A New Beginning

It has been a long 11 years.  We had struggles, we were selfish, we were angry and unforgiving.  We suffered from not spending the right kind of time together and looking at what each other wasn't doing for the other. We were exhausted from running on the hamster wheel.  Nothing changing, repeating the same mistakes over and over.  That ended in July of 2018 when we separated and divorced in September of 2018. After over 30 years of marriage and 32 years together. 

It wasn't always that way.  We were the best of friends.  We loved to do the same things.  We always dreamed of traveling the country together when we retired. We loved camping, hiking, the coast, taking long naps together on Sunday's, building things together, and working on projects side by side.  There wasn't much that we couldn't get through together.  That was, until we stopped focusing on God in our marriage, and let Satan in.  He helped us seek our own satisfaction. We did nothing but find the "wrong" in each other.  Instead of Trusting God, we followed our own desires. Bill moved out July of 2018.  

May 14, 2020. A day I dreaded.  It would have been our 32nd wedding anniversary.  I sunk into a deep depression the days prior.  God kept putting on my heart to message Bill yet he was dating someone else.  I had also gone down that path shortly after we separated and it was a terrible mistake.   All this time apart, God had been working on Bill while I tried to find happiness in another person.  It failed--no one but God could make me happy.  I made so many mistakes in that first year away from Bill.  I felt empty and ashamed.   It didn't take long for me to realize what Bill and I had together.  We started talking again and tried to date in the summer of 2019, but God wasn't done with us yet. It was my turn for God to work on me.  God had to remove Bill from my reach, so that I would learn to trust Him.  It was a painful time, yet God blessed me with many friends that assured me that being Still and Trusting God were what I needed to focus on.  I thought Bill was lost to me for good.  Then the signs started coming in late March, then more in April.  Then our Anniversary day arrived.  God kept at me to message Bill.  I was afraid of upsetting him, but most of all, I was afraid of rejection and more pain.  I finally got out of bed, at the very end of the day on our anniversary.  I messaged Bill that although he was dating someone else, I couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging our anniversary. I shared that it would always be special to me, and I told him I missed him. I went to bed at peace, and turned it over to the Lord.   That message was answered the first thing the next morning at 6am with a single line text " Happy Anniversary--I miss you too".    So began our journey of healing, mending and focusing on how God very plainly showed us that His plan was for us to be together, but HIS way this time.  We have worked hard at restoring what was lost, putting God first be Still and Trusting in each step forward that we take.

October 11th, 2020--Savannah Georgia:

Bill got down on one knee, and instead of a glass slipper like Cinderella, he gave me my wedding set that I had lost (Kristin had it), It fit perfectly as he slipped it on my finger and asked me to marry him again   It was my fairy tale come true.  I had been looking in all the wrong places for all the wrong things.  My prince had been in front of me for 32 years, how foolish for me to lose sight of that.  How foolish of both of us to lose sight of what was important.  What God did put together, let no one pull apart.  He is the glue that binds us together.  He is the one that has worked in us both, blessed us both and will keep us focused, on Him first, and each other next.  We are praying that we may serve Him in some way to honor him for blessing us.  

 

Our Happily Ever After Day is December 12th, where we will recommit ourselves to each other in front of God and our kids.    We seek nothing more than prayers from our friends and family as we step out together in Faith, In Love and Until Death do us part. 

2016 with the Richards'

2016 with the Richards of Sweet Home

2016--  The highlight of January, was Kristin heading to winter formal.  With no boyfriend in the picture, she was blessed to go with one of her besties, Tanya.  They looked so beautiful, and had a great time.  The night flew by, and before they knew it, it was time to be home.  Sore feet from dancing, and memories to last a lifetime.  She also learned some good skills with Dad while working on her truck, and making a ramp for her dog to get into her truck.  

This is the new truck she bought in early DEC 2015, after rolling her first truck SEPT 2015.  We are grateful for her safety and she's learning new things about taking care of a truck.  

Ryan has been working at WILCO for almost a year, and the highlight for him this year was buying a truck.  He too, bought an F250....so now our driveway has three Ford trucks.  Of course the first thing you do, is crawl under it to check things out!   The truck has some beauty marks, but Ryan has done a great job of making it his own.

March also brought a special guy to our family.  Kristin met Jacob at school, but told him she didn't date guys at school and that she was only dating a guy that was a Christian.  Jacob threw her off guard when he pulled the new testament out of his pocket...and it looked worn and used. Needless to say, their first date was to a Sunday evening church service.  We loved him the minute we met him.  They both seem to be perfect matches for each other.  
   
Our first trip with him was to the coast for the day in April, and then dinner at our favorite place in Newport.  Ryan even approves of him.  Thankfully she is as loved by his family, as he is by ours.   

We had a beautiful spring, and spent lots of time outside working on clean up from the winter.  Kristin still has a swing in the chicken coop.  Being she gave up her playhouse for their coop...she figures the least they can do is let her keep her swing in the tree. 

Early May took Kristin and Bill to the tattoo shop to get piercings.  Bill tried the Daith piercing, which has helped his migrains brought on in the head, however, the neck induced ones still plague him.  He recently went to the DR and is starting physical therapy, and if nothing helps there, then they will run more tests.  Kristin pierced her nose!!!  It does look really cute!  Mid May Bill and I headed to the coast for our 28th Wedding Anniversary.  We stayed in Old Town Newport on the bay.  We love it there.   
 

Newport Bay & Bridge

Upon arriving home, the old electric range was moved out, and the new gas stove moved in.....OH happy day!!

Returning after a LONG time away!

December 2016----we had more ice than I can ever remember!!!  It did bring some beauty, an ice day at home, and lots of downed branches.  Many places had it worse than us, and we never lost power.  Check out the fun icy pictures.  

I realized my last post was when we found Molly. Wow...we've lost one and added another since then. Life has had many ups and downs since my last  post.  During that time, there was a lot about our life I didn't want to share.  BUT, God is good, and I'm happy to report, He is in charge of us now.  We found that trying to do things our own way didn't work out very well.  

This month  has been a whirlwind.  From plays and birthdays, work and getting ready for Christmas, its hard believe we are 3 days away from Christmas.  Did I get cards out this year??? NOPE.  Did I get our annual letter done that I've skipped the last two years and was determined to do this year?  NOPE!!!   I was trying to get myself wrapped around doing it, and then I realized I was trying to kill myself.  I decided to focus on what was  important.  Was sitting in front of my computer important to do an annual letter?  Nope....Was spending time watching Christmas movies and playing cards important?  YES!!   The house got decorated, the tree is up, the shopping is done, so much so that Kristin, Bill, Jacob and I are getting out on Friday to spend our birthday gift cards, and our Christmas present from Pat and Ray.  We are SO excited.

My love of blogging is still here....I just haven't had the time.  So tonight, while the kids watch a movie that isn't my favorite, I'm going to blog about our year.  2016 was the best year we've had since Bill was laid off from HP in 2009. That's 7 long years.  I'm happy to report, 2017 is looking like it will be even better. Praising God, who put all things back in place!

Stay tuned...it might take me a few days.  

Our Newest Addition

If you are on facebook, this is old news for you.  But, for those of you who don't keep up, I'm catching up here!

March 20th, 10PM, Bill & I were coming home from a meeting in Lebanon.  We came into town, and turned the corner, and there was a dog running from the laundromat across the road toward the corner of the car lot.  It was dark, and for a moment we thought it was Max (yes, the other yellow lab that found our house and that we fell in love with--but found his owner--his name is actually Rusty, but he will forever be Max to us!), so I turned around at the road heading to Whites, and we headed back, to find the dog in Hwy 20.  Bill called to her, and she came from the road, to the car lot where we parked.  Just as we were looking for tags on her collar, and finding none, we were discussing what to do with "her".  Bill looked at me and said "We will do what we do with every other stray that ends up with us"...so we opened the car door, and she jumped right in, and sat like a pretty little girl!  It was then we heard someone yelling for a dog...and we thought "Ah-ha!"  So we drove with the dog to the house on the other side of the tracks,and Bill talked to the lady that lived there.  She said the "white" dog had been hanging around a few days, and she actually felt sorry and fed it the night before....but it was hanging out with her German Shepherd and she didn't want another dog.  SO...we brought her home.  We put an ad on Craigs list, Put ads on facebook, the lost pet pages, and on Friday, I called all the vets, shelters and animal control places in Linn and even Benton County. Kristin took her to the vet to see if she had a chip. (no chip)  By Monday, we were all thinking "No one??"  I called animal control and Safe Haven again. No one had called for her.  Kristin was excited, yet kept saying she didn't want to get attached because if someone claimed her, she didn't want to go through the same heartache as she did with Max. Bill, who is the "toughie" in our house, said "If no one claims her, we should keep her".  We headed to Walmart for flea and worm treatment.....and of course a collar and a tag.  We named her Molly. She is well mannered and someone has spent a lot of time with her.  She sits, stays, lays, stays off the furniture (when everyone is looking), doesn't jump up, and gets along great with our dogs.  It was almost like she has always belonged.  She was a good fit, and very loveable.

Fast forward one day short of three weeks.  An email....a response to my Craigs List ad.  Before I opened it, my heart sank and I said a prayer....and knew there was a reason for everything.   I opened it up...and it said "Her name is Gracie"..tears welled....until I read "She ran away from my husbands work....and we had been trying to look for a home for her, since we don't have time".......I thought REALLY??!!!!  CAN IT BE TRUE??!!!  The pit in my stomach eased, those welled up tears spilled and turned to joy!   I called her previous owner. She shared a lot of good info. Molly had a good home, but most of all...we were keeping Molly!!  We really tried to go back to her name Gracie, but after almost 3 weeks of Molly, none of us could do it.  Her nickname was "Woof" and that has become her nickname here.

We've had no accidents lately, she wakes me at night to go out, and almost on a schedule, although she doesn't go to the door like our other two do to go out, she comes and nudges until you say OK...and off she heads to the door.  She has taken lots of queues from our girls.  We've yet to hear her bark, and I got my first "kiss" today...she's full of snuggles, and one of our cats (Squirrel) loves her!!  His 22 pounds and her 50 are a funny match.  I will get pictures when I can.  Until then...here is Molly's new bed....and Kristin showing her how to use it!!

Aftermath

 My feet in the Sea of Galilee

 My heart is full...but my heart still hurts...I've been home 5 weeks now, and my head is still so full of my 16 days across the world. I still have not fully downloaded.  I reflect every day about a day or two of my trip.  Israel w incredible for what I learned, where I walked, what I saw, how I felt.  I'm not sure I can even full describe the way I felt there.  It was different traveling without my family, there was so much I wanted to share with them, so much we could have learned together and I missed them terribly.  But there was some good about traveling alone....it was just me, no one to be responsible for, no one to worry over and I had so much time to reflect with God about where I was, where he had been, where he walked, what he saw, and it was so real.  The bible came to life.  I will never read my bible the same.  I was there...where it was written, where it happened and it was so easy to picture the scene at each place we visited.  While I thought I would be afraid there, and while there was evidence of war in so many places, and IDF everywhere, there was a peace about that place, or maybe it was a gift from God for me while I was there, but I would not be afraid to go back, in facy, I pray that Bill & I can go there someday together to share that experience.  

 

Sea of Galilee at the Church of the Beatitudes

 

Baptism At the Jordan River

My feet in the Mediterranean Sea

 

Herrods Aquaducts and a beautiful Israel Sunset

 

Off to Uganda.....Another time, another place....

My experience in Uganda is why my heart is full, and why at the same time, my heart hurts.  I learned that it would be so easy for me to live there. 

 I loved the weather, I love the terrain, but most of all, I loved the people.  There is no TV, there are no computers, no music, except that which is played by people, or an occasional AM battery radio around, but it's a simple place~~ a place where there isn't time to be too busy, too distracted, or too involved to miss things.  It's where you spend time with the Lord, time with people, and time with yourself.  I have never felt the peace I felt while there.  I never felt the genuine love from people I hardly knew, like I did while I was there--and the friendships made while there will be forever in my heart, and I know that someday God will take me back there. I wish I'd had the opportunity to go before I had a family, so that I could spend a year there, soaking it all in.  Odd from a gal who never even wanted to fly, and was content traveling the US by truck and travel trailer!!  God pushed me to the max, and I am forever grateful for it.  

I realized as I went through 19,715 pictures from our trip (not all mine, but from 6 of us!), I knew there was no way I could share enough pictures or write enough to cover 16 days!  There is almost no way I can even share with my own family all I did and experienced.  It was a trip at Mach5 in Israel, and the total opposite in Uganda....and my heart is full, my heart hurts, but my heart is blessed. I will  never be the same.

Just a few pictures of my trip..some of the highlights.  I hope you all were able to see the posts I put on www.lccevents.blogspot.com as there are many pictures there!
 

 

 The video is choppy, but I hope that you can get an idea.  Doesn't look like the sound uploaded.

Isreal/Uganda Trip

I've been home three weeks, and have neglected my own blog terribly!! 

We had no internet in Uganda at all, and very limited in Israel.  It was the trip of a lifetime!!

I have finished up the blog for the church website.  It is my writing, and many pictures from all of us.  Please use the links below to catch up.  I will eventually get them here, but you can catch up our trip as a team!!

Thanks again for all your support!!

Uganda Team 2014

Front row Shawnna Richards, Sherry Sanderbrink, Debbie Reagh, Sonya Badgley, Amanda McDowell, Dani Barnes

Back row: Erick Hendricks, John Jayne, Stan Badgley, John Oleile

Meet our Team by clicking HERE.
Check out the blog from Monday FEB 24th HERE

 03-29-14--OUR blog has been updated!! A few more posts need to be put on, but a majority of our trip is there, and we hope you'll read our posts and enjoy the photos.
Remember, click here to follow the link for all the posts, or you can click individual days below, and when you get to what you think is the bottom of the page, click "older posts" and you will continue!!!
Click to see the post in Uganda for Saturday, March 8th
Click to see the post in Uganda for Friday, March 7th
Click to see the post in Uganda for Thursday March 6th
 Click to see the post in Uganda for Wednesday March 5th
Click to see the post in Uganda for Tuesday, March 4th
Click to see the post in Uganda for Monday, March 3rd
Click to see the post for transition from Israel to Uganda
Click to see the post in Israel for Thursday, February 27th
Click to see the post in Israel for Wednesday, February 26th
Click to see the post in Israel for Tuesday, February 25th
(note, Feb 24th link is above).

Thank you to all who supported us, prayed and cheered us on for our trip. It was the trip of a lifetime for most of us. Many of us are ready to return with the next trip there, while some will treasure the time we had this trip. Please enjoy our photos, and if you are interested in more, please contact one of us and we can hook you up!

Our Team in Uganda with the Show Mercy staff, Brittany, Kristy and Drea 

February 24, 2014 in Israel

I cant say much more than WOW!  I have never been so full emotion, and so eager to see more!!!

We started our day at 5:30---and we were out the door by 7:00.  We needed cappuccinos!!  We enjoyed those, and then headed to Caesarea by the Sea to King Herod’s summer home.  It was amazing to be sitting in the amphitheater and hear the word from Tom, from exactly where it was written.  To view where Paul was held, and where he witnessed to the Romans (Acts 25:13 through chapter 26).

 

We walked through the area where the chariot races were held, and then through the community bath houses.

 

 

The stone mosaics were awesome and amazingly in great shape. 

We went from there to the gates of the city, and entered in to where the retailers would sell there wares, and if you closed your eyes you could see the ancient hustle and bustle of the everyday life

.

 

We sat at  an outdoor café, and had frozen drinks along the Mediterranean Sea. 

 

Once we left Caesarea we headed to Tel Megiddo where there are 25 layers of different cities.  The valley was overwhelming and to know that this is where the end will be was even more emotional.  The ruins there were interesting, and we had tour guide Barbie “aka Erick”  to read to us, since we all had to share one map. 

We had a message on top of  Tel Megiddo, starting in Revelation 16 :11.  I can’t even begin to explain how different it is sitting and viewing where they are writing about.  It is very moving.

From there we went into the waterworks system that they built to provide fresh water.  We went down 183 steps and through the tunnel…it was pretty amazing. 

We moved on to Mt Carmel.  This was where Elijah shared true worship  450 prophets of Baal saw the works of our God.  Looking down on Israel….it was amazing to see where this happened.  Kings1 18:20

 

We headed home and had enough time to head down to the beach, and crawl all over Herods Aquaduct.  

We had a beautiful sunset, and a nice walk.  We headed back to dinner of spaghetti and salad.  Several headed to bed, to the pool and others sat up and visited.  It has been a great time of getting to know  our brothers and sisters. 

Stay tuned for more to come…

Blessings until next time!