Horses -by Nikita

Who's says it has to be real? I mean, right? 

Horse: "Excuse me, just who are you taking a picture of?" 

  

A Trip To Winthrop, WA by Nikita

In May, we went to a town called Winthrop, about 5 hours away, located in the Methow Valley (pronounced Met-how).   Winthrop is a western town. It has wooden sidewalks and old storefronts.  The weekend we went there was an Outfitter's Rendezvous.  (An outfitter is someone who is a guide for hunting parties or individual hunters.) We camped in a local campground Friday & Saturday night. In the park about 8 different outfitters had booths advertising their business, and some had picture books from their travels.

This is the campground office.

Boys tent.  

Girls tent plus Dad & Mom. 

Our campfire and kitchen. 

Cowboy coffee brewing over open fire. 

And when we didn't have a fire going, we used a propane one burner stove. 

Brandy & Hunter 'riding'. Yee-Haw!  

Lacy & Aspen horsin' around.  

Watching the parade.  

The Parade:  

Leavenworth, WA

In April we explored Leavenworth, a Swiss town. About 2 1/2 hours from where we live. We spent the day there one weekend. The houses look like they came right out of Heidi, gingerbread trim, and the snow-covered "Alps" (mountains) in the background. 

This is the gazebo where we cooked our lunch.  

Hunter cuddled up to this bear and said "It's my mommy." 

Cooking the hotdogs over our propane one-burner stove.  

 Getting some energy ran off. 

Outside the pretzel shop, enjoying our buy. Yumm! 

Tulips -Mossyrock, WA

On the last weekend in April, Shane & Hank went to an archery shoot in Moses Lake. The rest of our family drove to a tulip farm in Mossyrock. There was fields of tulips blooming.  It was beautiful to see all the different colors and varieties; 6 petal tulips, and multiple petal tulips similar to a rose.

Hunter Lee -

energetic, enthusiastic, 100% boy, Hank & Shane's shadow, bow shooter

 Aspen Dove -

helpful, bookworm, humorous, full of energy

Lacy Iris -

basketball fan, wants to do what big sis does, cowgirl, intelligent 

Brandy Rose - 

bookworm, muffin maker, gentle, a Laura Ingalls

Nikita jade -

baker, cowgirl, horse fan, decorator, hard worker

field of tulips

Smile :) 

 The multiple petal tulip. 

View from mud to the sky. 

 The 6 petal tulips. 

  The tulip farm had a walk-through garden with lots more pretty flowers...

...

 ...and a small bridge. 

  Underneath this bridge was teeny, tiny tadpoles. They were around 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. 

Our Move to the Mountains

     Last summer, our family had three different opportunities presented to us.  They weren’t just coincidences, they were ‘God-i-dences’!  Each one of them involved moving from our Satus home.  God closed the doors for two of those and continued to open doors and give confirmation for us to pursue this ministry opportunity. 

Bethel Ridge Retreat is nestled at the foot of the Cascade Mountains.  There are two houses on the property for the volunteer staff.  So at the end of September, we moved from our “Satus house” to our “Mountain Cottage”.  We are serving here at Bethel Ridge Retreat as volunteer support staff. 

"The Mountain Cottage"

We moved up to the Mountains, and continue to marvel at God's wonderful creation.  The evergreen trees, the nature all around us, it's just a vast difference in where we moved from in the Satus basin.  Desert, sagebrush, dusty, fine soil(dirt), hot, not much wildlife..

 Patio with steps to the backyard. 

 East facing view

 North facing view

Gregg and Glenna Hires started this ministry to provide and equip couples, families, and individuals with the tools they need to build and maintain healthy families and relationships.  Both have experienced the death of their first spouses, single parenting, and then the blending of their families.  They both have counseling degrees in several areas, including Grief & Loss and Marriage & Family Counseling.  They have a faith-based, not-for-profit office in Yakima at Bethel Ridge Family Resources.  There are two cabin style lodges here in the mountains with 3 bedrooms each, living room with fireplace, fully equipped kitchen, and hot tub on the deck. These cabins are used for private counseling, marriage & ministry retreats, respite for pastors & missionaries, romantic getaways, and special gatherings.  Also, marriages or families in crisis situations can come to the cabins and get intensive counseling for a few days.  There is an Intimate Marriage Weekend Retreat about once a month.  It’s a great place for maintaining your marriage and learning new communication patterns.  Kind of like getting the oil changed in your car.  Being purposeful about ways to better your relationship and communication skills.  It’s also great for newlyweds or engaged couples!  Shane and I attended the last Marriage Retreat and definitely learned new tools for our tool box!  

Gregg & Glenna Hires

Another couple moved about 4 weeks before we did, and are also volunteering here at Bethel Ridge.  Barb takes care of the office work, prepping the cabins, and checking people in.  Dennis does some of the grounds maintenance & hot tub maintenance. 

  

Dennis & Barb Elder- Volunteer Staff