Life Continues, Despite the Drought

Despite the drought in my blog writing, life continues.

March has brought with it many pleasant surprises, much spiritual growth, and beautiful spring weather.

I survived my big project at work, Career Day last week.  I believe it went really well, and it was nice to read the comment of one of the students who said listening to one of the speakers made her really think about going to college.  To me, that is what Career Day is all about.
 
We have started a home group at our house on Sunday evenings through our church, Mountain Valley Congregation Church, and it has been such a blessing.  We are doing Rick Warren's "Forty Days of Community" which challenges us to share and pray with one another, encourage and serve one another at church, and do a project in the community.  We have the wonderful opportunity to help a woman who runs a local daycare fix up her yard, a task she is unable to do.  We are also going to relieve the workers at another church in the valley who do a soup kitchen once a week.

I have found I have needed this group to help me focus on the needs of others.  I tend to isolate myself, and focus on my own needs so much, that I don't look at the world around me and what God wants me to do for others in my community.  This group is helping me do that, and I am so thankful that my focus is changing.

 I had a wonderful weekend.  Friday night Paul and I entertained at a dinner at the Shoshone Golf Course, and had a wonderful time.  Then I got up early Saturday morning, picked up my mom and drove to Lewiston for Kiki Aru's basketball tournament.  My cousin LM picked Mom up in Lewiston and drove her to Orofino to spend the night with her sister.

On Sunday, Kiki Aru and I drove to Orofino and had a wonderful lunch at my cousin's house, and then headed back to Kellogg.  After a little detour that wasn't planned, we made it home.  I think the detour was planned by my Grandma West (who has been deceased almost 20 years), because the road we traveled on took us to the place where she was born.  We traveled along Cedar Creek Ridge Road, and ended up at Gold Hill.  Very interesting, because we had just been talking about this area at lunch with my cousin.

This summer all the Orofino family is planning a reunion, and hopefully we will take a road trip to Grandma's birthplace, as well as "The Ranch" where Mom lived until she moved into Orofino.

Z2 went to the District Speech Competition this weekend, participating in Duo Interpretation.  Her and her friend RC got third place, and will be going to State Competition in Pocatello next month.  I am so proud of her!!  PKR had six of his students qualify for state, which he is very excited about.

Spring break starts at the end of the week.  I hope to get a lot of organizing done and possibly even a garage sale at the end of the week.  That would be a big accomplishment!!

I hope to use spring break to get caught up on my sibling assignments.  I think I am behind by about a month and a half.

Hope to write again sooner, rather than later.

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

I'm not taking Simon and Garfunkle's advice to heart very well these days. I'm trying to slow down. I'm trying to "Feel Groovy". But I'm not quite there yet.

Okay, this life on overload needs to stop here soon. Spring break isn't getting here quite fast enough.

Today PKR hosted the District Speech competition at Kellogg High School. I judged throughout the day, and Z2 competed in the Salesmanship category. She sold RayBan sunglasses. She did pretty good for her first try at Speech competition. KHS had five students qualify to go to state, with many others qualifying as alternates. It was a good day.

I heard some outstanding speeches today. It is always so wonderful to see students really know their stuff, and showcase their talents and knowledge.

Kiki Aru is north of Spokane at a basketball tournament. They had three games today, and I guess they lost all three. But that's okay. It is good for them to get some good competition. That is what makes them better.

Unfortunately, one of their teammates had a tragedy happen which may have shook them up a bit today. Yesterday morning, Barney's, a grocery store in Pinehurst, was burglarized. The manager, who is the father of one of the Kiki Aru's teammates, was held up at gunpoint, tied up, and his jaw broken by the burglar. He is in the hospital in Coeur d'Alene. It is always a bit unsettling when our seemingly "idyllic" life here in the Silver Valley get rocked by something like this type of crime.

It reminds me of being in about 5th or 6th grade, and someone was shot on the road by what was then "Tony's" but now is "Dirty Ernie's". They did the painting of the outline of the body on the pavement, and it was there for quite a while. I remember it always seemed pretty creepy walking by that road, and seeing the outline. But it eventually faded away, as did my memory of the event. But this type of news reminded me of it once again, and the outline on the pavement.

I don't like it when life gets really busy. Wait, let me clarify that statement. I don't like it when my commitments get so many that it seems like life it closing in on me. That is kind of what life is like right now. But it is almost time for spring break, so I'll be getting some down time, I hope.

Happy Spring!!!

A Little Family News To Share

I haven't given an update on recent family events, and I know there are a few of you out there who will be intersted in some of the following tidbits.

**Both Z2 and Kiki Aru qualified to attend State History Day at Albertson's College in Caldwell next month. Z2's group did a documentary titled "The Conflice and Compromise of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe's Culture". Kiki Aru's group did a performance titled "The Conflict of the Salem Witch Trials". I will be traveling with them to Caldwell the second weekend in April.

**Yesterday PKR, The Princess and I (along with about 12 other KHS students) spend the day at Timberlake High School at the District Speech Festival. I went along to help judge the events. For the second year in a row, The Princess qualified for state competition in Retold Story. In this category, you are given 3 different children's books which you read through, then you choose one and retell the story. Two other KHS students also qualified, one in Impromptu Speaking, and one in Oratorical Analysis. PKR will travel to Rupert, Idaho with these students toward the end of April.

**I was talking to my friend SB tonight on the phone, and it looks like they have two extra tickets to the Elton John concert in Pullman in April, and asked us if we would like to go with them. We will both be coming back from the State History Day competition that day, so we have to work out the details, but I think it might work. How COOL is that!!! A once in a lifetime experience, if you ask me.

**This weekend Kiki Aru has a AAU bball tourney in North Spokane. My niece TR is coming up to Spokane this weekend play volleyball, so we'll have lots to do with PKR's brother's family in Spokane as well.

**Then we'll have a week home for Spring Break, with nothing major planned, and just some time to relax and take it easy before the onslaught of other activities take over our lives between now and the end of school in June. Such is the life when you have three active girls.

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful day.

He is Risen!!

He is Risen, Indeed!!