So much has been going on around us...church is gearing up for our yearly Back to School event, Day of Hope. We provided school supplies, backpacks, shoes and haircuts for free for families that need them in our community. Last year it was huge success and we are excited to see what God does through this event this year. (If you live in the area, we are taking donations of new backpacks, shoes and school supplies...as well as monetary donations. If you are interested in donating, please contact the church office: www.pendletonfirst.com
Last month John's brother Josh and his wife Meghan who are missionaries in Spain, welcomed their new baby girl Gabrielle. We were able to Skype with them once so far and see her beautiful, sweet face. They are doing some amazing work over there, but it still makes me sad that we won't see them for at least another year.
My grandma, Yvonne, moved from her home in Adams, into Pendleton following the loss her brother Maurice who she lived with. It was a long process and I am sure she is glad to be getting settled in now. She and Uncle Bud(family friend) have both been attending Pendleton First with us, along with Aunt Doris and Uncle Jerry (Bud's SIL and BIL). It's nice to have so many family members in the same church. The kids love seeing them every Sunday...and so do John and I.
My brother, Aaron, moved back to Nashville...something he has been trying to do for a couple years now. God has blessed him with a place of his own and a job. He is doing great! We miss him TONS...but we know God has a plan for him.
Yesterday, Alison was holding a picture of Aaron and singing a little made-up song about him when she turned to me and says,"When is Aaron going to get a mother?"
"A mother?", I said.
"Yeah, you know a mother." She replies.
"Well he has a mother, its Nana. Do you mean a wife? Like Daddy has me for his wife." I asked.
"Oh yah! A wife! When's he gonna get one of those?"
"I don't know Alison, maybe you should ask him next time you talk to him."
"Ok. I will. He needs one of those." She ran off with her picture of him still singing her little Aaron song.
So....Aaron...when you read this you better call your niece. She has some important stuff to talk to you about!
I have been doing all kinds of homemaking lately. Getting more and more into herbal remedies, healthy eating, sewing more, creating more. It's so refreshing to know that I can make things for my kids to eat, wear or heal with and I also know what they are made of! One of my favorite new things to use is my own homemade deoderant...I know, sounds a little crazy, but it's great. I know every ingredient that is in it (there's only three main ones) and I can make it smell how I want to smell. Plus, never in my life have I had softer, smoother underarms...seriously! I used that Dove Smoothing stuff for almost a year and had zero difference. After one week of my own homemade deoderant I had super smooth underarms. This is a little bit personal for some of you...but hey-this is my blog! lol I got my recipe here. On the flip side, I attempted to make my own toothepaste from the same sight....it was not so good!
I have also been sewing quite a lot since my birthday last year when my wonderful parents gave me a new sewing machine. Since I did not have a dedicated space for crafting, my kitchen table was overtaken. No worries, we eat in the dining room so it was not a huge deal. Although, everything under the sun ended up on my table. Well, when Grammy was moving I inherited her sewing table and storage cabinet. I have been trying to find a corner somewhere in the house for me to claim (haha...john says the whole house is my "claim"). Finally, I decided to make some space in my already-cramped laundry room. My hope is that by having some crafting space in there, I will in turn, also keep up on the laundry! We'll see if that actually happens. :)
A couple of weekends ago we went to Hoodriver, well Parkdale actually...for a family reunion. It was so relaxing and fun. The kids got to play with their 4th cousins(crazy). John and I enjoyed the day playing and relaxing. It was Bentley's first car ride and he did great. He even jumped into the river!
And our latest trauma...Alison hooked Hosanna with her fishing pole...and reeled her in. Yikes! After cutting the line and getting her to the ER I decided I better take a few pics. The injury wasn't as bad as I initally thought, but it's still a good thing I took her in. I probably wouldn't have been able to get the hook out as gracefully as Dr. McQueen (that's right, his name was McQueen!). Here are some before and after pics.
Well....that's it for now...I must go out and capture more entertaining moments!
