Happy Birthday Kathleen and Kristine!

What I wanted more than anything for my birthday was to have my family together. I was blessed to have what I wanted. We woke up to 1" of snow on the ground. I think the last time I had a white birthday was when I was attending Rick's College! Another birthday celebrated without my sister--I called her and was happy to hear she was having a great day and her co-workers were treating her wonderful. Aaron and Lauren arrived safely the night before, we were glad they got here before the weather turned bad. It was a good day. James went with me to physical therapy and we spent most the morning and early afternoon running around getting things done. In the afternoon we were together as a family and all went to dinner at Pho Van, a Vietnamese restaurant in Portland. After dinner the kids gave me my present from them. It was a gold ring with 2 opals (Aaron and Matt were both born in October) and 6 diamonds. It is beautiful! What a surprise!

Happy Birthday, James!

With the help of Clarissia and Beth, we had a German Pancake Breakfast, along with little pigs; Grandpa joined us.









James wanted to go to 'Bob's Red Mill' in Oregon City for lunch. Bob's Red Mill is a cool place to see history such as grinding stones that were used to grind wheat a hundred years ago. It is full of healthy food and fun to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. The girls had a great time and Clarissia, to our amazement and surprise spotted Bob himself and was brave enough to jump up and take his picture.

































Later the girls and I went shopping and we celebrated with a New York Steak Dinner.



James wanted two Steve McQueen movies and a bread maker that makes 1 pound loaves. He was very happy to see that his family obliged him. All in all he said it was a good day.

A Visit from Clarissia and Beth

Clarissia and Beth arrived by train on February 13 and stayed until February 18th. We had a fun time doing all sorts of things. The girls could not believe how strong the wind was blowing. On Valentine's Day we went shopping in the morning down to Factory Outlet Mall. The girls loved looking at Claire's.













Of course we had to shop for baby clothes for the Grandbaby. We all put in our 2 cents on what the baby needed. Here are Beth, Clarissia and Katherine in the background at Carter's.






Monday we went shopping for material to make pajamas for the girls so they could complete their 10 hour project for Personal Progress. I hadn't sewed for many years and this was a daunting task for me. Dulsanna came to the rescue! She came over at 8:00 that night and stayed to the bitter end--presto--we had two completed projects!

Happy Valentine's Day!

James and I attended the wedding of Donna Drew--now Bean--a nurse I work with. They were married in the home of her in-laws in Damascus, Oregon.













She wore the cutest shoes, reminding us of Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz.














Kathleen, Toni, Donna and Maylin--We have worked together for many years. Donna and I have worked together the longest, although I would have to add that Donna has been at Adventist Medical Center longer than my 18 years there.






We went out to dinner (after the wedding) with Bryan and Toni Norton. We didn't want to wait for 1.5 hours to get into 'Olive Garden' and so instead we went to La 'Carreta in Gresham. We had a fun time together-as always.

Happy Valentine's Day Grandma and Grandpa!

Who us? Matt and Katherine gave us each a Valentine's card with an ultrasound picture of the baby! It is due September 1st. We were so surprised and thrilled that we were speechless for a long moment until we all started talking at once!! We've tried to publish the picture but are having trouble getting the right format, so go to Katherine's blog to see it!