Well, after about 7 hours on the road on Wednesday, we made it to Dad's. It was an exhausting trip for me, the kids did really well, but I got really tired of driving, :) I bought the kids both a plastic lap tray and filled it with coloring books, crayons, markers and various things for them to do on the trip up. Ellie colored practically the whole way here. It was a great investment. Unfortunately Miles' carseat was too wide for it to fit over his legs correctly, so he had a harder time. He did really well though.
Miles was happy to get out and run around when we got here. Both of the kids fell asleep about half way around Hood Canal, so the did get about a 1 1/2 hour nap. We walked up to Tonie and Chucks, and visited with the kids a bit. Chuck gave Miles and Ellie a ride on the four wheeler, and they loved that. Then we came back and I scrounged up dinner, and put the kids to bed before collapsing into bed myself.
We went grocery shopping on Thursday morning and got to see Toniefor a few minutes at work. She was working on Wednesday so she could have Saturday off. I got a few groceries so I could make dinner. Dad has lots of meals in his freezer, but no ingredients like hamburger, chicken, things you actually cook. Next time I will have to remember that and stop at the grocery store and Sunny Farms on the way here :). Thursday night Andrea had a Kindergarten Alphabet Circus that we went too. Ellie enjoyed listening to the kids sing and do thier tricks. Miles was pretty entertained through most of it, but was done before they were.
Dad did have a turkey in the freezer, for who knows how long, so I cooked that today. I also swept, mopped and vacuumed his floors. They were really bad. I need to clean the bathrooms before I leave too I think. I'll get some stuff into his freezer before I go too.
Tonight I think Tonie, Chelsie and I are taking all the kids to the swimming pool in Sequim. Ellie missed her last swimming lesson yesterday, so I told her we could go swimming when we were here instead. It should be fun. Trina should be coming tonight too, so it will be nice to see her and the three younger kids. Austin and Douglas couldn't come because they had to work.
Tonie wants to go to Fort Warden tomorrow, but we will have to see what the weather is like. It would be nice to do something fun, but I'm not sure I really want to drive that far. Especially since I will be driving to Trina's on Sunday, and then home on Monday.
Well, I'd better go. I have Ellie, Miles and Tonie's Andrea all down for a nap. Funny thing is that Andrea gave me the least trouble! She just sweetly went in and laid down, my two cried and protested like they had never been lain down for a nap before! Dad went to town, and I am enjoying the peace and quiet.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
Yesterday while Ellie was in her swimming lesson, I recieved a call from Dad saying that Eleanor had gone home to be with the Lord.
For those that don't know her, Eleanor was an amazing lady who was an influence on my parents when they were teenagers. She served for many years as a missionary to the children of the North Olympic Peninsula. She never married, but has hundreds, if not thousands of spiritual sons and daughters. My Ellie is partly named after her.
I can only imagine her welcome in heaven. Her fellow missionary Alma Enroth will be there to greet her, as well as my mom and so many others that she introduced to Jesus. But first of all I am sure that she will be greeted by her Saviour, who will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master!"
So, again I am planning a trip to go to a funeral. I am still somewhat in a fog, although this has been expected for a few months now. I don't know when I will be leaving, or how long I will be there, but I do know I need to be there for Dad. He has taken this pretty hard, and with it being the around the same time Mom died, I think that makes it more fresh for him.
So, thank you God, for Eleanor and the influence she had on so many people, especially my family.
For those that don't know her, Eleanor was an amazing lady who was an influence on my parents when they were teenagers. She served for many years as a missionary to the children of the North Olympic Peninsula. She never married, but has hundreds, if not thousands of spiritual sons and daughters. My Ellie is partly named after her.
I can only imagine her welcome in heaven. Her fellow missionary Alma Enroth will be there to greet her, as well as my mom and so many others that she introduced to Jesus. But first of all I am sure that she will be greeted by her Saviour, who will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master!"
So, again I am planning a trip to go to a funeral. I am still somewhat in a fog, although this has been expected for a few months now. I don't know when I will be leaving, or how long I will be there, but I do know I need to be there for Dad. He has taken this pretty hard, and with it being the around the same time Mom died, I think that makes it more fresh for him.
So, thank you God, for Eleanor and the influence she had on so many people, especially my family.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
We're Baaaack!
We got back from our trip last night, and we are all really tired. We actually used up all the memory on our SD card and the internal memory in our camera! We took a ton of pictures and had a great time. If you look at all the pictures, you will know that we spent a lot of time at the beach! The kids loved it, and the weather was great, well, about as nice as you could ask for on the coast of Oregon in mid-May, anyway.
On Sunday, we stopped and had lunch in Coos Bay, then went to visit Lynn's sister, Shannon. On our way out of town, we stopped at Sunset Beach. The kids had a blast, Miles went running to the water first thing, and Ellie just wanted to sit and dig in the sand. Miles' pockets are full of rocks, I'm sure.
Then we drove south to Prehistoric Gardens, South of Port Orford. The kids had a blast there, and we went around the trails twice. Miles loved seeing all the dinosaurs. They both loved it though, it was really fun to see Miles react to the dinosuars. There was one that looked especially fierce. The kids were running up ahead of us, and I caught up to Miles stopped in his tracks just staring at it. It wasn't too hard to convince him it was safe to continue, but I did have to reassure him that it was just pretend.
We spent the night in Gold Beach, and the kids had the new experience of staying in a motel. They shared a queen size bed, and did pretty well. Lynn pushed it up against the wall, so Miles wouldn't fall out. He isn't used to sleeping in a bed. Poor Ellie had his feet in her back most of the night I think.
Monday we headed back up North, we stopped at Battle Rock in Port Orford, and spent at least an hour or more at the beach there. Miles loved running through the tunnel and going into the caves in the base of the rock, and again Ellie just wanted to dig in the sand. They found lots more rocks too. We were going to go the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, but we got out there only to discover that they are closed on Mondays. Ellie was very disappointed, but got over it when we told her we would go to a different lighthouse.
We stopped at the Game Park that is South of Bandon and had a great time there. The kids and I got to pet baby leopards. I think the lady said they were about 5 weeks old, and they were the size of a housecat. They were really soft too. The kids got to feed some goats and deer, and pet the llamas, deer, goats, and burro that were wandering around. There were peacocks all over too, which was neat. Then we went to the Coquille River Lighthouse and Ellie got to go into a lighthouse - finally! We played on the beach there for a while too.
After that it was to Coquille where we stopped at Pop's house to do a couple of things for Lynn's mom. Lynn's Aunt Suzy stopped by and visited with us for a while. Next we went to our friends Gary and Brenda's house where we spent the night. The kids always enjoy going to Gary and Brenda's . So do I! Gary let Lynn take Miles on a ride on his four wheeler. Miles loved it and came back freezing cold. Ellie was next, but was bundled up a bit more. They both loved it. It was really nice to relax and visit with them.
The next day we basically relaxed in the morning. We stopped at Coquille Produce to pick up lunch, they have great baked potatoes and salads there. We took our lunch to the park in Coquille and the kids got to play on the toys there. Then we stopped in Myrtle Point for Root Beer floats and it was off to our friends Bob and Sarah's house. Ellie had a great time playing with their daughter McKenzie who is only about a month older than her. She didn't want to leave there either! They fed us a very nice dinner, and then we were off to home.
This morning Ellie and I went to the Library for Story Time, and then Lynn had an appointment to get the temporary filling from his root canal a couple of weeks ago replaced with a permanent filling. Then we got to go out to lunch at the Chinese restaurant that we like here.
All in all it has been a very nice refreshing, yet exhausting few days, and tomorrow we are back to our routine, as well as getting everything back in order. The weather said it was going to be hot the next few days, so maybe we will get our garden planted!
On Sunday, we stopped and had lunch in Coos Bay, then went to visit Lynn's sister, Shannon. On our way out of town, we stopped at Sunset Beach. The kids had a blast, Miles went running to the water first thing, and Ellie just wanted to sit and dig in the sand. Miles' pockets are full of rocks, I'm sure.
Then we drove south to Prehistoric Gardens, South of Port Orford. The kids had a blast there, and we went around the trails twice. Miles loved seeing all the dinosaurs. They both loved it though, it was really fun to see Miles react to the dinosuars. There was one that looked especially fierce. The kids were running up ahead of us, and I caught up to Miles stopped in his tracks just staring at it. It wasn't too hard to convince him it was safe to continue, but I did have to reassure him that it was just pretend.
We spent the night in Gold Beach, and the kids had the new experience of staying in a motel. They shared a queen size bed, and did pretty well. Lynn pushed it up against the wall, so Miles wouldn't fall out. He isn't used to sleeping in a bed. Poor Ellie had his feet in her back most of the night I think.
Monday we headed back up North, we stopped at Battle Rock in Port Orford, and spent at least an hour or more at the beach there. Miles loved running through the tunnel and going into the caves in the base of the rock, and again Ellie just wanted to dig in the sand. They found lots more rocks too. We were going to go the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, but we got out there only to discover that they are closed on Mondays. Ellie was very disappointed, but got over it when we told her we would go to a different lighthouse.
We stopped at the Game Park that is South of Bandon and had a great time there. The kids and I got to pet baby leopards. I think the lady said they were about 5 weeks old, and they were the size of a housecat. They were really soft too. The kids got to feed some goats and deer, and pet the llamas, deer, goats, and burro that were wandering around. There were peacocks all over too, which was neat. Then we went to the Coquille River Lighthouse and Ellie got to go into a lighthouse - finally! We played on the beach there for a while too.
After that it was to Coquille where we stopped at Pop's house to do a couple of things for Lynn's mom. Lynn's Aunt Suzy stopped by and visited with us for a while. Next we went to our friends Gary and Brenda's house where we spent the night. The kids always enjoy going to Gary and Brenda's . So do I! Gary let Lynn take Miles on a ride on his four wheeler. Miles loved it and came back freezing cold. Ellie was next, but was bundled up a bit more. They both loved it. It was really nice to relax and visit with them.
The next day we basically relaxed in the morning. We stopped at Coquille Produce to pick up lunch, they have great baked potatoes and salads there. We took our lunch to the park in Coquille and the kids got to play on the toys there. Then we stopped in Myrtle Point for Root Beer floats and it was off to our friends Bob and Sarah's house. Ellie had a great time playing with their daughter McKenzie who is only about a month older than her. She didn't want to leave there either! They fed us a very nice dinner, and then we were off to home.
This morning Ellie and I went to the Library for Story Time, and then Lynn had an appointment to get the temporary filling from his root canal a couple of weeks ago replaced with a permanent filling. Then we got to go out to lunch at the Chinese restaurant that we like here.
All in all it has been a very nice refreshing, yet exhausting few days, and tomorrow we are back to our routine, as well as getting everything back in order. The weather said it was going to be hot the next few days, so maybe we will get our garden planted!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
For the past month or so, I have felt this building up. People talking about Mother's Day, advertisements about it, and so on. Ellie was watching the TV with me the other night and an advertisement about it came on. She was so cute, she said "They said 'Mom's Day', that means Mother's Day is coming up. I guess we need to buy you a gift!" She is so aware of gifts and gift giving occasions. I think her main Love Language has got to be gift giving.
This week has been really hard for me. I can't help but go back to that day a year ago. I can't help but remember my last Mother's Day. I can't help being sad. I am drained of energy and have no motivation to do anything at all. I guess this is normal, but I feel much like I did after it happened. Still in shock and kind of numb.
We are keeping the day quiet this year. We are not going to church, a decision which was cemented when Corey announced that he was doing a special Mother's Day sermon last Sunday. Instead, we are going on a trip. I think we are all looking forward to some time away. I know Lynn and I are. So, we will be out of town for the day. I plan on making some happy memories for the day, and I hope my sisters are too.
So, if any of you still read this, please know that I wish for you a happy Mother's Day, even though I know that you will be sad, as I will be too. I love you all, and will be thinking about you too.
This week has been really hard for me. I can't help but go back to that day a year ago. I can't help but remember my last Mother's Day. I can't help being sad. I am drained of energy and have no motivation to do anything at all. I guess this is normal, but I feel much like I did after it happened. Still in shock and kind of numb.
We are keeping the day quiet this year. We are not going to church, a decision which was cemented when Corey announced that he was doing a special Mother's Day sermon last Sunday. Instead, we are going on a trip. I think we are all looking forward to some time away. I know Lynn and I are. So, we will be out of town for the day. I plan on making some happy memories for the day, and I hope my sisters are too.
So, if any of you still read this, please know that I wish for you a happy Mother's Day, even though I know that you will be sad, as I will be too. I love you all, and will be thinking about you too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)