Happy 23rd Birthday Ashley Elizabeth!

Unbeknownst to Ashley, the Page ladies had arranged a surprise birthday tea party for her! Upon arriving to their home, we saw this cute banner on their front door which read 'Page Garden Cafe'

The ladies had prepared the most lovely tea and light lunch! And Willow had made and decorated a lovely cake along with little cupcakes! It was so yummy.. with chai flavored filling! Mmm!

And tea cups were lined up.. including 2 manly mugs for the boys!

And 2 for the little girls..

 

A birthday message for Ash

Watching Ashley open her gifts

The ladies had cut out over 20 maple leaves out of beautiful fall colored paper, each with a blessing for Ashley or with an Godly attribute that they see in her life. So special! They also showered her with many other gifts. She felt so special & spoiled!

Posing with her pretty cake

 

Posing with the pretty cake decorator!

Tea, warming on the stove

Ryan, with  his manly cup- really enjoyed the prayer, tea and goodies

 

We are blessed with such sweet friends! The Lord is so good to us!

 

Later that evening, Mandy and the boys watched the little girls so that Daddy and I could take Ash out to Burgerville for delicious burgers and fries! Happy 23rd birthday dear Ashley. You are such a blessing and joy to have in our family. It is such a blessing to watch you grow more and more daily.. to let go of those things which are not pleasing to God and seeking his face and being changed into His image. You are a treasure and a Godly friend to me, your mama.

 

 

Havin' a 'Hay' Day!

This is what the wonderful Daddy McDonald has been doing to support the family since our return! He works for a Mennonite man who owns a hay company. He was able to secure his US Port Clearance Pass via TSA as well as his CDL permit- with which he is able to drive farm equipment, including semi trucks within 100 miles of the farm. Next week he will be taking his CDL driving test and Lord willing will start driving up to the ports where hay is shipped out in containers to Asia. He has been able to take the older children along a few times on these local runs which has been a blessing.

 

This 'big rig' has 2 trailers! It never ceases to amaze  me how quickly my husband can learn to do new things.. first day on his own he was put into a truck like this one. Thankfully it was an automatic.. which he had for a few days before moving to a 12 speed manual!

Unloading the hay

Some of these local hay barns here are absolutely enormous!

More unloading..

Helping dad.. many afternoons I was able to meet Grady somewhere and let the boys make a few runs with him. There was a push especially in September when there was still hay on the fields which needed to go into barns before the weather changed. Grady worked many long hours in Sept but having the boys along made the long hours more enjoyable for sure!

Grant catches a ride!

Autumn in the Park

 

 Our friends, the Pages invited us to come have lunch and crafts in the park with the children. They brought hot steamy chili and lots of delicious cookies to enjoy as well as all sorts of crafty items to make scripture bookmarks and leaf rubbings for the little ones.

 

 

 

 

 

Grant, whose big brother was working with dad that day was the only boy on the scene. He was a bit embarrassed by that but quickly found the job of leaf-hunting quite enjoyable. He had brought his bike along and used it to peruse the park for lovely specimens. This extended summer and early fall have been so lovely.. the type of year where the leaves remain in tact and beautiful on the ground due to the lack of rain.

Pretty notecard Laura!

 

 

 

Good job, little friend

 

Its getting to be dusk..time to go home! Grant loads up his bike. Thanks Page family for a fun and fall-y day!

Work Day!

Grady and the older four headed out to Nonnie and Grandpa's in McMinnville for a work party day. They were assigned the jobs of apple picking and helping with window washing. As always, it was such a blessing to spend time with Wittenbergs..

 

Love the vineyard this time of year! Such a picture of our Lord's example given in John 15 about being the vine and abiding in Him

 

These golden delicious apples were... DELICIOUS!

 

They ended up picking hundreds of apples. They sent some along with us too! MMMMMM

The glads were gorgeous as usual!

 

 

Such a picturesque view. They had a blessed day of fellowship, both with one another and with family members. They all agreed it was feeling a bit like fall that day!

 

Sweet Fellowship and First Days Back

Back in Oregon! We finally arrived back home to the Pacific Northwest. This time we had decided to relocate to Oregon, in the Halsey, OR area. A friend had gotten Grady a job and the pastor from the local like-minded fellowship had found us a temporary rental. The few weeks back was spent fellowshipping and catching up with old friends, as well as meeting new ones!

 

Fun at the park, which is located about 1/2 a mile down the road from our rental

 

After church during the summer, a fellowship meal is sometimes held at the park. It has been a blessing to catch up with the sisters and brothers.

 

Our friends, the Kings invited us to go swimming at the river. It was hot outside and everyone enjoyed playing in the water and the yummy food Stephanie brought for us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sweet Pope family from Washington came down to welcome us home! After not seeing them for over 6 months it was such a blessing to see how much their children had grown. We enjoyed listening to a sermon and singing together like the old times.

 

Grady and Justin took the boys fishing

The King family invited us to their home where the guys were able to pick some fresh corn

the ladies catch up! And sweet Stephanie works on Mandy's sore muscles

We have been friends with this sweet family for 8 years now.  Our family loves them so very much that our children call them 'aunt and uncle'. We are blessed to know them and be back near them.