Happy Trails

this is the reason to get on a bike and go on the Orting trail. yet another beautiful day on the trail with a dear friend. Suz and I stopped at this part of the river today and enjoyed the scenery as bikers rode by. We are both getting stronger the more we ride. today Suz was pushed to the max with a carrier hooked to her back tire with her one year old in it. He was not happy in there. we learned that to have a relaxing ride... baby must stay home. maybe by next summer baby will enjoy riding a bit more. until then... we will just take the trails the two of us.
looking forward to our next ride Suzanne! I am determined to make it up that hill without down shifting by the end of the summer! Thanks for encouraging me to get there!

One Sunday Afternoon

Recently I have discovered one of my new favorite things. I am now a regular bicyclist. You can find me on the Orting trail at least once a week. Another favorite place to ride is the Nathan Chapman trial on South Hill.
So today I ventured out on a ride by myself not sure where I would start my journey or how long I would ride. My adventure began at Pioneer where the bike trail begins near the flower farm. I rode between the fields and by the signs that read "farm crossing". I arrived in Orting so thirsty. Emerald City Smoothies was calling my name. Not actually. But you know what I mean. I got a Sambazon drink and filled up my water bottle. It hit the spot. I headed out of Orting towards South Prairie. Stopping at the river for a time to take in the beauty and tranquility of the rushing waters.
As I worked on my delicious drink and took in my surroundings it propelled me to go further and further on the trail. I stopped at the river again and climbed down the bank and sat under the shade of a tree as the birds serenaded me and the river whispered softly. It was gorgeous. God gave me a time of rest that my soul was desperately in need of. It reminded me of that Psalm. "... He makes me lye down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul..."
God is so good to restore us. He is a God of restoration. I am reminded to do my part and take time to rest so He can restore me. If you haven't had a chance to get out and on a bike trail I would encourage you to get out there before the summer is gone. Maybe I will run into you... unless I have sneaked down a river bank and am tucked under the shelter of a tree. Happy trails!

My Dad's Birthday!

Saturday at 6pm I met my dad, his wife, sisters, four nieces, and cousin at Puyallup Foursquare. We went to church together as a family. It was a special day! At the end of worship the pastor told us to get in groups of 6 or 7 and pray expecting the Lord to speak through us. God shone bright during that time.



It was all of us adults from my family that came to the service in that circle, and it was a beautiful thing. Words were being spoken and going deep into the hearts of each individual in the circle. The Holy Spirit was leading each prayer. What a blessing to spend part of my dad's birthday celebration at church with part of my family.



After the service (which was also very powerful and directed specifically toward some major things my sis is going through) there was a BBQ. So we had burgers and hot dogs and chips and B... soda. Just kidding. I hate B... soda!




The girls played on the big huge blow up toys after filling their stomachs and made us fearful of indigestion in the vomit variety.
We then traveled to my dad's house for ice cream cake from DQ. It was WAY too sugary but delicious. What a fun night.




My nieces entertained us until they crashed into their beds. I stayed late spending time just talking with my dad. It seems that as the days go by our father daughter relationship gets better and better. I just hope and pray that my dad will be around for many many more years so I can continue to enjoy this new phase of our relationship.
I love you dad! I pray big huge blessings for your life in the coming year!

Donated!

So about a month ago I read that it takes between four to six people donating hair to make one wig. I thought about why I have kept my hair long for the past umpteen years, yes, I am getting up there in age, I am over umpteen years old now. And I came to the conclusion that it is my comfort zone. I have had long hair for quite some time and often feel like I can hide behind it. That and I feel like long hair has become kind of trendy to the point of so many people in hollywood having extensions. I am trying to get out of my ways of trying so much to be like the trends of the world. So I had my friend Kate measure my hair the other night to see if I had at least 10 inches to donate... and sure enough... I had 12 inches! So I walked into Gene Jaurez (with my $20 off coupon in hand) and asked if they had any appointment available today and they did. I only had to wait an hour. So I went and talked to Jackie at the Austen Chase coffee bar and she helped me with my haircut butterflies. Back at the salon I met my stylist William and told him my plan. He got the measuring stick and sure enough I had enough hair. With a few snips of the scissors I went from long flowing locks to just below my ears. Crazy! I am so excited to give my hair to someone else who really needs it! After tying my hair up with a couple rubber bands it was to the sink for the hair washing. William gave me the best shampoo scalp massage ever! Man hands! Duh! Why have I not had a man cut my hair all these years??! He did some magic with the scissors, razor, and the thing they use on man hair. I am so loving tossing my head about. I feel like I could be in a hair product commercial right now. Its a little ridiculous... but that is just so like me. I am off to toss my hair again. Toodloooo!

Biker Chics

So today I met my friend Suzanne downtown in Orting where we started our adventure on the Orting Trail. This time we were riding toward the mountain. It was an especially warm day and we were riding in the heat of the day as well.




Thankfully there was a really nice breeze on the trail that was often shaded by trees that draped the path we traveled on. I am sure that the river helped to keep the air a bit cooler too. It was so much fun!

We biked for about 2 hours (with a couple breaks to rest our bums and have a snack) and then had a leisurely lunch at a local Orting favourite. I took some pics from my cell phone, being as I forgot my camera... and surprisingly they came out better than I expected. I am looking forward to another ride with Suzanne next week. And so thankful that this nice weather is making such rides possible!

About Me

I found this email randomly when I was searching for an address today in my gmail...so I thought I would share it with you all.
Its stuff about... ME!


Some of my favourite childhood memories were times spent at my grandparents cabin on Lake Rosiger. My dad came from a really big family. He has four sisters and one brother who died before I was born. So I had plenty of cousins to play with growing up. Twenty four first cousins on that side of the family. So we would go to the cabin
on the lake and spend hours upon hours swimming in the water. Racing from the tree that had fallen into the lake that had all of its branches cut off, to the post that was in the shallow end so we could have something to hang onto when we were little, to the floating dock that was where we played king of the island or whatever game we could think of at the moment. I pretended I was a mermaid and sang Disney songs and taught my cousins how to twirl in the water. I was on a swim team for two years so I thought I knew a lot back then. Good memories for sure. My grandparents always had a stash of candy that inadvertently had a smoky taste from the wood stove and the two packs of cigarettes my grandparents smoked between them. My grandparents are gone now. They both passed away in the last five years. But they were great people. My grandma told us that if we went out on the porch when the clouds were out and did a "sun dance" that the sun would come out.Most days it did! And we had fun dancing. Grandma made up the dance and silly nonsense words to go along with it. She always had a bright smile on her face. Good memories. :)



Have I traveled? Um... yeah. And I love to travel! I hope I can keep traveling throughout my life and see more of God's beautiful creation. I have been to 16 different countries. I went to England in 2000 with a family from my church, and Rachael and Paul(the youth pastor) to visit one of our best friends Gerod. After getting a taste for travel my appetite was whet.In 2001 I felt led to do a DTS in Hawaii and went to Africa on outreach. We stayed primarily in Ghana but had the opportunity to travel through Benin, Togo, and Nigeria. On our way to and from Hawaii
we stopped in Paris, France. We actually got stuck in Paris on our way home from Africa because of 9-11. We flew out of Africa the day after 9-11 and then they almost didn't let us off the plane when we got to Paris. Air France ended up putting us up in a super nice hotel for five days until we could get a flight out. All 70+ students and staff from my school were grounded to the hotel for the majority of the time. I would love to go back and actually see more of Paris. We had one day to cram in as many tourist attractions as we could. About a year and a half later I went on a mission trip to Romania with the youth group. We got to share our testimonies with real live Gypsies and I helped build a conference center and dig a huge hole for
a water tower that would provide enough water for the community. We also used marble to line the river bank to keep it stable. Two huge dump trucks of solid marble only cost $150!! What a deal!! Oh... and then we traveled through Luxembourg on our way home. In 2004 I wen to visit one of my best friends from DTS in Europe. I traveled with my friend Gerod for part of the trip. We went through the Netherlands to Switzerland, and then through Liechtenstein, and Austria by train to get to Germany. We had another friend studying in Germany so we stayed with her for a few days and she took us to Bach's home town and the place where Martin Luther translated a bunch of the bible or something like that. I then said goodbye to those friends and met up with a DTS friend (Jo Skinner- she is one of my favorite people) who's family was living in Northern Ireland at the time. We stayed there for a few days then traveled to Scotland together. That was a really great adventure of a trip. I saw castles, and
concentration camps, and it was my first really big trip without adult supervision.
I have been over the borders to Canada and Mexico a few times... though not too deep into either countries. I have only seen BC so far. This past spring I took a trip with my sister to visit the UK again. We went to Scotland and England. It was one of the hardest trips of my life! That is when I found out that my sis had been lying to me about most everything in her life. The one thing that saved the trip was visiting my dear friend Jo Skinner in Scotland for six days. What a blessing she was!
I might have forgotten a trip but will tell you about it another time.

I'm not really a boxers or briefs kind of girl... more of a hipster girl. They are just more comfy. Or the boy shorts. More coverage without being a granny panty. LOL. Sorry to traumatize you!




I have a favourite dumb joke...

Q: Why did the elephant paint its toenails red?
A: So it could hide in cherry trees!
Q: Have you ever seen an elephant in a cherry tree?
A: They hide pretty good!!

Q: How did the farmer die picking cherries?... :) The End

heres another

Q: Ask me if I have a banana in my ear
A: Do you have a banana in your ear?
Q: I can't hear you! I have a banana in my ear!

Ok. I hope those made you chuckle or at least smirk.




Have I won anything? I once signed up on this radio station on their loyal listener club and at Christmas time if they said your name on the radio and you called in within like five minutes you would win Christmas Cash. So that happened about two years ago and I had tons of friends and family calling me to tell me they heard my name on the radio and to call in. A random stranger even called my dad to ask if
he had a daughter with my name and to tell me so I could win. I did call the radio station in time and got the Christmas cash. It should have been called New Years Cash because I didn't receive it until almost February. I also "won" the right to cut the ribbon and open Disneyland one morning when I was 9. They picked me from a row of cute kids. I had just gone to ask my sister a question and I got to do what she had wanted to do. Mickey and Pluto and Minnie and Donald Duck all showed me what to do and I got to use giant scissors and cut this big red ribbon to open the park for the day. I don't know if they do that anymore. I got a cool piece of paper signed by Mickey! That was amazing!



My most embarassing moment... I can't think of any... I think I must block them out or something! I remember plenty of my friends' most embarrassing moments. I'll tell you about a funny moment. We threw a surprise birthday party for one of my friends and when he came in the house and we yelled surprise he was so shocked that he farted really loudly and then went straight to the bathroom. Halarious! Sorry if I have offended you with such inappropriate bathroom humor. You are a guy so I assumed it would be ok. I hope you are not offended by gases (ie. farting and burping). Everyone does it... even girls. Someone on my DTS had never farted until she was on our DTS. I
couldn't believe it! Anyway...

My middle name is Janelle. It means God is Gracious. One of my cousins was named Janelle after I was born. Her parents asked if we could share the name. She is one of my favorite cousins.



Do you have any fears... I really don't like spiders... or lots of crawly things that are really fast and could bite me. I also had this awful dream that I was covered in maggots and couldn't get them off of me. I hate maggots! They make me want to vomit. Once when I was about 11 we went on a summer vacation and came home after a week of hot hot weather. Our trash hadn't been taken out and when I went to put something in the garbage can maggots came out of the can and onto the kitchen floor and all over the place. It was sooooooo gross! Again. I hate maggots! Other than that... I have a fear of being up high and falling. It is a legitimate fear. I have a little dent in my forehead and a scar on the back of my head from falling off of a slide when I was two and falling backwards onto rocks on the beach when I was 12. It doesn't stop me
from going up high. I just get freaked out sometimes if I am up that high. I have to hang on real tight to something or someone so I feel safer. I hope to sky dive someday and face the fear some more.

(this was in an email to canada boy when we were first getting to know each other. so glad I typed all this out to be used in my blog! way to go me!)

William's One... and The Coats

Today at Pioneer park there was a gathering that jammed the streets for several blocks and littered the grass with blankets, folding chairs, and people of every age. The Coats were performing!! For those of you that have no idea as to whom I am referring... they are an A cappella group, and two of the four graduated from Rogers High (GO RAMS!!) and grew up here in P-town, the other two are from Washington, I think they said Seattle and Everett. Anyway, they are really fun guys and know how to entertain the crowd. It was a really great time. Thursdays in the park at Pioneer Park is a summer concert series that is free to anyone who wants to show up.


The reason we were at the park in the first place was to celebrate William Dane turning one today. I can not believe that he is ONE! Amazing how the time flies by.


A few sweet surprises showed up at the park. Melissa and Erin! It has been way too long since I have seen these beautiful girls. What a treat!




My view of the four singers was obstructed by a massive stack of speakers... the first time I was able to see all four of them side by side was when they took their final bow.



Its a good thing I had some beautiful friends and precious faces to capture.


This is one of my favorite faces of the night!


His eyes are so beautiful! Brown and green I think.


Thanks Joey and Suzanne for bringing such a precious boy into this world. He is a joy to be around.

I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you William!!


PS. If you want to view these photos and more from the park follow this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/jamijanelle/WilliamsBirthdayWithTheCoats

Sweating Buckets of Grace

Today was a "work day" at the house I live in. We started early so it would be cooler in the unfinished upstairs where our project is focused. By 11am the temperature upstairs felt like 90 degrees. By 1pm the sweat was pouring down my face the temperature had to be in the 100s by then. I don't know how many times I wiped my brow with my arm. It was a HOT work day.
The best part about the work day is almost always the end of the work day. To see the hours of sweat and hauling and sorting pay off... I think we cleared about 5x10 ft today. Amazing! Though I am unsure of this project ever being completed... I am ever so grateful for the provision of the Lord... giving me this place to live while I finish college without having to pay rent. And with a family I am learning so many things from. Loving with patience, listening and learning from very different perspectives, what I do and don't want in my marriage; to name just a few. God is so good to give me this experience. I hope that I can be used in this home too. Sometimes I feel like God is using me, and others I feel like my stupid thoughts and pride and frustrations muck it all up and I just get in the way of God working. I am counting on that grace that God so freely gives us. Praying that more of His grace will fall in the house I live in... and that God will do big works in each of our lives. How might the Lord be challenging me in this home? I think He is calling me to respect the man of the house. Something I have struggled with because of my past and also because it is hard to respect a man who frequently displays reasons to not deserve my respect. I am reminded to give this man grace. Maybe an attitude adjustment of my own will have positive affects beyond what I can imagine. Acting or speaking out of frustration does not generally get a good reaction or response. On the other hand. Acting or speaking in grace would merit a completely different reaction or response. It is a choice I have every time something happens in my home. I am challenging myself to choose grace more often than not. My hope is that I can sweat grace as much as I sweat buckets when the "temperatures" start to rise.

Just call me Jimmy

Sunday morning Vicky and I got up at the crack of dawn to drive north a few hours to Lynden, WA. There is a family with the last name starting with D and its really long and I always spell it wrong. This family is amazing though. When I was in junior high
and high school they lived here in P-town and were influential in shaping my character and providing wisdom that I often did not get from my own parents. So this weekend Vicky and I ventured north to spend some time with the family. Jim and Laurel
were out of town on a vacation that their kids had blessed them with (amazing kids yeah!!) so it was just us with all of the kids. They have 13 kids now. Only 12 of them were there. So there was still plenty of room in this house for us to crash. The last time I spent quality time with these kids was when Hosanna (who is now 11) was a baby. It was amazing to see the "little kids" now acting as the adults and taking care of their younger brothers and sisters. The teen aged boys were now able to prepare meals for a family of 14 plus guests. Amazing! I experienced such delight watching the older kids love on their younger siblings. Celebrating with them as they played a soccer game, carrying them when they were to tired to walk, tickling them and producing laughter that touched my heart. It was such a special weekend.


Greg just finished serving in the military and it was amazing to see the joy of the Lord shining from him again.


Cassie was up for the weekend (she lives in Bend, OR) with an amazing friend Heidi. We had some great laughter and stayed up late into the night talking about silly things. Its amazing how ten years later this kids are now teaching me so much through the things they are going through. We had some fun at Walmart sharing a "right of passage" experience together and almost getting hit by a crazy driver. We certainly laughed it up to some SNL magic too. You girls blessed my heart!


Jeremiah taught us how to play a couple games that would otherwise have intimidated the heck out of me. He surprises me again and again with how stinkin smart he is. He is going to be heading out to Jordan for a couple years in the next month.

Carissa was in Argentina on a DTS so I missed her. I am praying for you Carissa! Have an awesome time on outreach!


Lindsey was in and out of the house but blessed us with her presence at the park one night and I loved to see her playing with her little sisters. Precious!


Josh was driving. Gasp! Little Josh... not so little anymore. He played soccer with his brothers and sisters and was the best team captain cheering with them and causing such delight to erupt on their faces and the field.


Ben. Cute Benny. Now not so little, and not falling asleep at the dinner table or on my lap these days. So grown up and such a good big brother to all his little sibs. So crazy that he is not little Benny anymore.


Jacob has a smile that will melt any heart. He came to my bedside on Monday morning and said my name about 50-100 times. I was pretending to be asleep. He says my name in such a way that it sounds like Jimmy. Hence the "just call me Jimmy" title. This boy has been through more in his lifetime than most families ever go through in all their lifetimes together. He is 12. Also an amazing brother, story teller, and jester. The joy of the Lord is alive in his heart.


Hosanna, beautiful girl with such a pensive mind. She blessed my heart with amazing amounts of serving her brothers and sisters. I learned much from her this weekend.


Sarah has a smile that lights up any room and is so joyful. She is precious and I loved spending time with her. We played about 30 games of UNO in two days.


Josiah... aka little Josh. Amazing how much these two were alike at this age. He was so much fun to play UNO with as well.


Rachel, sweet girl. Her smile sneaks up on you like a wonderful surprise. She made me laugh so much with the silly things she did. Amazing girl!


Little Elijah... or should I say little Ben? Again, a repeat of the boy I knew a decade ago. Elijah was another silly one. Always giving me a goofy face and enjoying being the youngest of such a big family.


These two days showed me how healthy a big huge family can be. These kids are there for each other unlike most other average families are. I love the D kids and can't wait to see how God is going to use each and every one of their stories to touch a multitude of lives around the world! May God continue to bless each one of them as they seek Him! Thank you D's for opening up your home and welcoming this former babysitter into your lives again for a few days. Love ya!

PS. Jim and Laurel... or any D's for that matter... if you want to look at any of the pics I took while I was in Lynden you can view them (and even snag them with my permission) on http://picasaweb.google.com/jamijanelle
It was a joy to see all of you! I hope to see you soon! And to see you at all Jim and Laurel! Much love!

Not working

The crazy wonderful girls I get to work with!!! Love you all!!!


Brynn! Looking ever so patriotic in her red white and blue hat! God bless America!


Tirzah! Isn't her hat so darn cute! I love it!

Mel-Belle and the beautiful strawberries


I love these girls! A-Mazing!

Wednesday night some of the girls from Comfort Food got together for the first time. We went to the park in downtown Puyallup next to Casa Mia. (I grew up frequenting this park, spending hours on the swings and in the wading pool that is no longer used)
Our mission for this night was to hangout. We spend so much time together at work and have connected on a level unlike any other group of coworkers I have ever worked with. It was refreshing to not have to talk about work, and fun to play games and girl talk without having to worry about customers.
We were asked to bring something snacky or desserty to share with everyone. I brought strawberries and made a dip (cream cheese and marshmallow cream mixed together... super easy to make and super delicious), Tirzah made a coffee cakeish blueberry goodness thing. She has mad skills. mmmmm.
The challenge for the night was to wear a headpiece that was creative.
Tirzah and Brynn were the only ones who showed up prepared. Way to go girls!
We ate and played Catch Phrase and talked and talked and talked. It was so much fun! I hope we get together again soon. Those girls are amazing! I am blessed to work with such a great group of women. God is so good to have brought us together.

Good times!