It hardly seems possible that yet another twelve months has come and gone, but the automatic date here on my computer confirms it. 2008 has arrived, leaving behind, for my family at least, a monumentous year. I guess I’ll just start at the beginning….
January of 2007 brought to town (Portland, not Welches!) one of my most-beloved entertainers, Barry Manilow. I, of course, was there and it was, of course, magical. I am sure other things happened in January, but, for the life of me, I don’t remember them, so moving on….
Naomi, Nattie and I went to see the Broadway touring production of “Annie” in Portland during February. I was able to teach the girls the fine art of hanging around the stage door after the show to snag autographs and pictures, which paid off big time when I was able to take a picture of my youngest daughters with “Annie” herself, Marissa O’Donnell. Someday I am certain they will understand the great importance of things like that!
February also brought the arrival of our little guinea piggies, Joey, Pablo and Nellie! We were all quite delighted at the addition of these little critters to our family, although Bindy would never in a million years admit to that delight. (Pablo and Nellie are no longer with us, but Franklin and Juan Carlos have been great additions to our family as well!!)
In March, we joined our BFF’s, the Roush Women, & Jenna, for a road trip to Disneyland. It was the third visit to the Magic Kingdom in three years for me and the girls, but was no less wonderful! A highlight for me was watching my little girls enjoy the parks with their friends.
On the return trip, we met up with Butch in Eugene and watched my beloved South Medford Panther Basketball team capture the state 6A title. I have to admit that I still watch the video I shot of the post-game celebration at least once every week. That win truly was one for the ages and is not a moment that I ever hope to forget. Oo, ah, it is good to be a Panther!
April brought the return of youth sports to my immediate family as Nattie succumbed to peer pressure and joined the Welches Girls 10-U Softball team, quickly establishing herself as their star pitcher. We all got a great deal of delight out of watching Nattie’s games. This was especially true for Butch, who helped out as the “parent pitcher” when needed. It was his first experience with a direct family-involvement with youth sports. He was quite fond of it I think!
The good weather we experienced on the mountain this Spring helped move along the construction of a brand new pool at Camp Arrah Wanna. It was the second major construction project undertaken during my tenure at camp and, once again, I learned a lot in the process.
May proved to be a prophetic month, although that really wouldn’t be known until later into the summer. Having resigned my position at Arrah Wanna in January, effective at whatever time frame turned out to be the best for camp, I had begun a tentative job search in the Gresham / Sandy / Welches area. Butch had resigned his position with SOS Staffing as well, and we were busy planning and mapping out our futures, or so we thought. We’d made the decision to stay in the Mountain / East county area, and our (futile) job-search focus was in that same geographical area. At a dinner in May, my good friend, the Reverend Kent Harrop, mentioned a future job opening at his church in McMinnville and, unbeknownst to me and Butch, that proved to be both the beginning, and the end, of our transition plans. But first, the summer months….
June, July, and August always run together when you run a camp, but some of the highlights of the summer for me included two staff weddings, the chance to be a counselor at our own elementary camp, a mid-summer long weekend in Medford, a few different opportunities to celebrate birthdays with some of our friends, the completion of the afore-mentioned pool at camp, the hiring of my successor, Lake O football weekend at camp, and our second wedding anniversary in August. Butch and I take turns planning our various celebrations each year, and 2007’s anniversary fell to me. I chose a day at the zoo, followed by an evening at PGE Park watching baseball. It was perfect weather, perfect company, and a perfect day for Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith!
The best part of the summer at camp is always, hands-down, getting to hang out with the incredible young people that Arrah Wanna has blessed my life with. Summer of 2007 was no exception. From the familiar faces and names that returned to my staff, to the new members of the family, these kids remain some of the most-important, and loved, people in my world. I can’t imagine my life without them. Knowing that this was my last summer at camp only served to make the moments, and the memories, that much more special. Whether we were at “date night” or getting my tattoo; hanging out in worship or watching my girls on the ropes course; working together or eating Krispy Kremes (just one of many proofs that there is a God), I made a conscious effort to savor every encounter I got to have with “my kids” this summer, something I am truly thankful for all these months later.
Summer’s “last hurrah” was an evening spent, once again, in Portland with all of my daughters, Ken (Noi’s guy), the Roush girls and Jenna, seeing the Justin Timberlake concert at the Rose Garden. While he’s no Barry Manilow, that boy certainly can dance!
By the time fall rolled around, I’d interviewed for, and accepted a call to First Baptist Church McMinnville as their Children’s Ministry Coordinator, and Butch had been hired as the new Annual Giving Officer at Linfield College, also in McMinnville (a job that I saw listed on the web when Butch told me to tell Kent “yes” after seeing the light in my eyes when I got the FBC offer). September was spent packing up our home, saying good-bye to our Welches friends, and preparing for our move to Mac. Somewhere along the line, the girls came to the reluctant truth that taking Bindy away from camp, and free reign of the only 132 acres she’s ever called home, would be grossly unfair, so our move also meant saying “good-bye” to our beloved dog. I’m still not convinced that it was the best decision – I miss her so much I still cry – but she did come for a visit this past holiday season, and that was just a hoot!
We moved to McMinnville in October – Butch started his job at Linfield on October 8th, and I began my tenure at FBC on the 21st. The girls started at their new schools (both of which have well over 600 students each!) on October 22nd. It hasn’t been the easiest transition for them, but I am so proud of how hard they really are trying to make the best of this situation that was completely and totally not up to them, and NOT their choice! Thank God for FBC – they are a loving and welcoming congregation, and my girls have settled in there in the most-remarkable ways. They are truly “at home” in that church family, as am I, and I believe they are really able to see God’s hand at work in our move away from the Mountain. I know that I certainly do. Even my “Hall Pass” husband says it is hard not to! ☺
Since arriving in Mac, we’ve enjoyed some of the perks of being in a college town (the school’s theatre program and concerts), the many and varied ministries and activities of our church, making new friends, and establishing some new holiday traditions. My parents, one of my sisters and four (out of five) of her kids, along with Oscar, Dan and Noi, came to Mac to celebrate Thanksgiving with us in our new home. Stevie was able to be here for Nattie’s birthday in December.
Butch has enjoyed using (and sharing) his 2006 Christmas gift, the Beaver season football tickets this fall, and the girls have enjoyed hanging out with our Welches friends (including their former principal and OSU alum, Mr. Sutton) when they’ve gone to the games with Butch.
Once again, Butch and I participated in two Fantasy Football leagues, although I was truly the “silent partner” this year, never once contributing anything worthwhile to our line ups, our schedules, or our draft picks. We’ve – uh, I mean he’s – done well in both leagues, winning the overall points with our – uh, I mean his – “Squibs” team in the $$league$$.
While I didn’t get to see all five of my kids in one place at one time during 2007, I did get to spend a fair amount of time with my older children, which is always a highlight for me. I’m so proud of the people they are, and I so enjoy any time at all that we get to be in the same place for even the shortest amount of time. Stevie is still in Eugene, enjoying Duck games and being 26! Dan is still at SOU and is preparing for a term abroad this year in Australia. Noi is approaching graduation from SPU in June, and continues to amaze me with her commitment and determination to all the things that make up her life.
My college studies took a back seat to moving this past year, but I am looking forward to enrolling at the local community college soon to keep on track until I can hit the books full time once the “my husband works at Linfield so I get to attend there for free” time comes in January of 2009. Right now, just working part-time, volunteering at Nattie’s school, and reveling in a return to Children’s Ministry is keeping me quite occupied and satisfied!
Butch is enjoying his new job, and, of course, doing quite well at it. He is still a bit in awe of the fact that folks are actually paying him for just talking with people (a dream scenario for someone like my husband!), but he really is loving the academic environment that being on the staff of a college provides. It is quite a change from the temporary staffing industry!!
We’re looking forward to continuing to settle in here in McMinnville during 2008. There is a great community theatre that we hope to become involved with; we’re excited about the activities, concerts, lectures, and programs afforded to us through Linfield; and I am hoping to be able to take the girls to Canada this coming summer for Baptist Peace Felllowship’s annual “Peace Camp”.
My prayer for each of you reading this would be for God’s grace and love to make itself known to you and yours this year in many new, wonderful, and tangible ways. My prayer for our world continues to be one of grace, love, and peace.
Happy New Year! Thanks for being a part of our world!
--barbara ☺
ps - (updated on January 2nd) Originally this "ps" sent you to a Facebook link in order to view the pictures that go along w/ this post. Somehow I managed to post the pictures (with music even!) into a new blog, which appears above this one. So now I can just say, "If you'd like to see the pictures that go with this note, please just scroll up and click on play." Maybe by tomorrow, I will have figured out how to get the slideshow to appear on this blog. One step at a time I guess
