Sunday, September 30, 2007

Babies, Babies, Babies (And a toddler too!)


Today started off rainy and foggy. Not much was going to keep us inside today...we had babies to see!! Bill had a migraine and although he tried to get moving to go with us, he just felt better in bed under the covers. The kids & I got things together, and headed out to Jen & Brady's where we would meet up with the Nida Clan of Mike & Kathy, Jen & Brady, with kids Jason & Brooklyn, Tami & Evan with 3 week old Olin, Lissa & Rodney with 3 week old Brandon, Tab & Eric, and us, minus Bill. It was fun having everyone together and getting to meet the new addtions to the family. We had met Brandon when he was two days old, but he has grown so much in 3 weeks. We visited for the afternoon, and I got my baby & toddler fix. Three babies and a 3 year old...tons of snuggles and I only changed two diapers...what more could a gal ask for?!!

We had a nice visit....a great taco/burrito bar...great dessert, and of course coffee to go. (Thanks Brady for taking care of me!) Home we came in the rain....but all happy, and what a great day! We found Bill still in bed....poor guy....feeling a bit better this evening, but still hurting. Praying he's feeling good tomorrow. Enjoy our baby pictures!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Lazy Saturday


Saturday we woke to rainy skies, and snow on Iron Mountain. It was chilly enough last night to start a fire in the wood stove, just to take the chill off.

Bill & Ryan were up at 7:00AM, Kristin & I slept until 8:30AM. We had coffee, and breakfast, and then Bill put some shelves in the trailer while the kids & I rid up breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, and tidied up a bit. At 11:00 Bill came in with a migraine (he'd woken with it) and he went to lay down. He asked if I'd lay down too. Big mistake, as we slept until 1:30! We did go to bed late last night, but still...

We had lunch, and then Bill went up into the attic to see where our small leak in the kitchen was coming from (Declan noticed a water spot on the ceiling as we were eating lunch yesterday as it was raining so hard), and Bill found that our chimney cap that had blown off some time ago, was allowing water in to run down the roofline, and hitting the boxed area for the skylights, and right down into the kitchen. We are praising God that it's not our skylights! We will get the cap back in place, and screw it down this time.

Ryan and Bill played a new computer game that a friend of Bill at work gave him. This friend makes Christian Adventure games, and he gave Bill a new game to see if he could find any bugs in it before they produce them. Ryan & Bill had lots of fun today. Kristin played in her room all day, and I worked on some school things....and had another dozing nap on the couch! What a lazy day. The kids made yummy brownies this afternoon as a "pick me up"!

We watched more episodes of Smallville before heading different directions to bed. You can also see that Ashley is feeling so well that she crawled up the couch, and took her usual spot on Bill's chest. It's good to see her feeling so well. She even tried to get out of the house today...we're going to have to keep close tabs on her once she gets that cast off!

More soon....

Friday, September 28, 2007

Rainy Day Fun



Today was a fun day...

It started off with wonderful news from Sean & Tracey that the adoption hearing went great! They had a wonderful judge, and both girls said YES to the adoption.

Tracey sent a nice letter to her kids that were here with us last night, and I read it to them when they awoke. There was lots of happiness around here this morning, and lots of Praise to God! We knew he would take care of things. The ten day waiting period, and then time for passports and birth certificates, and then they can come home. Please pray for a speedy process for them.

The kids had breakfast, and then a short movie for the girls and a computer game for the guys.....they then all sat down and did their school. Everyone was done within 1 & 1/2 - 2 hours (the boys in less than an hour...as they got RIGHT to it!) It was a great school day!

Lunchtime was filled with a giggly song about Barbie...pure silliness..

"My name is Barbie...
I'm made of plastic...
I'm just fantastic....
My butt's elastic.."

There of course were more lines, all having to do with more rhyming....ones they made up and had a great time with. Oh, if you could have heard the laughter at the table. They have all been awesome, and have played well together. The girls are busy beading, and the boys are playing Lego Starwars on the computer. Great things for a rainy day with good friends.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Fun with Friends


Thursday morning, we found out that Nana (AKA Tracey's Mom Lynn) was not feeling well. We decided to steal the kids for the day and night, and let Nana have a day of rest, not to mention the "quiet"! The kids had a great time today. We shared a bible lesson on Honor and had a great discussion on that over lunch. The girls played dress up (sorry, I didn't get the camera out) and the boys of course were having a war or ambush of some type outside! They played well until supper, when they all came in to eat. We had a great "giggly" supper, complete with lots of talking, sharing, and pure silliness. Even Bill was a part of that silliness.

Everyone is excited that Today (RIGHT NOW AS I AM POSTING) Sean & Tracey are in court with the girls to legalize the adoption. We are so thrilled for them. God has taken them on an incredible journey. (Check out the O'Hara Link on our page) We've all been praying that things go smoothly, and that the time there will be as short as possible for them. In the mean time, we'll keep stealing their kids here at home, and loving on them, and letting them get away from the "everyday" stuff at home. Sometimes it's harder to be the one at home, than the one away. We know that Mom & Dad are doing the right things by staying and having this special time with the girls...as some parents fly home, and then back again when the waiting period is over.

We ended the outside day with a game of "Scardy Cats in the Dark" (Hide & Seek in the dark), and the everyone showered, had a snack, a fun game of aggrevation, and then off to bed they were by 9:30. I can say, they all chatted quietly for awhile, but they're great kids, and easy to put to bed.

Ukraine Orphans


As our friends Sean & Tracey are in the Ukraine working on their own adoption, I've been keeping up with other adoptions on their blog. I came across this video and it makes me want to go bring a few home myself. I'm not sure how a society can turn out kids at the age of 16, and be finished with them....but my heart is now aching. Those that don't have children and are looking to adopt, Ukraine is apparently the cheapest place to do this. Sean & Tracey, I have a whole new respect for you....

Monday, September 24, 2007

Crabbing Weekend at South Beach State Park 9-21 through 9-23-07


Crabbing--that was the goal this weekend!!

Our weekend started out on Friday morning, with our company from Ohio departing around 10-10:30. We were packed all but the last minute food, wood in the truck, and hitching up the trailer. We figured we'd be on the road by 11:30. We hitched up, and Bill went to hook up the trailer, and the landing gear would not work, wouldn't retract, wouldn't extend and there was no sound at all. So, Bill, being the technician that he is, tears apart the front compartment, checks the switch, checks the motor, both of which check out fine, but have no power. We spent the next hour tracing wires in the harness, and Ryan is in the rear compartment, I'm on the side, and Bill is in the front, and we're calling out wire colors, small red, large red, white/blue, white/gray--you get the picture....and we've lost the BIG red wire. We trace for awhile, and after crawling under the trailer, we find the red wire....which is supposed to be attached to the battery, but has been removed and fallen underneath the battery compartment in the trailer. Several weeks ago, while my parents were here...we had some battery problems, and unhooked the wires, and this one must have gotten missed. Thankfully, we rehooked it, then put the trailer back together and were on the road by 12:30.

We met up with the Houcher/O'Hara clan (Tracey's folks and Sean & Tracey's kids) and we all traveled to the coast together. We arrived about 2:30--and it was beautiful over there. A bit windy but nothing that stopped us from having a fire, and a nice evening. The kids had a blast playing in the woods, and building forts, climbing trees, roasting marshmallows, and last but not least, camping out in the Richard's trailer. I have to say, we had plenty of room, but getting 5 filthy kids through the shower/tub was no quick task when you have only 5 gallons of hot water at a time! The girls of course wanted a bath....so recovery time between baths was a bit much. We decided for Saturday we would all military shower (get wet, turn off the water, suds up, rinse off and get out!). The kids watched half of a movie after their baths/showers to relax a bit, and then by 10pm, everyone was sound asleep. Kristin & Kimberly shared a bunk, Ryan had his bunk, Declan had the table/bed and Alexis the couch. Everyone slept great until Bill got up at 6:30 to head out to the bay to get the boat they had rented.

Bill, Brady & Carl left at 7--and hit the bay in a boat at 8AM. The crabbed until 11--catching 8 crab. There were more boats in the bay than I had ever seen before. Brady said driving the boat was like navigating through a slalom course! Bill pulled pots until he thought his arms were going to drop off. With all the people crabbing in the bay, the amount of choices the crab had, it was hard to get your trap full...and when you did, the amount of females outnumbered the males!

While Bill, Brady & Carl were on the bay in a boat, Jennifer & I took the kids down to the docks to crab. Mike, Kathy, Lynn & Cyril joined us. Cyril kept things interesting on the docks...asking lots of questions, and enjoying visiting with the people down there. We crabbed for a few hours, and caught one keeper--the kids were thrilled. Declan really got into helping pull the pots up, and checking the crabs. They soon realized how big the crabs had to be to even check them. It was lots of fun, despite the chilly winds that picked up that morning.

After a few hours of crabbing, Nana & Papa (AKA Lynn & Cyril) took the kids to lunch, the guys returned to camp to shower & nap, and Jen & I hit the grocery store to pick up bread & butter for supper. There is nothing that goes better with crab than fresh bread and garlic butter dip.

We all meet back at camp and decide to have an early supper. We figure if we have an early supper, we can have cobbler early and get it finished and all to bed by 10! The kids all gather around the bucket as Brady cleans the sea weed off of them, and puts them back in water for a bit. (We learned this trip to put seaweed with them to avoid them suffocating themselves.) They all then gather around Bill as he drops them one by one into the pot. SO far, no kids have said "poor crabs". They are just intrigued with it all.

We take out the crabs and learn from Cyrils trips up the coast, and down the docks that we should plunge them in cold water before we clean them. We try this and find it to be true. We also don't have to wait so long before cleaning them. Declan got right in there to help clean, and then "thought about it" a bit too much, and before long, he was back in the tree just watching us all go to town. Every kids tried some crab, and even though they all said they liked it, the O'Hara kids all opted for a hot dog instead of crab for dinner. That's OK...more for us adults!! We finish cleaning the crab, and have a great dinner, followed by Berry Cobbler over the fire, topped of course with ice cream. Hot chocolate with a bit of Peppermint Schnaps warmed us all, and is so yummy too. (You can see we really rough it!) We left the schnaps out of the kids hot coco, as they were going to have no trouble sleeping with all the playing and fun we had today.

Kids are all showered on 5 gallons of hot water (I'm sure it was a bit more, as the tank recovered itself as we showered), and all 5 are in bed by 9:30...and out faster than you can imagine. They had a big day, and lots of fun. We hoped to sleep in, but all it took was ONE kid up to go to the bathroom, then the dogs think it's time to go pottie, so they lick another kid, and the trickle down affect is in force, and by 7:10, everyone in the trailer is awake. Not up, but awake!! Kimberly and Kristin come into bed to snuggle with us, and the boys are giggling like little girls. What on earth could be so funny at 7AM????? Alexis wakes up, and joins in the fun, Kristin returns to the boys, and before long, 4 of them have the giggles so badly and no one knows why!! Oh the fun of kids!!

I take the dogs out to go pottie, and find that we have a huge bubble on the side of the trailer tire. One more thing to fix before we can head home. Thankfully God took care of us, and we didn't get stuck on the side of the road somewhere. We decide to put off changing the tire until after breakfast. Praise God for showing us this issue before we hit the road.

We have a great breakfast of potatoes, onion, garlic, bacon, sausage and "O'Hara fresh eggs" for breakfast in the dutch ovens over the fire. The kids seem to enjoy it, although, the potatoes got picked through with a few. They all ate lots of fruit, and muffins that were there as well. We realize it's 11AM, and the kids want to go to the beach yet, the trailer needs sorted out and packed up, as well as all our outside stuff, and a tire to change. We realize we can't do it all, and make the 1pm check out time. Cyril & Lynn are kind enough to take the kids to the beach, and allow us time to get things taken care of. The kids are happy, and we can accomplish what we need to.

We all get back together at 1:00...the kids are sandy, and have had a blast with Nana & Papa, and we've gotten our tire changed (after an hour of frustration), trailer packed & ready to go, and we say our good-byes and hit the highway. Another successful, fun, great weather, crabbing, camping, good company weekend.

Cec & Rudy's Visit 9-19 through 9-21-07



Cec & Rudy arrived earlier than expected, and we were thrilled, since it gave us time to tour around on Wednesday afternoon and have some more visit time. They had to deal with unswept floors, and our cruising through town and surrounding areas changed meat loaf supper into burgers on the grill, but it was worth it, since we had fun driving up through McDowell Creek falls, and the back roads down to the lake, and then up to Green Peter Dam. It was a beautiful day, and it was fun to show Rudy our town, since he'd not been to Oregon. Cec was here back in 2002, and it was fun to have her back.

We woke early on Thursday, had breakfast, visited, did some laundry, and then started out for the coast. Poor Bill had to work, so the 5 of us started out without him. The weather on the coast was beautiful, and the drive over very nice. We stopped at Seal Rock, and took some pictures, then headed south from Newport to Cape Perpetua, where we hiked down from Devils Churn to the tide pools, and large lava/basalt rock formations, where the kids & I ran through as the tide was coming in. We left the beach area, and headed to the visitors center (which for those of you who haven't been there in awhile, there are lots of new things and lots to do with your kids. It was a home school Mom's highlight!), and then we went up to the top of Cape Perpetua, where you can see down the coast to Florence, and the tip of the peak where the light house is, which was our next destination.

We left Cape Perpetua, and got a call from Bill asking where he should meet us for dinner...yahoo!! We headed to Heceta Head Light House, where we hiked up to the light house, and Cec & Rudy took the famous light house tour. We then went down to the beach area, and let the kids play for a while.

We departed the light house, and headed to Florence, where we walked the fishing dock while waiting for Bill. Fifteen minutes and he was there, and we all went to dinner at Moe's. It was a great day on the coast...good fun, with great company!

We head home, Rudy with Bill, Cec with the kids & I. It was a nice two hour ride that went so fast, since we visited all the way home. It was some great quality time and I'm so happy that they made it back to visit us. We arrive home around 10PM, and visit until 11:30, knowing that tomorrow AM is departure time.

Friday morning, we have breakfast, and Cec & Rudy visit until 10:00....then hit the road. We had a great visit..short, but still great. We pray they will be back to visit us for an extended period of time and we can really cruise Oregon! A bonus to Cec...rent here is still under 100 per night (still free), and we provide 3 square meals, not just breakfast!! We had a great time...please come back to see us!

Our Girl Ashley




On Thursday,
September 13th, Ashley was hit by a car sometime during the night. She is our cat who is like a dog, goes out to pottie like a dog, comes home when you whistle for her like we do the dogs. Only Thurday night, she didn't come home. Once in awhile she pulls this, and comes home to meow under our bedroom window, or meets us at the door with disgust in the morning when we don't here her. After several trips outdoors to call her in, we went to bed. One check during the night produced nothing, so at 6AM Bill & I walked around the house and Bill checked the road on his way to work. At daylight, I walked up the road in the other direction and still no kitty.

When the kids woke up, I told them to keep an eye out for Ashley, as she hadn't come home, and that we were worried about her. Ryan decided to walk around the house himself, and walked in the yard instead of on the porch. It was then that he found her under the side deck. She would not come out, so we had to send Kristin in after her. Thankfully, she did not fight her on the way out, and once I had her out, I realized that she was not herself. Very listless, and had something that was really "dried and sticky" (according to Kristin) on her forepaw. I brought her in to clean her up and upon further examination, realized that her front arm was broken and not only broken, but bloody and a mess as well. A quick call to the vet, and we were on our way.

The vets office was full, and they told me that they were booked but would see us between appointments. So the kids & I sat while the checked her over, and worked on her between shots, nail clippings and check ups that had appointed times. Everyone was wonderful to the kids & I, some stating that they would come back another day, and some just saying kind words to the kids. One man got down on Kristin's level, put his hand on her shoulder, and told her he hoped it would all work out for the kitty. She cried harder, which in turn made me cry even more....but everyone seemed to be understanding, and genuinely concerned. Another lady got down with Kristin and asked if she could give her a hug.

After several hours, and several x-rays later, it was determined that Ashley did have a compound fracture...not only one bone in her forepaw(I assume that's what you call their lower arm!), but two breaks, and a nasty gash/cut all the way down the backside of her arm. She also had a separation of the spine at the base of the tail. Her whole rear end from midsection down was paralyzed. She had no feeling or movement in the two back legs, or the tail. It also means that she has no control of bowel or urine. Her bladder was very full, and the concern was not only of her movement, but the inablity to function.

After lots of prayful debate in the parking lot between the kids & I (Bill was unable to be reached at work), we decided to go with the vet's suggestion that we put her on high steroids, and give her he weekend. Praise God, we did, as she gained some movement on Saturday on one side, and a little movement on Sunday with the right side.....and she peed! Now, you never thought you'd get excited about pooping & peeing, especially with all the animals we have...but we were excited beyond words. There was now hope for her.

Monday morning, September 17th, we had her checked over, and the vet was pleased with her progress, and didn't seem concerned about her urine having blood in it. It is apparently normal after some trauma. She had her wrap & splint changed, and off we were home, to continue the nursing.


The week continued with us moving her from dog bed to towel in the sunshine(see picture...she's stretching in the sunshine), and keeping those puppy pads under her, so as she didn't make a mess, and it was easy to clean up. She finally pooped on Wednesday and everything seems to be progressing well. We left her for the day on Thursday, and she was really getting around, since she was across the room from where I left her, and she is now crawling in & out of the litter box. She is still leaking urine, but with more blood, but overall, is controlling things well.

This past weekend was our annual crabbing trip and we had to take her along, as she needed meds every 12 hours, and couldn't do much for herself. It was the best weekend ever, not only because of the weather, the company,the extra friends for the kids, the great crab, but the fact that Ashley was actually standing on her own for the first time in 10 days. Yahoo...Praise God!! We had to fashion a gated area between our bed and the wall in the trailer to keep her contained. She did very well and woke Bill up Sunday AM standing on her hind legs, asking him to pick her up to come into bed with us. (She loves to sleep on Bill's chest....tough competition for me!!!) She walked all over our room Sunday night after we arrived home from camping, and has no blood in her urine.

Monday, September 24th Ashley went into the vet again this morning. The took the back wrap off of her. She looks pretty good, and just has a major puncture wound that we need to keep neosporin on this next week. Muscle control was very good, and the vet said that she can tell that her bladder is about 80% controlled now, and that this muscle is the hardest to regain with this type of an injury. She still has no feeling in her tail, but who needs a tail anyway? We hope that she can have her cast off this next week. We will see! After bringing her home this afternoon, she promptly jumped out of her box, onto the couch, and then later, down the basement steps. She still has a long way to go, but is doing much better.

Thank you so much for your prayers during all these trials and hurdles she's had to jump. It means a lot to us.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

A Day in Sisters September 1st



We had decided a few weeks ago when in Sisters with my parents that we would head back over to Sisters for our favorite artists 100th painting reveal. We left home around 10:30, packing my clock to take along to drop off at the repair shop over there. It was a beautiful day and a nice drive over.



We arrived in Sisters about noon, and stopped off at the clock shop, to find that the entire mechanism in the clock was worn. It needed a whole new movement to the tune of $300.00. This was one thing that we needed to think about. This was my bedroom school clock, not the main clock in the diningroom. We left with the clock, and headed over to Jennifer Lake's gallery for the unveiling.



Upon arrival to the gallery, Jennifer greeted both the kids, and told them how glad she was that they came, and that she had a gift for each of them. They headed to the back with her, where she gave them their gifts, and we put them aside for then as there were a lot of people and it was about time for the unveieling. After waiting for some key people and some words from Jennifer, she asked Ryan to help her unveil the painting. He was so proud, and excited! Bill ended up helping as well, because they needed his knife....he's that "always prepared boy scout"!!



We spent an hour or so there after the unveiling. We won a door prize as well as a prize for being in her 5 star club (which you get after you've spent a lot of your hard earned money!). By the time we left, we'd purchased the new painting, and with our discount for being a 5 star member, we purchased the Cape Blanco lighthouse (complete with my favorite keepers house--the Hughes House), which ended up being free with the discount. Don't get me wrong...we still spent enough that I could have had my clock fixed!! We left the paintings with the gallery and went to do some shopping and have lunch, hoping that things would slow down enough for Jennifer to sign them for us, and personalize them as she has our other paintings we've bought from her.



We spent a few hours shopping, and then went into The Galley to have lunch. As we were in line, there were many fire fighters in line as well. There was a large fire south of Sisters in the wilderness, started a few days prior by lightning. We ate among all these fire fighters and the realization of their dangers really sunk into us. Kristin worried and cried the rest of the afternoon about the fire fighters, and did a lot of praying that they would be safe. We left the diner, feeling a bit down, but knowing that prayers was all we could do.



We went back to Jennifer Lake's gallery, and it was empty, with the exception of her parents, her husband, and her gallery manager. She promptly got our prints out and went to work signing them. She put a picture of the lighthouse next to her signature, and these "extra's" along with the personalization, make them more valuable, as well as a treasure to us. Bill shared with them that I could have had my clock fixed and he laughed and told Jennifer that she should draw a clock on the bottom not a light house as we requested! We had a fun time visiting with her parents and husband, then Jennifer personalized a card to Bill's Mom, which we sent off to her as a surprise. We headed for Bend and then home.



As we were coming through the pass....we saw several helicopters passing back for the night, and coming from the fire with their empty buckets. We could only assume that they were done for the night, or had put out enough fire that they could land. Kristin again got upset, and we continued to pray for their safety. These firemen now had faces to us. We were thankful when we learned that on September 11th, the fire was contained, and on September 24th, it was considered, "Mopped up". This area had been devestated in 2002 with a much bigger fire, but the same areas had to be evacuated. We are thankful no homes, businesses or lives were lost.