Workin' on the basement, goin' down down down.

Friday night we all headed down to Corban & Lauren's basement to paint. We got the first coat on the new laundry room, media room, bathroom and great room. Greg & Sally had done all the ceilings the day before so we were able to finish it up pretty quickly. Maryanne did a fantastic job edging and the rest of us manned the rollers. We had a great time visiting while we worked. I'll take more pictures when it's finished and furnished.

Today, Al and our friend Don Suklis took the convertible over to the coast. It's warm but a little overcast. They're going to have lunch and look at a piece of property and then come back. Should be a fun day.

I'm enjoying my usual Sunday R&R. I'll make the effort to get up and dressed later this afternoon when I'm meeting a friend at her new house. I get to be her decorating consultant so I need to get a lay of the land before they move in. I love helping people make a house their own! In fact, I'm nagging Al about re-doing our kitchen. It's almost 10 years old and it looks it. We need new countertops and hardware and some updated decor items. And as you know, whenever you put kitchen and remodel in the same sentence, you're talking about a serious chunk of change. Hopefully, we can work on it a little bit at a time.

Hope you weekend has been wonderful. Talk to you soon.

Dinner, Dinner & Dinner

My lovely Hearts @ Home Moms

Jana & her many midle schoolers

Can you toast with diet coke from McDonalds?

Dad & his very nice "friend" Jeanne Galey

Last Monday night I had my Hearts at Home ladies over for dinner. They are wonderful young women who love coming to my house. I pamper them and give them a yummy meal and some grown up time & conversation. I also gave them their year end gift of monogramed Lands End bag which they loved. It's fun for me to hang out with them.

Wednesday night, Jana's middle school hels a fund raiser for one of her students who has just finished treatment for cancer. McDonald's graciously donated 50% of the take to "Team Cherokee". Teachers & administrators worked the crowd for donations and earned an additional $500. Cherokee was the center of attention and appeared to be lovin' evry minute. There were middle schoolers and their families everywhere. The noise level was almost comparable to our Thursday night family dinners.

Speaking of which, this Thursday night we enjoyed having Marek & Suzie join us for dinner. They were on their way home from the airport after a SoCal trip so they stopped by. It was fun to add new blood into the mix. Dad and Jeanne were here as well as Corban & Lauren, Jana & JJ, Maryanne & AJ, Al & I. Don't know what happened to Don Suklis and Michelle Gordon. That's the fun thing about these dinners...I never know who's going to show up.

Tonight we're helping Lauren & Corban paint thier newly finished basement. Should be fun.

I'd better get going...time for work. Talk to you soon.

Springtime in Oregon

Several years ago I started my Christmas letter with these words; I'm sitting by the fire watching it snow... Today is April 20th and I'm sitting by the fire watching it snow. An Arctic Express blew in Friday night and promises to hang aroun till tomorrw afternoon. Until this morning the snow wasn't sticking but as you can see, it's adding up. Unless you've lived through an Oregon Spring this might seem odd. But for those of us who've been here awhile, this is business as usual.

For some time now, Al has been contemplating walking the Portland Marathon in October. Last night he took the leap and signed up. He has been walking regularly for a long time so our friends and veterans of the race, Nancy & Curt Kendall, encouraged him to go for it. The Portland race is a big deal and loads of fun for racers and spectators. The city rolls out it's famous hospitality and party mindset so it should be a blast. We will spend the night before the race in Portland so we won't have to fight traffic and parking issues that day. I will go down for the start of the race and then begin my own marathon at Macy's and Nordstroms. I'll check the race route every so often to clap & cheer but I don't think I'll wait the entire 6+ hours it will take him to finish. Maybe he can call me when he's nearly done and I'll head to the finish line to take some pictures. Everyone wins when you spend the day doing what you love.

Tomorrow night I'm having my Hearts @ Home group over for dinner and I haven't decided what I'm serving yet. It's going to have to be something I can prep today because I work tomorrow. This is our last social get together before Hearts ends for the year. We do stuff in the summer but it's much more casual. I'll try to remember to take pictures for the blog.

I'm also working on redecorating the church nursery. The chairs I ordered are in so next step is paint. I don't know when that's going to happen so I've got time to recruit some helpers. Then I need to shop for lamps and art. I love it!

Dad and his lady friend Jeanne are keeping BUSY! They go to concerts and dances and dinners and anything else that sounds fun. She even came to the family dinner on Thursday. Everyone was on their best behavior so she was eased in to the chaos that usually erupts at our dinners. She has no idea of how loud it can get when JJ, Corban & AJ start talking tech, when Al and our friend Don start talking insurance, and the rest of us try to talk about interesting things...all at the same time. We were definately off our game Thursday and therefore Jeanne had a really good time. She may even come back. Fortunately, I think she can probably hold her own (if she can get a word in) once she feels comfortable with us. She's a very nice gal and Dad's quite taken with her.

I'm going to get out my recipe box and start planning my meal for tomorrow. I'll update soon I promise.

Back from vacation

80 degrees, turquoise oceans, tons of laughter, land and sea, and food, food, and more food. Well we had 14 days of real vacation. We flew out on a Friday morning. We got off the plane in Ft. Lauderdale, grabbed a rental car and headed to our motel. Don't stay in a Best Western, at least not in Florida. Both motels were bad! But, who cares, we're on vacation! The kids joined us on Saturday. AJ, Jana, and JJ checked into the motel and took a long nap. Not MA! No, she was off with us exploring the city. We jumped on a tour boat and looked at the million dollar houses and the multi-million dollar yachts on the many miles of canals and inlets. It was so much fun sailing in the land of the rich. We also sailed near the seven cruise ships docked and waiting for thousands of visitors. On Sunday we jumped on the cruise ship, MA and AJ, Lori and Al, all headed for the belly of the ship for our 160 square foot, no window, cabins. Jana and JJ headed to the tenth floor (the ship is 12 floors tall) to settle into their luxurious room with a balcony. The truth is no one spent much time in our rooms. Too much fun going on. We had tours to get on, Broadway shows to watch, art auctions to attend, bingo, the casino, exercising, yoga, mermaid watching (really I saw one), and did I mention eating. Each evening dinner was an event. On the fourth night I suggested we just close our eyes, point to any place on the menu and say, "I'll take that!". Because no matter what you had for dinner, it was great. Of course, the service was personal (diet coke little ice; three deserts for MA after her lobster; ice in Al's milk; only fresh squeezed orange juice for Lori, etc., etc.). We went on three tours: 1) Cozumel, Mexico; 2) Grand Caymen (sp?); 3)Jamaica. In Mexico we rented two Jeep Wrangler's and headed across the island. Saw an ECO-Park with salt water crocodiles. Then off to snorkel in the 70 degree water (Lori and Jana stayed on the beach sunning themselves) and then a real Mexican lunch (Chicken tacos). Grand Caymen has 800 banks! It is a modern city. The weather was very windy that day so we almost couldn't get to the island in our "tenders" (small boats). But we made it. We toured the island, which was OK. However, we did stop at a sea turtle farm That was cool. 100's of turtles to touch and watch up close and personal. Jamaica, we split up. Jana and I toured the mountain regions and then took a river raft trip. It was like climbing into the "Discovery Channel" and floating down the rain forest. The towering trees, with vines reaching down to the river. Parrots playing in the trees above. Our guide climbing up a 60' coconut tree, dropping a coconut from the top, and opening it up for Jana and I to have fresh coconut juice (tasted like water to me). JJ and AJ took off in their bus to tour the island and ended up at a "Rum Factory". Then they saw how rum is made and aged. Read their blogs. Lori and MA were off on a bus to "Sandals"; a resort on the beach. They wanted peace and quiet, blue sky's, and warm water. They got all of that except the peace (the airport was next door and they heard the jet planes taking off). All of us met back at the boat, tanned and ready for a quite day at sea. Friday we sailed around Cuba and waived at the Communists. That was my favorite day. We docked Saturday morning, waited in line to get off the ship. The kids flew back to Oregon (getting home at 2AM on Sunday). Al and Lori jumped into a taxi and headed to the airport to pick up a rental car. I had a good conversation with the cabby and when I jumped out of the taxi I left my back pack in the back seat. I couldn't believe it. My passport and Visa Debit card were in the pack. I could not remember anything about the cab. So, I prayed. I then went back to where we were dropped off, and as any taxi drove by I dialed their phone number. By God's grace the 2nd number I called knew the taxi driver I described and within 30 minutes the pack was in my hand, everything intact. We got our rental car and headed back to the Florida Keys. For some reason, I have always wanted to drive from the mainland down the Keys. It is about 130 miles from Miami to the end of the continental US (Key West, Florida). Lori had a tour book of the Keys, read it was we drove, and told me where to stop for interesting sight seeing. That was one of the best drives we have ever taken. It is so beautiful! We then spent two days at the Westin, over looking the bright blue ocean. Then spent Sunday shopping for all our friends we left back home. We had another great dinner on the water front. Key West is the home of the most beautiful sunsets. It was spectacular. Then Monday we started our drive back. We heard of a hotel on an private island in the middle of the Keys. So we took a boat out to the island for lunch. Only 26 rooms, private areas all over, and no cell phones allowed. I bought a hat there that said "Do Nothing!". We could never afford to spend the night, but we enjoyed every minute we were there. Tuesday we were back on the plane for home. We got home at about 4PM on Tuesday, rested and ready to join real life again.

You may want to look at our links and see AJ and Jana's blogs for more pictures. We had fun!!!! Maybe you'll join us on our next adventure?? The more the merrier!

We're On Vacation!

Tuesday was the last day of work for Al and I before we head out tomorrow for vacation. I will go to Hearts at Home in the morning, run some errands afterwards and then we'll drive to Lake Oswego to meet JJ's Dad, David and his step Mom Jean, for dinner at Bridgeport. After dinner Al and I are spending some time at Coldwater Creek Spa to get fancied up for the cruise. Finally we leave for Fort Lauderdale Florida at 7:40 a.m. on Friday. The kids come later on the red eye. Then on Sunday, da datada, we board the Radience of the Seas ship for a warm, relaxing fun filled cruise to Cozumel, Grand Camen, Jamaica & Key West. Did I mention warm? I am excited! Summer clothes, pool time, beach time, tropical drinks, midnight buffets and WARM!!!! When the cruise is over, the kids head home and Al and I head to the Keys for 3 days. Al has always wanted to do a road trip down that long long highway thru the Keys so we decided to tack it on to our trip. We're staying in Key West and will do day trips from there. I will try to blog a couple of times while we're gone so check back for some pix of 6 warm tan people having lots of fun.

Wine Food & Shopping x 2. Mmmmmm!

Friday evening after work, Al and I headed out to McMinnville to SIP the annual wine & food festival. This year it was held at the Evergreen Air Museum, home of The Spruce Goose. Neither of us had ever been there before so we weren't sure what to expect. What we got was a great museum experience some good food and some fun shopping.
The museum houses Howard Hughes' flying boat, the Spruce Goose and a bunch of other aircraft. But the Goose is the centerpiece. I can't tell you how big it is except to say that it is way bigger than a 747. All of the other aircaft, the cafe and gift shop and the entire wine and food booths were all under the wings of the giant wooden boat/plane. If you haven't been out to the museum, take a trip out there. It really is a neat place. They also have an IMAX theater so you can make a day of it if you want.
Last Christmas, Al gave all 4 of our kids a relationship gift. He knows what each of them enjoy so he did a really cool little book with a coupon at then end, redeemable for a fishing trip for AJ roses and gardening for Jana, movies & more for JJ. Maryanne loves to shop but doesn't have a lot of extra money so Al gave her a day in Portland to shop till she dropped. The relationship part came in that Al got to spend time with each kid doing what they love. Isn't he a good Dad? Anyway, yesterday Al & MA had a field day. She got clothes for the cruise and work so she was thrilled. I tagged along for the ride but then shopped on my own so I wasn't in the way. I got some fun stuff as well. We all love Portland and it was a beautiful day so we felt very blessed.
Today, I stayed in bed reading the Oregonian and drinking my coffee while Al worked out in the yard. Maryanne's sister is here so they are out having fun together while AJ slaves away on school work. Al is now starting hour #2 on a nap so he'll be rarin' to go when he wakes up. I think we're going to run some errands. Going to church and Bible study on Saturday nights have given us a true Sabbath day of rest. We love it.

OK OK OK!

At dinner Wednesday night someone criticized us for not up-dating our blog.

So, I am up-dating it now.

Nothing is going on. Have a nice day.

A new month

This is Al again. It is Sunday morning and I just finished my walk. If you have been following this blog you know I have been fighting this dreaded cold. I am 90% better. But Lori now is coming down with a cold. But my wife will pack in the vitamins, positive thoughts, and her laid back attitude and fight it off (plus she never complains; so who knows how she feels?).

This has been a tough couple of weeks for us. We have had a number of policyholders and friends pass away. Plus, we have friends who are fighting terrible diseases and issues. But we continue to believe in a God who knows all and is without doubt. He knows the beginning and the end and makes no mistakes. Though we grieve for a little while on this side, we will rejoice at His great wisdom and mercy on the other side.

I continue to work with men who struggle with life. In my journey I am learning skills that has brought me a peace that is beyond my understanding. So as Step 12 suggests I "pass it on" as part of my journey. It is so rewarding to see men find real answers to their addictions and worries. As I pray daily that we would be "living one day at a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful as it is, and not as I would have it". Living like this allows me to face reality each day, instead of living in an insane world. Here are some other areas I think and pray about most days:

"When I leave things in my head, little things get big, and big things get little". This encourages me to talk about my problems and issues (mostly with Lori or in my men's group).

"I listen to respond. I should listen to understand". I heard a 72 year old man in one of my groups say this. I had been praying for years that God would help me be a better listener. I like to hear myself talk way too much. So, I have been working on this. Though I will never be good at this, I have improved greatly.

"It is not about changing my circumstances. It is about changing me". Those of us who are addicted to our self-centeredness love to blame either our situation or another person for our struggles. We tend to run away from our circumstances, or try to control others involved in our circumstances, in order to not speak the truth that we are hurting, or scared, or angry, or sad. So when I am feeling those types of emotions, this statement reminds me to look inside first. With God's help I can take responsibility for me and let Him change me.

Anyway, I have a few dozen of these statements that I carry in my pocket as I walk most days.

So, how do you deal with your life? I would love to hear your comments. You know, "I am listening to understand" these days.

Weds. night dinner

Here I am sitting at the kitchen table. We just had a our family dinner. I am starting to feel bad again. I have a pain in the center of my chest. I think it is a pulled muscle, Lori says it is pneumonia, who knows. So, I better go and watch idol, and then off to bed.

Talk to you soon.

I'm feelin' good!

I just read Lori's blog on my dreaded disease, THE COLD! Well guess what? It's working. I am feeling better and I assume my white blood cells can not be beat! I am invincible!

Yes, it is Monday, I am at home, I did take a 2 hour nap (it's 2:20PM), and I am resting. That is why I am getting better. No doctor for me, no shots, no antibiotics! Just lying around drinking hot tea.

I'll up-date you tomorrow.