Goody Bye 2013

Here comes 2014 but not before we share our star events for the past year.

The Krause Klan welcomes grandsons Ellison and Aidan!

 Sianna and Annabelle love to go to church with us and drink lemonade.

Our favorite outdoor wilderness experiences occurred backpacking Bear-paw meadow and chocolate lake.

Family life changed as we welcome grandchildren into our weekly routine so our children can go about work and school.  Every time this family gets together its celebration time.

For Tim, hiccoughs, back lurches, sideways steps required determination to keep the business floating and forwarding. For Char a few of the weekly hours where spent in new computer program learning and teaching while managing all the normal emergency department challenges.

Our greatest discovery is deciding we are both a little crazy to equally enjoy the activity of geocaching.  While many family members and friends have joined us on these mini-adventures, they have not caught the bug as we have. We take delight in hunting, discovering, grabbing these little treasures. We have hid 2 ourselves and launched some travel bugs as well. So if we are hiking or biking or camping or backpacking or shopping, we do pull out our GPS and add to the adventure.

We are pretty sure this has created the foundation for the next stage of our journey as we translate our experience of seeking man made treasures to seeking God's treasures.  So we are on the look out this new year to discover 1,000 gifts and develop a grateful heart. Join us! Download the app here:
http://onethousandgifts.com/get-the-app

(big thanks to Cathy, Val, Cheryl and Lyn as we shared a table at a wedding reception and shared what God is doing in our lives)

OK...you can see us in action here!

This picture slideshow made with Smilebox

NOV 2013

One more thing off the life bucket list. Jerrol took me to his shooting range to experience firing a weapon. The safety instructor asked each student our purpose in learning to fire a gun. While I admitted my fear in holding one (flash-patients with bullet wounds), I admitted my curiosity at my son's interest in this sport. So soon I was down taking aim at the target. A few days later while looking at my target and noticing just a few bullet holes in the center of the target, I realized God wanted to give me a teaching lesson. I have often heard that sin is best described as 'missing the mark'. Now as I observed my skill (or lack of it),  I had a few shots in the right place, but I wasn't good enough consistently and everytime.  So my evidence of making the grade before God was clear. So grateful that God looks at His Son's perfection and not mine.

Backpacking Trip South Lake 8-13

Our hike started at 9,000 with our highest elevation of 12,000 at Bishop Pass. We passed so many lakes we lost count and covered 22 miles of trail. A few fires over in Yosemite created some smoke in our blue sky but did not deter from the beauty.

 

Of course I had to eat some chocolate as I sat by chocolate lake and viewed chocolate mountain. Tim picked this trail for me.

Our second nite location had us camped by a lake and not a single soul was anywhere near us. Such solitude. Of course the howling winds that night produced a noise that kept waking me up.

We had to huff and puff to get up to the pass. What a view of the entire basin..very windy way up there.

 

 The granite peaks at 13,000 were amazing and so was Tim's ability to traverse the terrain.

Do you think Tim is warm or cold here? Very happy or faking? IS he hungery or full? Tired or bursting with energy? Pictures don't always give the whole story do they?? And of course you can't tell from this picture that our stove didn't work well at the elevation so uncooked oatmeal for breakfast.

 

Some parts of God's world feels like being on the moon.

 

 

You might have to look very hard to see our campsite- but that was the prime spot for our first night.

 

So there you go...our adventure into the high Sierras.

Backpacking to Hamilton Lake 7-2013

Well this was the test after many day hikes this past year. How would the pack feel hiking altitude for Tim? How would the body work?

Balance, coordination, endurance, keep it going, for over 40 miles, Tim did great.

So worth it? Check out the scenry!

Of course we have to tell the entire story and it rained and we got wet! Seriously, try it...be inside a tiny tube tent and try to keep dry.

However, the most amazing thunder and lighting storm was performed for us. Just unable to give you a photo of that.

Walking under the raindrops, waiting for the sun, decided we were in a fairy land.

Of course, we had to grab a few geocaches...here we are on top of little Baldy. Success at finding the marker that was placed the year Char was born!

Marriage Vows June 10th, 2013

We celebrated our 35th anniversary by asking the children how they plan to have a marriage that lasts for a long time and this is what we heard:

JERROL: Showing my wife that I love her through my actions. Taking care of the children when she is exhausted, giving her footie rubs, etc.

LAUREN: Understanding and controlling anger. I'm trying to 'get sad, not mad' when things don't go the way I want them to. I know anger is a secondary emotion and underneath is usually a feeling of hurt or disappointment. So I'm working on digging deeper into that frustration response to find out what's hurting and then sharing that with Jerrol instead of only venting my irritation, which really doesn't solve anything.

CHARIS: I realize that it's healthy to have interests (including ones that are different from each others, although I share his interest just not to the same level), and have encouraged dace to pursue his hobby and have his 'man cave' time with his fish tank.  Being supportive of him in this area affects our spending and budget so this is where our dave ramsey tools come into place to help us communicate regarding his expensive hobby.

DACE: For Charis and I we still utilize the '5 a's' which we learned in our pre-martial class. It helps with communication. Financially we are followers o9f Dave Ramsey which has helped us both be on the same page about money and staying on a budget. No money fights.

RACHEL: Learning to communicate with a more even temper as to help my husband feel comfortable sharing his feelings with me.

BRYANT: Learning to compromise and manage my time between work, school, my wife and my daughter. Not spending all my time indoors if my wife wants to go out.

Now let's keeping praying for these precious ones.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall APRIL 15, 2012

On April 15, 2012 The 911 call is made to summons help after Tim falls through the patio roof.

The paramedics splint the arm, start an IV to give morphine and monitor the slow heart rate and low bloodpressure. Off to the ER we go.

A few xrays later and admission to await surgery to repair the broken bones in the arm.

Oh my, after going home and unable to walk, back to the CT scanner and discover fractured pelvis on both sides.

7 weeks of no walking and a few minutes up at a time in a wheelchair. Watch out the smile might be fake.

Attempting to work with limited mobility.

Thinking

An Emergency Room story

The paramedic phone rang and soon we were rearranging gurneys and pulling the crash cart over in preparation for the next patient. The story was a young man  unconscious. The team gathered and waited for their assigned roles. The patient arrived in full arrest- no heartbeat and not breathing in laymen's  terms. The doctor quickly slid the tube down his throat. The nurse administered every medication that the doctor called out while the other team members performed chest compressions and pushed on the bag to push air into his lungs. The paramedics told us no family around and suspected an overdose. The team realized this one is dead and nothing anyone can do will change that fact. At that moment I looked down and observed the slender soul as I digested the news that he was 31 years old. Hey my brain clicked...my firstborn son is turning 31 tomorrow. Some mother somewhere has lost her son today. Sadness swept over my heart with curiosity to know the story of this life cut short.

Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!!

Thank you for being part of our lives in a special way this past year.  With Tim’s Humpty Dumpty experience in April of this year, we are pausing to reflect on our journey of injuries, surgeries, immobility and those who touched our lives during this time.

While we are celebrating this season, we also give thanks for what gives meaning to our daily life. This Christmas season, we will enjoy family, gifts, food, candlelight service with Christmas music and especially, a deeper appreciation for mobility.

Tim’s 7 weeks of immobility and discomfort in a wheelchair (how come we couldn’t find a wheelchair for his size?) has given us even greater empathy to those in poverty that do not even have an opportunity to be lifted off the ground. 

Gifts, they come into all of our lives each and every day and we give thanks.

Blessings,

Tim and Char Krause

Annabelle singing her little heart out