Best Fortune Ever

"A short stranger will soon enter your

life with blessings to share."

Fortune Cookie from Kwan's Cuisine

Salem, Oregon

The New Homestead

A lot of people have asked about our new home in Vancouver so I thought I'd post some photos, some from the multiple listing service and some taken by our realtor. The house has about 2400 square feet and appears to be in a very nice neighborhood. Since all we really know is what we've seen from about 40 pictures and an aerial view on Google maps, we're kind of anxious to see it for ourselves, too.



We are still working through some things related to the inspection, which we hope will be resolved soon to our satisfaction. The house is 14 years old and is about two miles from King's Way Christian School, where we plan to enroll Jameson and MelodyJoy. My commute to Multnomah University should be around 25 minutes. It only has three bedrooms but there's a "bonus room" that we'll put Jordan and Phil in . . . at least until we kick 'em out of the house.

They Grow Up So Fast

All Together Now for Mother's Day

Jordan and I picked up Phil in Chicago last night and brought him home from college, arriving in Fort Wayne around 4:30 AM. This meant that Jeannette didn't get to go to church with all her kids this morning but we tried to make up for it by taking her to Red Robin for lunch. It was the first time we've all been together since January. Melody exclaimed, "We're a family again!"

Phil gave her some silk pajamas . . . I have her some dark chocolate and the final season of 24 on DVD . . .

Jordan gave her a certificate for dinner and a movie . . .

Melody got her a new toe ring . . .

Fifteen soon

Jameson's 15th birthday is just days away so we had a mini-celebration today. Jameson had to make do with Pizza Hut and chocolate cake and a t-shirt about how awesome he is . . .

Jordan brought in one of his old longboards and told Jameson that it was his gift from us so that he could learn to ride. Jameson wasn't sure what to make of that and tried to act like it was a good gift.

When they brought out the big Nerf gun we bought him, though, he knew he had been punked . . .

And, of course, he and Jordan put it to good use right away . . .

(I'm not sure what to make of Jordan wearing a full motorcycle helmet for a Nerf gun war!)

Good Witch?

Teddy Bear Tea Party

Last week, Melody's kindergarten class held a Teddy Bear Tea Party. Each student brought a teddy bear to school for the week and it all culminated in a special lunch where they learned about good manners.

What made the biggest impression on Melody was when the boys were instructed to pull the girls' chairs out for them and then push the chairs in after they sat down. She thought that was quite interesting.

A toast . . .

The girls took the challenge of dressing up for the tea party a bit more seriously than the boys did . . .

Happy Easter

After a great Easter morning service at Blackhawk Ministries, we came home for dinner--can you say ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, green beans, croissants, fruit salad, deviled eggs, juice with raspberry sherbet and some sort of great ice cream cake for dessert?--with Jordan's girlfriend and her family. But before we could eat, we had to get a little Easter egg hunt out of the way for Miss Melody . . .

Finally, a Day that Feels Like Spring

Ready for the NFL Draft

The Wonderlic is a test given to NFL draft prospects. I took this sample Wonderlic test online . . . wonder how much better I would have done if I'd quickly skipped the one question that was totally impossible for me to figure out right away.

Quiz Concept by Nicholas Creative

My Dad Would Have Loved This

On April 1, Multnomah University released photos of its new NASCAR sponsorship . . .

Almost Six

Since I'll be back in Lincoln on Tuesday--Melody's actual sixth birthday--and Jeannette will be working that night, we decided to give her a little head start on the day.

Shut Up and Kiss Me

A few days ago, Melody got her hands on the camera and decided to use it to teach herself how to kiss . . .

Fixin' up the Ritz

We decided that in order to sell the house we needed to add some hand rails going down to the basement so last weekend Jeannette's dad came and did the work for us . . .

Out with the Old, In with the Old

Last weekend, Jeannette's dad came to do some work on the house. While here, he repaired my grandmother's old rocking chair, which we've had since we got married about 26 years ago. A long time ago, Jeannette had stripped the paint off it and restained the wood, but a number of layers of fabric had been added over the years, including a couple by Jeannette. She and Dad decided to peel off the old fabric and as they did, layer by layer, here are some of the results: