Happy Anniversary!

It is hard to believe Naomi and Michael are celebrating their 7th anniversary already today. So much has transpired their past years from sponsoring family members to United States for their education and to have them closer, to job changes with a company that Michael has been hoping for, then moving from Houston to Austin Texas, and starting a long awaited and anticipated family. Such a variety and very rewarding. I appreciate as a mother watching the love between the two of them grow. Then have a completion of a little one to truly bind that love. Even then this is all just the beginning, as each day they work toward building an even stronger relationship by dating, and acknowledge each others strengths to build and unify. Its the little act of kindness that keep the flame burning in a relationship.
How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ that enables us to go to the temple and have the sealing powers bind our families together for Eternity if we continue to live worthy of such covenants we have made.
Congratulations to you both for now and Forever! We love you.

Ron & Pam's big day!

Tony arrived early Saturday morning to get Ron dressed for his big day. Then he had a few hours to meditate while Pam and her brides maids had their makeup and hair done in one of the classrooms at the church. The rest of the family scurried around getting the food done and final touches.
The long awaited time finally arrived. Everything went very beautifully. Of course there were a few glitches, but nothing that detracted too much from the beauty and excitement of the day. They were both so radiant and emotional. It was emotional for many in fact. We have so much we have been blessed with in life, however this day of joy was one that Ron never imagined would ever come.
After all gathered to watch them exchange a toast and cut the wedding cake they had their first dance that was so touching. The many things that we all take for granted in life. Pam sat on the arm rest of Ron's chair leaning into him as he guided his wheel chair in circles and figure eights gracefully around the dance floor.
How grateful I am that he has had these opportunities to grow, as well as feel this great joy.

Less than two more months

It has been such a great time having Anthony, Chelsea, and Ethan here in town this past week, and I am now realizing that they will only be here another day before we are all miles away again. I have really enjoyed being grama, as I know the others have enjoyed their roles as auntie Jo, uncle Rod, and grandpa.

I just received some pictures of Savannah, and oh how she has grown. Less than two months we will enjoy having all the kids together, and having special time with the grand babies. We are sure excited that Rodney is getting married to allow us this special time. (ha ha) It really is a grand thing that we are all excited for.

visit from Georgia

Sunday when we got back from the beach we went straight to the Morse's house to have dinner and enjoy a visit with them since Chelsea, Anthony, and Ethan came into town Saturday night.
Monday our visit continued trying to get the most of our time together. It has been so much fun watching Ethan react to anything or anyone new. He is such a happy little guy. At one point Anthony was sharing some of his tricks with all of us. He told us all to laugh out loud. As we did Ethan watched for a minute, then began laughing hysterically. Needless to say that made us laugh even more. I must say he is medicine to making all feel good.
Today Marilyn had the pleasure of caring for Ethan while Chelsea and Anthony enjoyed an outing to the temple. It has been along time since they have had the opportunity to go and hopefully they will have another visit before going back to Georgia.

Beach get-away weekend

With the weather 104' last weekend in Portland we decided to beat the heat by going to the beach where it never reached 70', 68' was the standard. In fact we were chilly at times, but grateful for the beauty around us. Peter's sister was nice enough to let us stay at the beach house with her and her daughter Ava who is almost two. Like any two-year-old she was perfect with us when her mom left her to go to the store, then she changed her attitude when mom returned. She was a lot of fun to play with, as well as entertain us. She became quite attached to JoAnna, or Jo as she called her, as well as anything of hers. (flip-flops, hair brush, socks, shoes) JoAnna taught her to make a fishy face that was very cute, I read her stories, and Tony made faces or tickled her to make her laugh.

On the way to the beach we drove through Tillamook, and stopped at the cheese factory for squeaky cheese, and ice cream. It really surprised me to find out that Tony had never been there, so we took extra time for him to enjoy the observatory. How he has made it 52 years without ever going their is beyond me, but we had a good time.

While Tony went golfing in Lincoln City on Saturday JoAnna and I went to a few stores looking for saltwater taffy. Who would have ever thought it would be so hard. No one carried it. I told them that was silly, it's the beach they have to have some, but no such luck. We decided to go for a walk onto the beach since we could walk straight out to the water rather than have to hike down the mountain. The beach house sits up on the bluff overlooking the ocean which makes it a little more difficult to get to.

Happy Anniversary!

Dearest Mom & Dad,

"Happy Anniversary!Happy Anniversary!Happy Anniversary! Haaaaappyy Anniversary!!!" - That's us singing you the anniversary song. We love you and wish you all of the best for another thirty-plus years! Thanks for your examples and for all that you do for our family. AND thanks for reminding us kids that we are "soooo lucky to have parents who love each other soooo much." ;)

Love from Texas, NaoMichael (& Savannah)

Arizona is smoking hot

I just returned from a trip to Sierra Vista, Arizona where they have beautiful skies both day and night. The purpose of my southern trek was to help get Brent and Randi all settled into their new home. One of the first ventures of my trip was to the furniture store however the store was closed so we went next door to the thrift store to find some amazing deals on a dining room table, coffee table, and 2 end tables (all at 75% off the normal price). So for a little over $100.00 they got the works!
Randi was in hopes of spending more time getting her classroom set up and organized this week. However she spent this week in meetings, so Brent and I got to go and help her with bulletin boards, setting up stations, and I even got to sew 24 chair covers with a pocket on back for the kids to put their papers in. Randi had all kinds of very creative ideas to make her room colorful and inviting. I think she is feeling more prepared and excited to meet with the kids tomorrow.

Brent had to deal with setting up his room with no air conditioning in the hot weather. The first day I went to help set up the desks, but then he returned to finish with the rest of the organization of books, cabinets, posters and the computer stations. He too was feeling better prepared as he completed his first two weeks of class outlines and assignments ready. Wednesday he will meet with his 5 periods of classes.
I am just so proud of the both of them for their hard work and preparation in teaching. They will both be amazing at touching the lives of their students.

After a week in the heat of Arizona, my return to Portland's evening temperature of 62 degrees has got me bundling up as I am freezing cold. Even though I was only gone a week it was amazing how fast that I had acclimated to the heat.
Though I had a wonderful time and am very grateful for the invitation to come and spend that bonding time with the kids, it's always nice to return home, sleep in my own bed, and even be a little chilly (especially at night). My time in Sierra Vista is something that I will treasure always. Thanks for sharing your new chapter with me Brent and Randi. Love you both.