Grandchildren

My grandaughters Mirella and Molly are staying with us for a few days while there parents are at a conference. We went for a walk on the Columbia River one evening.

Great Weekend

On Thanksgiving weekend, the vineyards in the Willamette Valley of Oregon invite everyone to taste the harvest. The alpaca farms were also having open houses. We went with our daughter Shannon and family and also my mom. It was a wonderful day.

Molly and Mirella

The last grapes of the season.

New Grand Children

Today is National Adoption Day and our family grew by three. My daughter Rhea and her partner Tonya adopted three children that have been in their foster care for awhile. They join the three children that were adopted on National Adoption Day two years ago. Kennedy is the biological sister of their son Malachi. Josiah and Jonah are siblings. Jonah told me today that he had been waiting to be adopted for nine years. Kennedy, 18 months

Josiah, 7 years

Jonah, 9 years

This last picture is of Rhea and Tonya and family posing with the Judge that signed the adoption papers. Tonya is holding Kennedy. The other children are Jonah, Malachi, Gabriella, Sharayah and Josiah.

Time for Blueberries

This morning my granddaughter Mirella and I picked blueberries at the church while grandpa was watering the garden. When we came home Mirella wanted to make a pie but we didn't have enough blueberries. She made muffins instead and for dinner we had blueberry waffles. We froze the rest and maybe by the middle of next week she will have enough to bake a pie.

A Good Day For Fishing

A couple days ago on our way home from Vancouver we notice a red van parked by Lake Sacajawea here in Longview. The van belongs to our DD and SIL. We knew that our SIL and grandaughter Mirella, were going to go fishing after school, so we decided to drive around the lake and look for them. We did find them in their canoe and took a few pictures. They caught ten trout.

One More Princess Party

Last week we celebrated my granddaughter Mirella's, 9th birthday. She wanted one more princess party. Mom tried to get her to do another theme, but the princesses won. I am sure they are all very strong, well educated, assertive women and are very good role models for young girls.

This picture is Mirella's sister Molly and cousin Sharayah doing some funny faces at the birthday party. They both preferred crowns over tiaras.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Yesterday we celebrated our grandaughter Molly's second birthday. What fun it was with eight children between one and eight. We were fortunate that the weather was wonderful and we were able to party outside. Molly is a delightful two year old who keeps mom, dad and big sister Mirella on the move.

Today Don and I celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary. We were married in Seattle,Washington. I'm not sure where the time has gone but it has gone much to quickly.

A few weeks ago we found out that our SIL will become the pastor of our United Methodist Church here in Longview, on July 1. It is great feeling that both of our daughters and families will be living here. Our daughter Shannon is busy looking for a teaching position in the area.

Happy Groundhog's Day

I was talking with my grandaughter Mirella earlier this evening, she was all excited about tomorrow. When I couldn't remember what the day was she told me that it was Groundhog's Day. She was so excited to tell me about the groundhog and his shadow. I love her enthusiasm and how she embraces life. Happy Groundhog's Day, Mirella. I hope he doesn't see his shadow so that Spring will come sooner.

Grandchildren

In November, I wrote on my blog that my daughter Rhea and her partner Tonya had adopted three children. At the time I did not have a very good picture of the children. Since then we have acquired several pictures and I thought I would share one. Gabriela is 4 yrs, Sharayah is 2 yrs and Malachi is 1 yr. The girls are biological sisters and have been with Rhea and Tonya almost two years. Malachi has been with them since his birth.

Mt. St. Helens

Today was a beautiful day in the Northwest, cold but beautiful. My daughter Shannon called and asked if we would like to meet and go sledding. We went up to Mt. St. Helens and found a great place to sled. This was Molly's first year to try sledding and she really loved it. Mirella the "old pro" also had a great time.

"Natioal Adoption Day"

Today is "National Adoption Day". My husband and I were able to watch as our daughter Rhea and her partner adopted three special needs children in court today. Gabriela(4), Sharaya(2) and Malachi(1), became the newest members of our family. The girls are biological sisters and came from an abusive home, while Malachi was born three months premature with way too many drugs in him. All three children have been in foster care with our daughter and partner for a year or more and it is a great joy to know that they are now a permanent members of our family. We embrace this family and surround them with our love.

Trick or Treaters

These are two of my granddaughters Molly and Mirella. Mirella is really enjoying reading Harry Potter. For Halloween, she was one of the students from the book and Molly was her owl. How fun to be able to become one of the characters in a favorite story. This will probably be the only year that Molly will be her side kick. Mirella is 7 1/2 and Molly is 1 1/2.