A Taste of Life in La Grande

The transition to life in La Grande has been an interesting one for us.  We never expected we would end up living in this small city of about 10,000 people.  In fact, our plans were quite the opposite.  But when the Lord made it clear that He wanted us here, all we could do was follow.  Forest Grove was a small city as well, though easily twice the size of La Grande.

Here's a small taste of life in La Grande:

1) The sermon at church today was a masterful comparison of bow hunting and missionary work, complete with a copy of the Cabella's catalog displayed from the pulpit.  It really was an incredible talk.
 2) When leaving work one day this week my car door was blocked by a deer nibbling on an adjacent bush.  I waited patiently . . .
3) We are good friends with the Walmart greeter- even missed her when she left town for a week for a family reunion.
4) Speaking of Walmart, we've run into our movers, our pediatrician, the guy who put in our carpet, the owner of the local Mexican restaurant, the guy who delivered our washer, and a host of others while shopping.  In fact, I saw the Mexican restauranteur at the Post Office, the bank, and his restaurant all in the same day.
5) Just about every employee at the Post Office knows me by my first name.
6) When questioned about signing a lease our landlord responded, "Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't- I guess it's just not part of our culture in La Grande."
7) We've been told that we're sheltered because we don't hunt and fish, grow all our own food, or gather and split our own wood for the winter.
8) I have hand drawn maps to the best fishing holes to take my kids.
9) Commute to work?  Traffic?  These are definitely things of the past.  And I love it.
10) Everyone who meets us says, "Welcome to La Grande!"
11) We can actually see the end of the rainbow.
12) A few weeks before we moved my boss went to his dentist who said, "They announced at church that there's a new pharmacist coming to town- you know anything about him?"

All in all, we love it here.  Being two hours from a temple (and a Target) is a new experience, but we will adjust.