The price for this day

With the recent passing of our friend's baby, I've been thinking alot of our own mortality. It doesn't help that the anniversary of my mom's death is coming up in April. I can't help thinking that we are blessed for each and everyday that God allows us to continue living on this earth. I found this poem in my mom's things after she died and I read it at her funeral. It was fitting.

A New Day

This is the beginning of a new day

I have been given this day to use as I will

I can waste it or use it for good

What I do today is important because

I'm exchanging a day of my life for it

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever

Leaving in its' place whatever I have traded for it

I pledge to myself that I shall be

Gain not loss; Good not evil; Success not failure

In order that I shall not regret the price I paid for this day

Author unknown

May the Lord bless your path and make it joyous, bright, and free of obstacles as you travel on this path we call life. Don't forget the price you paid for this day.

Very Sad News

Last night, we found out that a great couple in our home group just lost their baby. She was 33 weeks along. All we knew last week was that she had the "itchy, liver thing". We were going to bring them meals each week until she delivered.

I had never heard of this condition. Apparently, it's very rare (1 in 1000 women get it). I did a little research and found out it's called ICP. This is from the March of Dimes website: "ICP is a pregnancy-related liver disorder in which there are abnormalities in the flow of bile (a substance produced by the liver that aids in the digestion and absorption of fats). These abnormalities lead to a build-up of bile acids (components of bile) in the mother’s blood, resulting in symptoms such as severe skin itching. Up to 60 percent of women with ICP deliver prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy)"

BB and I are very sad because they are our home group leaders, we see them every week, study the bible with them and pray with them. The Lord is our Shepherd.

Ohio Rollercoaster

Someone just emailed me this. I thought it was rather interesting how scary they are making rollercoasters these days. I can't hardly ride them anymore, I guess I am getting too old. How many of you would ride this??

Powell Butte

Today Nibbles and I went hiking by ourselves. It was very nice and relaxing, without BB and Woogy. It was our first hike alone, since the boys were off biking. (I can't pull Nibbles in the bike carrier, it hurts my knees too bad. I have bad knees from running. )

Anyway, it was a beautiful 65 degrees and it was so clear we could see Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens from the Butte. And I am grilling some Ribeye and New York Strip steaks for dinner so it might turn out to be one of those really great Sundays, unlike yesterday. We were attempting a trip down to Silverton, Silver Falls State Park, but got caught in the worst traffic jam. We gave up trying after an hour and went someplace local for a hike. Then we tried to go to this pizzeria, which according to the internet is open, that serves great gluten-free pizza. It was closed. And the exit we needed to go to this other restaurant wasn't accessible. So we went to our third choice for dinner. So after yesterday, this was a welcome change.

Good Neighbors

We must have the best neighbors ever. Billy and Oscar are so friendly, come over nearly everyday when we arrive. They love our kids. Our dog thinks he belongs to them as well. Everyday he squeezes through their fence and barks until they let him in. He eats their dogfood, visits, gets some hugs and attention, then heads home, where he usually belches when I pet him from stuffing his face over there. They even let our kids come over and play in their yard when it's nice. They even watch our dog when we are on vacation.

I didn't realize how nice they were until I had to do some yardwork and I didn't have the right tools. They came over and loaned me their tools and helped with the task for 45 minutes. This isn't the first time either. They buy the kids easter and christmas presents every year and have even given Nibbles a little puppy that she pulls around all the time. This is the same puppy she dropped in a pond at the Portland Chinese Garden last year.

I am going to have to do something nice for Billy and Oscar to show them how much we appreciate them. (Yes, I erased my previous blog)

Blueberry Bushes

I planted blueberry bushes in our front yard this weekend. It was hard work, but it's good to feel I accomplished something useful for our home. And the kids love blueberries!!! It's springlike weather here so it's a little early by midwest standards, but here it's perfect for planting. It will take 3-4 years for them to produce a crop of blueberries. That is hard for the kids to understand. But in a few years, we will have 5 trees making blueberries!! That is one of the great things about the Northwest, it's berry country.

I also spent 45 minutes trimming all of our rose bushes down. Roses grow very well in Portland. BB may have mentioned the famous Rose Garden in Washington Park here in Portland. It's beautiful. We also went to the Columbia River Gorge to Wahclenna Falls, but as we forgot our camera, BB cannot blog about that trip.

Vacation in Kansas

I have been really stressed out since I booked our vacation, trying to plan on seeing everyone and keeping everyone happy. Last year wasn't that bad because we didn't try to go up to Iowa to see my dad. My dad flew out here so it was ok. We just stayed in KC, while BB drove up to Iowa to see his sister and friends. Since my dad cannot travel to KC anymore, and he will not be flying to Portland either, I wanted to go see him. But 6 days is not enough time to do all this, so I am stressed out. We have to see my sister and her kids in KC. Woogy and Nibbles would never forgive me if they didn't get to go see their cousins. My step-mom gave me some good advice: focus on having fun on our vacation. So I am going to try to be ok with not seeing everyone and still keep everyone happy???