We went camping with our friends the Fosters. Camp Dakota is a great place to camp! We rented 2 yurts that were right next to each other. It worked out great. We ate our meals together and traded off nights of campfires and smores. The weather was great and we had a lot of fun together. It would be great to make it a yearly tradition.
They have an 18 hole disc golf course, which was a lot of fun.
Me playing Rescue Heroes with JJ.
Alesha, trying her first pistachio.
I was building towers for the kids using the bucket of kindling wood.
The Foster's yurt had a ping pong table and foosball table, which was great fun for everybody.
Ashton doesn't seem to like the wood bin as much as Alesha
Friends.
Our group photo right before we hit the zip lines!
Camp Dakota has recently put in 3 zip lines and an obstacle course. We decided to take the plunge and do the zip line course. I am not a big fan of heights so it was a stretch for me. I really enjoyed it after I got over the shock of jumping off a platform, zooming down a line, to land on the next platform. Our boys had a BLAST! We all had a great time and it made for some fun memories.
It is hard to believe I have a 7th grader, too. Not to mention he will turn 13 in a couple months! YIKES, that means I will have a teenager in the house! I am thrilled to have both the boys attending the same school this year. This means we will all be on the same schedule, which makes life a bit easier. Martin, was cool as ice this morning. He is excited to get back to band and see his friends.....the actual academic part of it didn't have the same excitement :-) I am excited to hear how the first day went. Praying for a successful year for both my boys.
My 7th grader!
This picture looks like she is saying to Martin "You are going to be gone the WHOLE day?"
Alesha, will miss Martin
He humored me, too.
My 6th and 7th grader.
Funny boys!
Getting ready for the ride to school with their friend who lives across the street.
Off goes my 7th grader. Hard to believe he is that old.
I am still trying to wrap my brain around our youngest son starting 6th grade this morning! This is MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!! How did this happen? Our middle school has all the 6th graders attend the first day without the 7th or 8th graders present. I really like this idea. It gives them a chance to figure out where things are and get their bearings before all the BIG kids come.
Today was a success! Luke, came home happy and said he only got lost twice :-) He has some classes with some friends, which always helps :-) I am continuing to pray for a wonderful school year.
My 6th grade boy!
Alesha, is REALLY going to miss her brother.
I had him hold up his fingers so I could remember what year of school he was in when I look at the picture many years from now. He didn't want to do it, but humored his mom :-)
Off he goes.....I just stood there still in shock that he was going to middle school!
At the end of July the kids and went to my mom's house up in Washington for a visit while Darin was away at a retreat. We had perfect weather the entire time we were there and had a lot of fun. We were there long enough that I actually got to relax. Usually the trips are shorter and I feel like I am packing up everything just after I unpacked it.
My mom put up a fence around her garden and wanted all the grandkids to paint it for her. Here are the results.
I used Alesha's hands to make flowers. She was NOT impressed by having paint on her hand. It was a much more difficult process than I thought.
The end result. We had to use Martin, Luke and my hand to make it complete. Alesha, refused to put her hand in the paint anymore. She also played with this sponge and pitcher for about an hour.
One of the days we headed to Cape Disappointment. It is a beautiful cove with lots of drift wood and places to play in the water and sand.
After some searching the boys found this little secluded beach area. It was the perfect place to play for several hours away from the wind and the crowds.
Alesha with my mom. Yes, my mom has a broken foot, but that didn't stop her from going to the beach with the grandkids.
The boys had a blast climbing on all the HUGE rocks.
Luke made a teeter-totter for Alesha
Our three blessings
Martin and Alesha pretending to be in a boat.
Smores are always a must when we go to grandma and grandpa's house.
Saturday, we went to the Saturday Market in Ilwaaco. It is a really fun market with lots of interesting things to look at.
Alesha, wanted to walk, but decided her baby needed to be pushed in the stroller.
This old man was playing and singing as we walked along. Alesha was fascinated by him and stopped to gaze at him as he played. She danced a little bit and really enjoyed it.
All of us at the end of our trip. We were blessed by a sweet man named, Cliff, who bought my boys bags of kettle corn. He said that he wanted to do a good deed. So sweet. Our boys were thrilled and very thankful for his generosity.
Later that day we headed for the annual trip to the local arcade. Here we are playing Deal or No Deal.
After we left the arcade we saw a horse drawn carriage going down the street. I thought this would be so fun. We found the boarding area and before we knew it we were ready for our ride through town. Just before we left the driver looks back and asks my boys if they would like to ride up front with him and help him lead the horses. Both boys jumped up with excitement and took their places behind the reins.
The little bear Alesha is holding was given to her by a man at the arcade. He cashed in his tickets, bought the bear, and turned around and gave it Alesha. What a nice guy.
My boys behind the reins.
This was taken after the ride was over. The man with the hat let each of the boys take the reins during the trip through town. It was really cool and he talked to them the entire time about the horses and how to get the horse to do what you want them to do. It was a wonderful experience!
On the last day before we left for home, I decided to add some additional artwork to the fence. Alesha's flower garden looked too lonely :-)
Me with my little helper. Here is Luke's completed artwork.
As I was painting I turned around and found Alesha painting her toenails with soap using a paintbrush. What a creative little girl.
Almost completed. Ran out of time. I think I will put a tree or bushes to the left of the rainbow or just complete the arch. Not quite sure yet.
This summer we tried to make up for last summers lack of berry picking. This year we picked strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, marionberries, and blackberries. Our freezer is now full of frozen berries for smoothies, cobblers, and lots of freezer jam.
I am always amazed when I enter a berry field to see how the rows of berries seem to continue for miles. You are unable to see the end of most rows until you walk half way down them. As I pick each individual berry I am reminded of how amazing God is. His creation is really a beautiful thing. To see how every berry is made so differently from the other, whether it be size, color, shape, the vine it is picked from, some with thorns, some from small bushes, it all brings me back to God's creativity. There is just something about being out in a berry field with the sun beating down on your back as you pick berries that makes me happy and thankful.
Our boys are amazing berry pickers. They do such a wonderful job and are fast, too. Alesha, enjoyed playing in the dirt mostly and running up and down the rows. She did pick some berries, but doesn't like the taste of any of the berries, except for a possible blueberry hear and there :-)
Alesha, loved to pick off each micro berry from the marionberry. This kept her busy for quite some time.
Just a small amount of our berries picked that day.
This is what happens when one washes their hands with berries.
Blueberry field at the beginning of our picking day
Martin giving a high five after Alesha picked a berry and put it in his bucket.
Alesha helping Luke pick berries.
I think she stuffed in her mouth as many berries that would fit :-)
My husband and I have heard of Voodoo Doughnut for many years since we have lived just outside of Portland our entire life, but we have never gone there. It was when we were out one day that we had a fleeting thought of, we should check out Voodoo Doughnut. The problem, we didn't even know where it was. Our friends from Germany who had been living here for a couple years had been there several times, so I thought why not call them and find out where it was located. It was at the moment we looked at each other and just laughed. How ridiculous for us to call our friends who are from Germany to ask them where a local Portland icon was located. We simply could not bring ourselves to do it.
At the end of July after skyping with our German friends, who are now back in Germany, we decided it was high time we took the plunge and find out what was SO great about Voodoo Doughnut. We packed the kids in the car and headed downtown. We found a parking spot in a lot nearby and crossed the street and made our way to the end of the long line that stood before us. Thankfully it was a nice morning and a man was playing some good music on the street corner. After about 1 1/2 we finally arrived hot, tired and had a cranky little girl at this point at the doorway of the longed for donut shop. I joked with the girl standing in line with us that after this long a wait I will be leaving with a dozen donuts not just a couple :-) She told me that she was there earlier in the morning and the line was over twice as long as it was right now. She decided to eat her breakfast and people watch until the line slimmed down before she found her place in line. Apparently there is ALWAYS a long line at this place.
The sign posted on the door said that no credit cards are accepted, just cash. They did however have an ATM conveniently located inside the establishment. When I saw this sign I was thankful that we had cash on us, because we don't use an ATM card and we had a credit card. To think that I would have stood in line for 1 1/2 to be denied the beloved donut would have been beyond irritating.
The inside of Voodoo is quite a sight. With the blaring music, employees yelling out crazy names of donuts and the smell of the donuts had all your senses at their peek. We quickly picked out our donuts from the display case that was twirling about. I felt pressured to make a decision quickly as I knew there were tons of people outside in heat trying to make there way in. We finally paid our bill and headed outside to taste these creative looking donuts.
The family favorite
This was the best apple fritter I have ever had!
I will say that these are amazing donuts! They tasted really good! Would I go and wait in line again to get them, probably not any time soon, but I am glad that we had the experience :-)
This is a post that I put on our other blog over at http://thirtythrupoverty.blogspot.com/ I am posting this URGENT need here as well in hopes that more people might see it. *** It appears that the text below is being cut off because of the layout of the other blog. Please click on the link above for full post. Thank you!
So far this blog has been used to raise awareness of the extreme poverty around the world. As we continue to bring awareness we would also like to provide you with ways that you can make a difference in helping the millions of people who are living in extreme poverty today.
The news clips that are coming from the devastation that is happening in the Horn of Africa is overwhelming and heartbreaking. The sheer number of people that are being affected is staggering. To think that 30,000 children have already died in the last 3 months alone in mind blowing. I agree with the reporter in the above new clip that the headlines of every newspaper and every news clip should speak of the 600,000 children who are on the brink of starvation every single day until there is action to help these children. To think that over 12 million people are starving is hard to even comprehend, yet it is true and it is happening RIGHT NOW!
Living in the Western world we are so far removed from situations like this. It is only when I view these news clips as though it were ME walking those long dusty roads in the heat of the day with no food or water. It is when I picture myself carrying my dying child while my other children struggle to walk out of sheer weakness from lack of food and water. It is when I put myself in the place of the mother who has to decide which child to continue this long journey with and what child to leave behind. It is when I put myself in the place of the mother who has to walk away from their child who just died, knowing there is NOTHING I can do, but continue on in hopes of getting help for my children that survive the journey. When I put myself, my children and my family into the equation that is when stories like these really pierce my heart. It takes an intangible situation and makes it personal! Every one of these people have a name, they belong to a family, etc. If I were in this situation I would hope that somebody would help me.
Stories like these are too much to take. It seems so unfair, so unjust, as Bono says "It is shocking. It is disgusting!" As my heart crumbles and the tears fall it is then that I cry out to God and ask what can I do to help? How can I put action behind the compassion or emotions that I am having? How can I make a difference?
There are several things that I and you can do to help.
1. Pray for the people of Africa. The unimaginable grief that so many people are feeling right now must be crushing. Pray that God would comfort them. Pray that people would step up and help in any way possible to make this insanity stop!
2. At the bottom of this post there is a link to a petition you can sign to call on governments to save the lives of millions in the Horn of Africa.
3. Make a donation. Though there are many organizations out there, we as a family have supported Medical Teams International (MTI) for many years. We can personally testify that they are a top-notch ministry. You can check out their rating on Charity Navigators by following this link http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4070
Right now MTI has medical volunteers and staff hard at work to help those affected by this famine. In a letter I recently received from them they stated that "A generous donor just offered to match all gifts for our east Africa famine relief effort-up to a total of $90,000. With your help, we could quickly send $180,000 in emergency relief to people suffering from the famine - helping more than 36,000 people in the next three months."
An example of how far your American dollar will go in Africa it is stated that
"For $5 you can provide the medicines and care needed by one person. $30 will help us care for a family. $90 will help three families. $150 will help five families."
The above figures are "because our volunteers contribute their time. The medicines and supplies come from hospitals, clinics and generous companies here at home. On the field, we work with trusted local partners who know the needs and the best way to respond."
My husband, a friend, and myself have started a blog to bring awareness to the extreme poverty that is in our world today. In talking with people over the years it seems that when it comes to extreme poverty it is simply too overwhelming to deal with. We seem to be so far removed from it. When we do hear a news clip or a statistic I think it moves us, but perhaps only for that moment. I have also noticed that many people are not aware of just how FAR the AMERICAN dollar will go in a poverty sticken country. Did you know that there are millions of people living on just a $1.25 or less a day? That dollar amount alone can help put things into perspective.
Our hope for this blog is to keep extreme poverty in the forefront of our minds and share ways that you may participate. It both breaks my heart and angers me that MILLIONS of people are dying daily from PREVENTABLE diseases, malnutrition, and lack of food and water. Extreme poverty is also a reason for the millions of orphans in the world, which are very dear to my heart! We pray that God will use this blog for His glory and His people will be moved to action in whatever way God leads.
