"Explorer Spirit…Servant Heart…"
Mar 24th, 2009 by leigharev2
My cousin, Jenna and her DH, Charles, had their first baby, a darling boy! They visited my aunt and uncle one weekend and we were able to see them before we moved.
The new Grandma (my aunt), and The Great Aunt (my mom)
Proud mama, Jenna!
My boys!
Uncle Artie and ‘A’
Mar 16th, 2009 by leigharev2
We are spending much of our days unpacking and getting organized. We have been scouting furniture stores for items for the apartment. This place is Shopping heaven, USA, and everything is practically at your fingertips, (except for IKEA. We had to travel a WHOLE 20 minutes to get there :)).
We attended church on Saturday evening for the first time. This church has two services Satruday night and three on Sunday day. The service we attended had about 400 people, much bigger than what I am used to, but it was great. We met up with our new friends at the cafe that is on the church campus prior to the service and they introduced us to some other people after service. The boys went into their own classes for the first time. The teacher said ‘A’ kept to himself most of the time, but ‘A’ said he enjoyed it and looks forward to going back. ‘R’ loved being in his class and said he made lot of friends.
The service message was about when Jesus washed his disciples feet. This was during the time when their feet would get really dirty from walking, and a servant would wash your feet upon entering a home. Everyone lounged during meals, so it was important to have clean feet when your feet are in someone elses face!
Washing someone’s feet was considered a lowly job, and in this passage, the servant was not around to wash. The disciples were complaining and none of them would stoop so low as to wash each other. They were all just going to eat without washing their feet. But, Jesus began washing their feet. They did not want him to, but he insisted.
The key truth centered on that there should be no job or service too low for us if it helps someone else. It’s a good reminder for us in this age of ‘entitlement’.
We have had the most picture perfect weather, except for a mild rain yesterday. We need a jacket in the morning and evening, but that’s it. I know it’s going to get super hot, but right now, it’s perfect.
The dining options are incredible. Before I got my kitchen set up, we had a slew of places to choose from. It really runs the gamut. So far, we have found a great Greek cafe, a healthy fast food place, and AWESOME THAI!! Still need to find a movie theater…
The local Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma both host free classes on decorating and cooking. Yesterday, I took a class through Pottery Barn on hosting a Spring Brunch. I came away with some menu ideas and learned how to fold a napkin "buffet" style.
I still need to unpack our homeschool items. I need to find a better shelving solution for it. We are going to get back into the homeschool swing of things today.
The new church we are attending has an exercise class on MWF 9-10:30. It is a part of an international ministry called ‘Body and Soul’. You can see the format at bodyandsoul.org. I am going for the first time today.
I also joined Weight Watchers Saturday. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. 🙂
It was David’s birthday on the 13th, and I bought him something he’d been asking for a long time. A lava lamp! They really are pretty cool…
I am beginning Bible Study this Thursday. I chose this group because it has childcare for homeschool kids. The focus is on the book of Genesis, with emphasis on Joseph, and being unjustly persecuted. I am not sure of the name of the book but it is by Kay Arthur.
We have a WinCo across the street from our complex. My friend Sundy travels from North Bend to Kent to shop this store. The prices are incredibly low and they have a fabulous bulk foods section. I did a big run and have begun to restock my freezer. So far, I have made 6 entrees of sweet and sour meatballs, 3 entrees of garlic studded pork loin, and today I will make a big batch of molasses rum chicken. These recipes all come from the "Fix, Freeze, and Feast" cookbook. I am also doing a chili and a soup from the "Fix it and Forget it Lightly" Crockpot cookbook.
Lastly, I am re-implementing "Motivated Mom" cleaning routine today. Gotta get back into routine.
My love to all my NB friends. I miss you and look forward to visiting in April.
Mar 16th, 2009 by leigharev2
1. What is something mom always says to you?
A: I love you
R: I love you
2. What makes mom happy?
A: When I cheer you up
R: When we clean our rooms and are nice
3. What makes mom sad?
A: when I am mean to my brother
R: When I do something bad
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
A: Jokes I make up. I make up really funny jokes..
R: When we do something funny, or when something funny happens in a movie.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
A: That’s hard, I don’t know.
R: That’s hard
6. How old is your mom?
A: I don’t know. I do know Daddy’s 44
R: I don’t know.
7. How tall is your mom?
A: I will count you from foot to head..<counting>…34 inches
R: Hmmm, <shrugs shoulders>
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
A: Spend time with your sons
R: Hang out with us
9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
A: Do your computer or rest
R: I don’t know
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
A: For a Batman play. You could be Batgirl.
R: I don’t know
11. What is your mom really good at?
A: Helping me draw
R: Baking
12. What is your mom not very good at?
A: That’s really easy. You are not good at ice skating, are you?
R: I don’t know
13. What does your mom do for her job?
A: You sell tickets for Ticketman
R: Teaching us to be good and stuff
14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
A: Nachos. You love those.
R: I never asked.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
A: If you practiced hockey or won a football game, I’d be proud of you.
R: Like, when we do not see you for a long time and when you do something good and cool
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
A: Charlie Brown
R: Snoopy
17. What do you and your mom do together?
A: We play on the bed together. You do scissor kicks.
R: Make food like we did today
18. How are you and your mom the same?
A: We have the same colored eyes
R: We both have curly hair
19. How are you and your mom different?
A: I am very much younger and have darker hair. You are bigger, lighter hair, and shorter eyelashes
R: You have brown eyes and I do not and you are older and look differenter than me.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
A:You always say I love you.
R: You sometimes say ‘I Love You’, and how do you know that I love You? Because I say it to you too.
21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
A: When we went to the Pacific Science Center and you went into that nose, and it sneezed you out!
R: Furniture Store
Mar 16th, 2009 by leigharev2
I love you and am so glad we got to spend an afternoon together before the move. That baked cheesecake was incredible!
I have not been in it yet, but we have a Jo-Ann fabrics within walking distance to our apartment. Cool, huh?! There is also a Guitar Center within walking distance. David is very happy 🙂
I hope all is well wiht you. Hugs to Pete and the girls…
Mar 12th, 2009 by leigharev2
We had originally planned on leaving at 2AM on Monday, but we were concerned that the roads would be too icy, so we left at 8PM Sunday night. We hit snow in Tacoma, but it did not affect the driving too much, and made it to Eugene at 2AM. (David drove a 26 foot van, so it was slow going. He did an incredible job!)
We checked into a Comfort Suites and crashed for 4.5 hours and hit the road again.
Grant’s Pass and the Siskiyou’s were just fine, except that the Siskiyou’s had been heavily sanded with a red gravel. My car was a brick color by the time we got through it.
I blew out a tire near Corning. David changed it to the spare and I was able to get to a Les Schwab in Corning. David and the boys kept going to try to make the deadline for us to get our apartment. This last leg of the trip was all highway 99, along gorgous countryside.
We did not reach check in in time, and went to a Starbucks in Roseville to log on and find a place to stay for the night. We were all very tired and looked worse for wear. There was a friendly couple sitting at the tables outside with their two dogs. I stayed outside with the boys so they could run and stretch their legs. I had mentioned to them that we just drove in from Washington and were moving to Roseville. The woman complimented me on my sweater, then noticed my cross, and asked if I was a Christian. She asked if we had a church in Roseville. When I said that we were planning on attending Bayside, they both lit up and said that they serve in the Jr. High ministry. We talked about Bayside and why they chose to go there, and why we were attracted to it.
I told them that God tapped them to be our "Welcoming Committee". We have exchanged numbers and plan to meet up before service on Sunday. They were exactly what we needed at that time.
We spent our first night in Roseville in another Comfort Suites and ate our first meal at Olive Garden, YUM!
Yesterday morning (Tuesday), we got into our apartment. David not only did good, he did REALLY GOOD! I will get pictures up soon, but this place is incredible! We had two movers help us move our stuff in. They were so professional and polite. David struck up a nice conversation with one of them, and he ended up asking David to invite him and his wife to church with us once we are settled. Pretty cool!
Got cable and internet connected and although our place looks like a hurricane victim, the kitchen is in place (for the most part), and we should be able to finish everything today.
The kids were amazing through the trip. They spent most of the time in the UHaul with David. I spent most of the time listening to conference seminar tapes, and the local Christian radio. (I love KLOVE!!) Chelan was not happy, and was quite vocal at times, but he persevered.
My love to you all. Will update more later…
Mar 3rd, 2009 by leigharev2
Well, this is it. the next time you hear from me, we will be living in California. I will be offline for a couple of weeks to ger everthing organized, then Riverbend Prep will be back full swing!
Feb 20th, 2009 by leigharev2
I asked the boys if they wanted to do something for Grandma Julee, since she is not feeling well. Here is what they decided to do:
For a made up song, it’s not bad, but please don’s ask me what it means! And, if the tune sounds familiar, but you can’t quite pinpoint it? We’ve been watching alot of the old Scooby Doo cartoons lately…
Here’s ‘R’ doing what he does best…being silly!! Big brother had to get in on the action…
Hope you are back on your feet soon, Grandma! We love you!!
Feb 18th, 2009 by leigharev2
We are blessed to live minuted from beautiful hikes and trails. We tooks a late afternoon hike a few days ago, capitalizing on the cooperating weather.
David and ‘R’…
‘A’ and ‘R’…
We made it to the bench at The Viewpoint!
The Lower Falls view…
Taking the Leap…
Playing on "The Rock with a Face"…
Feb 18th, 2009 by leigharev2
We have just completed a Unity Study on American Indians. We created a lapbook that was purchased from Hands of a Child.
Some of the items we learned about included:
We made little tepees…
We made headresses. ‘A’ wanted to be a "chief" and have feathers go all the way down his back, but once he realized he would have to color all the feathers, he decided to scale it back a bit. The boys called themselves "The apple and pretzel tribe"…
We made decorative "rattles"…
‘A’s rattle. On the left is a "Native American who is concentrating on catching a buffalo with two ‘sand times’ (hourglasses). On the right is a "Native American outside his tepee. It is starting to rain, but the flower shines bright."
‘R’s rattle. On the left is "an American Indian chief with a bunch of feathers on his head and a flower." On the right, "a Native American under a rainbow."
We made Navajo Indian Fry Bread. In my defense, I used whole wheat and vegetable oil :). We topped them with sugar and cinnamon. They were really yummy and similar to doughnuts.
We learned about a popular game called "The Hand Game". Here is a little video on ow it is played:
Feb 18th, 2009 by leigharev2
My cousin and his family joined us for dinner out. They were leaving for a month to Oahu and after that, move to Vashon Island.
Baby G (so adorable!) and Anne
Terry and Baby G…
H, R, and A enjoying Oreo sundaes…OH YEAH!!
Terry (T) and my handsome DH, David…
