The Winds of Change

Summer is coming to a close. The days are getting shorter, the temperature is dropping slowly and if you take a moment to notice, you can just barely smell fall in the air. Or maybe that's just wishful smelling. We had a very busy summer including lots of travel, a new job for Andy, an offer on our house and a move to Casper, WY.

The latter two happenings came about in the last three weeks, so I am still spinning a bit. Casper is a 2.5 hour drive north of Cheyenne in a valley the locals lovingly call Paradise Valley...Though I have only lived here less than a week, I have a couple of better names that I will share with you if you would please pardon the "snark". The first that comes to mind is "Wind Valley". I thought Cheyenne was bad. Before we moved to Wyoming, Trudy (of Trudy's Kitchen in Idaho City) asked why we were moving to Wyoming and was I aware that the women in Casper are usually (a) pregnant because there is nothing to do   (b) sporting some huge calves because they are constantly trying to fight the wind just to walk. hmmm. Ok, how about "Could You Please Shut Your Dog Up Valley". I probably don't need to explain that one. Then there is "Teeth Are Optional Valley". That too needs no explanation.

Actually, all snarks aside, Casper is great and we don't really care where God takes us. He always knows what is best for us, so we just go with it. So here's news: I am really trying to work on my complaining nature. Oh yeah, I know you are all laughing right now...well Ha Ha Ha! Mariah shared with me a statistic that the average American complains about 73 times a day.
My first thought was "yeah, that is sooooo true...glad I don't complain that much!"
My second thought:  "...well what IS complaining anyway. Can't you just make factual observations without complaining?".
My third thought: "...boy, why am I getting so defensive with my own thoughts..maybe I really DO need to work on my complaining nature."
My fourth thought: "you are so right, Genesis, you really do complain allot. By the way, why are you talking to yourself?"

One thing I have discovered is that not complaining is easier said than done. All I have to do is get in the car and pull out of the driveway and I am already at 53 complaints. So I have been focusing on the the things I am grateful for and in no way deserve. I have a beautiful son and a husband that loves God more than anything, a great family and fantastic friends, the closing on our house is next week, we have a very well furnished, very affordable apartment thanks to a Christian couple that wanted to house missionaries! We also have a new church in Casper and I already have 2 activities planned with 2 ladies I met this week. But more than anything, I am grateful that I have a loving God and am forgiven...even for complaining.

Before we could move we needed to figure out what to do with our beloved kitty, Salem. He is a sweet lap cat, loves to cuddle, adores Quinn and can catch a mouse in 3.5 seconds. He then smothers them to death by sitting on them...nice. On the other hand, he is 10 years old, will pee on any fabric you leave on the floor and has the worst case of kitty halitosis I have ever smelled, so I didn't have much hope of finding him a new family. Thanks to social networking and living in an area of the country with lots of ranches, Salem has finally gotten a good job! He is now a barn cat companion to a kitty-loving friend. His resume was perfect for the job: over 9 years experience, loves the outdoors and can survive the harshest of winters (he went on a 3 month walk-about in the dead of winter in Idaho City). He has a nice warm barn and a good friend to pet him. I will miss that kitty, and so will Quinn.

So here we sit in Casper: debt free, pet free and ready to get going in this final phase before our mission to Ireland. Andy has settled into his new job and we are continuing our support raising for the mission. Quinn adapts to new situations very easy and is having a good time in his new house. He is also very relaxed due to the fact that he has a jetted tub in his bathroom...seriously.