Saturday, November 21, 2009

October 2009

Jason surprised me the morning before my birthday and told me to pack a bag - we were going to the beach for 2 days. He took me to Lincoln City and we ate at Kyllo's for lunch - my favorite place. Then we headed south to a little glass shop where my birthday present was to make something. We had options of a paperweight, float, a bowl, and a couple other decorative pieces and we both chose to make a paperweight. Jason went first and did a spiral design. Then I did mine with flowers. It was a lot of fun and a unique gift from my wonderful husband!

We stayed at a place right on the beach, watched the sunset, and enjoyed pizza for dinner. The next morning we headed to Depoe Bay and went on a whale watching tour - and we saw a whale. It was fun, but the Dramamine that we took made us both sleepy, so we took a nap in the truck before heading home.


The next weekend, my mom needed to go to California for a meeting and went along to help drive. We stopped at K & R Drive In for ice cream & In-n-Out for lunch both ways. Mom & I were able to see Aunt Pat & Uncle John and also had lunch with cousin John & his girlfriend Terry. We also spent time with Jason's family - Tris, Debbie, Kiana, & Alana. We went up to Apple Hill with them, the girls got painted faces, some of took a very long hike, and we all enjoyed an apple dessert. It was a fun long weekend!

It's Been a While

I'm finally back to the blog. Jason & I have been settling in here in our home after our wonderful honeymoon, still remodeling, and have a son in our home for a couple of months.

We enjoyed 11 days in Cancun for our honeymoon at a nice place right on the beach. Jason found a great place that was away from the crowds and craziness of spring breakers. We snorkeled, did a snuba dive, got to play with dolphins, and swam in an underground river. The food was really good and the sand was warm and white.
Then back to reality - we both went back to work and then we started in on remodeling projects. We picked out flooring for the kitchen / laundry room, ordered cabinets for the laundry room, and started on the install. Erik - our teenage helper - came over to help and he put holes in our wall and laid down on the job but was able to install the dryer vent, laundry room cabinets, and lay the flooring with Jason.

Jason & I tackled installing a new front door and a new back door (on different days). The front door was harder to rip out and Jason had to cut down the siding a bit to get it to go in, but it is in and we are enjoying it. The back door had it's own issue - we got the wrong size, so I stayed at home without a back door while Jason did a quick exchange.

There was more flooring after the kitchen / laundry rooms were done so Jason laid flooring in the office too. We purchased a closet organizer and have new closet doors that are waiting to be hung. And we gave our old futon to friends and purchased a new one from IKEA that will be much more comfortable for guests (when the spare bed is already in use).

In the middle of September, Kate was laid off from Regence (along with 11 other employees). It was a shock but I am glad that we are okay financially and I'm glad that I was not one of those left behind with more work to do. So I am looking for a new job but they are few and far between and I haven't found anything yet.

In October, Jason surprised me with 2 days at the beach and a wonderful birthday gift. And I took a quick trip to Cali with my mom (both of which I will blog about separately).

One of our matchmaker's - Deborah - just purchased a new home in Sherwood and her youngest son, Erik, wanted to stay at David Douglas until he transfers to Australia as an exchange student in January. So Erik moved in with us two weeks ago and is staying with us so that he didn't have to transfer schools twice in a couple of months.

That is what has been happening with us since the wedding. And we are looking forward to Jason's mom coming up for Thanksgiving and Christmas is right around the corner.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Wedding Pictures

We just got the official wedding pictures this week and here are a few. We started by taking a few shots outside at church, then inside the church. Then after we left the reception, the photographer joined us at the Embassy Suites in downtown Portland for some more pictures. Enjoy!


There were a total of 913 shots and if you would like to see more than we have here - just let me know and we'll hook you up.

Friday, February 27, 2009

7 Days

One week from right now - I will have just finished my hair appointment and will be heading to the church to get dressed and ready for our wedding! Jason & I are really looking forward to getting married and being surrounded by so many friends & family at the wedding but we are both ready for the planning to be done. And then there's the 11-days in Mexico to look forward to.
Kate's Grandma arrived this week. Tonight is a shower at Mt Scott Church of God for Jason & I. Saturday, Jason's family is driving up. And then on Sunday there is an Abundant Life shower for Kate at the Parkrose campus. It's nice to have time with family & friends before our big day. If we don't see you this weekend - we hope to see you at the wedding!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents,
Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion;
his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights, I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass it on.
If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Wedding RSVP's

Jason & I sent out the invitations and are beginning to get RSVP's for the big day. If you would like to RSVP here for the wedding - just add a comment. Or you can call or email us. We look forward to seeing everyone who is able to come. It's just four weeks away!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Too Busy to Blog

Things have been so busy with the two weeks of snow that we had, Christmas here & the California Christmas that never happened, and wedding plans that I haven't had a chance to blog in quite a while. So here's a quick update:

1) Snow - snow - snow - we got quite a bit of it. I asked Jason if we were still in Portland. I had to shovel 16-20 inches out of my long drive way just so that I could get my car out. Luckily Jason has a 4x4 and took us where we needed to go before I got my car out.

2) Christmas - we celebrated with my brother's family on Sunday the 21st because Jason & I were supposed to fly to California on the 22nd - but our flight was one of the flights that got cancelled. We enjoyed celebrating with my Rob, Debbie, Nicole, Amanda, and the newest member of our family - Ricky! And Christmas eve & day were spent with friends. Jason & I were both bummed that we were unable to make it to California to spend Christmas with Tris, Debbie, Kiana, & Alana but we will see them when they come up for our wedding.

3) Wedding plans - Jason came up with a great analogy for wedding planning, "It's like Thanksgiving dinnner - you get up early and put the turkey in, then you hang out for a while, then it's time to do the potatoes, the stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, etc". We have less than two months till our wedding and we are finalizing our registries, working on invitations, and trying to get everything else going & taken care of.

So if I don't get around to blogging - you'll know I'm 'working on dinner'. ;)