Helicopters & Horses

We have been blessed in that, when we moved out to the coast, that we made many friends with interesting jobs. This month, we have been able to visit a few of them and learn a little bit about what they do. Did you know that car seats are required on helicopters?



Here is Daniel with some of his friends touring a local dairy. The calves were not thrilled with all the nosy attention, but the boys were!



For Father's Day, we went to Wallowa Lake. When I was little, we spent a lot of time in this area, so it has been fun to come back and relive some of the traditions. Here is Daniel, in front of my all time favorite breakfast restaurant. The couple that run the place are from Hungary, and they make fresh doughnuts. Those warm doughnuts alone are enough of a motivation for me to get up early while on vacation.



Here are Don and Caleb getting ready for a walk. It rained most of the time we were there. So, the kayaks that you see on the top of our car spent most of the weekend staying just where you see them!



We did manage to get out and go fishing, though.





I have been really happy to watch Daniel develop an enthusiasm for horses. Here he is on Doc.



Here are a couple of other pictures of our little guy. He is always interested in what grandpa is up to.

Road Trip

We have put 2000 miles on our car, and we still aren't home yet! We've been busy the past few weeks. Don and I took the boys on a road trip through California. Here are some highlights:

I know, its a little weird, but I am going through this phase were I think farmers markets are really cool, so we stopped at a few on the way down through Chico.

Kelly, if you are reading this, this picture is for you:



It was not like we had veggies the entire time. Daniel actually had his first ever hamburger. I think In-N-Out was a good place to introduce the idea.



We finally made it to San Diego, where we met up with some friends. On one morning, we went to one of my favorite places: Balboa Park. If you have never been, it is definitely worth a trip down. There are several museums, all with interesting exhibits. We chose to go to the Model Train museum, (of course) from which I had to pry my husband and my child away. I am not a train person, but it was pretty cool.



So, we finally get to Disneyland, and the one thing that Daniel wants to rids is the Carousel... you know, the ride you can go on in any major city in the country? Not very exciting, but still fun.


We did get to some more exotic rides:





Daniel is still pondering why Mickey was wearing his bathrobe when they met:



And, Caleb got to take in a few rays at Huntington Beach:



Many people have questioned our taking this trip when the boys are so young. "You know," they say, "they are too young to remember the trip." Well, I guess we will just show them the picutres.

March

It's been a little while since I have posted anything, so I thought I would put up a few pictures of what we have been up to this month.

Daniel had his first sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house and when I came in to pick him up, we stopped off at the zoo to meet our friends April and Zachary. We are so thankful for our friends in Portland.




This photo makes me laugh because Daniel was in a "mood" and I was trying to make him smile so I could get a good photo with him and the elephant. You have to look hard to see the elephant, and the smile! Can you see Zack's little eyes in the corner?

The weather here has been gray and a little dreary (no surprise there) so we have been spending a lot of time indoors. In this time, I have learned how to make socks! I am very proud of these Italian socks! I think Daniel likes them, too.


Don's birthday was also this month, and I learned how to make an apple pie, which is his favorite. I am begining to feel like the Beav's mom!

Some other noteable things have been happening as well: we are in the process of purchasing of the house we have been renting. It has been tricky, since we have gone down to one income, and still own our old home in Milwaukie (which is being rented out) but I think we will be the proud owners of a home at the coast sometime next week.

I am getting asked a lot about Don's health. He is doing well. In fact, if we did not know better, we would not have any suspicions of a problem. We are continuing to visit with multiple physicians and get multiple reports of what, if anything, should be done to prevent another problem. We plan to have an angiogram of his brain sometime soon. We are continually reminded of God's Grace as we move through this situation.

Sunshine!

Sorry for more beach shots, but I can not help myself! We live in such a beautiful spot. I have really been encouraged by the 50-60 degree weather we have been having.






Don was able to spend his lunch break with us, where we dined on P&J sandwiches and Cheetos. I know, I am quite the gourmet. Daniel was pretty impressed, anyway.

People keep asking about Don's health, and we are happy to say that he is not experiencing any more issues. We met with a Doctor who specialises in the Gamma Knife procedure, and there is still a lot of head scratching going on trying to determine if we should intervene, or leave well enough alone. There is a significant risk that we would take on by using radiation to remove the malformation. They have asked Don to have an angiogram in the near future to learn a little more about the blood flow to this spot in his brain, which should (we hope) make the decision a little clearer. We will continue to keep you posted, and we are thankful for the prayers of our friends.

Here are a couple of shots of the boys. It has been fun watching the two learn to play with and enjoy each other. Now if we could just have the same learning with the potty!

Other December Pictures

We did not spend the entire month in snow. Here are some pictures of a warm morning that the boys and I spent at the beach:





That was a really fun day. I wished for a better camera, so I could zoom in closer to those pelicans! I have never seen them up close, before. Its entertaining to watch them landing and taking off. I guess this has been a record year for pelicans. Many thousands have been hanging out on the coast a month longer than is their habit.

The "Deep Freeze"

Well, as many of you are also experiencing, we have had a great dose of real Christmas weather! Record low temperatures and snow levels seem to have gotten every one's attention- which is a pleasant change from all the economic news by which we seem to have been so absorbed, lately. I was a little concerned for a while that we would lose our power, and thereby our heat, but it did not happen, praise God.


Its been a lot of fun watching Daniel experience snow for the first time.


Unfortunately, all the snow is melting here, but not in the big city, so our family may not be able to make it for the actual holiday. We know many others whose holiday plans have also been dissolved by the nasty road conditions.


Regardless of all the inconveniences this weather has caused, I can not help but feel that it is a special gift to have the countryside dressed especially for the Christmas holiday. Its almost like creation is celebrating our Savior's birth with us!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

The past few weeks have been pretty busy for us, and we have rounded it all out with Daniel's 3rd Birthday party last Saturday. We had a great time with family. Here are some shots of the big day:


As you can guess, it the day had a definate guitar theme.


Some Great news: On the day of the party, Don's vision was completely restored! So, we are back to one of everything! Now I don't have to be the chauffeur anymore!


Here's Daniel and Josiah, the floor show.


Pretty cute, huh?

Happy Halloween!

Daniel dressed up as a king this year, and we had a lot of fun. Our friends David and Tami came over and escorted us to the retirement home and around our neighborhood. In the photo below, you can see David and Caleb (the cow), and Daniel's new friend, Elmo (or Eric), from the playgroup we've started.You can tell that Daniel thinks this trick-or-treat thing is a great idea!

Recent photos

Well, I had a brainwave the other day.

Caleb and Daniel have a lot of relatives and friends in other parts of the world, so I thought I would start a little diary with photos of how we are spending our time these days since we have moved.

Since we have sworn off hospitals for the time being, we have decided that long walks at the state park are a much cheaper way of spending our time.

Daniel has decided that guitars are really the coolest thing in the entire world, and he is working on learning how to use them to make the most noise that he possibly can. We are sure that you will be hearing his name mentioned on the international music scene soon, so keep your ears open!

For those of you who want an update on Don, we have no news except that his vision is getting better! We have spoken with a neurologist, who is not sure how to advise us regarding the Gamma Knife procedure, which will blast out the little malformation in his brain, but may also cause some serious side effects from the radiation it would leave behind. So, we are planning to do another MRI in a few weeks, and speak with an Oncologist who might be able to give us a better idea of what our options really are. We know that many of you are praying for us, so we ask that you continue to ask that God will just take this problem away.

With the health issues aside, we are really doing well over here on the coast. God is keeping us safe and is granting us peace in the midst of our hectic lives. Of course we also have our fair share of giggles and "smooches" as well.

My plan is to update this site every month at the least, so stop by and write a comment, and let us know how you are doing!