...More Puppy Pics!

The puppies are three weeks old now. Grace is obsessed with them! We have to watch that she doesn't 'love' them to death! :) It has been enjoyable watching them change and grow.

Duncan, the chunk~

Fiona~

Angus, the runt~

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~Swimming Lessons!~

There was much excitement around here last week! Swimming lessons! I am happy to report that both boys moved up one level and are well on their way to being terrific swimmers! It is great to see Grant's level of comfort in the water rise dramatically these past few weeks. I think spending time in the pool with Dad in Bend helped tremendously. Last year at this time he wouldn't even put his face in the water. Now he is doing the crawl stroke and diving. Yeah Grant!








Ryan moved up to level 4 where he will be perfecting his strokes and diving. He is like a fish in water! It is truly his very favorite sport and pastime.







I was a little afraid that Gracie would be a handful during lessons but truly was very good. It was also so nice to have the time to chat with Lynnette, my best friend of 25 years. Her boys, Blake and Dane also were taking lessons. We were so proud of all the boys. All of them gave it their all. Good job boys!






Ashley and Lynnette~


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Smith Rock State Park

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Psalm 19:1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.








On our way home from the Canney's 70th wedding anniversary celebration, we stopped off at Smith Rock State Park outside of Bend/Redmond. It encompasses 651 acres on the Oregon high desert plateau which hovers around 3000 feet in elevation.

Hiking trails there offer spectacular views of the surrounding area. You can spend 30 minutes walking along the river or a full day making a loop on trail systems that extend outside of the park to Deschutes Land Trust, USFS and BLM land. The major rock faces are composed of compressed volcanic ash reaching a height of up to 550 feet. The picnic and campground areas sit on top of the rimrock which is made up of columnar basalt. There are over 1600 climbing routes in and around the park incuding some of the best sport climbs in the world!...


We watched the climbers scaling those sheer cliffs as though it was nothing. Compared to the majestic cliffs though, they looked like tiny creeping ants. (Look closely!)
















We decided to save the hike for another day and instead just walked along the path in the picnic area which is overlooking the deep valley, river and rock formations.







At certain stretches of the path we were walking on, there would be no fence of any kind. Mom and Dad got a little nervous a few times as they boys, Ashley and Amanda would practically be hanging off of the rocks to 'get a closer view'! Some of the drops were probably about 300 feet down! Gulp!








After the nice rest stop and short hike along the rim of the canyon it was time to head back to the cars and get back on the road~














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A Weekend to Remember

I loved my Grandma Hoyt.. she was such a dear to us all. One of her weaknesses though was that she was a bit of a hermit. Because of that and other family issues, I never got to know either of her brothers (my great-uncles) their wives or the many cousins on that side. Well, that has changed! My great uncle George and his lovely wife Honey celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary and we were invited to the celebration!


Still madly in love ..









It was a reunion of sorts but this kind of reunion was of a different flavor in that we had never met any of them! (Honey did say that she had last seen me at the age of 5 but I have no memory of it.) My great-aunt Maggie, Grady and I vowed to one another that we would try and keep the family together from now on and that family is important and ought to be cherished and held closely. All of us intend on keeping in touch and as much as we can, be a part of one another's lives. Cousin Nathan, with help from other family members, has spent hours and hours collecting the story of our family.. photos, stories and putting together a family tree. What a blessing to us! On a side note, Cousin Nathan also has been to Belize and hopes to spend more time there in the future, doing mission work!

















My Mom and Ben
































What a special weekend to remember!




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The Birthday That Almost Wasn't..

Happy Birthday Ashley!


Psalm 139:13-16 (New Living Translation)

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.








The Birthday that almost wasn't..

I can't let this day pass without sharing this.. 18 years and 7 months ago found me pregnant and not married. The doctor who saw me insisted that I have an abortion because I had been on medication when I conceived. He told me that this certain medication would cause my baby to not develop any limbs or major organs and that eventually would be born dead. I was crushed. I had never believed in abortion.. but now found myself having to make an appointment at a clinic for the 'sake of my baby'. No one but Grady, myself and my mother knew what was happening in our lives.. but for some unknown reason, nudged by our Lord almighty, my mother contacted my father and step-mother whom she never talked to, to let them in on our situation. My step-mother quickly jumped on the phone and found out that there had been NO conclusive evidence either way as to the effects of this specific drug on fetuses. It was simply too new to know. It was my birthday 1991 and I was literally walking out the door to the clinic for the abortion when the phone rang.. Barb begged me not to go through with it and to please do a bit more research before making a decision.. I listened and our precious daughter Ashley Elizabeth was born 7 months and 14 days later. Grady and I were married before she came and the Lord used my pregnancy and her life to draw us to himself.

Oh Lord, thank you for saving our baby! My precious Ashley....
I thank you Lord that you saved her and have a very special plan for her LIFE~

Family Fun

Well, our Indian Summer is over! Life has shifted indoors~ and boy is it noisy! :) Among other things we have been finishing up painting projects, taking up our neglected sewing projects and refocusing back to school and more serious matters. Gone are the carefree days of summer but now maybe we can get some things DONE! :)

Ok, well getting some things done! Some days there are just sooo many cute distractions!

M's dachshund Emma had a litter of pups last week which has been enjoyable to experience. Although over the years we have had so many dogs, this is our first litter of puppies!

Duncan

Fiona

The little runt, Angus

Also, the family took a trip out to the Oregon Coast for Ashley's birthday outing. We were able to meet up with our new friends which made the day even more special. Mr. T and Grady took all of the big kids out crabbing for the day while Mrs. T and I stayed back at their camp with the 4 littlest ones and visited. It was a fun time. It is hard to believe that our Miss A will be 18 years old tomorrow!

The birthday girl

~ A friend loveth at all times~

We were blessed so much this week by meeting some new friends. G had travelled with the father and oldest son in March to Belize. They were headed out to the Oregon coast and stopped by for a few days. We were blessed to have them here for 3 days in which time we all grew to be fast friends. Our older girls and our boys have so much in common and are very like minded in so many ways. I was joking with the girls that they are our 'kindred family'~ We will miss them so much as they travel throughout the country. We are praying that we will see them again soon!