Check out Steven's Blog for the latest movie, starring Alice, dancing! So cute!

Hello, hello!! We are back from the Hillcrest/Trinity Bike trip and despite the pouring down rain we all had a wonderful time together! What a wonderful way to see the Lord's provisions first hand. :) I will post and comment more about the bike trip as soon as a dear friend of mine sends me some pictures...I opted out on taking my camera, I figured there would be plenty there.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my nieces and nephew down in California! They are getting so big. Such a beautiful family. I miss you all very much!

Marybeth (7 years), Aedan (19 months) and Madeleine (8 months)

More Tulip Festival

Below is the part that Brent enjoyed the most!

Some friends from church and I decided to kick start the Spring season with a 5 mile hike around Silver Creek Falls! We had a wonderful time together; jumping puddles, dodging raindrops and talking and laughing with one another.


Pictured below are 3 of the 5 falls we passed by or behind. The rain made the falls even more amazing to see!

A little on the wet side but, having fun nonetheless!!! Amazingly we all stayed pretty warm.

Bookcase: Before & After

Bed: Before and After

Yeah for Craigslist...such great deals! Thank you, Kristine, for all your help that day!!!

Friday, Kristine and I spent the night with our friend Theresa. She works at the OHSU Hospital in Portland so, she was able to take us on the new Tram for free. The ride was fun... As we floated over the Rose City the night sky was crisp and clear!

Here is Kristine peering out at the beautiful Portland lights! As you can see the windows in the Tram distorted the pictures and made them a little blurry. Adds a little character, I guess! :)





Theresa and I at the top of the Tram! Kristine is behind the camera making us laugh! :)

Katie C. wasn't able to make the Tram ride with us (she was at a basketball game) so, here is a picture of Theresa talking to her! :) She met up with us later that night!

We are enjoying our new windows! :) The view this morning was especially beautiful and more enjoyable through the clear and clean, picturesque window. :)

I don't normally use the fun enhancements in Paint Shop, however, today I was inspired, since I am currently snowed in.

So, may all of you that are in the great Northwest (and good ole' Oklahoma) enjoy the beautiful snow we are receiving. For me, I will take advantage of a lit fire place and a good book...and of course the wonderful view! :) God bless!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Well, as most of you are aware, we had our first snow of the season! It's always so nice to see the ugly and barren trees beautiful again. What a marvelous Creator we serve!

I had the privilege of home schooling these two wonderful boys for two and a half weeks while Rhonda and Kristine were in Texas. It was a win, win situation, as Rhonda and Kristine were able to help Erika (Rhonda's 2nd eldest daughter) out with the new baby and I was able to experience a small glimpse of what it would be like to be a stay-at-home mother, home schooling! Bob and Rhonda have done a wonderful job raising their boys, as Grant and Ethan were a joy to teach. Being with them for those 2 1/2 weeks made me excited to, lord-willing, have my own children some day to raise in a godly home (by the grace of God!) Though, the responsibility of caring for someone else's children is big, it was definitely a stress free and fun one to fulfill, as Rhonda's organization skills and Kristine's love in preparing and freezing meals for dinner made the

transition much easier. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with the Bower boys and, as an added blessing, I was able to visit with my dear friends Shaunna and Eric during the evenings as they were kind enough to open their home to me during the evenings/nights. The pictures are of Grant, Ethan and I making Graham Cracker Turkey Cookies and painting Turkey's. For their History lesson we were studying about the Pilgrims and their first Thanksgiving day Feast. I enjoyed it immensely as I learned quiet a bit myself!

Greetings from the state of Washington! I have been in Vancouver, WA for the last week and a half home schooling Grant and Ethan Bowers (Kristine's brothers) while Rhonda and Kristine are in Texas! I am enjoying it immensely and learning a lot in the process! The boys have been great! Anyway, I remembered Kristine had these pictures on her computer so I thought I would share with all of you my first EVER homemade Peach Pie!!! I had a craving for a peach pie a few months ago while I was in California. So, when we got back home and while I was staying at the Bowers, Kristine and I decided to make our own pie. And man o' man was it ever so good. I enjoyed ever last bite, even though it was a little on the juicy side.

Isn't she a beauty! ;)
The Chefs and their work!

It was well worth the wait!

9-11 At River Front Park

In remembrance of the 9-11 attacks, River Front Park has created one of many Healing Fields around the US. Each flag represents someone that died in the attacks and those that have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The scene was pretty amazing with the fields covered in flags. On every flag they had the names of the people that died from the Twin Towers, The Pentagon and from Flight 93. The names are printed on the stripes. It amazes me that it has been 5 years since the attacks. I just recently went and saw the movie, World Trade Center, and to see the live footage, and hear about the story of the two officers that survived was absolutely incredible! Though the times were and still are hard it is a great comfort to know the Lord is in control and He has purpose in everything.

The Promised Family Camp Pics

It was a busy week at family camp! This was my second year attending and my first year that I was able to stay the whole week. Trinity and Hillcrest Chapel have put it on for 25 years now. Family Camp is a wonderful time meeting new people and having fellowship, catching up with those from the other church, hearing/reading the Word, helping with meals (another opportunity to serve one another) and fun and games. Above: Kristine and I trying a different pose.

There is nothing like a fun game of volleyball

My dad had hamburger and hotdog duty the day we did our BBQ. They certainly flipped a lot of burgers that day! :D

A few hours out of the day we had camp games. We were all split up into teams and competed against one another. On the left is my team (the Huns) and though we didn't win many competitions we were definitely the loudest in cheering! We had a great time! We came very close in
tug-of-war and in fact the Huns were on its way to winning when the other team pulled together and used all their saved up strength for the final defeat!

Leaving for the Week

A post with out pics...Unfortunately I am not able to post any pictures on my blogspot, however, as soon as I figure out the problem I will have plenty to post. I have some of Brent and our Park adventures and some especially for you, Aunt Kathy!! We finally took some of our front planter and ohhhhh how the plants have grown. They have done their job in filling the empty space. It is so wonderful the Lord has given us such beautiful things to look at and enjoy here on Earth. I actually enjoyed weeding the front planter *Insert: shock and surprise look on my Mom's face*
It will be another week or so before I can figure out the problem. We will be at our Church's Family Camp for 5 days! Maybe I'll have some pictures from there to share as well. God bless you all!

Portland Zoo

It was a perfect day to spend at the Zoo. The weather was beautiful and the time was right!
Left to Right: Tyler, Brendan, Samantha, Brent and Me

Riding the train was an added bonus. I have been to the Zoo many times yet never have been on the Zoo Express. It was a nice way to end our tour of the animals. I love Brendan's facial expression...He is known for making funny faces at the camera!

Left to Right: Brendan, Tyler, Samantha, Diane (mom,) Cassie and Brent


Brent is at the perfect age for trips such as this. He had a great time looking and learning about all the different animals.

Please note: I was able to get Brent looking at the camera AND the Seal in the back ground! Not an easy task! :D

My other family

The Van Voorhis family! The Lord has truely blessed me with a wondeful job (if you can even call it a job...it is a pleasure)

Its been a while

I hope you all are enjoying this site...I will try and keep it updated with new pictures as much as possible so feel free to drop in and check it out and you can even leave a comment to let me know what you think. The pictures below are from Sunday, the 12th, while visiting my cousin Heather up in Battleground, WA.