Monsterful

Monsterful

An obsolete word (origin 1810) that means “wonderful and extraordinary.” (From “27 Delightful Obsolete Words We Really Need to Start Using Again”)

 

In about a week we’ll be leaving Arizona for our summer travels. This will be the fifth year that we have been traveling around in our RV during the summer, doing volunteer projects with MMAP (Mobile Missionary Assistance Program.) FIVE YEARS! Wow, the time has flown by and I can’t believe we are setting out for the fifth season with MMAP. 

When I first began to consider what’s ahead for us this summer, there was a part of me that thought, “This season may not be as monsterful as the last four.” We have 12 MMAP projects “under our belt” (not as many as some of our MMAP friends, but an average of four each summer.) That’s not too bad for only traveling an average of five months each year. It has allowed us time to accomplish twelve projects and also do a lot of sightseeing and exploring of the country. We’ve always managed to find new places and new things to see in between projects and while going out or coming back home from them. The majority of our travel has been up and down the west coast, but we were fortunate to travel back east a couple of years ago and combine our projects with a lot of exploration of places we had never been before, from Georgia to Maine and back again.

This year we will venture back up to Washington State for the third year in a row. We’re scheduled to do our first project in June at Camp Berachah in the Seattle area. It’s a location we have worked at several other times.  We won’t know our July assignment for a few more days (until the May MMAP newsletter arrives) but we requested to stay put at Berachah in July. However, MMAP HQ asks each MMAP couple to put in for a second and third choice in case their first choice has the maximum number of other MMAP couples assigned to it - or in the event the project location cancels, either because there were not enough volunteers to man the project or the camp has to cancel for one reason or another. Our second choice for July is a project at a church in Eugene, Oregon. August’s project location is an unknown at this time. We won’t know what is available until the May newsletter is sent to us. Then we will make our three choices for August and wait until June to know what that assignment might be. We do anticipate it will be at some location in Washington or Oregon as well.

We’re leaving earlier than the June assignment date because we committed to house-sit and granddaughter-sit for our daughter and son-in-law in mid-May so they can go on an eight-day vacation to Mexico. The 19 year old and 14 year old granddaughters are actually old enough to take care of themselves; hence I think our primary duties will be more dog-sitting then kid-sitting. (They have three dogs, and our granddaughters will have their days full of school and work.)

After a bit of rethinking, I am reconsidering my point of view that this summer will not be monsterful. Even though we’ll be working in places we have been before, we love the Pacific Northwest. We thoroughly enjoyed our past projects at Camp Berachah (the ministry and people there are very special to us), and we always look forward to catching up with family and old friends from the area. Add to that the challenge of taking care of four dogs (their three plus our Zoe) and I can anticipate the potential for many monsterful events. Watch out world……here come the “Grandparent Dog Whisperers.”

Life is not always smooth, but I think the anticipation of exciting adventures just waiting for us around the corners of our lives is what motivates us through the rough patches. Of course, there are no guarantees, but you never know what thrilling things might be in store. And notice, I didn’t say to “worry” about what’s in our future…..rather approach the future (short-term and long-term) with pure anticipation of special occurrences. I’ll keep you updated in our summer blog posts and let you know exactly what our special occurrences turn out to be.

Besides anticipating where we’re going, another thing that motivates me is to reflect back on where we’ve been. I like to consider how we’ve been blessed in each good, bad or mundane event. I made a list of some of the things we experienced this winter in Arizona. Some of the items were truly mundane, others had a price tag attached (and I hate spending money) while others were just plain wonderful and/or extraordinary. I’ve included pictures with some of them. 

OUR ARIZONA WINTER OF 2013/2014:

·        After arriving back home in October of 2013 and getting unpacked and settled in, we went to Kingman, Arizona in November to celebrate Thanksgiving with old friends, Sam & Mary Tozer. Besides feeding us lots of great food, they took us out on an exciting quad ride and local mine exploring in the desert. (Old and new friends are a real gift!)

 ·          In December, we flew back up to Washington for Christmas. We love spending the holidays with our family – and the added perk was being able to use our Southwest Airline points to purchase the tickets….total cost: $10! What a bargain!! (We couldn’t ask for a better bunch of kids and grandkids than the ones God has given us.)

Our Christmas present from the kids was a night out to see Oliver at Seattle's 5th Ave Theatre.

        In January Jim got a new hip. This was a REALLY BIG event. He had suffered for over 10 years with hip pain. The surgery went very smoothly. He only took a few Tylenol to control the pain and made a quick recovery. He is now in great shape! (We attribute the rapid healing to a good surgeon, a hardy and determined patient – but most of all because of the numerous prayers from friends and family.)

Jim was up and walking in less than two hours after the surgery. AMAZING!

 ·        From January to April 15^th, I worked a second season at H&R Block. I truly appreciate the people I work with. It’s a great office and a great group of folks. I won’t miss the work – but I will miss the people. (Although this “work” stuff cuts into my “play” time while in Arizona, I’m still very fortunate to be able to work this seasonal position to help off-set our summer travel expenses.)

With Bob, my "partner in crime" manning an info table outside the office. He and I and our friends Teri and Ty (not pictured) were the Customer Service Professionals - that's a fancy name for receptionist.

All season long we had this cardboard cut-out of the H&R Block guy. Guess I got carried away....isn't he cute!

·          In April we took advantage of the "free second Tuesday" at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens to take in the Chihully glass exhibit. BEAUTIFUL......and did I mention, FREE!

·          We drove up to Sedona for a two-hour jeep ride in April. Sedona is less than two hours from Sun City. The red rock canyons are so spectacular and this ride was so much fun!!

Here I am with our jeep driver and guide, Wild Bill

 

·          I taught another weekly Bible study with the ladies in my neighborhood. We studied everything from the meaning of grace to what heaven will be like. (I think this is more of a blessing for me than for the eight ladies that join me each week.)

This is one of the books I used when we studied Heaven. I highly recommend it.

·          We worked some more on the front yard landscaping. Jim has really enjoyed learning about desert plants….and another perk – NO LAWN TO MOW!

One of the many flowering cacti Jim has planted. Who would have thought that a cactus could be so gorgeous!

·          We had new dual pane windows installed when we got back in October – the house is so much quieter and were saving on the power bill. We got a new dishwasher – again a real bargain by watching the sale ads. All of the appliances in the house were old and slowly wearing out, so we’re doing replacements a little at a time as finances allow. We also finally moved the laundry room from the garage into the house and Jim converted the old laundry area to a work shop. (These are the “spending money” things that don’t excite me – but the flip side is that each one has a “saving money” aspect attached to it.)

I love my inside laundry room!

I'm starting a "honey-do" list for my man.

 

·          Last, but not least we got a newer car! The old one was pushing 15 years, had over 135,000 miles and was starting to make “funny” noises. We were indeed blessed to find a very decent 2013 Kia Sedona with only 8500 miles on it. (Again - I wasn’t “thrilled” to take on a car payment. We haven’t had one for years - but we found the car via the internet at a local dealership and were amazed at the great deal we got – including a very fair trade in on the old car.)

This is my new "baby" with my old "baby".

 

·          We also continued to enjoy our Sunday school class (we have a fantastic teacher) and our church services are the absolute best! We attended many church and community events. We have a solid group of friends to do things with - like the free Sunday concerts at the Sun Bowl in Sun City; Monday half-priced pizza; and Jim’s weekly outing to play pool with the guys (a freebie at one of the eight recreation centers here in Sun City.)

These free Sunday evening concerts attract thousands of Sun City folks. One of the March concerts was a tribute to the Eagles that drew a record crowd of 7,000. (Oh...and did I mention...it's FREE!)

This concert featured the US Air Force Band of the Golden West - stationed out of Travis AF Base in  California. It's a jazz band and the only active duty Air Force Band west of the Rockies.

Yes, indeed – my rethinking has shown me that it truly was another wonderful winter season in Arizona! And, I’m anticipating that this summer will be just as monsterful!

I’m praying yours will be too.