October 2009

Well, Fall/Autumn is 100% here and there's a wonderful chill in the air. I love the cooling down and pretty colors of this time of year.

Early in the month we had an afternoon visit that was warm enough for the girls to play outside one last time on their slide in our back yard.




They still play outdoors at "school" (daycare) some days, but usually end up coming here later in the day/evening and we just haven't had warm enough temperatures since that visit. But it's okay - they are fully entertained indoors with plenty of Disney & Veggie Tales videos and an assortment of toys, some of which were played with by their mommy and uncles (even 2nd cousins) years ago!




This past weekend was my mom's birthday (she would have been 89) and we planned our "Breck girls" lunch to be at my house this year. While Becky and Ivy got sick (Rae Ann stayed home with Ivy) at the last minute, and Robin had another commitment, we still had a nice time and I took some photos (below).
Here we are having our lunch of some foods that reminded us of mom/grandma. She often made pot roasts, so that was our main dish. There were creamed onions and coffee (she would have been amazed that I would make either), biscuits Suzi brought and lemon meringue pie that Susan made for us. I fixed chocolate pudding with M & M's on top - something she did for my kids when they were little.


We used her china and punch bowl this year, and wore some of her necklaces like in years past. Her scarves were also displayed, along with an assortment of photos I found that I placed on her old pump organ that sits in my living room.




There were two daughters, one daughter in law, 3 granddaughters and 3 great granddaughters present. Some day we hope to have all the Breck girls present, but some would have to travel a long way to get here... Here are the youngest of the Breck girls that came - the ones mom/grandma/great-grandma never met... but I know they would have adored her, and she them.




This picture of Jesus looking over Jerusalem was hanging over the dining room table at mom's house for most of my childhood, so I placed it near our dining room table for this birthday.
It's been 14 years since she went to heaven... hard to believe it's been that long.
Miss you, Mom!

She turned two!

Here are a few photos from Sunday's party for Foofy's birthday. She had a great time!

Mommy made a yummy chocolatey cake with mini-M&M's...


Feeling a bit shy...


Peek-a-boo!


Reading a card...


A gift from daddy - Wild Thing - gets a kiss.


Ticklish!


Giggly girls!


A long hard birthday party is followed by a nap. :-)


Happy Birthday precious one!

Not sure what to call this post.

This post is hard to title. I'll just say things have changed in our house - Jenni and the girls have moved in temporarily. They also went to the coast with us a few weeks ago and that was fun.
Here are some photos from lately...

Ariel and her dolly sitting together on the little bench that normally holds teddy bears.


Brian and Ariel slurping yogurt together.


Felicity trying to stay out of trouble... it doesn't usually work!


Sleepy girls at the beach house.


Jenni and her little ones sharing a bed at the beach house - very cozy.


More later!

More updates...

So things have happened to blog about, but blogging has not been done... so today I catch up. I did find a few photos of our happy trampoline years... I will post a couple of them, but I know there are even better ones I haven't found yet. Just goes to show I should be putting my photos into albums and not boxes, huh?

Steve wanted me to post about his VICTORY in Rail Baron this month. I planned a little game for him with mostly his original group, minus Dan A, plus David S. He was so happy to snatch that trophy from Paul, who wins much too often in most people's opinions... Ha ha!

We had our biennial trip to the coast when Scott & Leslie arrived from Austria earlier this month. Dave & Renee and Paul & Wendy and Steve & I have been going on these beach trips with Scott & Les for many years and it's always a wonderful time of closeness & sharing mixed with laughter and usually a few rounds of Bocci Ball on the sand. We are blessed with some of the most amazing friendships...

We just returned from a visit to our dear friends Bob & Mary Lou, who now live in Spokane. It's always such a treat to spend time with them and it made me realize how much I miss them!

It was my first time to travel through the Tri-cities and up to that eastern part of the state of Washington. We got to visit some other friends (who live within an hour of Spokane) for a few hours one afternoon, and before we left for home on Sunday, we drove down to a small town that Steve lived in for a portion of his childhood. We snapped a few pictures, including one of the church his father was pastoring during that time.



It was a good trip, but next time we'll take an extra day or two because it was way too short!

Brian could use your prayers. He has had a recurrence of his more intense depression this past couple of weeks and found himself unable to function at work. He asked his boss for a leave of absence, and they generously gave him til the end of July to see if he can get better. He's waiting to get in to see his psychiatrist (hopefully they'll get a cancellation sooner than his July 22 appt.) and in the meantime is starting on an antidepressant he had access to. We read up on it online and are hoping that it will help him. He has not been on anything for about 2 years other than the Ritalin occasionally for his narcolepsy symptoms, which he won't take for awhile as he determines if this other medication is going to help or not. (The narcolepsy is not severe and he can function without that medication fairly well for the most part.)

Thanks for your prayers for him. The rest of us are doing well. July is going to be busy with some family and friend activities, so I'll blog about those later.

Birthday season...

Brian & Steve had birthdays last month. I didn't get the camera out on Brian's birthday, but we had fun eating out on the weekend and catching a movie (Wolverine), then having pizza and his favorite dessert after work on his actual birthday.
Steve's birthday was on a Sunday and I invited friends to join us at a movie (Terminator) and then later for dinner at a Mexican restaurant with like. There were 15 of us for dinner and it was fun. Here the waiters had Steve wear a special birthday sombrero and sang to him in Spanish. :-)


The next day (Memorial Day) we had a steak barbecue for our family birthday dinner for Steve, with a little birthday cake and ice cream afterward.


The girls are very focused on their birthday desserts...


We used our little fire bowl in the back yard for the first time and the weather was nice for sitting out there.

Dan's birthday was later in the week after Steve's, but he celebrated with Jenni and the girls and not with us, so nothing to post here!

We are kinda doing the same birthday routine for Matt as we did for Brian - we ate lunch out today and rented a movie at home that he wanted to see. Brian had gotten off work early today, so he was able to join us. Tomorrow is Matt's birthday & we'll have bbq'd burgers & his choice of dessert after work tomorrow evening.

It's actually Jenni's birthday today, though, and she and her family came over this evening for a dessert she requested. I put up a few balloons and a signs to make it festive and the girlies loved it. As soon as they saw the balloons they wanted to take them down and play with them, so I got a quick photo first.


After Jenni's choice of dessert (berry crumble), we went out and sat on the grass in the front yard so the girls could play with their balloons outside. Felicity snagged my phone as soon as she noticed it.


Ariel wanted to take pictures with my camera and to see pictures of herself, so I asked her to give me a "small smile" and this is what I got! :-)

It was taken on the front lawn in daylight, but my camera darkened the background cuz I was focusing on her so closely... weird.
Anyway, it was a fun day and tomorrow will be the last of the birthdays until mine comes along next month. I'll add a photo of Matt if I can get one of him tomorrow.
Thanks for checking in!

Update: Here are two photos from Matt's birthday that he WILLINGLY allowed me to take!

End of an era

Today felt like the end of an era for me as a mom. The trampoline in our back (side) yard was disassembled and taken away. It's time to move on and we chose to send it on to friends, but it feels sad at the same time because our kids spent so many hours of fun throughout their childhoods on that trampoline. I can see and hear them in my mind... lots of happy memories! (I will post some old photos once I get them scanned.) But it was time to let it go -- they haven't used it these past few years so it has mostly been ignored...
We'll probably put in a garden there eventually. We'll have to fence it off (to keep the dog out) first and overhaul the area - bring in a lot of top soil, etc. Maybe we can plant by next year?
Here are the photos from today as it was "disappearing" right in front of my eyes!

Right before the guys came - Lacey strolled around on top of it one last time.


Jim & Steve begin untying the blue protective ring.


Folding up the ring - this is Jim with David & Ben Sanford who will be taking the trampoline to their house for Ben and his sister Anna to use.


As the springs are removed...


Taking out the middle section.


Folding it up for transport.


Time to take the frame apart.


Wow... only pieces left.



After being there for nearly 13 years, this is how it looks now.


The end of an era. A wonderful era! I'm thankful for all the good memories.

On base

I have a few photos from our jaunt to Ft. Lewis to see my brother, Dan & his wife, Dawn. Matt was working on their laptop they had brought down months ago when they visited, but they couldn't come back to get it (his group is on travel restriction and is training for deployment at the end of this year), so we drove up on a Sunday afternoon in late April and returned the computer and got a tour of the base and had dinner with them afterward.
To get in to the base, we had to be cleared through their computer system - every person in the car had to hand over their driver's license and be checked through the system. They approved us and we got a pass, which then got scrutinized carefully, along with each driver's license, at the entrance gate... whew! We got in!


I had never been on a military base before so it was an interesting experience. One of the first things we noticed was the use of military time on signs! (remember you can click on these to enlarge them)




It was interesting to see how the base is just like a little town with "stores", restaurants (even Burger King!), neighborhoods of homes (all manufactured) and parks, plus the training facilities & living quarters that look like large brick apartment buildings or dorms. There was even a cemetery that Dan said is rumored to be haunted... we weren't too worried!




We drove around and viewed most of it from our cars, but we stopped and wandered through the military museum's outdoor display (the building was closed on Sundays). The guys were especially interested in the old tanks and missiles parked there.










And since my van was having trouble starting (got it fixed the next day), and Brian's big roomy car was in the shop, we drove a rental car on this trip... We saved on gas, but it was not nearly as comfy as my van for road trips! So here is the little thing we packed all four of us into for the tour around the base that day.

It did the job, but I'm glad my van is now healed!!

I hope to have some updated photos of my granddarlings in the near future... I've been neglecting to pull out my camera the last few times I've seen them, but I guarantee you they are as adorable as ever.
Thanks for checking in!

Woo Hoo!

As I posted last night, Brian was interviewed this past week and he got word just this morning that he GOT THE JOB! Praise the Lord - no more unemployment! He starts TODAY training as tech support for the (Apple) I-Phone with ACS Tualatin. It's the same building Matt works in, but a different project, so they won't be "working together". The training schedule is late - 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm, but that won't be his actual work schedule... he will find out later.

THANKS again to those of you who prayed for him!

Lately...

Some recent happenings have produced a few good photos, so I will blog about them and share them. A little over a week ago I attended a bridal shower for Katie Dennis, Jenni's best friend from high school. Jenni picked me up and had the girls with her, and we did our best during the party to keep them occupied and out of trouble. One of the shower games that was played involved breaking up into small groups and "dressing" up one member in TP to create the look of a wedding gown. Well, Jenni asked Ariel if she would like to be the model for our group and she was happy to oblige. Here are a couple of shots of our little model, and one with the other ladies as they were judged. Ariel didn't win, but in some ways she stole the show!

(Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them!)







Last week we had our carpets cleaned all over (our whole house is carpet except kitchen and bathrooms) plus 3 sofas. (The people who did it were excellent - let me know if you want a referral to them...) The purpose of this was to remove as much remaining cat dander as possible, and I think it worked. I have noticed significantly less itching and sneezing!!! (By the way, the last report is that the cats are finally adjusting well and liking their new family - yay!)
After the carpets dried, it was time to put furniture back and I was not interested in returning one of Steve's old chairs to our family room, so I got rid of it (he agreed to it), and a day later found a recliner on Craig's list that looked really nice. We got it for $200 and it's only 8 months old, barely used and super comfy! Steve is quite pleased with his new chair.




Today is Easter Sunday. We had Dan & Jen and the girls over for dinner (leg of lamb, roasted red potatoes, etc... yum). I had recently taken Jenni's old toy kitchen and all it's accessories to their house, and I put the high chair and swing in storage, so there are only a few tubs of miscellaneous toys left here. I decided to copy something my mother did and I bought 2 cute little kid sized chairs for Ariel and Felicity to sit in. Well, they loved them. They sat still for long periods of time (Felicity has a pretty good attention span for her age) and watched "Finding Nemo" before and after Easter dinner. So cute!







One last thought. Brian has remained unemployed thus far, but interviewed at the ACS branch that Matthew works at this past week. He was told he "might" get into a training group that starts tomorrow. No call yet, so we're still waiting and wondering... I'll update when we get the final word. Thanks for your prayers.
Happy Easter everyone! He is Risen!

Erin & Sarah

I am posting a little video footage from my old stash of VHS tapes I am converting to DVD. This section is of Erin & Sarah and their daddy visiting us in 1990. It was after their mommy, my niece Kelly, had gone to be with Jesus after a valiant struggle with leukemia, and it was the last time I had seen her precious girls and husband.
God has blessed us with a family reunion through cyberspace in recent weeks and we now have renewed our connections through Facebook. More family members got in touch this way and as a result - today and later this week, Kelly's older sisters, Laurie and Wendy will soon be have a face to face reunion with their step brother,Todd, and his family.
Also, Laurie lives near Chicago where Sarah and her husband are soon moving, so they will meet face to face as well!
Here is the video - it's the way all of our family here in Oregon remember Erin and Sarah, but now they are young adults with husbands and kids!