days later was my birthday. I had not been with my family for a birthday since I turned 18...and I was now turning 25! I LOVE that we were able to arrange our trip so that I could be home for this special occasion. Usually I like to explore for my birthday, but since the past few months had been so full of exploring, I opted for a restful day. My mom made pancakes for breakfast. Yum! For lunch we went to my favorite root beer place...and got delicious hamburgers too! Dinner was full of my favorite foods. Mom even arranged my favorite zucchini side into a 25. Hehe. For dessert we had ice cream sundaes with all foods that I could eat. :D We also spent time decorating Ukranian Easter eggs, which was so relaxing and amazing until mine rolled off the table and broke. :( I also introduced Alyssa to K'NEX which felt like reliving my childhood. It was the best birthday I could have imagined!
Washington had gotten a lot of rain in the weeks leading up to our visit. We heard that Snoqualmie Falls, which we had visited in August, was incredible. Naturally, we wanted to check it out! My mom, brother, Alyssa, and I drove out to the falls...and WOW!! I have never ever seen it this full! It was making us all wet because of the spray. I think I should let comparison photos explain the difference between August and November to you. :)
Our last night in Washington we volunteered with Operation Christmas Child helping them pack up boxes to ship to the processing centers. Ironically it was at the church that I attended in high school. I was able to see the children's director that I volunteered under when I helped in the 2s and 3s room as well as an unexpected meet up with my youth pastor. It was amazing to be able to reconnect with these people. I knew they were special to me in high school, but I had no idea how much their influence would positively shape my future. Anyway, we were blown away by how big the semi truck was that we were filling!!! I love that we had the chance to be a part of something so huge. It may have only been a few hours on our part, but it was making a forever impact. <3
I know I say this often in conclusion of my posts, but this is another week that I will treasure forever. <3 <3 <3
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