Wandering Willow

From the very first moment we met our little Willow-tree in Lanzhou, China we knew she had an adventuresome spirit. After studiously peering at us through the corners of those pensive eyes perfectly angled in our direction (without ever turning her head), she immediately began to jaunt around the hotel room where we were introduced and proceeded to examine just about every nook and cranny she could focus upon. With all of us pretty much following her wherever she went that day, we secretly wondered, "Is she really going to be that exploratory in real-life?" Uh, yeah!!! Why just yesterday we were at a party with some friends (the girls came with us) and we saw her heading toward the back hallway of their house. Several of us decided we better go see where she had disappeared to, only to discover after a few minutes of searching that she was silently playing in their empty bathtub, hidden behind the shower curtain. Then, only minutes or so after that incident, Poppy yells out loud to all of us in the backyard, "Has anyone seen Willow?" (Not good when your three year old is doing the work of an adult.) Sure enough, Willow had found another great spot to investigate in the house that was quite intriguing to her inquisitive mind. And finally today (this one takes the cake), I looked out our living room window after having just been with Willow in the backyard moments before, and she was working her way toward the culdesac in our neighborhood, bouncing with her signature stride without a care in the world as if she were going to discover the area all by herself. (She had gone out the front door and shut it behind her on the way out.) Lest you think we're irresponsible parents, I can assure you that these heart-stopping occurrences literally happen in the twinkling of an eye. This wandering Willow is something else; bringing us lots of joy, and also keeping us on our toes.

"Meanwhile, back at the other ranches...," Barret made it safely all the way to San Diego (today he heads on down to San Quintin, Mexico), Annie finished up her first full week of counseling at Mount Hermon, and Austin's safely in Paris with his friend Brian. You can catch a few details about his tour by dialing into his weblog.

Just a few more pictures of the girls below.

Worn-Out from Wandering Willow,

Tom