Testimony

As I have mentioned on here before- I love Sundays! I am grateful for the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. Taking a break from life's craziness gives me a chance to slow down and remember  what is truly important and what is not. Today I was able to attend church and worship my Heavenly Father, cradle a baby, make meals with my Randy, reconnect with loved ones, study my scriptures and listen to recent General Conference talks. I feel so good right now- I can feel the Spirit in my home and within my heart as I write this.

God loves us and cares about us. We came to Earth to decide who we will become. We are meant to be happy now even amongst challenges and hardships. God has blessed us with innumerable tender mercies. God has also given us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who came into the world to provide a way to cleanse us from sin and to lift us higher. Jesus Christ is our brother and I love Him dearly. I am looking forward to the day I can once again look into His eyes and tell him how much I love him.

Monthly Update

Exciting things in the McBride house in no particular order

• Games and desserts with Bryan and Rebecca that has become almost a weekly occurrence 
• Temple trip to the Spokane temple 
• Elk River Falls hike with Bryan
• Randy has been doing an amazing job getting the house ready to be put on the market- he's been painting, dejunking, packing, and fixing things around the house
• I just finished my Ag animal rotation where I worked with a yak, a 5 week old white tail fawn, a 3 month old camel, a one day old cria (baby alpaca), sheep, goats, and of course cows! I absolutely loved it! It was great to be back in the barn
• started my equine surgery rotation- so far I have witnessed one colic surgery, a sinus surgery, and successfully performed nerve blocks for the first time (my patient is one of the sweetest horses I have ever met) 
• trips to the Farmers Market in Moscow 
• Thanks to Randy the house stays clean, the laundry gets done, the towels are changed, and the animals are fed. I don't know how I survive without him. 
• Enjoyed lunch and laughs with Kristine and Nathan 
• was pushed the max on my small animal internal medicine rotation, but survived thanks to my incredible rotation mates and husband 
• celebrated my birthday at school for the first time ever! Thanks to Dr. Haines who supplied some cheese cake 
• Saw my first mission impossible movie with Rebecca and Bryan 

Sisters

The week that Randy came home my two incredible little sisters flew up for brunch. We went to a little French cafe in Spokane called Madeleines and it was so so good. Afterwards we went to Manato Park and showed my sisters where Randy and I got engaged. Chantel made us act it out for them to see. It was wonderful to laugh and catch up with my little sisters, I just wish they could have stayed longer. 

Our First Camping Trip

The week following Randy coming home, we went for a one night camping trip with Mitch. We went to a little place called Elk River about 70 miles from here. We stayed at an actual campsite. It wasn't my favorite camping experience. We couldn't have any form of fire including briquets (which we found out after we had tinfoil dinners) and the campsites were super close together. I felt like we had to whisper because our RV neighbors were so close. Also there were not any hikes or places to explore from the campground. We had to drive to the start of all trails. Neither of us slept well, as the result we were up, fed, and packed by 7 am.









Our first stop was a little paved trail to see the oldest tree (apart from the redwoods) in this area. Its a giant red cedar that estimated to be a least 3000 years old and about 13 feet in diameter. It was impressive. It was thought provoking to lean on a living thing that has been around since before the time of Jesus Christ and to think about all the world events that have occurred in this tree's life time while it quietly grows in a little grove in northern Idaho.

Afterwards we drove around looking for another adventure. We found a 5 mile loop that looked promising. As we were hiking along, we passed some recently fresh bear feces which got my heart pumping. We ended up in this beautiful meadow. Unfortunately there were 3 trails to choose from and no signs or trail markers to tell us which path to take. We decided to play it safe and turn around and return the way we came. 

After the meadow hike we hiked to the three waterfalls on the Elk River.

Lower Falls

Middle Falls 

Section of Middle Falls 

Upper Falls 

Wading in the Upper Falls 

I am glad we were able to get out of the house and explore some beautiful places. Most of all I am so glad to have my husband home.