Oregon Coast Trip - Let's Wrap This Up Shall We?

"Sky above our heads, Sand beneath our feet, Life is Good."

I have a photo of three little toe-headed munchkins sitting on a log just like this in front of this very lighthouse. Jonah was there too, growing inside my belly, we just didn't know it yet. That was 13 years ago. The constant passing of time is a crazy thing.

I have an even older picture of a fairly newly married couple sitting on yet another tree in front of this very lighthouse. That was 18 years ago. We've changed a little. It was 18 years ago that I fell in love with the Coquille River Lighthouse.

One of our favorite things to do when visiting this lighthouse is to walk along the jetty. It can be quite treacherous. People have been washed off the jetty by rogue waves and have drowned. We only ventured because it was low tide, and we weren't even brave enough to walk to the end of the jetty. I took few pictures, because the ocean mist and wind was pretty crazy. The Oregon Coast has ruined an appalling amount of my cameras. I was trying to preserve my camera on this trip. But Jess got a few shots.

You can feel the cold and the mist just looking at this couple and their fogged glasses.

Once safely off the jetty, it was time to fly kites. An absolute Watson-Must-Do while on the coast. Every year I forget to actually pack kites, so every year we buy kites at our favorite shop in Lincoln City. We have quite an assortment in our basement. You don't need any skills to fly a kite on the coast. Simply let go of the kite, and the wind will take care of the rest. I believe Sabrina was actually looking for seashells while kite-flying. Her kite just floated on ahead of her like a dog on a leash.

Sabrina had to do some beach combing before sending her kite up.

Darn that cute couple, making it impossible for me to put my camera away.

Now this is a familiar picture. Neil spends much of his time assembling kites on the beach for excited children. Sabrina actually made the mistake of letting go of her kite at one point, forcing Neil to hunt through a massive gnarly patch of driftwood to retrieve it. The things this man does for his children.

I have a faint memory of an afternoon with my dad flying a kite in the field behind our house. I was only three years old when we lived in that house, but that moment with my dad was so thrilling that the memory is forever etched in my mind. For this reason, I love to watch my children fly kites. Even when they are virtual adults. It makes me happy. I hope this will be one of their anchor memories.

I love watching this sweet boy of mine getting out all of his energy without any restrictions. He can just run and run to his heart's content. 

Goodbye sweet little lighthouse of mine. We'll try to bring all of the children with us next time.

With the remainder of our time, the kids wanted to check out the shops in downtown Bandon. First stop, Coastal Mist chocolate shop and bakery. That we would find such delicious Belgian chocolates and pastries in such a sleepy town as this made us all very happy.

Sabrina fell in love with this wall and insisted that I take a picture because she absolutely adores Gene Wilder in this movie.

This is the single very expensive but so scrumptious chocolate that I bought for myself.

We noticed that the shops in Bandon closed at 4:00ish and 3:00ish, and sometimes at whatever the heck time they felt like closing up shop. We fell in love with the locals as we wandered from shop to shop.

Then there was the bookstore with this policy. Only in quiet little coastal towns.

Some more signs that we couldn't help but chuckle at.

Then there was this sign found just around the corner from our beach shack. It's true. There were gooziz ranging all around this particular home.

And there was more than one sign like this found around Bandon. If your dog needs a potty break, well he'd better go find himself another log.

It's 4:00, and the town is officially asleep. If only the rest of us lived life a little more like the folks of Bandon Oregon.

We came home and indulged in our decadent pastries.

And we relaxed and watched some t.v. after a most enjoyable week.

Is that another macaroon I spot? She's a sucker for them.

And this is when that panicky feeling sets in. When the trip is coming to a close and you wonder if you saw all the things you wanted to see and did all of the things you wanted to do or whether you relaxed sufficiently. On this the last night in our Bandon Beach Shack, the answer was undoubtedly Yes!

Those Payoff Moments

"The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified." -Thomas S. Monson April 2011 Conference Address

I think most moms have small visions of the future as they raise their little ones. You know, those images of happy future events that somehow get you through the long days of wiping noses and changing diapers. We all have hopes of those future "mommy payoff moments". One of my future visions has always included the thought of seeing all of my children in the temple together.

My mommy payoff moment came last weekend, when my whole family was able to be in the temple together. Jonah turned twelve a week and a half ago. He has been eagerly anticipating that moment when he would be able to go into the temple, like his siblings, and participate in baptisms for the dead.

He wanted his first time to include his oldest sister whom he adores. So we made the trek up to Logan over Spring Break, picked up Jess, then proceeded to the Logan Temple to do baptisms. I was not only excited to see all of my children in the temple, but was excited because I had acquired some family names for them to perform proxy baptisms for. That "spirit of Elijah" seems to be burning within me lately, as I have a mild obsession with doing family history work. I find myself feeling so connected to my predecessors waiting on the other side of the veil, that I sometimes forget to feed my hungry posterity on this side of the veil. It's a common problem, I hear. It is an addiction I feel little guilt over.  The children can scrounge up a bowl of cereal, but my ancestors wait on the other side for work to be done that they cannot do themselves. There is truth in the statement that the work done in the temple has far greater meaning when we do it for our own family members.

 And the work truly is hastening. We had a one hour wait in the baptistry. There were a half a dozen families ahead of us with family names of their own to do work for. The Lord's work is rolling forth at exciting rates.

I sat quietly in the waiting area and watched through the glass as my Finnish ancestors' names appeared on the screen and watched as my sweet husband, dressed in white, baptized each of my children, dressed in white, for and in behalf of those whom I have never met yet feel a close connection to. It was a tender moment. One I will always treasure. It is a statement I have always made, and will make again. The very eternal nature of families is felt within the temple.

Afterward, the children were so kind as to indulge me in some photo opportunities. Actually, they had no choice, and they knew that. Then we ended up at the Bluebird for lunch. Sabrina had been craving the cordon bleu, and Jessica had been craving a vanilla cream soda, and Jonah had never been to this historic restaurant. It was a delightful way to end a delightful day.

As we made the hour drive home, Neil mentioned how fun that experience had been and asked the kids if they agreed. Jonah agreed that it had been fun but that it had also been tiring. Neil asked Sabrina to look up a scripture on her phone. It was a beautiful scripture, a scripture that reminded us that the kind of tired that we were experiencing was the best kind.

Doctrine and Covenants 123:13-15

"Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven-"

"These should then be attended to with great earnestness."

"Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things."