Swimming Progress

Our homeschool group has swimming lessons every other month, and we decided to join them the last two times instead of paying for semi-private lessons as we had been doing. I was kind of surprised when they placed Abigail in with the level three swimmers, but she proved to be up to the task. She is several years younger than the others, and she looked so small next to them. Now, two sessions later, she is almost to level four! The last day of class the instructor let them jump off the springboard for the first time, and she was so excited!

Ryan was not happy to find out he was a level below his little sister, but I told him that if he worked hard he would soon catch up. Sure enough, after our last lesson yesterday, he was moved up to level three!

Photos from Ed's Wyoming Trip

For the first time in 27 years Ed, his sister and his Dad were together, so it was definitely a great photo opportunity. Though the circumstances were tragic, Ed's visit with his family was good, and despite the very long drive, he's so glad he went.


It was very cold (the coldest temp he saw was -17 on his drive home) but because it's so dry there, he says it didn't feel as cold as he expected.


You have to love those drive-thru liquor stores...how handy! LOL!

Ironic

Thaknfully my hubby got home safely this morning after another all-night drive. He traveled through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, over the Rocky Mountains (twice) and the only time he had any bad weather was 100 miles from home! It took him three hours to make that last leg of the journey because it snowed for about six hours this morning. Thanks again for all the prayers said on our behalf.

Presidential Nostalgia

Former President George W. Bush has been home in his beloved Texas for a week now, and I'm already missing him, his policies, his experience. I found a neat video made by the men who have been photographing him for the last ten years, and it gives a quick (five minutes) but neat glimpse into the man. I can't embed it, so just click on the link!

Photographing the President

Coming Home

Ed will be leaving shortly for the long drive home. Any prayers on his behalf will be greatly appreciated!

Three Down, Three To Go

Abby has lost three of her loose teeth so far, so I thought I'd better get a picture of her before she has those great big teeth come in!

Safe and Sound

Hubby arrived safely in Wyoming this afternoon after 17 hours of driving. He said it is 2 degrees there right now! Thanks so much for the prayers for his safety. He will be traveling again Monday.

Prayer Request

Earlier this week Ed's 25-year-old nephew committed suicide. Ed left a short time ago to drive to Wyoming to be with his sister and her family and for the memorial service to be held this weekend. Please pray for him as he travels and for his family as they grapple with the heartache and pain. I don't know if his family are truly believers or not, so that is my biggest prayer request. However, I pray they will be able to one day sing this song from the depths of their souls:

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Seriously?

I wondered how long it would take before we started hearing what a stellar job our new president is doing. I found out even sooner than I expected. Hubby participated in a telephone poll this evening--one day after the inaugeration--asking if he approves of the job President Obama is doing. Are you kidding me?

Dental Exam

The first thing the dentist said to me after Abby's exam last week was, "So, do you have a flexible spending account?" Ha! Words you just love to hear!


Apparently Abby's upper front two teeth are so large they are taking out four baby teeth instead of the usual two. The hygienist looked at her x-rays, let out a slow whistle and said, "Wow, you're going to need braces for her for sure." Take a good look at her smile now because she will have about five fewer teeth in the next several months. The good news is she has no cavities and neither does Ryan!

Sanctity of Life Sunday

This may be the last time (for at least four years) where the President of the United States issues a proclamation on the sacredness of human life, born and unborn. I didn't agree with everything President George Bush did while he held our nation's highest office, but I thank God for him and his service to our country. He was a champion of liberty for the born and the unborn! May God change the heart and mind of our soon-to-be president, especially on the issue of life.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America


All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

For Entertainment Purposes Only

For a few hours tonight, hubby and I are escaping to a fantasy world where terrorists are actually treated as evil and freedom-lovers do whatever has to be done to preserve life and liberty.

Reality, it is not; entertaining, it is!

Christmas Program

Due to our freak winter storm over Christmas, our church's Christmas programs were postponed not once but twice. So tonight the kids were finally able to present the program they worked so hard on! Abigail has been aching to get up on the stage, and tonight was her big night.




Ryan said he enjoyed it, but it was hard to tell by his performance. He doesn't love singing the way Abby does, so he wasn't nearly as excited. He got the privilege of having one of the few reading parts, and he did a great job with that!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!


This picture is for you, Dad. I'm glad you started reading my blog at last!

After Christmas Shopping

Yesterday we took a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth...for hubby anyway. We drove up to Lacey, Washington, to let Daddy spend some money at Cabela's. Turns out they were out of everything he wanted to get, so we went across town to the Sportsman Warehouse where he found what he was looking for. Despite not having what he wanted, it is an impressive store. The kids loved all the taxidermied animals and the live trout pond where you can feed really large fish.



Their favorite thing was when they fed the fish in the large aquariums. They had a trout aquarium, but the real excitement was in the other tank where there were walleye, bluegill, catfish, and bass. They threw live fish into this tank for feed, and the kids loved watching the fish hunt their prey (those fingerling trout were terrified!).



At one point during the feeding, a bluegill had a fish by the tail and was trying to get away by himself to finish eating it but a whole group of other fish were following him around trying to get it out of his mouth. Abby got all excited and said, "Look, it's a parade!"

Daddy's Girl

Abby: Mommy, sometimes I think I love Daddy more than God. I try to love God most though.

Me: Yes, I know it can be a hard thing to learn to love God more than anything else. Just keep praying and asking God to help you. So do you ever think you love Mommy more than God?

Abby: No.

Snow Crocus

We still have several of inches of snow covering the front yard, but it's just about gone in the back. The birds have seemed so happy to go about their usual activity of plucking worms out of the lawn.


We had snow covering the ground for so long and so deeply that I had almost forgotten about the broken limbs on the ground. We'll need to get those cut up and put into the yard debris bin soon.


When the snow was about a food deep, I shoveled a path for the UPS carrier to get to our door (totally unnecessary since they never showed up!), but I accidentally cut the corner of our sidewalk. It wouldn't be a big deal, but I see that our crocus are coming up! I hope us tromping over them for a week didn't kill any of them.


I don't remember them coming up this early last year, but maybe that's why they call them snow crocus?

Christmas 2008

As I mentioned before, we had the beautiful blessing of a white Christmas, and our whole family thoroughly enjoyed that! Other than the snow, our Christmas was fairly typical. The kids woke up just before 7:00, and we let them empty their stockings. While they were playing with the contents of their stockings, I got breakfast going. We then had our usual breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls. I made half the batch into orange rolls, but they weren't too popular (though I loved them!) so I guess I'll stick to the regular ones next year.


After breakfast cleanup, we opened presents. We had several packages that did not get delivered due to the snow (apparently Oregon UPS doesn't deliver in adverse weather).


We spent the remainder of the day playing with the kids and their new toys, playing games, and of course eating our usual prime rib for dinner.



The only bad note of the day was that Ryan got a severe headache right before dinner and had to go lay down. We gave him some pain medicine, and after an hour of laying still and listening to his new Adventures in Odyssey CD, he was feeling much better.

Catching Up

I haven't posted for a week because I've been enjoying my family, enjoying the holiday, enjoying the snow, and enjoying just plain relaxing! We had a nice quiet WHITE Christmas! So now I need to catch my blog up before I'm too far behind and I give up.


Christmas Eve we decided we'd better give the birds something to eat, so we threw some bread out for them. Our local birds aren't used to not being able to get to the ground for grubs and worms and such, and our ground has been covered for a week. Unfortunately, it started snowing again right after we threw out the bread, so they didn't find it before it was buried in an inch of snow. But a few days later when the snow melted, they were all over that bread, devouring it in no time at all!


Daddy and Ryan worked on a pirate ship puzzle that we've had for some time, and Mommy and Abby spent some time doing some last minute baking. Christmas music was playing in the background and snow was falling outside. It was a lovely day!


That evening the kids put on a play for us. It was nonsensical and goofy, but they had a great time!

First Day of Winter 2008

These were taken yesterday and the day before. Isn't it beautiful?