Harvest Carnival Fun

My mom will tell you, I never have been a fan of Halloween. Oh, don't get me wrong. I had some cute costumes growing up and of course I enjoyed the candy. I just never really liked getting dressed up, especially if that meant face paint (yuck!). Plus, I'm known for being a bit scared of the dark when I'm outside so trick-or-treating is not for me.

These days I really don't like Halloween or anything that it stands for (with one exception, I sure would like a little box of Dots right now!). I know I'll continue to struggle as our Little Miss gets older with the entire thing. For now, I'll be thankful that our church has a Harvest Carnival each year with the intent of inviting our local community. It's always a great turnout and fun to see the kiddos dressed up in "clean" costumes. We had a good time tonight hanging out with the Booths as well as Tim & Sophie Hanson.

Little Miss wore her OSU cheer leading uniform and made sure to "kill the duck" just for her favorite Duck fan (yes Jack, that's you!).

P.S. Before anyone asks, I hope our Little Miss doesn't follow in my footsteps and want to be a cheerleader. I'm pulling for soccer or track. If she's actually graceful (unlike her mom!) then gymnastics or ballet sounds good.

I admit it...I'm a health freak

Before you read on, I must make a disclaimer. I am a native Oregonian.

We all know that Oregonians are stereotyped as being liberal environmentalists who are health freaks. I don’t exactly have the liberal part down but our family is “environmentally aware” (Meaning that we feel strongly about recycling, reducing waste and caring for our environment. No, we don’t camp out in trees overnight to protect spotted owls). Health freak…well, not entirely (I have a sweet tooth and definitely have poundage to lose as a result)…but yes, I admit I have a slight obsession with healthy eating and healthy living. Isn't the first step to recovery admitting it?


I’d buy all organic, free-range, hormone and antibiotic free, grain-fed, all natural, 100% whole grains, no preservatives (etc., etc.) items if healthy food wasn’t so darned expensive. It’s frustrating that you have to pay MORE for foods processed LESS, is it not?

I make as much of our Little Miss' food as possible (obviously she must really like to eat since she seems to love my concoctions), try to make sure my family gets plenty of veggies (we still need to improve in that area), usually limit my meat consumption to one time/day or less, have been progressively decreasing the portion sizes of our meat and try to limit red meat to a couple times a month at the most (much to Hubby's dismay).
I’ve always been sort of a health-nut related to nutrition but most recently, I’ve even taken my obsession as far as to try buying environmentally friendly cleaners and all-natural, paraben and sodium lauryl sulfate free beauty products (with the exception of make-up. There are just some things a girl cannot, and should not, give up).
Who knows how long my health freakish obsession will last but for now, we’ll continue to increase our tofu and tempeh consumption (sorry Honey), shop more at the local Co-op, buy the
most highly-recommended organic foods …and be happy that we live in a state where even these changes still leave us feeling “mainstream”.

P.S. There are some things that humans just shouldn't try to live without. Notice the bib that says "I love chocolate" (thanks Mel!). Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants after all!

His & Hers...Enjoying our Differences

I enjoy figuring out how Hubby and I are created "uniquely" as man and woman. Some may say that males and females are the same (with exception of the obvious physical differences). We would beg to differ. Equal in God's eyes, yes, but created with very different characteristics, gifts and roles.

It's been enlightening for us to figure out even the simple differences such as our "tastes" and "likes". For the most part we have very similar tastes so things stand out when we have opposite preferences. For you husbands and wives out there, what are some of YOUR differences? Here are just a few of ours:

"HIS" Favorites - Lots of Pulp OJ, Milk Chocolate, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Strawberry Lemonade, Thick crust pizza, Soft bread, Miracle Whip, Colby Jack Cheese, Mexican Food, Math, Movies: Action and Suspense, TV: How It's Made, Extreme Engineering, Modern Marvels, Store: Home Depot

"HER" Favorites - No Pulp OJ, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Creamy Peanut Butter, Peach Iced Tea, Thinner crust pizza, Crusty-on-the-outside french bread, Mayo, Provolone, Thai Food, Any-subject-other-than math, Movies: Romantic Comedies, TV: Divine Design, House Hunters and Moving Up, Stores (plural!): Macy's, Anne Taylor Loft, Old Navy, Potterybarn, IKEA....

Regardless of our differences we are so blessed. Thankfully we share similar views for important topics like our beliefs, values, morals and politics. We also love the outdoors and enjoy doing a lot of the same hobbies together. And unlike many couples, we recognize how blessed we are to have many of the same close friends.

So, we will continue to buy "His" and "Hers" orange juice, peanut butter and chocolate chips. We will race to the remote when we both want to watch TV and will humor each other by watching the other's favorite movies. Most importantly, we will continue to enjoy learning more and more about our similarities and yes...even our differences...for as long as we both shall live.

Celebrating Our Southern Ladies

Happy Birthday!!! this week to our two favorite Southern gals! Tonya, Hubby's sis, as well as Savannah, Tonya's daughter and our niece, both celebrate their birthdays this week. We only wish we could be there to celebrate in person!

Tonya is faithfully serving our country as part of the armed forces, an admirable endeavor for certain! She is beautiful inside and out. Tonya has the gift of compassion and one of the kindest hearts you'll ever meet.

Savannah is an absolute beauty...watch out boys! It's a good thing that she has two brawny uncles to keep 'em at bay! Savannah's laugh is captivating. I'll never forget how she made our Little Miss giggle during our last visit to WI. She would smile and say her name which led to laughing fits by both girls. Too. Much. Fun.

Happy Birthday...we love and miss you!

Under-The-Weather

Wish we had something more exciting to post about but I'm sure all you parents out there will understand. Our Little Miss has been under-the-weather lately so our lives are consumed by mucous, tissue, a humidifier, grape Tylenol, berry-flavored Motrin and a cool new thermometer. Poor girl started off with just a runny nose about 10 days ago. That seemed to be getting better at the start of this week until Wed when she started acting extra whiny and needy, not at all her normal easy-going self.


Yesterday was more of the same so we made an appointment to take her to the doc this a.m. Thankfully she doesn't have an ear infection and it's just a nasty virus that's taking it's time to go away. Little Miss is still running a high temp so it's a good thing that she likes taking her medicine ("candy"). This too shall pass (and we have our whole lives to catch up on sleep, right?). The doc said that kiddos her age tend to get 2 viral infections each month during the late Fall/Winter months. Yippeee!

We're supposed to be getting family pics done tomorrow morning but we'll have to see how the Little Miss is doing. Other than that, we are going to lay low for the weekend. Maybe I'll actually take the time to think of a more interesting blog to post eh? :)

P.S. No, our girl doesn't have jaundice, I just forgot to turn the flash on. As for her temperature, it finally broke Friday evening (PTL!) and she's quickly starting to return to her normal happy self. Phew!

The Doors Are Open!

The Pastors and other leaders of our church had been waiting for 13+ years for a building. The church started meeting as a small group in a Senior Center and has since grown and met in a variety of "remote" locations, including several schools. That equates to a lot of time and hard work to set up and tear down for multiple services a week.

Our leaders had been looking for property for years and yet the opportunities that would present themselves just never seemed to be God's timing or perfect plan. Jesus continued to say "wait", so they waited. Hoping to find at least 7-10 acres, God exceeded those expectations. Praise the Lord!!! for His provision a year ago of an amazing piece of wooded property on a hilltop with a beautiful view and 56 acres!

Thank you Jesus for opening the doors (quite literally)! Not only did the property clearly come from God's provision, but our new sanctuary is officially complete.




We dedicated the building to the Lord this weekend with our first services. Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of non-denominational Calvary Chapels, came and shared the Word.


It was an awesome time of giving God the glory for all that He has done and all that He has yet to do through our church family and in our community. We're praying that many, many, many people (current and future generations) come to know Jesus personally within the walls of this building.

Rain, rain, go away

The rain is officially here. "Good-bye" Summer, "hello" Fall. I know I'm supposed to be thankful for the rain and really, I am, deep, deep down inside (I do thank God for the clean air, green grass, trees and natural irrigation for the harvest season). Superficially though, I am not a fan of rain. Hubby always makes a point of thanking God when it rains and I do agree, yet I confess I often have more of a "grumbling" spirit about it.

It's not that I don't like precipitation. I LOVE snow and all that comes with it (snow-covered mountains and trees, skiing, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, etc.). Cold, rainy, and windy weather is a different story. Unless I'm inside looking out, snuggled up in a blanket next to a fireplace, I much prefer when it's dry. Hard to believe that I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life eh?

Instead of giving way to my grumbling spirit, I'm going to focus on the beauty that God brings through rain. Like these flowers (speaking of flowers, remember my "not-so-green-thumb"? Well, we now have marigolds in our window-box and yes, half are almost dead. I'm hoping the rain revives them). Oh sorry, I digress, back to my more "positive" outlook.

I will be thankful for the mud puddles that our Little Miss will get to stomp through and the extra laundry that will bring. Oh, again, I digress. Rain, I will be thankful for the streams that are filled and the yellow jackets that are killed (sorry little guys!).

Rain, I will be thankful for football season (I'd like to be thankful for our alma mater's team but so far they are not making us proud). Humpf!!! Being thankful for these large, wet, drops is sure hard today. Guess it's a good thing that I'll have about 5 months of rain to work on that?!