The great blog debate.

OK maybe it's not so great.. but it's on my mind so I'm going to pour it out into this cute little "Compose" box. I am thinking about where I want to go with this blog,. If I am going to bring it back from the dead.. do I want it to continue as it has always been.. or bring it back a wee bit different. Shall I continue to use it to document our lives with words and photographs. Or do I want to go deeper than that? Deeper meaning expose some of the things that dance around in my head.. my thoughts, opinions, dreams, disappointments. I know if I dive deeper I run the risk of judgement and I'm not sure if I want to go there or not. If it stays superficial.. simply a journal of our lives it is a bit more safe. But then why did I pick that quote to be up front and center on my blog years ago? I have stopped myself more than once from writing things on here.. I mean it IS a public blog. But...but...but.. not real sure yet.

Until next time..

Funerals, VW Bugs, and Taw Taw inspiration.

Matt lost a good friend last Sunday. Her funeral is today. Cancer is so terrible... He is going to be heading to Tillamook for her funeral to pay his last respects. I didn't know her personally, but from what I heard she was an incredible friend, co-worker, mother (of 7 I believe), and grandmother. She was also a believer and is now safe in His arms.

On a completely separate topic.. Matt wants to buy a VW Bug. I think he would look hilarious driving one of those things. Not a new one, an old and tired one. I love how I can never quite figure him out.. always full of surprises. VW Bug? Hahahaha.. his first choice is a Thing, but apparently you have to pay a lot of money for one of those ugly cars.

So a couple months ago I got a wild hair in a creativity/photography group I am a part of.. unofficially "The Taw Taw's". And I decided that dang it.. I wanna learn to play the guitar. I happen to be blessed with a step-dad who is an amazing guitar player and he said he was willing to show me the ropes. Since then I have been practicing every day until my fingers hurt and my hand shakes..and all that work has paid off! My favorite that I can play now - Blind Melon's No Rain. I can also play "You are my sunshine", "This old man", and "What's Up" -4non Blonde's. It is so relaxing and fun. I am kicking myself for not learning a long long time ago. I want to be able to play camp fire songs for the girl scouts when we go out next year. So I am in the process of learning those now.

I have officially, with this post, posted more in a few days then last year all together. WOOHOO! Going to try and keep it up.

Piano and home run hitters..

Yesterday Alissa had her piano lesson at GG's house. She is new to the piano but catching on quickly. In fact, she gave me a lesson yesterday. What I absolutely love and adore (other than her fabulous teacher) is that even with piano Alissa's unique personality shines. Last week after her lesson her teacher wanted to have a chat. She tells me Alissa is picking up the technical aspects very quickly.. but wants to spend half the lesson creating her own music. She asked me if I felt this was okay or if I wanted her progressing more quickly with the technical stuff. Are you kidding me?! I discover she is actually creating her own music.. and her teacher is writing it all down for her. We are talking words and all. I am so in love with the kid. I told the teacher I was thrilled with her being creative and having fun with the piano and to nurture that during lessons. Luckily her teacher is young and flexible and open to Alissa's creativeness because it can be difficult to keep her focused.

Jonathan is showing some real potential to be quite the slugger! Papa has been giving him regular coaching and this little man and his hand-eye coordinating is just the coolest thing to watch. He has recently learned about running the bases.. we had our first family baseball game in the backyard last night and it was sooo much fun. Of course Matt accidentally hit a grand slam and had to go knock on the neighbors door to retrieve Jonathan's beloved batman ball. Other than THAT is was fun. Jonathan has hit a few on the roof.. and his favorite is when he hits them and they whack Papa. Next year he will be in a league and I think he is going to love it. I can't wait to watch him play sports.

What will home school be like?

Interviews with the kidlets..

Alissa first, "Um really fun and a chance to stay with your family. To learn more than schools can teach you. Staying on track and not getting distracted and less noise to bother you."

Jonathan..same question. "I don't know. Playing.. going outside.. playing with Ali. Playing with the dogs. Learning to read, have a snack.. having fireworks. Having a teacher (and he hugs my arm tight, just have to add that awww)... having a play thing. Playing."

There you have it.

Interview over.

What happened ?

I was just reading through some old posts from 2008 and I LOVE them. Why have I not been writing?? Shame on me. Anyway.. lets just see if I can bring this back to life. No laughing, I know I have tried before without success. First off let me introduce you to Pancake:

Pancake was born on December 23rd, 2010.. and I happened to be the doggy mid-wife that night and was there to see her born. We have never had (nor considered) a small dog.. but there was something magical about being there for the delivery.. and they were so darn cute. And Matt thought me completely insane. But being the sweet adorable husband he is, he agreed we needed a new puppy. At the time we had Zena and Triton as well. We were worried that this dog would be so small she would get squished like a..ya.. Pancake. Thus the name. As fate would have it, before Pancake was old enough to come home Triton showed some aggressive behavior to towards Jonathan, and that's the one thing I will never tolerate in a dog. So he is now living back with his breeder and her family and doing wonderfully. That was the hardest, most miserable thing EVER.. but I think God knew we would be put in that position and gently guided me to Pancake to soothe my heart. Triton was my boy.. and he will always be missed. Pancake is a riot.. the kids love her and they play constantly.

Zena is still around and going strong, she is the best dog we will probably ever have.. she is so old now, and her allergies still bother her. Don't know how much longer we have with the old girl but we will enjoy every minute.

In other news.. we bought a camper trailer! Went on our first camp out to Walten Lake and Prineville Reservoir. Had a BLAST! Camper was a steal, and it's the perfect size for our family. We pull it with the trusty ol' minivan. That minivan will be paid off in a year!!! YAYAYAYAY.

This is the only pic I could find of the trailer set up.. kiddos are pulling fluff off of cattails here.
Alissa and the fish we caught at Walten Lake.. she picket the location.. showed her a map and a few options. She chose a great one!

Jonathan and his FIRST FISH! He was the proudest boy EVER.. I think he asked 50 times, "Are you so proud of me?" Cutest thing. And we was all puffed up with pride as he watched Alissa devour his prize catch. Not only did he CATCH a first.. his sister ate it and it's her favorite thing. And Jonathan happens to love and adore his big sis.


We brought both doggies on the trip and hey did great. No problems at all. It was relaxing and fun.. and the fact that we didn't have to stay in a tent = super big bonus.



In even more news.. I have been gearing up for next school year. Alissa's wonderful little school has been affected by cuts like all the others and we won't be returning next year. What does that leave?? Home school. That's right. I'm doing it. At first I was a bit scared.. this is so far outside what I thought I would ever do. But now I have a real sense of peace with our families decision. My kids come first, before having kids we knew that once they were here we would sacrifice anything for them. We have struggled financially with one income, Matt has had to give up having fun toys.. but we do it without complaint because we have succeeded in raising our our children. And now, I get to be their teacher. We had planned on me working part time when they were both in school and bringing in some much needed income, but again.. they come first. I am dinking around with a few ideas to bring in income.. we shall see. Right now we are in the process of rearranging our little house to accommodate school and just getting organized. I am organizationally challenged. Always have been.



More news? Yep. We start classes in July to become foster parents. This is something I have had in my heart to do for years and years.. but Matt was not on the same page.. in fact, he was in a different book altogether. But now we are both ready to start this journey. I have always wanted to help children.. do something. It is no big secret that I am extremely Pro-Life and value kids more than anything else. And it's almost like one of those, you walk the walk you should talk the talk type things. I want to make a difference, even if it is for a very short time.. I want every child to feel valued and loved. Our society values life less and less.. and children less and less. I see sad, angry, lost kids everywhere I go. When did we become so selfish as parents? Where is the guidance that kids so desperately seek? Anyhow.. I'll stop there. Back to the fostering thing.. we are only taking one child age 2 and under. Can't risk our own kids safety with older children.. and we have a tiny house and no room for more than one. But hey.. at least it is something. And I look forward to not only helping a child feel safe and loved, but having my children experience that sort of giving spirit.



Wow... more stuff - Thanks to our wonderful neighbors.. we have finally found a church that Matt and I both love. Matt has always been very picky about which church we attend and the consequence has been a lot of church hopping trying to find a church family. Well, we both agree we think we finally found a place we can look forward to going every week and contributing. The church does a ton of community outreach. I really wanted a church where our kids could experience giving outside of themselves. The first week we were there we learned of a fund raising effort where all of the funds went to a pregnancy crisis center to buy ultrasound equipment to save lives. THIS is my kind of place. Talk the talk..walk the walk. Love it.



I think this is the last thing..hehe.. Alissa just went from a Daisy girl scout.. to a Brownie. She has officially made it further than I did. I should ask my mom why I never went to Brownies.. maybe I wasn't interested? Anyhow.. she is super excited. We have the best girl scout leader EVER which makes it all the more enjoyable. Matt is going to be co-leading a cub scout troop with our girl scout leader's hubby when Jonathan is ready. They have a young man Jon's age too. Matt is excited to get involved with scouts again! It is such a blessing having a husband who is so willing to be involved with his kids lives. Love that man.



Oh boy I thought of something else! First Wednesday ( July 6th) at the Grand Vines I will have 3 photographs on display! This will be my third gallery showing. So cool to see stuff up on the wall with your name on it. Speaking of photography - shooting a wedding on July 9th! Business is good there, just trying to not take on too much and keep my focus with my family.



You know what? Feels good to get all this stuff down in my blog. I was just looking at archives and realized I had 1 post in 2010. ONE?!?! Sheez.



Until next time...