Math...odds & ends...

It's been awhile! I have been staring at this blank screen for quite some time now, unsure of what to write about. So, I decided that instead of letting another night pass with me staring at a blank blog screen...I should just share some random updates instead. I just finished my first math test in my second math class. It was EASY. I never thought I'd say that about math. However, I felt extremely confident going into the test, and even more coming out of it. I am so thankful for the foundation that my first class laid for me! I am getting increasingly more excited about Nursing too...it seems so tangible, even though it's still quite some time away. My nanny job that I have had for a couple years now is going well. Sara, the 2.5 year old said the sweetest thing to me today on our walk. We were looking at the flowers, and talking about worms, and slugs, and purple tulips, and she randomly exclaimed that she was going to be a "soccer player just like Shireen {her 4 year old sister} when I grow up". She then proceeded to tell me that she was going to be a Mommy, AND a Daddy. Lastly, but of course, not Leastly...she told me that she wanted to be "just like Heidi when she grows up". It made me smile and appreciate the 2.5 years I've invested into these precious girls' lives. I will miss them terribly in August, but I am also ready for a change of pace, and taking more classes. The women's conference at Grace was last weekend; what a success! I was a greeter and enjoyed meeting 3 new ladies that have been in the Nursing field (specifically Labor and Delivery/NICU) for over 20 years now. Is that a God thing or what? God thoroughly saturated my being last weekend, and I am excited to be living and experiencing tangible changes He's doing right now in my life, as well as in our marriage. I can't remember if I ever blogged about my veggie garden yet...I started my veggie seeds a few weeks ago indoors, and they are growing like crazy! I am so excited to start planting outside soon. I am growing lettuce, long sweet peppers, a medley of bell peppers, cucumbers, broccolli, 5 different kinds of tomatoe plants, corn, chives, parsley, cilantro, basil, and Tim's favorites...3 different kinds of Strawberry plants. It's been an adventure, and our second bedroom is a little out of control at the moment :) I'll post a pic of it soon.

-H

Happy Easter & Ice Packs

First of all, since it is the reason why we live and breathe, Happy Easter! Glory be to God who gives grace to the humble and watches over His children!

Secondly, I am sure you are asking "why in the world did he put 'ice packs' in the title?" Well, As you can see below, We completely renovated our outdoor 7x13 dirt plot. I wish I had the "before" photo to show you, but when we first moved in, there was nothing but mud, a lifeless tree and a beautiful green electric box out front. Now, as you see in this series, we have transformed that small rectangle of dirt into a charming garden area. Heidi plans to transplant her seedlings once they mature a little more.


Friday night we drew up a plan on what it could look like and tilled the ground around 11pm.



Saturday, after practice for Easter Sunday, we borrowed Jeanne's truck and hauled away 12 wheelbarrows full of free river rock we found of course on none other than craigslist.




Durring a brief downpour, we took a Wal-mart excursion to gather plastic fencing to outline our garden and separate soil from rock.




As we enlayed our design, things began to take shape and ideas began to form. Heidi began to enrich the soil with compost and potting mix to prepare for her vegtable garden.




As we were playing in the dirt, Heidi found a new friend. Jumpers. He is a little frog that is now living in our rocks. I guess we should change our blog now to "funny farm".



After a day of back-breaking rock work armed with 2 shovels, we acomplished a project with immediate results. Here is the fruits of our labor.





If you are interested in learning more about our involvement at church Sunday, I can send you an mp3 of our service an possibly e-mail you the video on Heidi's drama she was involved in. Just let me know. God has blessed you all because as He is risen!
"He's alive, Alive. Alive, Halelujah, Alive forever Amen!"

-T

Klamath Falls

Well, as You can see, Heidi was surprised! (well sorta, it is a dark photo)

She got an A on her Math and I told her we'd do something special. (little did she know, that I was already ahead of the game and planned a weekend away) I looked at the Trendwest time-share website for a great deal on their golf/ranch resort in Klamath Falls. (Thanks Mom and Dad for the use of your account!) I didn't tell her a ting until it was go time.





We recently bought a more gas efficient car and I was wondering how I was going to pry it away from Heidi Friday to pack it up for our trip. Thankfully, whe was low on gas and "had to get up early to get gas before work" so I volunteered my car as trade. "Oh honey, I'll get gas for you, you take my car." She fell for it hook, line and sinker! so, she left for work at 7:30am and I immediately packed the car with EVERYTHING we would need for a weekend of rollerblading, snowshoing, swimming, hiking... It ALL fit in the trunk and she was none the wiser. (this is our new 91 Corolla with 96k miles.)

When I told her we'd do something special, I suggested dinner out. I thought I would use the "dinner out" idea to get her in the car so we could leave, but we needed to leave earlier since it was a 5 hr drive. So, Friday afternoon she gets home just after I did and I let her water her plants, then tell her I want to show her something and we needed to drive to see it.

Here's the play by play:

"I have to show you something."
"Can I go to the bathroom first?"
"Absolutely."
"Will I need my purse?"
"I already got it."
"You already got it?"
"Yup, let's go!"
"Where are we going?"
"you'll see when we get there."
"Talk to me!"
"We're going to Klamath Falls."
"We're What?!?"
"We're going to Klamath Falls."
"Are you serious?"
"yup"
"you're not serious."
"We're going to Klamath Falls."
"What?...Well, we need to turn around, I have to pack!"
"Done."
"What?"
"It's all in the trunk."
"clothess?"
"yup"
"toiletries?"
"yup"
"swim suit?"
"yup"
"Well... what about the cats?"
"Lani is coming over to feed them."
"what about my plants?"
"Lani knows how to water plants!"
"Are you serious?"
"Everything is ready, you just need to relax!"
"uh,"
"SURPRISE!"

That's sorta how it went. Thanks again to Joel and Lani for watching the kitties and for watering the plants. It was a great time to get away and talk in the car for 5 hrs as well as just do nothing.

Here are more photos to enjoy.



The Lodge ( where we played on our computers and watched the Final Four)






Some Deer we saw just hanging around...




The Ranch House Resturant that we didn't eat at...




And Klamath Lake

-T

Surprise!

Some of you knew I was planning to take Heidi to Klamath Falls this weekend on a surprise trip, Others did not (Heidi included - and boy was she surprised!). Here is a photo at our front door. More to come...

What weekend?

As most of you know, we have been busy people these days. As you can see, there isn't much in the way of counter space. Notice the pitcher. I will explain later. Here is our weekend and as always, some photos to share!

Last Thursday, The Subaru is "hopping" as Heidi would say. Not sure what it was, but we were getting sick of the 23mpg beast so we decided that if craigslist presented an option to sell our car and get a more gas efficient car that costs us nothing more than the sale of our car, it is worth it. This is probably the last time you'll see our Subaru.














Friday night (as we are housesitting) we get online and post the Subaru for above what it is worth. We get a few phone calls on the car and phone call from our friends Joe and Deana who tell us the exciting news of baby Benjamin. He looks like his dad!





Heidi also HAD to hold the little guy, so Saturday, we went to visit them Saturday in the hospital. Congrats to Joe and Deana!






Saturday we also looked at a car and accepted an offer on our Subaru. We checked out the car and thought about making an offer on it, but another option opened up later that night. First we had to see Rebecca St. James and Delerious in concert. AWESOME.



























Sunday I played drums at church and while playing "Everlasting God" I broke a stick (I love it when that happens!) I gave it to a young aspiring drummer, Sam. That afternoon, we drove to Oregon City to see another Corolla. This one a winner! (We'll introduce you to the latest member of the family with pictures on a later post) It was under what we got for our Subaru, but only enough to pay DEQ and DMV with a grand total of $8 profit. (not to mention what we will be saving in gas!)














Finally we end Sunday night with Dance lessons from Rick. (Thanks for posing guys, Tyler you're famous!)

So, you can tell now why our kitchen is a mess and why it was necessary to fill our Britta water pitcher in the tub. Yes I said tub. Recently we have been so busy that our kitchen has become what looks like Hiroshima! I was such a disaster that the only way to get drinking water in our pitcher was to go to the shower!

Things are about to slow down though, this is spring break week, and things will be different soon.

-T

A is for...

Apple computers (the cute kind, ie: 12" powerbooks that fit in the palm of your hand, well practically)
A, as in grade. (my MATH grade!!!!)

Okay, so you guessed it...I got a new to me computer, off craigslist on Tuesday night. It's super sweet, and I'm enjoying making it mine! For all of you geeks out there, it's a 1.33MHZ, 12" screen, g4 powerbook, 60GB hard drive, 756Ram. That's all I really know, oh, and it's wireless of course, and I am toting it everywhere. Tim is a bit envious, because it has a superdrive, so mine burns cd and dvds. Anyway, Tim and I are now official "commies" as a friend of ours would say.
I also checked my grade since my math final today, and I swung an A in my math class. I was averaging a high B, low A...but I guess my final turned out to be pretty good since it pulled my grade up a bit. My hard work really paid off, and it's just the confidence boost I needed before I start my next math class in a week. Tim and I are currently house sitting this weekend for some friends with two dogs. Angel is a lab mix, and Lilly is a 4.5 month old yellow lab. A real cutie! We are enjoying the NCAA games, GO OREGON!! (and KANSAS!) and eating pizza for our weekend date night. We are heading to the Delerious, Rebecca St. James Worship concert tomorrow night. Can't wait, it's going to rock. More later-
-H
Also, check out our new creation that's hanging in our dining room. I saw the idea in my Real Simple magazine, so Tim mounted the mirror behind the window frame, and drilled the silverware down below for hooks. I was trying to hit the vintage-coffee shop look :)

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm DONE! At least, until April 2nd, when my next math class starts up. Just handed in my math final that took me over 2 hours...geez. Anyway, I am so happy for facing a big challenge, and overcoming my fear of math. It wasn't that bad, and honestly, I actually enjoy math more than I realized. Now, just three more to go, and I'm done with Nursing math pre-reqs. Thanks for your prayers friends...I know many of you were thinking of me during my final. Tim and I are meeting up after he gets off work tonight to look at a potential computer we've budgeted for, for me. Yep, that's right, my own computer, a "commy" as Lani would suggest...(it's a mac powerbook) I will need my own computer, since Tim carries his around with him everywhere...(exaggerating a bit) for school in the fall. I found it on craigslist, and I think it's a winner. I am going to officially ring in my Spring Break starting.........NOW!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!

Spring Break, here I come!!!

I have my math final on Monday, and then I am done until April 2nd. Life will be busy again, once my next math class starts, but for now, I am enjoying my evenings once again. Tonight, I sorted through all of our scrapbooking stuff, and organized pics both on the computer, and the ones printed out since BEFORE our honeymoon. I have three major goals I want to accomplish during my break, which really means evenings only, as Tim works till 9pm during the workweek, and I still have my two days jobs during the days of break. Here they are:
1. Scrapbook starting from our 3rd anniversary trip to San Francisco
2. Apply for all scholarships for Fall/file FAFSA
3. Read, read, read...I have several books I have started that I need to finish!

A few highlights during my week...Tim brought me these beautiful flowers on Monday night, for finishing my 3rd math test successfully. I have tomorrow off from work, and Tim and I are looking forward to night skiing (down hill) with Joel and Lani. If you bring 4 cans of food to ski bowl, you get one lift ticket FREE! Huge value!!! So, we'll be on the slopes from 4-11pm at the World's Largest Night Ski area tomorrow night. One final note, I had my follow up Dr. appt. last Friday regarding my elevated Prolactin level, and Pituitary Tumor. The good news...My level dropped from a 54 to a 37. However, I have to increase my dose, because 37 is still too high. Thank you for your prayers. I could use them for not only the prolactin level to continue to decrease, but also for my emotional highs and lows. My hormones are starting to balance out again, and it's been a bit rough. :)

Sanctuary Smile

If you were at Grace this past Sunday, you know we were talking about being real, not fake (Psalm 73). If not, here is what you missed...




Foyer Face



Sanctuary Smile



Chapel Chin



Narthex Nose



Wait a minute! Who's that? and is that fair?






Saturday Joel and Lani came over to help us paint our Hallway. I think we got more on us than the wall!!

More to come...

The blur of life

Lately, life has been full of both challenges and revelations. Being involved in the new Grace College/Career group, we have been getting to know some good friends Joel and Lani as well ad Rick. Rick and I have been meeting early Tuesday mornings to study prayer, pray for each other and just live life deliberately. He and I recently went to Jars of Clay, Needtobreathe and Burlap to cashmere (yes burlap to cashmere is still around!) I remember the first time I saw Burlap it was with Jars as well in Joplin, MO before Angel and Chris were married! Between Rick and I, We really enjoyed Needtobreathe. They are fom South Carolina and played a great southern rock/blues styleand their drummer was amazing. We both enjoyed chatting with him after the concert. I'd post a photo, but I forgot my camera. I'll see if I can't get the one Rick took with his phone.


With Joel and Lani, we have been washing dishes. A couple weeks ago, I helped Joel install their new dishwasher. It was quite an experience as we went to Home Depot to get a hose, and got caught by an older guy who "knew EVERYTHING" (only he didn't even listen to our situation so he was no help) After we got back, we returned because we got the wrong fitting (only later to see from that same "know-it-all" that the piece we needed was already included in the bag we just returned. (oops!) We had some great fun doing that. Then this weekend, Heidi and I took some stuff to the ReBuilding Center to donate, and found a dishwasher for us. A stainless steel GE Monogram for $70! (we later looked at Lowes to see a similar model for close to $750) So, we are STILL in process of installing that. I pulled the old one and plugged this one in fine, but due to the copper hose, it won't push back in as far. I need to replace the hose, but it will have to wait until the weekend. On most days, I work from 9am -9pm. Mondays and Tuesdays are only evenings, but while it has been busy, I am thankful and glad for the income. It is needed with Heidi taking another Math class. I am so proud of her. She has struggled with the idea of math for awhile, and now she is not only good at it, but enjoys it!

Anyway, here are some photos to enjoy of our dishwashing experience:











Also, most of the Family in the mid-west know about the newest member of my family. My cousin Lorrie had their first February 20th. Little Rowdy Jace Benedick is a cute little boy that I am looking forward to meeting when Heidi and I travel to KS this Christmas. Here is him and his parents:






One final thought before I extend this novel too far, This past weekend Our church put on a conference for staff, elders and spouses and discussed our strengths, what we each have personally to offer to ministry and such. I took this inventory test a while back and it has really been helpful for seeing how God wired me. Knowing how I am wired, I can see what type of jobs and ministries I will thrive best in. In short, pray for me as I have been battling the "what does my career look like" question for a while. I am sitting down with Pastor Jay and have been praying with Rick about all of this. I will keep you all informed. If you would like to take the inventory, get the "living your strengths" book and take the test. I found it quite helpful not only for myself but also for Heidi. I know now how she is wired so I understand why she does and thinks how she does and we can share deeper intimacy now that we know how God made us. Anyway, Enjoy the photos and we'll keep this puppy updated more often.

-T

By the way, just so you know, you can see the full image of any photo on our blog by double clicking on it.

What life has looked like for me.

As you can tell by reading our blog, either I have been gone for almost a month, or Heidi is the only one who posts anymore. Not true. My life has just been a whirlwind lately. I have been working some days 9am-9pm. I have more to share, but let this photo remind you to pray for us and wet your appetiete for my stories to come.

-T

Mt. Hood

Joel, and Lani Roberts went up to Mt. Hood "snow bunny" with us last weekend...we had tons of fun having snow ball fights, and burying "the dead" Yo-Hann in the snow. May you rest in peace! (with your electric blue stocking cap...) Enjoy!

What A Week...or Month?

I know I'm not the only one who feels as if their week was a tornado in disguise...that's how I've been feeling the past 3 weeks! The past few weeks, (actually, 2 months) my head has been stuck in a math book, as I'm in my 8th week of my winter term math class. I have decided, once again, to pursue a Nursing career! Tim and I are excited about this new adventure, and are financially preparing/planning for me to be in school full time in the fall. That's been the biggest change of all in my life, this past month, and though, it's more difficult for me time-wise, I feel excited to be devoting so much of my time to one of my passions. There have been quite a few significant changes the past few weeks--hopefully, I'll be able to stay more organized with blogging these out individually in the future, so I don't bombard you all with new news!! :) Here are a few updates:
*I am taking my medication for the tumor, and it's working!!! I am also taking quite a few food supplements, through Shaklee. The energy and health I have are a true blessing. I have a Dr.'s appt. next Friday, and had my blood drawn yesterday.
*I have a second nanny job that I started on Monday. The second family I took on, (Lena's neighbors) aren't needing me in the afternoons due to a sale of their new business, so I found something (actually, God delivered it to me via craigslist!!!) that just happens to be in the same neighborhood as I already work (Sunnyside), for 12 hours a week. I care for a 4 month old boy named Aiden. He's adorable, and I am enjoying my time with him. The schedule is a perfect fit during the afternoons, and allows me to continue my schooling.
Those are the big changes currently. Tim and I have been cherishing our weekends together, and have been enjoying a new friendship with Joel and Lani Roberts, from Grace. Last weekend we went up to Ski Bowl (Mt. Hood) and had a huge snowball fight, and went sledding. What fun!!!! They are a true blessing, to Tim and I. We also enjoyed Shireen's 4th birthday party last Saturday. Hard to believe I started watching the girls when Shireen was 18 months!! I will post some pictures in a day or two. I have lots to share! For now, it's back to the books...I have lots of math homework to stare at. Oh, and also, I have a myspace account thanks to Lani for convincing me to enter the world of cyberspace. I will link it to our blog once I figure out how to. :)
-H

What is that?

Can you guess what I am up to next? Heidi suggested our next blog be a "countdown to IKEA coming to Portland" I say that is a good idea, but I had to share a RANDOM photo with an idea for our house. We are going to be painting our bedroom soon (before the end of the year) and we are going with a beach theme. I found this old knot of nets and rope on the beach at the end of January and thought the net might be a cool addition for decoration. Heidi is somewhat ok with the idea of "Natural Beach Memorabilia", but has forwarned me of the rotten ocean smell. I tossed it atop my car and we "aired it out" on the way home. We'll see how stinky it gets after I wash it off with a garden hose! (and a couple cups of bleach ;)

Also, I wanted to share with you the Seaside Spruce. For those of you who have gone to the beach with us, the Giant Sitka Spruce is on it's last leg. After some wind damage last Nov and Dec, they have closed it off for viewers as it may fall over. Here are some last photos to enjoy ot that!








By the way, I couldn't pass up a pretty Seaside Sunset!


-T

New Features

Well, for those who have checked our blog before and have not posted a comment or a reply, We have changed the settings for you to e-mail us by the link on the side of the page (along with some fun websites;) If you want to post a comment, it should be set now so you can post a comment without being a member. You will just be annonoymous if you are not a member and have your own blog.

Superbowl party this weekend! we'll post more photos on Monday!

-T

Our Beach Trip

Waves, fresh Halibut from Moe's, sleeping in, staying up till 2am watching the discovery channel or animal planet, swimming next to the ocean in a heated pool...oh, the joys of vacationing along the coast! Not to mention, it was 12 degrees WARMER at Seaside than it was in Portland, with absolutely no wind. Yep, Tim and I were in t-shirts, jeans and flip flops for the most part, despite it being January. We had a great time! It was so wonderful to get away, regroup, and recharge for another season of life. Here are a few pics to enjoy--
-H