DISAPPOINTMENT
by Phil Keaggy
"Disappointment, His appointment
Change one letter then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me...."
The largest continuous Ponderosa pine forest in the world sits in the town where our daughter Haley attends University. For months I planned and longed for a week's vacation just to sit under these trees for meditation, refreshing, renewal, revival. To get some grounding after a year of so much transition.
Then we'd top it off at a reunion with old friends from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Even that would be a bit about trees -- the husband is a graduate in forestry from VA TECH.
Ah, but God turned our "tree time" into more "PEOPLE TIME" than I could have ever imagined He could squeeze into a week! Indeed, it was FAR BETTER than my purpose!
Here's the photo essay:
FRIDAY-To Flagstaff
As usual, we'd planned to leave around 9 a.m.
As usual, we left about 2 p.m!
Arrived at yet another Route 66 dive motel.
Our 1st experience, 3 years ago, was being torn down. For some reason, the sign remains.
SATURDAY-Flagstaff & Tucson
Morning:
Haley honored in top 20% of her class
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Celebrating under the trees with Holly
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Right when the photo on the right was taken, we got a text from Marilyn Leis, saying they were in Albuquerque!
She and Rick (retired pastor of Connections Vineyard) were some of our best Tucson mentors in international adoption. Rick even picked us up at the airport when we brought Haley home from China.
They wanted to get a cup of coffee with us during their visit to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Rick is a fabulous photographer; the balloon festival is billed as one of the most photographed events in the world.
Told them we were going to Tucson, and maybe we could do that coffee when they got home. It is the thing we most regret that we didn't get to do on our trip. (We wished we'd also gotten to visit Connections Vineyard & Pantano Christian Church).
And so....we decided we'd stay home during balloon festival next year.
It's Oct, 6-14, 2018
Come see us!
After the ceremony, Holly, Chester, Steve & I drove down to Tucson and went straight to an event with the Red Thread Families.
Saturday Evening:
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Hanging around the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with Russell's beautiful mother Traci, who was in awe of it all. Photo by Mark Spitz.
So happy to see that the event is BACK in a park & that there were quite a few little ones gracing the space again. It was good to see the families who've been around a long time. Carol Thompson and I reminisced back when she sat at a park with me and a few others to work out details of how to establish Southern Arizona Families with Children from China (which has now morphed into the Red Thread Families)
Had a great chat with Jeannie Volyes about why both our daughters selected NAU over UofA. And, of course, we always have good times with the Sorenson family. Chester delighted in walking around the grass and making new friends, and we enjoyed the Chinese dinner and moon cakes.
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| Paisley and Holly after church |
MORNING CHURCH: Because we were staying on the west side, we went to the Springs Church in Marana with the Sorensons. It is a most welcoming place. Even got to see the dad (Mark) play guitar with the worship team.
http://thespringschurchmarana.com
AFTERNOON ROUNDS:
Breakfast at Jerry Bob's with Russell & Honour
Almost every Saturday morning, Steve and I lament that there is no Jerry Bob's in the Albuquerque area. We've even picked out a perfect place for a franchise in Rio Rancho! If only....
Jerry Bob’s Restaurant - Tucson, AZ
This little cafe holds wonderful memories for us of good, cheap, greasy food, bottomless coffee that walks, and uncountable after-church lunches when we first met Dave & Connie Riecke at Palo Verde church of Christ many, many moons ago.
Late Lunch at Little Anthony's
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| Honour and her crush -- a car salesman who is more interested in her than the restored car! |
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| Uncle Dave didn't get his mug in this pix as usual, but fortunately he DID eat lunch with us, along with Russell, Honour, and Emily! |
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| Holly's friend Emily Staller looks on as Holly turns blonde! |
We've visited upteen 50's diners on Route 66, from Albuquerque to Flagstaff.
NONE hold a candle to Little Anthony's. It's got the WHOLE shebang -- the cars, the decor, the music, the food, the friendliness and the fun.
It's Holly's fav place in Tucson; she and I always split the lunch special -- hamburger, fries, drink & sundae.
One of the original owners, the senior Tony Terry, resided at an apartment community where I worked in the 80's -- he was one of the most memorable and nicest tenants I've ever encountered.
After lunch (STILL MONDAY!)
We all separated.
- Steve visited Cobb to check on our rental house. Praying it rest soon!
- Honour & I did "our thing" together -- mani-pedi. No photos though.
- Finally, DINNER with the Sorenson family at...you guessed it... a Chinese buffet. We celebrated Mark & Jasper's birthdays.
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| In a span of 3 days, this is the 3rd time we hung out with Deb & Mark Sorenson and their amazing family! More than anything else, we seriously miss adoptive families like this in our New Mexico digs! |
TUESDAY, finally!
1st stop: Went to the Dinosaur McDonald's to surprise Harmony @ this job, but she'd gone home early and then plugged into us at The Bra Spa, recommended by Chrisan Coxe of Pantano Christian. ALL cities need a place like this. It was AWESOME.
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Harmony, pre-haircut.
Maybe the longest she's ever had it. She said it only grew that long because she works all the time, no time to get it cut. I thought it was so pretty this long. |
Harmony wanted to get haircuts together.
The receptionist noted that Steve "looked like a man who was used to waiting on a lot of women." With 4 daughters, you think?
Then we did what Harmony ALWAYS wants to do:
Dim Sum @ Gee's Garden
We were delighted to go because there's ZILCH good dim sum in Albuquerque. We've also found no decent Chinese food at all in Flagstaff, so Haley asked us to bring some of the dim sum dishes back to her....but no dice on that!
We did take a "dim sum" lunch to Honour at her work.
To CATALINA (still TUESDAY)
After all that weird food (I eat the sesame balls & bok choy), we drove all the way to Catalina to pick up 40 pounds of chicken breast from ZAYCON. Sadly, they don't come to New Mexico.
Unfortunately, that day everything in Tucson, Vail, and Benson had SOLD OUT so we had to go "half way to Phoenix" (as we jokingly say of Catalina) to pick up our order.
[ Squirrel: Catalina holds ONE fond memory for me: my 2nd Michael Martin Murphy concert. My 1st was with my parents in Ruidoso, NM when I wrote a feature story about him for the Roswell newspaper. http://www.michaelmartinmurphey.com ]
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ZAYCON FRESH truck hiding between the plants. Zaycon offers many kinds of food in volume at different times.You just drive up, open your truck, and the driver puts the package in your vehicle.
After a long trip in ice, the 40 pounds of chicken safely landed up in our freezer 5 days later....... |
To BENSON (still TUESDAY!)
After getting the chicken settled in our ice chests, we mosied on over about 30 miles from Tucson (COMPLETELY opposite Catalina!) to Benson, which isn't famous for much. Except that it's on the way to Tombstone, which is famous for, er, horrible gunfights.
However, we did connect up with some people in Benson who ARE famous in their circles. Jenny & John hosted dinner for us at the local pizza place, R&R Pizza. Local all the way! R&R Pizza Express
The founder of All the King's Horses Children's Ranch, Anna Lucor, joined us. So far Ana has authored two books: From Africa and From Invisible.
From Africa shows how her time as a missionary in Africa moved her to From Invisible, which eventually took form as a homeland mission for "children of promise" in the little ranching town of Benson, Arizona. 
WEDNESDAY
Morning with the Manchesters
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After John got their toddlers off to pre-school, Steve spent the morning with John while Jenny & I worked on a Homeland Mission Care Team for them & prayed through their new home on the ranch.
Holly took photos as she traipsed around the property with Ana. |
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON -- Back to Tucson
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| a strawberry eegee |
Stopped by a Tucson original, eegees, for lunch and to see another one of Holly's friends, Aniya. 
After that, we visited OUR friend, the beautiful Jennifer Huang, about MANY things. Before we had children, I remember her striking voice when she sang "How Great Thou Art" at a little Chinese church by the UofA; she wore a yellow flowered dress and she was pregnant with her 2nd daughter, Harmony. (Harmony is now working on her master's degree!)
When we lamented our lack of Chinese connection in New Mexico, she gave us her contacts at an Albuquerque Chinese church we hope to visit someday.
AND then....we drove on back to Flagstaff Wednesday night. Right in middle of Phoenix rush hour. Not fun.
Buffalo Park
FINALLY...1st time to sit under the pines on the trip! Maybe 20 minutes!
Afterwards we took Haley out for Mexican food, and then she took us back to her dorm so we could do our laundry in the common space. DID WE REALLY DO THAT? My parents would have NEVER! AWESOME DAUGHTER!
FRIDAY--Flagstaff
TODAY IS THE REASON
WE STARTED THIS VACAY!
After re-grouping most of the day, we had dinner with Besty, Kevin & Hannah Sigmon at 1899.
When I heard they'd be at the Grand Canyon this week, we decided to go see them if Steve could get off for a few days. When he got off for a WHOLE week, we had NO IDEA we'd have such a BUSY trip. Just to get to see the Sigmons!
The place we re-united in Flagstaff makes it easy to remember when NAU was established: 1899!
It also has great eclectic food and is so close to campus that Haley walked there (in the new shoes Honour sent her!)
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| The Sigmons from Virginia came to northern Arizona so Hannah and Kevin could run in a 1/2 Marathon at the Grand Canyon they day after this photo was taken. Kevin said it was one of the hardest runs they'd ever done....the road was dusty and rocky, and he feel down a couple of times looking at the scenery! They had more trouble with dry air than the elevation. I still miss that Virginia humidity! Unfortunately, Haley had to go back to study before the pix was taken. |
Betsy and I roomed together at VA TECH, with other friends, in two different apartments owned by lovely people from Blacksburg church of Christ. After I got my master's degree, and she got married, I lived with her and Kevin in Richmond, VA for several months.
Next reunion, Lord willing: -- a little town of TREES where they live in Virginia!
SATURDAY-Flagstaff
We walked to Goodwill from the motel to photograph these trees (above & right).
College towns may be the best place to buy used books! Hardbacks @ Goodwill were only 50 cents, paperbacks 25 cents. The variety was expansive.
THEN, we visited Haley and Chester in the dorm. He went to Tucson with us, but she kept him while we were in Flagstaff.
Ordered Domino's, went to study room with her, she invited some of her friends, and we all chowed down the pizza with her friends. DO PARENTS EVEN DO THAT?
They were OK with us, they tolerated Chester. The friends said we need to see the Arboretum in SPRING! (I hope that road is better by then!)
Back to hotel to get ready to leave. We'd planned to put the chicken in the van because it was FREEZING outside at night, but the latch on the back got stuck, so back-burnered it all until Sunday morning.
SUNDAY-Home!
Captured Haley for NY moment to say "hasta la vista" and got on the road again. The traffic on I-40 was just as congested as it was when we came. Steve blames amazon for the never ending lines of trucks. Saw a zillion freight trains puff past too!
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Steve always TRIES to NOT stop in Gallup, weird things often happen there. .
But we almost always DO stop in Gallup.
As we did this time.
Drove through a HUGE anti-abortion demonstration to get to Denny's.
As we were leaving, Steve's sister texted that his mom needed to go to the hospital. We said we'd been home soon, but who knew...the highway dropped down to ONE lane on our side for endless miles.
When we FINALLY got home, and got that chicken in the freezer, Steve zipped up his vacation at the hospital to see his mom. |
UNTIL NEXT GO-ROUND
of God's BEST appointments!
