Monday, December 21, 2009


This last weekend found us driving to La Grande. Since Trevor has his driving permit, he drove several hours. This is him driving back home, over Meacham. Mark and I thought this would be a great learning experience for him. The roads were dry and clear, though there was dense fog coming down Cabbage. He did a wonderful job!

It was such a joy to see family in La Grande. We stayed with Robin's parents, ate pizza with the Carters and Scott's family. Played dice...the scorekeeper and his wife win again! The kids are all growing so fast and beginning to look so much like adults. God has blessed us all with such beautiful children. Scott and Ingrid - so fun to see you and meet Noah! Katie and Jessica - May God bless you!
Saturday night we spent the evening with Allan and Eddie - What a fun time of looking at pictures of their travels over the last year. We also checked out the Living Nativity at the Adventist Church in La Grande - so cool!!! Angels, animals, Bethlehem. The reminder that this small child that was born, came to save us all. God, you are amazing!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

We have a roof over the hot tub!

No more waiting for the rain storm to pass, we can now sit outside in the hot tub in the wettest weather! Mark designed and put up a roof over the last two weeks. He's pretty amazing with that handyman stuff . A big thank you to Allan for teaching him all that when he was a kid! Now, Trevor and Andrew are learning it, too. The roof is clear, UV rated, and beautiful!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Raphael - a new addition to our family!


After much prayer, we have a new addition to our family!
This is Raphael, named after a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Raphael is a 2009 Ninja 250. And it it green! Woo hoo!
As a family, we had been praying for God's will regarding a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is great 'man' time, something all the men LOVE! Even Robin enjoys a long ride.
So, God opened the door for Raphael. He provided a motorcycle with few miles on it, no dents or scratches, at a reduced price. To top it off, we bought it from another pastor!
Now Andrew gets dropped off at school daily on Raphael - the coolest kid in town! Thank you, God, for blessing our family!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Where has the time gone?


This picture is courtesy of Karen, she found this and forwarded it to Mark and I. It's amazing to see how the boys have grown! Trevor is now driving, Andrew is in middle school. Both are involved working at church. God has blessed us!
Names of the boys - Trevor, John, Paul, Daniel. This was taken about 10 years ago...whew!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mt St Helens

We decided to drive up to Mt. St. Helens today, to check out the road since Mark and I rode the Tour de Blast last Saturday. We were both curious to see what the road looked like from the vantage point of a vehicle, and I wanted to see what Mark rode since I did the short ride (33 miles).
I must say, I have a deep respect for my husband and his riding ability. The elevation gains, the hills that kept going on and on, added to cold weather and decreased visibility. Anyone who made it up that mountain at all is amazing! Nancy, we should try for Elk Rock next year. We will need to train for it - more of what we did on Saturday, with a steeper, longer hill. I know we can do it!
At the top we did the usual pictures and checked out the visitor center. The film they show is very impressive, showing the power of the mountain on the day it blew in 1980. They used words like awesome, amazing, powerful. It's funny. The mountain has that power because it was given by God. He is amazing, awesome and powerful.
Besides, how cool is it that he allowed the mountain to erupt on a sunny sunday morning so we could watch? It could have just as easily been in the middle of the night, or in bad weather.

Maybe, just maybe, he was showing us his power and might?

I love you, God, for your thoughtfulness to us. For showing us who you are, in all your power and glory.

Sunday, June 21, 2009


The Tour de Blast with Nancy at Mt St Helens. We rode from Toutle High School up to Hoffstadt Bluffs, about 33.22 miles for us. We has a blast (no pun intended!).
Mark and Matt did the 84 mile ride up to Johnston ridge - Mark was great, doing the ride in 5 hours.
Riding with a friend, in the woods, smelling the forest and going FAST down the mountain. The spaghetti feed at the end was soooo good! This is such a beautiful area to live in - in the last three weeks, I've been to the gorge, the beach, and the mountains. Thank you God!!

School is finally out!!!!!!

School is finally out - we went to Seaside with the church youth group. These people here, are some of my favorite people. God has worked miracles in their lives, drawing them closer to him. God was gracious, sending a guardian angel, for those who dug the sand pit- then wrestled in it.
We spent time playing, talking, bike riding, and worshipping. God is so good!

June 10th - Our 20 year anniversary!


June 10th - our 20 year anniversary. Mark and I went to Skamania Lodge to have some time away together. It was such a blessing to walk, and talk. I am blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life who loves me for who I am. Thank you, God, for blessing our marriage these last 20 years. May we glorify you in our relationship.

June 4th - Tornado warning in the 'couv


So, Mark and I decide to go out for a cup of coffee. It's sunny, nice. Some clouds. We decide not to go back to the car for our sunglasses, we'll sit inside today. By the time we ordered the coffee and sat down, the winds had started. It was sudden, very dramatic. The wind brought in lots of dust, obscuring objects in the distance. We thought it would be best for us to go home, and hang with the boys...just in case.
We saw branches down on the way home, the winds were whipping. The rains hit when we got home, no hail. Thunder and lightening. The storm ended up missing us.
It was such a dramatic reminder of the power of our God, that he can stir the winds and change the direction of our plans in an instant.
Who is this? That even the winds and the rain obey him?
He is Jesus. My God.

Robin's Birthday


It's my birthday! Woo Hoo! Mark got me a cake from Larson's. YUMMY!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009


Cooper and Andrew made Sticky buns for their TAG group on Tuesday night.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Stef and the kids in the Gorge

Stef called on Monday morning, asking if Mark and I wanted to drive down the Gorge with her and the kids - of course, we just had to go! It is such as beautiful day, playing with the kids, walking the trails, looking at the waterfalls! Chloe and I took this picture together. Too bad that Trevor and Andrew had school today! I can't wait until school gets out and they can go too! By the way, Happy Birthday to Grandma Claudson!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Hazel Dell Parade


Saturday brought warm temperatures, sunshine. friends....and the Hazel Dell Parade! Andrew marched with the Jefferson Marching Band - playing clarinet. Like a good Mom, I yelled as much as I could when he went by! All our friends joined in - the director, Mrs. Vogt, saw us and the band began to play! Woo Hoo! Thank you, Mrs. Vogt! They sounded wonderful - definitely the best band to march by! Sorry to embarrass you, Andrew, we were so excited to see you and Aiden!
A big Thank you to all our friends - It was so fun to sit in the sun and enjoy the parade with you all - especially Julia and Chloe! The best candy runners ever! I got my exercise with you!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

RACC 5/2/09


Saturday brought the RACC (Ride Around Clark County). Tom and Nancy rode with us - a great time of riding and hanging out. We rode from Clark College to Lacamas Lake and back. About 34 miles. God was kind to us, holding the heavy rain off until late afternoon!

Trevor's Birthday Bash!



Trevor turned a year older on Monday....we celebrated with friends at Sweet Tomatoes. He got to pick the restaurant and who came....we had a great time eating and talking. Thanks to all of you! Now....off to driving school......

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Robin's Parents come for a visit!



Robin's Parents came for a visit after being gone since January. In their spare time...they visited Costa Rica! We are looking forward to seeing all their pictures and hearing more stories. After dinner, we had the traditional trip to the ice cream parlor! Andrew had a brownie, topped with three scoops of honey vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, carmel and whipped cream.
Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad! We love you!

Monday, April 20, 2009


Charlie started to whine and cry on Saturday night. He wouldn't move off his bed, even to eat. We were all pretty worried about him. This morning, we took him to the Vet who determined he has a pulled muscle on his rear left leg - he's much happier now. It's amazing how helpful it is to have pain medication and muscle relaxants! He's still favoring his leg, tender on his side, but our happy, loving dog is back!

Zoo Tripwith the High School Group

Saturday found us at the Zoo with a million other people ready to celebrate Packy's 47th birthday. We saw all the animals, even yelled "Happy birthday" to Packy - even though he didn't respond, we all know he was glad to see us!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Back to School......


We are all back to school and work. The nice weather just started, up to 78 degrees and beautifully sunny. We've all spent as much time outside as we can. Trevor is working on his tree climbing skills, Andrew with amp-guarding with Cooper, Mark and Robin bike riding. Even Charlie finds patches of sunshine to lay in.
According to all calculations...only 9 mondays left, 51 days of school!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Spring Break is finally here!!!


We took off on Monday to ride the Mosier-Hood River Twin Tunnel Trail. It looked like the best day of the week for a ride...since the rest of the week was forecasted as rain. (Gotta take it when you can around here!)
The trail was about 5 miles one way, paved for pedestrians and bicycles only. It took us about 2 hours to ride the whole way (10 mile round trip). We had a blast riding, eating, and sightseeing. Even Charlie had a great time, he loves to ride on the back of Robin's bike.