Sabbath with Family - June 20,2010

Another Sabbath come and gone. Our family went to church this sabbath to hear Pastor LeBrun give a wonderful sermon on "Biblical Church Leadership", then to Grandma's for lunch with cousins and family.We had a nice relaxing afternoon putting puzzles together and visiting. The day was just to nice to spend inside all day, so our cousins and Cherie and I went for our favorite little walk down to the Meyers Falls. We enjoyed the wild roses in bloom as well as the blooming Locus Trees. Played hide and seek in the tall grass growing by the swift river's edge, and took some more pictures.

On the way up our mountain road, mom wanted us to get out and pose for her in the blooming Lupine patches before they fade out for the season. Almost every year up to last year since we have lived up here on the mountain, we have taken yearly pictures in this same patch of Lupine except last year...so we took advantage of this time we were all together.

Cherie's 20th Birthday - June 14th, 2010

It is so hard to believe the baby of the family has turned 20 years old today! She is making her older sister feel so old today. You have grown into such a beautiful young lady Cherie. May God bless and guide your pathway through this life!

Cherie had a full day of college today, so when mom and her came home from town, Jared and I had our BQ set up all ready to enjoy a special surprise birthday dinner for Cherie. I had so much fun on my day off home preparing veggies, BQ gluten,BQ sauce, for veggie-kabobs, corn on the cob, potato salad, and bake potatoes. We ate outside as soon as Cherie and mom got home. I had never BQ over a grill before so this was a fun new experience. I was so skeptical of those charcoal pieces getting hot enough after setting them on fire and letting them sit for 15min. It worked! It is an amazing thing and makes food tasty. Mom and I had made a cake, so sang happy birthday, ate cake, and called it a night.

May God bless you with many more years Cherie!

Congrats to the new ASB College President! - June 14th, 2010

After making her posters, spreading streamers, and wining the students to vote for her, Cherie finished her campaign for College ASB president. She waited and wondered for a whole week before finding out if she was elected or not.

So as the college opened up their ice cream social and valets filled, the big question was answered. A very patriotic looking gal beamed from ear to ear. A
CONGRATS to Cherie Mills, The 20010-2011 College ASB president! From filling in part time as Vice president, Cherie moved up to the president's seat and is excited to have her own office as well as friends to aid and support her. Your family is SO Proud of you Cherie! Way to go sis!

Hood River Family Campmeeting - June 11-13th, 2010

We finally made it this year to the "Empowered Living Family Campmeeting" outside of Hood River. After so many years of wanting to go, mom and I made it along with my Uncle Kevin, cousins-Sarah, Jonathan, and Hannah. Due to Jared's work and Cherie finishing college, they were left behind much to our dissapointment.

Mom and I had a late take off from Azure Thursday night to drive to Hood River and didn't get crawl into our tent until 2AM. We were so tired, but we made it! The meetings were great and such an encouragment for our everyday Christian life. I felt so blessed to be there. We get so carried away with our everyday lives...we forget to take Jesus with us in every step. Life would be so much easier and better if we could only take the time to have that close relationship with Him! We sat for four meetings with breaks in between for youth Sabbath meal preparation in the kitchen, Family freeze tag, kite flying, Frisbee throwing, walking, visiting, and choir practice in the evening.

The weather was perfect, nice and warm. God really blessed with coming from the rain Washington to the fair weather in Oregon. The sunsets were beautiful casting a pink glow on Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams in the distance. It was a beautiful and rather a quite setting for camping on the edge of town.

Sabbath we sang in the choir for the morning meeting, helped out with kitchen duty for potluck lunch of haystacks, helped out with dish duty afterwards, went for a walk down the country road, nap time in the tent, and sat through some more encouraging meetings.

We had one more Sunday morning before we packed up and left to head back home. Mom and I took our time on our way home to stop along the Columbia Gorge Historical Highway to site see. Of all the times we have driven through the Gorge, we have never had time to stop and see the historical sites, so this was really special for mom and I. We learned alot of the Columbia Gorge history. There is so much history of the Indians that use to live along the gorge. I could not get over all the wildflowers! Bachelor Buttons, California and Red Poppies. It was so colorful and the fields filled with wildflowers looked like waves across the landscape. It was breezy as always in the Gorge. Mom and I had such a fun time in the flowers and taking pictures.

It was such a nice weekend, but mom and I were so happy to get home and see Cherie and Jared again.

Our little Highschool Graduate -June 8th, 2010

A time to celebrate has arrived again in our family. Cherie has done it! She has finished high school, but decided not to march this year with the graduates of the "Running Start" program through the College to recieve her diploma. She will wait until next year when she will walk down the isle with her Highschool as well as her A.S. Degree both together, but we still celebrated her accomplishments.

Along with Cherie's adopted brother "Jeff" (also attending Colville Community College with Cherie), we went out to eat at Cherie's favorite restaurant "Rancho Chicos" in town and just had some fun. Cherie didn't want anything to big, just family. She has finished her first year and has another to go. So, without embarrassing her any further.....Congratulations Cherie! You did it girl and your family is so PROUD of you!

Sabbath at Home - June 5, 2010

It was a beautiful day after all! It has been raining all week long again, but not today. Mom and Cherie were not feeling so good when they got home yesterday, so the camp outing was canceled. Seems like every time we cancel our weekend plans, we have wonderful weather for an outdoor adventure. Oh well!

Jared asked me if I wanted to go for a walk after lunch to our lookout, so we both went for a stroll down the country road. I had fun with all the blue wildflowers and blue sky. I told Jared we were having a blue walk. The Lupine, Delphinium, and to my excitement....the Mountain Lady Slippers were all in full bloom. It is funny telling others about the Lady Slippers and that there are so many on our mountain. Everyone seems to think they are a rare flower. We have noticed every year in the same area clumps of them growing together were you can count up to 20 slippers in just one area. They are not rare where we live!

Jared and I had fun chasing the butterflies and moths gathering on the moist road for a drink. There were even a bunch of the "Blue Azure" little Butterflies to top our blue walk with!We even took time to hunt for the Elk prints in the soft ground were Jared saw one earlier this past week.I asked Jared what kind of man he saw reflected in the mud puddles in our driveway...how true the statement that " A measure of a man's own heart he can see, only if he looked with open eyes at his own reflection". Such little things in life are so special....a walk with my brother, wonderful weather, colorful wildflowers, and chasing butterflies. What a joy and blessing!

Working and playing in our yard - May 30,2010

Well, I guess I'm glad we didn't go camping with all this rain! Instead, everyone in the family decided to keep close to home and get some much needed things done around home. We weren't in the same room or place as a family, but it was nice to know everyone was home.

Jared spent many hours mowing with the hand-pushed mower (our riding mower is out of commission and will be for a while, so everything takes twice as long), and declares he is not looking froward to trying to keep up with the grass this summer.Thanks to you Jared, the yard looks amazing though and all the more appreciated knowing how much time you put into it!

Mom stayed busy indoors cleaning the house. I know she wanted to play outside, but it rained almost the whole day!

Cherie enjoyed cooking and making breakfast and lunch for us. You can cook anytime girl! You said you missed it....as long as you let me in now and then to, for I will miss out on all the fun! Cherie was able to take a break from college study and read a book and plant her hanging flower basket for out her window.

I on the other hand, played in the mud all day long. I cleared, weeded, and planted flowers in our flowerbeds around the yard. I planted petunias in the beds along the house and rock wall, planted some of my favorite old-fashion perennial flowers (Delphiniums-shades of blue) at the end of the house along with some annuals, and then a surprise planter full of flowers for mom. I had my hands and fun in the mud!

The yard is starting to look like someone cares about it again! It is full of color and blooming flowers. With all the rain, it has been hard to keep up with it, but hopefully soon it will be nice again.