1. Forest-ing. Not really hiking, but not really a walk. I just needed some forest exploring time and we happen to have a pie wedge plot of forest. So I clambered up and down our "cliff" and walked a bit on the flatland... I even surprised a deer. It felt good. If I had all the time in the world, this would have a nice little jogging path running through it....
2. Hanging out with Scott & Juli. Scott came out for a few minutes to sit on the lawn.
3. Dinner prep - Sam P, Tyler, Andrew and Mom
4. Meringues - Lemon in the back and "Russian Pavlovas" in the front. And oh my, do I love Russian pavlovas... they are basically cardamom whipped cream on top of meringue. I've just discovered cardamom in desserts and it is fascinating.
5. what else? Church! and playing with one very so-tired-he-laughed-at-everything baby. Hanging out with the Paynes.
And an update on Scott -
Scott is looking amazingly better. He can move much more naturally and his face just looks so much more relaxed - not the slight grimace it has been for months. It's going to take a while to recover of course, but the pain is manageable now in a way that it wasn't before. And he can sit down again! I don't think he's sat down for 2-3 months. Poor guy. We are praying that the healing process would be smooth and complete!
1. little mini lemon meringues
2. What else - enjoying the sunshine!, mowing, weeding, woodworking
1. My origami pig. Jacob wasn't feeling too well (plus distracted knowing that Scott was in surgery (!) ), so we focused on The Arts. ;)
2. We finally, finally, finally got Mom's flower window box put up! We originally gave her the wood for it 2 Christmases ago. Then we got it assembled into a coffin box that we gave her for this Christmas. And over the last month we've gotten it trimmed and painted. Now we just need one for each window!
3. Andrew's amazing Scalloped Potatoes for dinner. He put all sorts of spices in them, like Cumin and Mexican Chili Powder, which complimented but didn't over power it. Yum.
4. Jacob and I on an evening run to the grocery store. The sky was an amazing blue contrasting with the green leaves.
5. What else? SURGERY! For Scott. He got approved yesterday had the surgery done today! YAY. I can't tell you how thankful we are that this whole ordeal is over. We were all jumping up and down when he found out he was finally approved by insurance. Well, I was jumping up and down. ;) The surgeon came out after the operation and said that his disc looked really bad. Like really bad. So, yes, it was a very good thing he got the surgery done.
1. Waiting for Daniel & Jacob to finish piano lessons
2. Yoga at night
3. What else? Errands & Dr K (No more sneezing, yay!), teriyaki for lunch, potato soup for dinner, moving the sheep fencing
1. Wilma and I enjoying the sunshine
2. Freshly baked Rye Bread
3. What else? Saying goodbye to the Fabrykys. :( Sadness. We went from 14 people in the house to 3 people, as everyone but Jacob, Mums and I were home today. Too quiet! Daniel getting his permit (!) We'll have seven drivers in the house. Crazy. Napping in the sunshine. Putting the last coat of paint on Mom's window box.
1. Up in Portland with Tyler
2. Back home and off to Newell House with Mums, Daniel, Jacob and Emily & kids
3. We had a private tour thanks to Judy being our friend. :)
4. Afternoon picnic at Champoeg
5. Daisies
6. The vote monument
7. Walking along the Willamette
8. Daniel & Molly
9. John & Jacob
10. Mathew and I waiting for the pie to finish baking
11. Rhubarb custard pie. A new family favorite!
1. Bright crimson clover
2. Molly's smile (There's something about her smile that reminds me of me... must go look at old photos soon!)
3. The treehouse
4. What else? Homeschooling, Bible Study & Woodburn Outlet-ing, thankful for wonderful family and how fun it is to have fourteen people under one roof!
1. The wildest luggage I have ever seen (!)
2. The view at OHSU looking at downtown Portland. We were visiting OHSU to get a second opinion for Scott, which went really well. The doctor was great and really took time to understand what was going on. He also was very balanced and knowledgeable!
3. Looking across the Willamette. I never get tired of this view!
4. Walking around with mom through high rises looking for a coffee shop. Mom settled for a coke instead. Which was pretty lame considering this is Portland after all!
5. A very homemade looking strawberry shortcake
6. What else? Doctor appts for Mom - with the elbow surgeon & the functional neurologist, Le Petite Provence, Trader Joe's, Costco, JCPenneys, and the best pizza story ever. Emily & Tyler made pizza for dinner tonight... They couldn't figure out why the cheese on the pizza was browning and not melting. Tyler took a taste and the realized that they had used hash browns instead! We had quite a laugh!
1. Our newest addition - A Jersey Steer. So so so cute!
2. The first dinner outside.. the kids made it a picnic.
1. John holding a baby lamb
2. Anna holding a baby lamb
3. Happy Baby!
4. Dinner with the Fabryckys (their visiting for a week! yay!)
5. Tyler explaining a college lab, with some photos on the tv... and I have no idea what Scott is doing...
1. Driving over ancestral grounds near Albany... well, not quite, but it's where my great-something grandpappy homesteaded in the 1840's!
2. Waiting (see #4)
3. A strawberry smoothie to sustain the driver
4. What else? Today I drove down with Scott to Eugene. Poor Scott. I try not to talk about medical stuff on here a lot, else it would get boring quick... but Scott has basically had no life for the past 6-8 months as he's been dealing with major cervical disk pain. He's either on bed rest or standing up at work (he can't even sit comfortably). And to keep a really long story short.... it's been a two month process to work with the insurance company to get the surgery he needs paid for. Today he and I drove down to Eugene to appear before the insurance committee so Scott could present his case personally. The committee seemed really nice and concerned, so we are praying hard that they understand and are willing to rule in his favor.... It was the longest ride Scott's done since this all began, so I was there as moral support and to drive him back, because by the end of it he was on a full dose of all his pain drugs. We even stopped at Target to get him a heating pad to use on the way back since he forgot to bring his. Anyways, we are very thankful that it is all over with and for everyone's prayers! Hopefully we will know their decision by the end of this week...
1. At the Oregon Zoo with John! (And the rest of his family and the Ayers and the Dahlins, and my family... )
2. John and Anna in the petting zoo. Oh the irony of walking into a petting zoo when you live on a farm. I didn't tell them that our goat had died a month ago....
3. Anna is a pro at petting goats, Molly wasn't so sure...
4. Mom, Anna & Molly enjoying the wildlife; I think this was the baby duckies.
5. Me, Emily & Mom - Can you tell we're related? Mom just needed her "bug" glasses on!
6. A Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my! The lions and bears were very fun to watch, the tigers were just sleeping...
7. An exhausted Matthew on the shuttle ride back to the car.
8. Hanging out while Andrew teaches gymnastics
9. What else? Mostly just enjoying the Fabryckys (Emily's my cousin) and enjoying the zoo, worrying for an hour that I had lost my wallet on the shuttle when all the time it was in the lunch knapsack, which is funny as neither Andrew who was holding the knapsack the whole time or I remember me putting it in there! Just thankful that it was there. :) The zoo people were really nice about looking for it though.
