Goings On

I recently spent about $460 in ultrasound textbooks! Man - that's a lot of money.

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On Friday, it was my daughter, Melanie's 15th birthday, so my family and I went down to Owen Beach at Pt. Defiance Park. I had such a great time being with my family, laying in the sun on the beach, playing in the water, watching Ben jump over waves, having sea kelp shoved up my swimsuit by Melanie and getting in a water fight. Good stuff...good stuff...Oh YES - and there just happened to be KAYAKS for rent there. SWEET! The girls and I each got a single kayak and out we went for about an hour. Now I know where I can go for a quick kayaking fix!

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Joe and I were invited over to the home of the gal from church, (that I went to lunch with awhile back). She and her husband are employed at our church, so they live in one of the homes the church owns, which was recently renovated. They also just got a new puppy, so they thought these two events would be a good excuse to throw a party. It was a hot day, so the party was held outside. I really like my friend's style. She had these adorable candle lanterns hanging in all of her trees, and she had covered the outdoor tables with brown paper. On the paper, she had written notes. One note said "please don't feed Owen" (her new puppy). The other notes had arrows pointing to the dishes and beverages, stating what they were called. SO CUTE! I notice and love things like this - those special touches hostesses do to make a party special.......She made these wonderful finger foods made from phyllo dough with spinach and cheese inside. MMmmm....

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I'm 38 now. My birthday was last Saturday. The girls got home from camp too late that night (the bus broke down), so we all went out to dinner on Sunday. Olive Garden. My favorite. The kids and Joe gave me cards, a birthday cake, flowers and Lindt dark chocolates. Of course, my kayaking trip was my major gift, but my cute son spent his own money to buy me a purple, hand-held mirror and funky, fingernail file. I love the new mirror, because I had been using a really, old one with a huge crack in it to try to see the back of my hair when I style it. It just touched my heart that he spent his own money (from his cat-sitting and lemonade sales), and he was trying to think about me and what I would need. It's just too sweet. I love that kid.

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It was a great week of being with my family, kayaking TWICE, good socializing and enjoying the summer weather. Tomorrow, I host a small birthday party for Melanie and her friends at our house. She wanted a fire in a firepit, so we found a cheap one at Wal-Mart and I hope that turns out to be fun. She is having a few girlfriends over that she really got to know at camp. I'm really happy she met some new girls, and I hope that they will be an encouragement to her walk with the Lord this coming school year. We got Melanie a new camera for her birthday, so I will post some pics she took of Owen Beach soon....Another part of her birthday gift was redecorating her bedroom (last month), so I will post some pics of that, too. It's really cool.

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This Wednesday, we're going over to Joe's co-worker's home to talk with their family about Whitworth College. Both of their children attend that college, and it is Amanda's top pick. We hope to gain some "insider" information that might help us learn more about admissions. Since Joe and I have not attended college in the traditional way (Joe earned a Bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle, going to school at night while in the Navy), we really have a lot to learn. I am trying to put most of the responsibility on Amanda's shoulders as far as learning what she needs to learn about applying to colleges, but I know that she needs our help and guidance along this path. I don't want our lack of knowledge to hinder her in any way, so I hope we gain some valuable wisdom from this family.

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I've been thinking about how I can serve at my church with my upcoming schooling. Fear is no longer holding me back - praise the Lord, but I wouldn't mind some prayer on how the Lord would want to use me at church without being too much of a stress while I'm in school. Thanks!

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I appreciate that you have read all of this blog post, with all these blurbs of random things! It has been so HOT here, I haven't felt like sitting here at my computer to type. Now that it's cooled down some, my fingers are flying!