Awake

A Day With The Nieces in Lacey

:: Click here for fullscreen slideshow! ::

Happy Tuesday!

Badminton in the Backyard

It was a lovely day for badminton in the backyard of the Homeplace. The players were ready for action and needed only to learn how to play. Tall Brother and The Dadoo were the designated masters of the sport and willingly shared their knowledge with the youngsters.

Lessons complete, the players were ready for action. But first, let's meet the team.

The Playas:

Princess Smackdown!

The Amazing and Dangerous Birdie Girlie!

Mister Fresh Off The Fast!

Misses "I Think I'll Play Hockey Instead"!

King Grandpa!

And now, with the preliminaries out of the way, let the games begin!

The silliness knew no bounds on the court that day.

Just another day of Badminton Smackdown in the Backyard.

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday to April, The Prologue

My sister-in-law's birthday was yesterday. In the evening, after work (and after picking up some beautiful new plants for my patio!) I went over to The Homeplace to show mom and dad my new flowers and tree. They were just wrapping up a spray-down clean-up of the deck and Gazebo Thing. The sun was setting but still warmly shining down on the deck. We started to discuss the arrival of The Fun Squad (Seth and April's family) the next day and what our plans would be to celebrate April's birthday. Mom and I were sitting on a bench chatting away and, somewhat curiously, The Dadoo was sitting off by himself writing on a notepad with a strange little smirky smile on his face. Finally, I asked him, "What are you writing? You look like you're up to something!" He said that him and mom had decided that they were hopeless at a faithful musical rendering of the traditional Happy Birthday To You song and he had recently taken up, starting with the January birthday of their other daughter-in-law, Jackie, writing lyrics to the more easily rendered Happy Happy Birthday. So, finally he shared his work with us, and after a few rewrites and the addition of a second verse, we called her up and sang this song:

Happy Happy Birthday
Happy Day To You
You're an amazing woman
That's why we're calling you!
(Hey!)

Happy Happy Birthday
Happy Day To You
Thirty-Eight Days Til Hawaii
And the beach'll be ready for you!

Yeah, we're dorky. But we like it that way. :) Happy Birthday April!

Jackie and Maddie Mae Visit

Jackie and Maddie Mae came for a visit to Oregon over Spring Break. Sadly, Brant was not one of the party as he was busy studying and what-not. They spent most of the time with her family, but we got a special day with them on Friday. We started the day with pedicures at The Pointe...just Mom, April, Jackie and I, while Seth and Dad watched the girls. After that we spent the day hanging out and just being together. It was a special day indeed. :)

Enjoy the slideshow. (Or click here for a full-screen slideshow.)

Seth's Birthday...A Month Later

We celebrated my brother Seth's birthday in Lacey this year. Brant, Jackie, and Maddie Mae were in Princeton at the time, so they joined us via Skype. The audio on our end wasn't working, so the speaker on the cellphone was used instead. It was a family effort to make sure B&J were included in the fun. After The Opening of the Presents, we went to the park to play on a beautiful early-Spring day, a snow-covered Mt. Rainier in the background.

Happy Sunday!

Goofball One and Goofball Two

Oh, those precious goofy faces.

:D

Nieces and Bubbles

For some reason there were bubbles in the hot tub. And the only thing to do with bubbles in a tub is to make a bubble beard. That's what.

Photo set :: Nieces and Bubbles

Enjoy.

The Former Youngest Pays Homage to the Current Youngest

This weekend I spent with my nieces Adalie, Kylia, and Zo-Zo. But Maddie Mae was there, too, in song, and in the form of a baby doll (which was later named by the former youngest to the youngest-est's first and middlest given names).

It's true! For, I tell you truthfully, when I came down to breakfast on Monday morning, I overheard Zoie singing a song about how much she missed her bebe cousin, Maddie Mae. (For, you see, they had bonded, previously.)

Which is fitting, you should know, because the former youngest, I believe, was primary inspiration, for the current youngest to be conceived. (Which, of course, I say as the sweetest form of praise.)

Two peas in a pod, with sunglasses donned, they will meet again where the sun DOES shine and the waves gently tumble onto pristine sandy beaches, in the presence of loving family: a joyful reunion and celebration of growing up, togetherness, and, of course, sunshine.

Until they meet again, the former youngest will sing of the current youngest, and the latter will teethe, and learn to crawl, and bend the dog to her will, and entertain her mommy and daddy, and joyfully enter the minds of all who are presently parted with her—but only geographically. For in our minds and in our songs and in our hearts does Maddie Mae enter in and smile gleefully.

Love to Maddie and Zoie, Adalie Grace, and Kylia: the darlingest of nieces.

Happy Tuesday.

Maddie's Not Too Sure About This

But I think she wanted to like it. She really did.

A day at the beach

I'm continuing my quest to catch up with posting pics and such from adventures in December. While Brant, Jackie and Maddie Mae were in town, we, along with Mom, went to Ecola State Park to try and see some whales. We didn't see any, but it was an absolutely gorgeous day at Ecola.

No whales. But there were some very nice rocks there...

...including Haystack and All Its Friends.

And the beach was just beautiful, naturally.

Brant found a sand dollar! We were surprised to find one so well intact.

Jackie and Maddie Mae enjoyed themselves, I think!

Mom was delighted to have the day off to join us.

In fact, I think their whole family had a lovely time altogether.

It was a day at the beach. And it was lovely.

Happy Friday.

Christmas Crochet Projects

This year, I just crocheted two things: a hat and a poncho for Maddie Mae. I made the hat big so it would last her through the Spring. The poncho collar I made extra big too, but sewed a button on the collar so she could wear it now and grow into it, too. As she grows, I may add length to to the bottom or add a fringe. (Or just make her a new one!) The yarn for the poncho was extra yummy: hand-dyed Australian Merino. Yarn was purchased at my local yarn store, The Knitting Bee. The hat pattern is in Kim Werker's book, Crocheted Gifts: Irresistible Projects to Make & Give, published by Interweave. The poncho is in Candi Jensen's book, Candy Babies: Cute Crochet For Wee Ones, published by Sixth&Spring Books.

The Sweetest Thing. Or, Two Happies For the Price of One

Time for a little Grandpa Dale and Maddie Mae bonding time.

Featuring, sparkling blue eyes...

silly faces...

what pacifier?...

and all-around good clean fun.

Happy Sunday. But by the time you read this it will be Monday. So Happy Monday, too. (That's two happies for the price of one!!!)

Who's ready for Hawaii?

I'm pretty sure my nieces are ready for our trip to Kauai in May.

Maddie Mae is ready!

Adalie is definitely ready with her awesome sauce sunglasses.

Kylia is ready. (And, she's also ready for the snow!)

As for Zoie? She's ready. And then some.

You go girls.

(I'm gonna need some new sunglasses.)

Mmm...toes.

My bebe niece loves to eat her toes.

She really does.

Love that girl.

Zoo Lights

fter work on Friday, I called Tall Brother #1 and asked, "What's your twenty?" to which he replied, "Zoo Lights! We're in line for the train!" By the time I went home, bundled up, grabbed the camera, and made it to the train station, their train arrived and I met them as they disembarked. We walked around with the gazillion other people that were there and tried to find some animals that were actually awake. (The fishies were. :)

Took a few pictures. It was a little tricky to get into "the zone" with all the people, plus keeping up with the group, but here they are...

Happy Zoo Lights!

Éncore: The Middlest One

he nieces did another little mini-show tonight before bed and I finally got some pics of the "middlest" one (that's how she described herself tonight). :)

Happy Saturday!

Trying out the new lens on Thanksgiving Day

he nieces like to "do a show" as they say, when they have a bit of an audience (and I imagine also when they don't). We were treated to a choreographed Hannah Montana Hoedown Throwdown, storytelling, musical numbers from Annie, Puck-like commentating, and other delightful silliness. As for me, I was finally getting a chance to play with my new fixed 50mm/f1.4 lens (mmm...bokeh!). I've posted the set on flickr but here are some of my favorites. (Need to get more of Kylia, she was a little elusive tonight.)

By the way, the full set of pics is here: Nieces (and their Mama, too)

Happy Thanksgiving.

Destroyed and Redeemed and Now Beautiful

A storm is coming.

It took a bit to come. We had a picnic and the girls found a fort amongst the trees. There was even time for a little pondering.

(Then the hail came and the motorcyclists had to take cover under trees by the side of the road.)

And The Lake changed colors.

In between rain showers, I would look for wildflowers to photograph.

(Late-July is a great time to find wildflowers at Crater Lake.)

Just as quickly as it came, the storm passed by, and it was time for stops and photo-ops.

And mysterious ships.

And waterfalls protected by legions of mosquitoes.

And little girls with birthdays that always happen during summer family vacations.

And naptimes.

It was a fun summer. A whirlwind. A tempest, at times. But fun, all the same.

Happy Friday. Happy Fall.

Happy Birthday, Adalie Grace!

We celebrated Adalie's 7th birthday at Enchanted Forest this year. I haven't been there in 20 years! We had such a fun time. The rain stayed away, except for a few sprinkles, and the girls had an absolute blast.

More pictures to come, but here's my favorite from the set. Happy Birthday, Adalie!

Happy 5th Birthday, Kylia Praise!

We celebrated my niece Kylia's birthday (which was on July 26) in the hotel room in Medford where my family stayed for the first couple days of our vacation.

Happy Birthday, Kylia! (Doesn't she have the sweetest brown eyes ever?!)

Kylia really (really) wanted a Silvermist doll for her birthday. And, surprise surprise! She got her wish.

I think Silvermist was happy about the her new arrangement, too. It was getting stuffy in that box and what she really wanted to do was...FLY!

(But not before getting her shoes on, a task to which Kylia was most happy to oblige.)

Happy Birthday, Kylia! Auntie is very proud of you!

And to everyone else, Happy Wednesday.

Hands & Feet

Visited with Brant, Jackie, & Madelyn Mae today and did a little impromptu photo shoot. Here are two of my favorites. (More to come after I get back from another trip...)

Happy Thursday.

The Nieces Get A New Cousin

The nieces, Adalie, Kylia, and Zoie, are very excited about their new cousin, Madelyn Mae. Sometimes we call Madelyn, Maddie Mae, but Zoie, for one, insists on Madelyn Mae. Every time she woke from a nap or came into a room she would ask, "Where is Madelyn Mae?" In fact, on Father's Day, when we visited the new parents and (more so) baby Madelyn, sure enough, Zoie, the moment she entered the house kept repeating, "Where is Madelyn Mae? Where is Madelyn Mae?"

The girls brought a present for Maddie. Kylia wanted to give it to her first. But I think she was a little unsure of how to present a toy to a sleeping infant.

Zoie, on the other hand, knew just what to do, but she didn't get the response she was hoping for, I think.

All the girls quickly discovered that the best thing to do with a sleeping Madelyn is hold her. They all took their turns.

Even Tucker The Puggle was a little curious about this new addition to his family.

Adalie wanted to know what Madelyn's feet looked like. Not only did she get to see her feet, she also got a lesson in why we swaddle her, in short, to promote calm and to prevent disorganization.

Although the visit was short, the girls enjoyed their time with their new cousin. And they even let their mom have a turn.

I wonder what thoughts are going through this mother-of-three's head... ;-)

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Happy "Birth" Day, Madelyn Mae!

Madelyn Mae was born at 2:15 am this morning to my brother Brant and his amazing wife Jackie. Look how cute their little family is now!

She weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 20 inches long. (And her head is 13 inches around...note to self for crocheted hat projects!)

Maddie Mae is very talented. So far (and on her first day too!) she can...

...sleep...

...smile AND stretch AND sleep...

...and totally chill out after Auntie changes her first diaper! (She's already a good eater!)

Welcome to the outside world, Maddie Mae! And thanks for coming right before the weekend. Way to be good to your Auntie who would have driven across the country to see you but as it was, only had to drive 4 1/2 hours. ;-)

Now go back to sleep. Well, I guess you really don't need anyone to tell you that. :-)

Oh, and Adalie lost another tooth.

Happy Friday, all!

The Joy of Being Three

My youngest niece (to-date) just turned three. I think she likes it.

I think she also liked getting her wings. (And other things, too.)

She's still learning how to fly.

But that doesn't stop her from looking up.

Happy Birthday, Zo. Auntie loves you.

Happy Birthday, April!

Just want to wish my sister-in-law, April, a happy birthday!

Another batch of favorites from Easter weekend

Here's another small batch of favorites from this past weekend. Enjoy!

Zoie gets a first look at her transformation into a tiger.

Sno-Cone in hand, The Dadoo takes in the festivities at Avamere.

One of the treats of staying at Grandma and Grandpa's...morning cartoons on the Big Bed.

Just before the sun set on Friday, I stole away to the backyard for some close-ups of the blossoming trees.

Waiting for Cupcakes

This is one of my favorites from the pictures I took over the weekend.

More to come...in a trickle, instead of all at once this time.

Dial-up versions of the "sports-action" videos

For those of you on low-bandwidth connections...here are smaller versions of the videos that I made of the sports-action image sequences I shot with my new camera.

{ Link to original video on my flickr }

{ Link to original video on my flickr }

{ Link to the original video on my flickr }

Hopefully the smaller size makes it possible to view these on a dial-up connection. If not, let me know, and I'll re-create a more optimized version.

(Embedded videos in this post will not be viewable on FB. View this post on my blog to see the videos or use the links provided to Flickr to view the larger-sized videos.)

These videos belong to the set Seth's 31st Birthday {80s Dance Party}

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Dropped this image sequence taken in "sports action" mode on my new alpha-300 into QuickTime at 2 frames per second to create this little animation. Sports action image sequencing is the new 12-second silent video for me (that I'd take on my old Konica digital point-and-shoot)...

:-)

Mid-week weekend wrapup

Spent last weekend up north in Lacey and Portland/Beaverton. We celebrated Jackie's birthday at Seth and April's home in Lacey with a photo scavenger hunt that April very creatively organized. Some of us wore (at her request) our fishing vests to go with the "adventure" theme and she made little backpacks (filled with snacks and water), paper binoculars (for finding the clues, of course), and a paper compass too (very handy, it was). Everyone was assigned roles (I was "Tracker Chic") and we split into teams. (Even Grandpa Doug tagged along in the car and got out for for photos, too.) Jackie got to open one of her gifts before the hunt. What was it? The long-awaited fishing vest, of course! (And from Cabela's, no less!) Jackie chided that *now* she really feels like an accepted member of the Himes' clan. (I'm a little jealous! My vest's pockets have holes in them from overuse...looks like I'm just gonna *have* to go to Cabela's myself and get a new one! Darn it! ;-)

I drove up in my car, separately from Mom, Dad, and Grandpa so that I could stay an extra night with the Fun Squad. I finished crocheting a duckling for Kylia and I took Adalie to the Wal-Mart to pick out some pink yarn for her bunny, which I started on Saturday night and finished on Sunday evening. Seth and I played a lot of Indiana Jones on the Wii, which was a ton of fun. (Can't remember the last time I lounged around playing a non-Mario-Kart game with my brother. Man, I really would love to own a Wii. Someday, perhaps. New camera first.

Drove back to the Homeplace (mom'n'dad's) Sunday evening (late) and spent the next morning with Grandpa and my Dad at the construction site at Village. (Pictures over here.) They tilted-up nearly all of the walls for the new worship center that day. It was quite a sight to see:

On Monday evening, I went to the Schitzer downtown (Portland) to see the Oregon Symphony and Edgar Meyer perform. It was a great concert. I enjoyed every minute of it and discovered new music as well. I had just decided last week that I wanted to go and when I bought my ticket online, asked for the cheapest seat. Well, being single and a last-minute concert-goer does have it's advantages, because as it happens there was a single seat in the 5th row on the Orchestra level! I was in such disbelief, that I actually walked all the way up to the Upper Balcony. But the usher said, no, you're down there. "Down there?" I replied. So even though I love the acoustics in the upper balcony at the Schitz, it was great to be so close to the soloist! What a treat. I hadn't been to the Symphony in years. It was so refreshing and exciting to be downtown going to the Symphony again. Went up to the stage at intermission and said hello to my former junior high and high school orchestra conductor (she plays in the first violin section). It was a lovely night and made me miss being in the big city. (Even though it's just a city that thinks it's big.)

Maybe it's time for a change. A new adventure, perhaps?

The Niece Voicemail Files

I've been saving pretty much every message that my nieces have left me on my voicemail over the years. Though it gets tiresome to listen to them all every 21 days when I have a new voicemail to get to, I've been waiting until I had some time to record them and save them online (and off my voicemail). I recorded them through WireTap Studio software by Ambrosia by playing my voicemail on speaker phone into my iSight camera. I made one recording of all the voicemail messages and then placed markers between messages. I selected "split recording" from the menu and chose to split it along marker lines and it created separate recordings for each message. I then saved them to my hard drive as mp3s and uploaded them to my Vox blog (which is the only blog I have that can quickly upload and process audio files in a user-friendly way. So here are the links to The Niece Voicemail Files. Enjoy!

• "Say Hi Auntie"
• "I love you Auntie I hope you have a good day"
• "Are you coming back to our house?"
• "I love you too much"
• "Hi Auntie we love you...we're playin'"
• "Zoie walked twenty-nine steps all by her own"

Pictures Posted From Mom's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

Mom and Zoie
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

We all gathered in Portland for Mom's birthday. I was planning on coming up on Sunday morning but at the last minute decided to come up late Friday and surprise everyone (which I did and it was awesome). We went to Lakeview Farms which is just (way) out West Union and not that far from my parent's house. It was their opening weekend and we were among the first guests. In fact we were the first group to ride the train and we got the first pumpkins from the patch, too! Much better than going late-October, wading through the mud to try and find the last non-rotten pumpkin in the patch! (Sorry, Brant, but I think this should be a Mom-birthday tradition instead of a Brant-birthday one. :-)

It was just a wonderful relaxing weekend with family which I think everyone enjoyed thoroughly.

Here's a slideshow of the pictures (below) and here is a link to the set:
Mom's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

Adalie Looses Her First Tooth

Adalie Looses Her First Tooth
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Pictures Posted from Weekend in Lacey

The Six-Year-Old at Northwest Trek
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

The Happy News

Let my silence of late on this blog only be an indication of the many things (mostly good) that have recently occupied my life.

First of all a very happy birthday to The First Niece, Adalie Grace, who turned 6 (!!!) on September 4. She is very excited to be six. And I think so far she makes an excellent six-year-old. She is reading very well. I am sure her skill is greatly encouraged by her enthusiasm for books. My sister-in-law Jackie and I knew this well and provided her with many hours of reading and re-reading enjoyment. Jackie got her some Junie B. books and I got her some Pigeon books.

I traveled north to Lacey last Friday and spent the weekend with The Fun Squad. Fun we did have. The rest of the family came up on Saturday late-morning. We went to Northwest Trek which was totally awesome. It is only about 35 miles of back roads from Seth and April's home and took us about an hour to get there. We saw many different animals in their natural habitat. It was a very enjoyable outing and we were all very impressed by the park. April is planning on getting an annual pass to both Northwest Trek and the Zoo.

I'll have pictures posted in a day or two.

In the world of small business, the tourist season is drawing to a close here in Ashland and business at the salon has definitely been impacted. We are gearing up our marketing for the long winter. I have a new intern (Rosie) at Sleepyhead City Web Works, a senior at SOU, who is a double major in marketing and computer science, and she is helping me produce all the postcards, ads, and brochures for the coming year. I'm very excited to have her helping me out. Though I'm mostly a web design company, I do end up doing a fair bit of print design as well, mostly business cards, but also postcards and newspaper ads. Rosie is passionate about print design so I am very glad to provide her with some "real-world experience."

In the world of the increasingly wide web, there is much work to be done. I have been learning and utilizing Drupal for most of my web development. It's been challenging but good. There is a lot of development activity done on Drupal all over the world and I sometimes find that just as I'm wondering about a certain problem, that same day, someone updated a module that is exactly what I need.

In the exercise world, I have been (finally) using my membership at the Y, working out several times a week. I'd like to go every day, but for now I'm going about 3 or 4 times a week. It's fun to have sore abs.

On a personal note, I'm still single and the men in my life continue to puzzle me exceedingly. The end. I think there is some Very Important Secret that no one has bothered to let me in on and as a result I am continually baffled by this crazy Quest for a Life Partner thing that everyone keeps talking about. But I'm enjoying the ride, however tumultuous, and refuse to be downcast by dead ends and mixed messages (that attitude is SO last decade). It'll work out in the end. Something will. Not sure what. Or who. But it will work out. Hopefully before I'm 80.

That's all the news I can think of. Oh wait! Last night, at about 10pm, I had just come back from the Y after a short workout spurred on by a dining out experience in which Kristi's birthday was celebrated and was sitting on my deck talking to Seth on the phone, enjoying the night air, when ALL OF A SUDDEN, two deer came tearing through my back yard passing right in front of me. (I've told you that I live on a deer trail, no?) It was crazy! Usually it's just Mamasita and Fawnolita One and Two quietly passing through, eating apples and rose leaves, or talking a little rest on the patch of grass outside my back door. Never had a stampede before. (Although now that I think about it, that explains some of the (until now) unexplained trampling noises I've heard in the middle of the night.)

Happy Thursday!

(Let's call this) Phase 1 Complete; Commence Phase 2

The Dale Himes' family descended upon the Rogue Valley with compassionate determination. Their mission: to move Grandpa Doug to his new home at Avamere at Bethany to be nearer to the balance of his family, receive the benefits of regular participation in an active community, and receive close-at-hand medical attention as he would need it. Secondarily, they would move my remaining furniture to my new home in Ashland (yay!).

Mom, Dad, Brant and Jackie arrived late Thursday night. Seth and April would come the next day, sans cuties (said cuties would remain with April's parents in Sherwood). Friday, I worked, Mom and Dad organized a plan of attack and started sorting, Brant and Jackie and Tucker (The Puggle) went to Union Creek, and Grandpa pointed at stuff and answered questions (I imagine). That evening, they came down to Ashland to see my new place, toured the salon, and we went to dinner at Pasta Piatti. (No free refills on lemonade, should you need to know. I should have picked up on: "Let me get you a new glass.")

After a nice swim in the hotel pool that evening we were charged and ready for a long weekend of packing and hauling.

Saturday morning, the truck was picked up at Penske in Grants Pass (fine folks, they are), Mom, Dad, and Grandpa Doug went to a party at Eagle Point and saw some old friends. Jackie and April sorted and packed more crystal, china dishes and glassware than you would care to know; and Seth, Brant and I started moving my furniture out to the truck (and Tucker played on his rope staked to the middle of the front lawn.)

Brant, Seth and I ran into a bit of a snag getting my purple love seat and chair out of the hallway. It seems that I have quite the short memory when it comes to remembering snags of this sort. (We had the same problem getting them in, I now vaguely recall.) We had to remove the feet, but the problem was, upon close inspection, to unscrew them, we needed some kind of alien square screwdriver thing. Luckily for us, all of Grandpa's tools we strewn across various parts of the driveway and lawn in order for them to be sorted. Unluckily for us, none of those tools was the tool we required. Finally, Brant found exactly the tool for the job in one of the trailers, which is now in a zip lock bag along with the screws and to be possessed by me from now on. We successfully removed 7 out of 8 feet. (Which is a B+, but definitely not an A.) The last was stripped and I refused to let Seth take an axe to it. We shoved it through the hallway door jam (no damage that sandpaper and paint can't fix) and brought it in with ease into my own front door in Ashland (later that day).

My studio is now one part cute, two parts awesome.

On Sunday, the day of departure, the Dadoo made a final decision that one more half-hour of work was needed: spice cupboards, fridge, freezer, the back closet in the hall, and Grandpa's bedroom all needed a final tackle. Jackie and I tackled the freezer and underneath bags and bags of frozen who-knows-what was a zip lock bag containing a clipped stack of promissory notes (lots of people borrowed money from my grandparents and never paid them back) and two envelopes of cash. Gotta love those Depression-era folk and their money-saving values.

Finally, they departed for the long trip back. Seth went on to Sherwood to pick up the aforementioned cuties, the rest went on to Avamere to get Grandpa's place looking homey (and I'm told Jackie and April did a super job decorating and putting up pictures). They had dinner together and April, Brant and Jackie went on to Lacey to unload the stuff they received from Grandpa, and then finally Brant and Jackie made it back to Seattle and finished unloading the truck at half-past midnight.

What a day. While they traveled and unloaded, I made two trips to Goodwill and loaded up my car with stuff to take to my place. I spent my first night on Sunday and on Monday unpacked and worked and enjoyed watching a deer and two fawns all afternoon and evening.

Phase 1 is a wrap. Now on to the next phase: "In Which Amber is Surrounded by Deer in a Small Town."

Kitty?

Kitty?
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Our cousin thought Zoie looked like the little girl from Monsters, Inc. I think there may be a resemblance. What do you think? :)

Kylia Turns Four!

Kylia and her birthday cupcakes
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Union Creek Pictures Posted

A healthy portion of our family (minus the Brant/Jackie/Tucker entourage) went camping at Union Creek this past weekend. We had a great time. (Union Creek 2008 Pictures posted over here.) I left Medford at about 11am and arrived at noon to find all of our traditional sites already occupied. So I went in search of a new site and found the perfect one, right on my favorite part of the creek—where the water falls in three places.

The Fun Squad (Seth, April, Adalie, Kylia, & Zoie) arrived a little bit before 8pm; Seth's friend Joel and his wife Katie arrived around 9:30pm on Friday; and Mom, Dad and Grandpa Doug arrived the next morning on Saturday. Despite my crafty representation of the precise location of the campsite (on a paper plate pinned to the campground bulletin board) where the Himes would be "living outside" (as Kylia put it) for the weekend , neither Dad nor Seth upon seeing the paper plate with the site number on it and with their last name written boldly on it with black inked capital letters knew how to comprehend what this new site number meant and proceeded directly to our traditional loop. Only after not seeing me at any of the sites in the loop that our past and present family had occupied for the last 50 years did they proceed to try and locate this mysterious new campsite, which was probably a mere 100 yards from the bulletin board where the paper plate directive was located.

Indeed, the site I had found was tucked away in the first loop of the campground—a loop that looks neither promising nor desireable because the sites all appear to be out in the open and not on the creek at all. But the site I found was tucked away and right on the creek, very spacious, private, and beautiful. It turned out to be a fine place to fish as well. Seth finally did come around and find it and upon a cursory inspection, heartily approved my choice.

On Saturday, when Mom and Dad were to arrive, all of us piled into Seth and April's station wagon and went to drop of Seth, April, Joel, Katie and their dog Ridley, their inflatable kayaks and fishing gear on a quiet meandering section of the Upper Rogue where they would spend the day floating and fishing (and getting bit quite comprehensively by mosquitoes). After saying our goodbyes (some of them quite tearful!), I drove my nieces and I back to Union Creek where Dad had been driving around, he still disbelieving that our traditional loop was not occupied by, well, Himeses, and confused in his doubt that the site number I indicated on the paper plate actually existed; until, I came around in the familiar red Taurus, and he pulled in right behind me (without my noticing). I got out of the driver's seat and turned around to find my parents and grandpa parked directly behind me and were now quite ready to believe that I had found a great new site for our present and future camping traditions.

Yes, everyone agreed that this new site was wonderful and good and how could we have overlooked it? It was so spacious and private and on such a pretty part of the creek. But in all the decades that our family has camped at this campground—even my mom has camped here since she was a little girl— none of us, not my grandparents, parents, nor any of us children had ever bothered even looking at another loop than 39-52 and here in loop 1-7 was an even more perfect place to be. We were indeed completely surprised and glad of it, too.

We helped the girls catch several fish on the creek right close to our campsite and even took them along the Rogue a little bit too. They learned to cross logs and fish and get dirty and play with leaves and pinecones and sticks—things that you just can't find at any store.

It was a fine weekend. The only slight disappointment was the copious amount of smoke at Crater Lake. But other than that, the air at Union Creek was quite clear and refreshing, the trees towering and magnificent, the creek clear and cool, and the fish caught and released.

On a personal note, on Friday afternoon after my tent was up, I took many walks but also took my chair down by the creek where the water falls a little over rock and log and read the afternoon away. I felt happy, centered, and content. Such a feeling I certainly needed for another big change is coming my way. As of an hour or so ago, change looks to come much more quickly than I thought. Instead of couple of months, I may, in fact, only remain here in Southern Oregon for a couple more weeks. Where exactly I should go or could go is the question weighing on me. When—well, "when" seems to be out of my hands. I think When will happen when When wants to and I needn't be that anxious where When is concerned. I am now quite convinced of that.

All this commotion for praying this.

C'mon, Jesus.

Update: Well, there's a studio next door to the salon renting for $450/month. I could live and work there and pop over to the salon for appointments. I have never been so confused. (Since last week anyway.)

Update: I'm taking it.

New videos posted

88!

88!
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Playin'

Playin'
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Looking back on this week

Wednesday began with a bump in the night at a little after four in the morning. A small crash but another substantial skin tear. A trip to the emergency room and a left forearm now completely wrapped.

Thursday ended with the assembly of one of those walker-on-wheels-with-a-seat and a deeply encouraged grandpa walking up and down the hallway.

Friday began again at an early hour—this time 3:00. Grandpa was complaining of excruciating pain in left thigh. Ice pack and acetaminophen was fetched and thus commenced my Independence Day.

Friday continued with a few more "Zs" and a reluctant roll-out-of-bed at quarter-til-nine. Grandpa, still in pain, me, fetching my massage table to set up in the living room. He insisted on the wheelchair, I, the walker. He walked to the table and I propped him up with several pillows and a face cradle turned neck rest. His jammied legs extended, I took his feet and gently wobbled them back and forth to see how restricted his hips were. The right leg wobbled well; the left barely budged.

I compressed and slowly ran my fist down the side of his left leg to try and release that tract of fascia. I felt around the hip joint and noticed a build up of tissue around the joint that struck me as unusual. Indeed, the right hip had no such build-up. After softening that and then doing compression on his hamstrings, I gave him a little foot massage and then applied the heat pack to the side and back of his thigh. By the end of the morning, he was feeling much better.

By afternoon, spirits were decidedly lifted (maybe due to the yummy tacos?) and I bounded off to the mall to buy a suit (it only took me 15 minutes to find the perfect one—which I think has to be some kind of record) and then over to Drew and Kelly's for a pool party at their new house. Had a blast in the pool for a few hours and then went back home to make Grandpa a sandwich for dinner. Went back to Drew's and we tried to scout out where the fireworks would be in relation to his deck (and awesome view of the valley). Their house is on the back side of Manor Hill and as far as we could tell, the fireworks would be going off in Miles Field right on the other side of the hill. We noticed neighbors walking up the hill and so we followed, but only to be turned away by security (attempting to enter Manor Hill without a walker?). No, there is construction on the hill and the lawyers decided to ruin the fun and not allow the public to trespass on the Manor's property like they have in year's past. But it turned out ok, because at 9:40 that night, a huge bang and explosion of fireworks erupted from the Hill. We scampered off the deck and down to the end of their driveway and enjoyed 20 or so minutes of what shall be known as the Great Manor Hill Volcano Fireworks Display. (Because the hill was between us and the fireworks display, the fireworks looked like they were coming out of the hill, like a volcano.)

Last night (Friday), I got to sleep through the whole night and this beautiful Saturday morning woke up early to cycle laundry, pack, empty and load the dishwasher, make breakfast, shower and get to the salon in time for my first appointment. I've got one more appointment in an hour or so and then it's back to 3355 to get us ready to embark to Portland for a short weekend with (most) of the family.

As of this morning, Seth is in California with a friend—both on business—and April and the girls were headed south from Lacey to Portland. April's car broke down in Kelso (fuel pump?) and the Dadoo left to get them and hopefully get the car towed to the McKenzie Ford dealership. Brant and Jackie are already there (I think) and hanging out with the V's.

So hopefully we'll all converge and have some quality time together before we disperse again on Monday.

Hope your holiday weekend is going well.

In Dependence

I live with my 87- (next month 88) year-old grandpa. I live with him because it is free and I could not afford to live on my own while I transplanted my life and got my business(es) off the ground. I agreed to live with him (and ultimately move down here) because my grandpa is (or should I say, "was") very independent and able to take care of his own needs.

Enter Summer.

Ah, Southern Oregon Summers. A delightful thing. I really do love the weather down here. I actually have a tan of sorts. (For you folks up north, a "tan" is the darkening of your skin that occurs when your skin is exposed to the rays of the "sun".)

At 3355, we water the lawn via an irrigation pump. This pump hadn't been fired up since last summer and the first time that Grandpa ventured into the garage to bring out the hoses for the pump—about 3 weeks ago—the weed eater attacked his arm and tore 85% of his paper-thin skin off the extensor side of his forearm. Luckily, he didn't require a skin graft.

Forearm on the mend, Grandpa went to work on the pump again this past weekend. First he lifted something and heard a "pop" in his low back. Then, a while later, he sat down hard on the ground and I think his hip and low back muscles protectively spasmed as a result. The next morning he sat on the edge of his bed waiting for me to get up and asked me to bring in the walker. The morning after that, he asked for the wheelchair.

3355 is a small house with narrow hallways and tight corners. So he can't get everywhere in the house in the wheelchair. So now I'm fetching toothbrushes and razors and filling basins and making ice packs and and emptying things I did not want to be emptying.

Today, a work day, was not a day to produce any work. Instead it was a day of fetching and emptying and wheeling and driving and doctor's appointment-ing. (And blogging.)

I struggle with this new role—a role that I do not wish to adopt and I struggle with the implications of Grandpa's slow-down and wonder how to ride this transitional wave with as much grace and compassion as I can without forfeiting my own life in the process. I have spent a year building two businesses and am ready to continue on this path. But will this bump in the road derail me? And what will it mean for Grandpa as well?

Happy Birthday to The Dadoo!

And now, a birthday haiku for The Dadoo:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hub of all-terrain
Life wheel, disposition
for truth, love, right.

Wind carries line to
Water. Great catch emerges.
Sun heats soul's longing.

Husband, Dadoo, Grand—
Tells truth, loyalty follows
—Father, Captain, My Captain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thus endeth the birthday haiku for The Dadoo

Kylia and Adalie in the Daffodils

Kylia and Adalie in the Daffodils
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Last Saturday Seth and the girls plus April's folks stayed with Grandpa and me. They arrived during the "magic hour" just as the sun was beginning to set and I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the girls in the backyard of "Thirty-Three Fifty-Five."

The Fun Squad on Snoopy Cam in Santa Rosa, CA

My brother Seth called me while he and Adalie (and later the whole fam) were within view of the Snoopy Web Cam at the Charles M. Schulz's Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa, California. The web cam refreshed every 30 seconds and when there was a halfway decent shot of them, I saved the images to my computer and then uploaded them to Flickr, where they now reside in the "Fun Squad on Snoopy Cam" photo set. Enjoy!

The Fun Squad, 3355 TP'd, and Apple Cinnamon Pancakes (Or, "My Saturday Morning")

Late Friday night, Grandpa and I were graced with the presence of The Fun Squad™ (Seth's family) who were en route to somewhere around San Francisco for a week with April's folks. "Medfordia" being about halfway, it was a natural stopover, especially considering three kids under six were in-tow. I spent Friday evening cleaning and de-cluttering (only to the point of exhaustion) in preparation for their arrival. And arrive they did, by a circuitous route via Central Point and Jacksonville (!) guided by the GPS in the Suburban they rented. (I told them to call for directions, but their common sense was overthrown by the enticement of the Cool Technology.)

We got everyone finally settled in a little after 11pm and the next morning when I woke up at 8:00 am, I was the only one awake for more than a half-hour. I took my shower and then heated up the grill for some yummy apple-cinnamon pancakes. Still, everyone slept. Finally, I grilled four, put them on a plate and started wafting the smell over the hide-a-bed. Not a stir, except from Adalie who came into the dining room for her breakfast. I finally just declared to the human lumps on the bed, "pancakes are ready" and breakfast was finally served. (I had clients that morning and they needed to get on the road...otherwise I would have been happy to let everyone, including myself, sleep the morning away.)

Everyone awake, Seth opened the blinds and noted with surprise, "You got TP'd!" (Wha-?!) Pankcake batter bowl in hand, I headed outside. Sure enough, there was TP all over the trees in the front yard and an empty toilet paper roll stuck in the door handle. La-aaaame. I think they probably meant to get the house next door, because I can't imagine who would want to TP Grandpa's house. April's dad said that it must have been the "youth group" from my church. I told him there were 20 people at my church and no "youth group". He said that it must have been my "friends". (What friends would those be?) In any case, Seth managed to get all the TP down from the tree and off the yard. What an odd thing. I'm still a bit puzzled by it.

So that was my Saturday morning. The tale of Saturday evening's adventures to come...stay tuned.

Love That Face

Zoie Faith Makes A Face
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Zoie Faith has always been expressive, but capturing it on camera is always a bit of a challenge. Isn't she cute?

Zoie is now walking — on her feet and on her knees. Her favorite sentence is "I do!" and she is quite good at greetings and salutations, i.e. "Hi" and "Bye."

Kylia's Dance in Two Movements

Kylia demonstrated her affinity for interpretive dance this past Sunday on our visit. Sorry there's no sound, but you can use your imagination. Videos posted on my Vox.

Link: Two Short Videos of Kylia Dancing

Pictures posted from Seth's birthday celebration

Kylia Poses
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Seth and April and the girls have been in Florida for the past two months and just returned home to Lacey last week. Seth's birthday was on February 21st and they were still out of town, so we decided to wait until this past weekend to celebrate. We also made it our official Easter get-together as well, since they'll be spending Spring Break with April's parents.

Grandpa and I drove up Saturday afternoon, spent the night at my parents' house in Portland and then on Sunday morning, we commenced our journey two hours and fifteen minutes north to Lacey. We came back to Portland that night, after a day of eating yummy Easter dinner food, playing with the girls, and visiting Cabela's, the most insanely awesome outdoor store I've ever experienced. On Monday, we returned to Medford.

This Sunday I'm headed back to Portland for Alonna's baby shower. That will be fun.

More, as the story of my life unfolds.

Link: Photo Set: Seth's 30th Birthday Celebration (+Easter)

Tucker Videos Posted

Just posted some super-short (silent) videos from my digital camera of Tucker playing to my Vox blog. He's one cute puppy!

Link: New Tucker Videos Posted

Photos from Seattle Visit Posted

Me and Brant
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Visited Brant and Jackie a couple of weeks ago in Seattle. They just moved into a house and nearby is a really neat park that overlooks the Puget Sound and offers a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains. I've posted a small handful of photos over on my Flickr.

Photo set: Carkeek Park with Brant and Jackie

Overheard at 3355: Part Two

It's a snowy afternoon at 3355. Grandpa has stretched out for a nap. Amber has popped a movie into the DVD player in the front room. Forty-five minutes into the movie, Grandpa emerges from his nap and enters the living room, inquiring...

"What are you watching?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

"What are you watching?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

Pause.

"What's the name of the movie?"

"While You Were Sleeping."

Pause.

"Oh....Ohhh!"

Like Dandelion Dust Movie Teaser Posted to Highwater Pictures Production Diary

Seth has created a promo video for the upcoming movie Like Dandelion Dust based on the novel by Karen Kingsbury.

Go check it out! Here's the link: Like Dandelion Dust Movie Teaser.

More photos from Sunriver added

Jackie and the Icicle
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

I've just uploaded (what I think) is the last batch of photos from Sunriver.

Enjoy!

Erin and Bernie's pictures of Sunriver get-together

My cousin Erin and hubby, Bernie, posted their pictures from our rendezvous at Sunriver the last week of December. Their Holiday Set is here and my favorites from the set are here. Plus, here are two highlights below. Enjoy!

Link on Flickr (originally posted by AsianESQ)

Link on Flickr (originally posted by AsianESQ)

Happy Birthday, Jackie!

PICT2095.JPG
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

Though I am in Ashland and Jackie is in Seattle, this is the face I imagine Jackie displaying if I were to be there on her birthday! (What a happy soul!)

Happy Birthday, my sweet and talented sister-in-law!

Pictures posted of Christmas at Sunriver

Kylia schleps the tube
Originally uploaded by amber_is_i

I believe I neglected to mention that I've posted a slew of pictures from our stay at Sunriver, December 23-27 of 2007. Here they are! (And there are more coming too!)

Link: Christmas at Sunriver

A few more pics, courtesy of Jackie and her awesome camera

Jackie just emailed me a few of her pictures from the pumpkin patch outing. Some of them I took on her camera and what's this...?! a picture of me?! A historic event indeed.

Link to my photos on Flickr.

On my Vox: Videos from my weekend north

Just posted the videos from last weekend, including the much acclaimed Seth-Kylia stunt where he throws her in the air and she grabs a helium balloon from the ceiling. Quite funny actually.

Videos from my weekend north

Grab the proverbial popcorn and enjoy!

Brant's Birthday and Pumpkin Patch Outing Pics Posted

Last weekend I ventured north to Portland and then to Lacey, WA to hang out with family and celebrate Brant's birthday. On Sunday I went to the worship service at Village and heard Murray Decker from Biola speak (it was great!) and then stayed for Ben Spott's talk about India (which was also awesome!).

I crocheted some hats for the girls. The first one (purple) turned out a bit small, the second one (turquoise) a bit too big, but the last one (red) turned out just right.

I've posted my pictures on Flickr for your viewing pleasure here or perhaps you would like to view them in a slideshow, yesno?

In Which Tucker the Puppy Moves About Gleefully

Tucker, the silent 12-second movie puppy star is featured over on my Vox blog. Check it out....

Link: Tucker. Puppy.

A few pics from graduation

Here are the pictures I took from my graduation BBQ that took place a couple of weeks ago. Mom and Jackie took pictures too...wonder if I can convince them to get Flickr accounts and upload them too....? Mmmm.....
;-)

Link to the Graduation BBQ album..

(If you haven't been to Flickr in a while, you may get a message about logging into Yahoo first. Puzzling since these photos are public, but I think it may be due to the Yahoo-Flickr merge and their objective of getting all users of Flickr over to Yahoo so that Flickr will work for them. I remember it being a fairly painless process.)

Tucker, The Ridiculously Cute Puppy

Brant and Jackie got a "Puggle" (Pug+Beagle) last month. They named him Tucker, a good name, in my opinion. He is very cute and sweet, don't you agree? (Link to this set.)

Niece Extravaganza

Here's a set of photos I like to call "Niece Extravaganza." I made a trip to Lacey for Adalie's birthday and hung out with the girls. We went shopping and got Adalie a Superman tank top, a sundress, and she also picked out a princess umbrella to buy with some birthday money she received from another relative. There's also some pictures in this set from my graduation weekend a couple of weeks ago (those of the girls with the puppy). Enjoy! (Link to this set on Flickr.)

At the fair

Seth sent me this pics of their superfun trip to the fair a couple weeks ago. By the way, I've been locked out of my own Gallery and so I'm starting to use my Flickr account in earnest. You can find my latest photos over there (link).

A few more pics of Lincoln City vacation posted

Found more pictures that I had taken during our Lincoln City vacation. They are now posted in the Gallery. Enjoy!

New Movies Posted: My Brother The Daddy and His Daring Daughters

Must-see videos. With their orange stunt-woman shades on, Adalie and Kylia perform daring feats such as jumping off the fridge and being swung and flung by the ankles.

Link: My Brother The Daddy and His Daring Daughters - Another Place for Amber

Good times.

New Gallery Album: Grandpa Doug and WWII

When I was in Ashland and Medford the weekend before last, I photographed a few documents from Grandpa Doug's WWII files. They are displayed with captions at The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Grandpa Doug and WWII.

Enjoy.

Cute Baby Movies Over at my Vox Blog

Just got 3 little silent movies of the nieces sliding down the big slide and riding ponies at Hunter's posted on my Vox blog over here. Go check 'em out.

Pictures from Day-O-Fun in Oly

We celebrated Brant's birthday at Seth and April's house up north. We started the day off with French Toast, then bundled up for a trip to Hunter's pumpkin patch. We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's then headed back to the house to rest. During "naptime" I kinda turned the living room into the Sibling Spa as I worked on Jackie's stiff neck. Then while I worked on Brant's tight peroneus longus and brevis (which are hypertonic because of his recovering sprained ankle), Jackie gave April a haircut in the kitchen. That was good times right there. Anyhoo, for loads of pictures, go check out the Gallery.

Link to Album: Brant's Birthday and the Pumpkin Patch (2006)

Pictures of Happy People Partying in Puget Sound Posted (At Long Last)

Finally! I got pictures from our end-of-September trip to Seattle posted. There, we celebrated my cousin Erin and her husband Bernie's son, Jayden's baptism (which Bernie's dad performed!...his first baptism as a recently ordained minister! Pretty cool!) Also, it was my mom's birthday so we celebrated that up in Seattle too. It was a great family gathering and fun to have Erin and Bernie "state-side" (they live in Japan currently). So go check out the pictures at the Gallery. Here's a sampling of the pics. So happy!

Happy!

Pictures posted of Sunriver trip and Adalie's birthday

Went to Sunriver over Labor Day weekend with most of the family (sans Brant and Jackie). Swimming, hiking, biking, and relaxing was in plentiful supply. Adalie's birthday fell on Labor Day this year (September 4), so we celebrated her birthday as well. She got some cute cowgirl stuff (a pink cowgirl hat and a hobby horse that played caroselesque music). Very fun.

Link to album

Pictures posted of Kylia's 2nd birthday (finally!!)

Kylia's 2 now! Oh how the time flies!

April made this awesome flower pot cake. The "dirt" was chocolate pudding with Oreo cookies and had gummy worms inside. Very creative.

More pictures of Kylia's 2nd birthday party

Silly Silent Home Videos

Over on at Another Place for Amber, I've uploaded a bunch of the little 12 second, no audio, videos that I've taken over the last couple of years on my digital camera. Most of them should load pretty quickly, even if you're on dial-up, although the first time through might be a little jumpy. If that happens, just play it again and you'll probably notice that it plays back a little smoother. Here's the link to the Videos!

Happy silly silent video watching!

Jayden Micah is born!

This morning when I was brushing my teeth I thought to myself, I wonder when Jayden's going to be born? And whaddya know, e-mail this morning confirmed it. My first cousin Erin gave birth to Jayden Micah this afternoon (yeah, they're in Japan...time difference...weird).

What a cutie! Great picture, Bernie!

Incidentally, Micah is my brother Brant's middle name too. When Brant found out this spring that his middle name was to pass on to the next cousinly generation, he was so proud, I think he actually started strutting. Or maybe he just beamed.

More pictures of Jayden can be found on Erin and Bernie's Flickr site.

Congratulations Bernie and Erin and first-time grandparents, Uncle Ken and Aunt Mary!!!

Pictures Posted of July 4th Good Times

Just in case you missed it in the previous post...

July 4th Weekend Album

Two Weeks of Vacation Comes to an End

It is Sunday afternoon. The dryer is tumbling. The washer is cycling. The birds are tweeting. And I am blowing an inordinate amount of mucous out of my sinus cavity. And thus my vacation draws to a close.

But how it began was that I decided rather last minute that two weeks off of school would do little good to me if I did not also take two weeks off of work as well to do as I please. A good decision it was indeed.

The first few days I spent around Portland. My parents were out of town on an Alaskan cruise with my Grandpa and his brother, my great Uncle Glen. My friend Alex is in town for the summer and she stayed at my parents' house housesitting until this past Wednesday. We hung out a bit -- went out to eat a few times and saw Superman return. I saw the house on the lake too and enjoyed both movies thoroughly.

On Tuesday I got my teeth cleaned and on Wednesday I went to see the career advisor at my school to just get a feel for the job landscape. Though I still have 15 months to go, I need to always keep a strategic goal in my head in order to get through the day-to-day. I found one particularly intriguing independent contractor opportunity at a ranch in north eastern Oregon, but even more intriguing (and realistic) is a opportunity in the town where I was born: Ashland, Oregon. But that opportunity wasn't to be found in the job book. This was all in the family. Hang on a moment while I explain...

Immediately after flipping through job listings at school, I returned home and packed for the journey south. I was headed to Talent, Oregon, just 4 miles away from Ashland, where my cousin Drew and his wife Kelly live. Drew wanted some programming help and I wanted an excuse to visit two of my favorite people. I was planning on staying only through Friday, but after one day realized that I would much rather extend my visit through the weekend. And so I did. Drew and Kelly recently moved their businesses to a prime location in downtown Ashland. Drew owns a property management company and Kelly, a salon. In their new building, Drew is above stairs and Kelly below.

For three days I sat across from Drew with my laptop busily programming and taking in the unique hustle and bustle of a small business in a small town. Let me tell you, it was immensely refreshing. Below us was Kelly's salon, and therein a completely different sort of energy: the sing-song receptionist, the dramatic chit-chat at the manicure desks, the curtained oases of the pedicure and facial rooms. It would be a smart move. A fun move. An adventerous move. Kelly would add massage to her menu of services and I could start my business in a prime location with reception and scheduling support not too mention with people that I enjoy and trust. I would also bring my web expertise to both Kelly's and Drew's business. And Drew could help me find a place to live.

The interesting thing is that that Ashland was where my Dad's first job was. He worked for the planning department. When he took a job in Portland when I was two years old, they gave him a huge burl clock with a newspaper clipping about his departure. Dad says when and if I move to Ashland, I can hang the burl clock in my space as a converation piece. He wonders how long it will take for long-time Ashland residents to realize that I am Dale Himes' daughter. And that I am also Jason Lamb's cousin (Drew's brother), whose wife currently works in the same planning department where my dad held his first job out of college. I think that would make for quite an induction into a small town culture, don't you think?

As nice as it was in Ashland/Talent, I finally did drag myself up the interstate back to Portland only to drive to Seattle the next day for 4th of July festivities. That Monday, we (Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Seth, April, Adalie, Kylia, Zoie, Brant, Jackie, Pat, and Kris) hung out at Lake Union and watched the Mariners loose miserably at Safeco field. If that field wasn't such an enjoyable place to be, it would have been miserable, but even though they lost pathetically, we had a good time. The next day, we made our 2nd annual visit to the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, which was walking distance from our hotel as well as Brant and Jackie's apartment. Adalie and Kylia made little boats and despite sunburns, we had a good time that afternoon. That night, we watched the Lake Union fireworks on Brant and Jackie's porch and later enjoyed taking in the local civil disobedience and spectacular traffic jam on Dexter Avenue. Thank goodness we could walk back to our hotel and that Grandpa's feet could take it!

On Wednesday, I milked every minute of my stay at the hotel and checked out at noon to head down to Lacey to stay with Seth and April and get some quality time with all my nieces. April and the girls and I had a great time bonding. Seth and I managed to get the beginnings of a story out for a future project which I am going to be working up in the coming months.

But on Friday I woke up with a funny feeling in my throat and a case of the sneezes. I left that afternoon because I needed to get back and try and get a swim test before my rowing class on Saturday. That was when a pathetic sequence of events began to unravel. First, I couldn't find the bottom half of my swim suit, so I had to go over to Mom's to borrow hers. Then I tried to print out the form I needed, and at that moment my wireless printing network decided to get sassy with me and not function. So I had to plug it in. (Oh the horror, I know.) Then after all that I was feeling light headed because of my cold, so I decided to eat. Then I had to wait an hour. (You know, because I'd be swimming.) So then it was open swim time at the rec center so I headed over. And you know what happened? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They said that it was against their policy to administer a swim test. The rec district that has practically an absolute monopoly on all the lifeguards within a 10 mile radius won't give a swim test at an aquatic center where their sole purpose is to watch people swim. I was livid. But I didn't chew them out. I just stared incredulously into the manager's eyes and stormed back to my car where I exploded in a spectactular array of tears and by-words.

But I surrendered. Call it what you will but my head was full of mucous and I was fatigued by the absurdity of it all. I canceled my registration and I'll now have my Saturday mornings free to sleep in. It's just as well. I was feeling wary of my schedule anyway.

So now it's Sunday afternoon. The Sudafed has kicked in. I've got to check my class schedule and get my books together for a long first week of a new term and a five-night-a-week course load. It'll go fast. There's no other way it could go.

Summer Fun

Just posted a small handful of photos from the past couple of weeks. One group is in "The Homeplace" in the album "Summer Fun" and the other set is in Zoie's album. This is from a couple of weeks ago when we were in Olympia after coming back from Jackie's graduation from Seattle Pacific (which is the 3rd set incidentally). Enjoy!

Brant Blogs

It's true. Brant updated his blog. Go check it out:

dream

The Search for Bigfoot by the Himes Family

Update: if you're having trouble with the m4v file, try this link instead:
The Search for Bigfoot by the Himes Family (Quicktime Movie)

Cutest video EVAR. Seth and family goes on a search for Big Foot in the Mount St. Helens wilderness area.

Link (you'll need the latest version of Quicktime 7 or iTunes):
The Search for Bigfoot by the Himes Family

Yep, my nieces are the cutest.

Cool Cousin Stephen Makes the Front Page

Yep, Cool Cousin Stephen made the front page of the Oregonian this morning. I haven't seen him in a while, not since he got married. He doesn't look too well. Oh well. Maybe his stint on the front page and ensuing cousinly blog publicity will entice him to call his long lost second cousin for a little chat. (Hint hint). We'll see. Maybe after the World Cup is over, huh Stephen?

(click picture to enlarge)

Front Page of Today's Oregonian [PDF]

Pics posted from Dadoo's 56th birthday

We celebrated Dadoo's 56th birthday (also known as his 37th) in Lacey, WA at Seth and April's house last Sunday, June 4. We had a great time celebrating and waiting for Zoie to show up. (Alas, it was not to be that day.) Enjoy the pics over at The Gallery...

The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Dadoo's 56th Birthday

Pictures of Zoie posted!

Zoie Faith Himes, the third daughter of Seth and April Himes was born June 7, 2006 at 7:51 am. She weighed 9lbs 3oz and measured 21 inches from 14" head to ten tiny toes. April was at the hospital for 50 minutes before delivering and was in labor for about 2 1/2 hours. The nurses all wanted to show Seth some of the other mom's deliveries at the hospital so he could see what a "real" labor was like. =)

Adalie and Kylia are very excited to have a new sister at home.

I just uploaded the pictures straight from my camera. I actually have made some minor lighting/color adjustments on some of the pictures, but those are on my computer at home. So I'll re-upload pics next week. (If you plan to print out pics, let me know and I'll let you know when the better quality ones are posted. Also, I can burn CDs for the interested.)

Sorry for the delay, but Seth and April didn't have an Internet connection at their house. Without further ado...

The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Zoie Faith

It's baby time!!!

Baby time is in progress. Stay tuuuuunnnneeeddd!!!

Slideshow of Aunt Helen's 90th Birthday

A bit of an overdue posting of Uncle Steve's pictures of great Aunt Helen's 90th birthday. My cousins, Drew and Jason, were there along with my Grandpa Doug. (Aunt Helen is his sister.)

Aunt Helen's 90th Birthday Slideshow

Pics posted from the Memorial Day Weekend Waiting Game

While we waited for the baby to come (she's still not here yet) we played and played and played s'more. Top of the list was the Princess Bounce House. Oh the delight. Oh the wonder. Oh the bouncing babies. Though the magic of a Radio Flyer wagon will never fade, there sure are some amazing toys for kids these days. And with the teeny tiny "yards" nowadays, a little bouncing goes a long way. New pics are under Memorial Day Weekend 2006. Enjoy!

Countdown to Niece #3

My sister-in-law April is about to pop and the fam is officially on baby watch. We're all hoping for Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, due to the holiday and the very convenient fact that some of the family will already be in Olympia and can watch Adalie and Kylia during "hospital time." Stay tuned!

In Which Clark Asks For A Kids Mower And Receives What He Asks For

Upon crossing the threshold of The Homeplace, little Clark Kadwell (pictured below) inquired of the Head of Household, "Do you have a Kids Mower^TM?"

"Well I sure do!" replied the Grandpa-To-All-Children-Who-Enter-His-Household.

And thus the Kadwell children played cheerfully in the backyard of The Homeplace with Wagon and Kids Mower in tow.

More pictures of Kadwell's visit at the Gallery...

Pictures from The Day After Mother's Day

Seth and April and the girls (Adalie and Kylia) came over to Mom and Dad's on the day after Mother's Day to hang out. I took off work early and so did my dad and eventually my mom. We enjoyed a relaxing day spending time together and getting pictures of my adorable nieces! Check the rest out at the Gallery in the Homeplace sub-album, "The Day After Mother's Day 2006." Enjoy!

Out of the mouths of babes

During yesterday morning's break from Massage I, I noticed a voicemail/missed call from my brother Seth. I checked the voicemail and all that Verizon wireless' crack network would allow was, "Hi, it's your brother. Adalie wants..." So I called him back to see what exactly Adalie wanted. When I got him on the phone he said, "Adalie just memorized her memory verse for this week and she said, 'I want to say it to my people.' " To which Seth replied with a chuckle, "And who are 'your people?' " She replied, "Auntie, Grandma, Grandpa..." (I laughed. I'll die if she ever comes out with, "I wanna 'cite my verse to my peeps, yo.") So she got on the phone and recited her Bible verse. Priceless.

So then Kylia, in all her 21-month-old-ness, indicated that she too wanted to converse with Auntie. She gets on the phone with a big gushy "Hiiiiiiiiii!" and in response to all my questions replies, "Uh-huh" with the cutest raise in tone ever on the "huh" syllable. I remember when Adalie was Kylia's age and wanted to talk on the phone. But she would only nod her head or smile, so it was kind of hard to tell if she was there or not. ;-)

And if two cute nieces weren't enough, number three is on her way the first week of June! It's a good time to be an auntie.

The Making of an Independent Film

Have you ever wondered how those independent films got made? Ever wanted to know about a movie BEFORE it got posted on IMDb??!? Well you too can be a part of independent filmmaking history. Head on over to Seth's blog for The Allegiance and who knows...maybe your ingenius witticisms will make the DVD!!

Check it out:
VowYourAllegiance.com

First Cousin Once Removed Due in July (and other family news)

My cousin Erin's got a bun in the oven. Exciting news. This one and my future niece or nephew will probably be born about a month apart. Number Three is due beginning of June and Erin and Bernie's Lil' Peanut's due in July. Babies babies babies.

In other cousin news, Deborah (sister of Erin) brought her hubby-to-be to meet the Portland Himes day after Christmas. Jens fit right in and good times were had by all. We give him the coveted Family Stamp O' Approval.

In unofficially-adopted-family-member news (her picture is on the family picture wall, after all), Alex has been in town for a little over a week now and there has been much marathoning-of-togetherness taking the form of Lord of the Rings movie trilogy marathons at Mom and Dad's, the putting together of puzzles, the eating of sweets, and other homeplace-hangout-happy-fun.

We have also enjoyed having Grandpa Doug around who has fully partaken as well in LOTR movie marathoning, puzzle-solving, the eating of sugar-free sweets and pies and other homeplace activities. Good times.

Christmas photos posted

Head on over to the Christmas 2005 album and check out Kylia's new adorable goofy grin pose, some of my crochet creations and well of course, the family. ;-)

Good times. I hope your Christmas was full of joy as well.

Pearl Harbor Day

Just wished my Grandpa Doug "Happy" Pearl Harbor Day. "Happy" pronounced in a deliberate tongue-in-cheek tone. Yeah, it was the opposite of "Happy" but I didn't know how else to put it.

Grandpa Doug says that he was at a USO in Illinois when a guy ran up the stairs and declared, "They've bombed Pearl Harbor" to which Grandpa replies in the retelling, "There goes my Christmas." And indeed, four Christmases would be spent in WWII's Pacific Theatre instead of at home.

Brant's 24...errr...in October (and I'm slow with the pics!)

Pictures abound of our celebration of lil' bro's big 2-4 which took place at Seth and April's. So yeah, that means there are more pictures of the nieces bein' cute than of Brant. =)

Check 'em out at the Gallery.

I've also started a new photo album for the mystery niece/nephew. He/She's still a wee fetus but her/his heart's a-beatin'...how cool is that?! Number Three is due beginning of June '06.

Amber's Wish List

Ok family, you asked for it...here's my wish list for birthday/Christmas...

Of course, all I really want is your love. =)

Link: Amber's Wish List

Cousin Gavin in Japan

Just received these pictures from my cousin Gavin and those of you who are family...I thought you'd be interested. It looks like he's having a good time!

Link: Photos: Gavin in Japan

Cousin pics

Deborah sent some pictures of her soon-to-be hubby Jens which I have posted in a new Cousins album over at the Gallery. Don't miss the one where Jens eats a bug. It's very goofy. And gross. But cool.

We can't wait to meet you Jens! Welcome to the family!!!

Nieces on the move

From my spontaneous visit last week...

(All links are Quicktime movies)

• Kylia walks!
• Adalie and Kylia go down the stairs
• Adalie goes down the stairs
• Adalie gets dizzy

Good times. =)

Looking for something to read?

Whether you're looking for something to peruse or to ponder, here are a few suggestions for the curious and conscientious alike.

FEMA to reimburse faith groups for helping victims (via AlertNet)

• What motivates your charity?
• What are some good reasons for a church to apply for federal reimbursement? What are some bad ones?

Indian flood-hit state rushes medicine to homeless (via AlertNet)

• Do you find yourself more likely or less likely to take action in response to disaster around the world after Hurricane Katrina? (This question is really geared for readers lately living in the U.S.)

Darfur's Smallest Witnesses (via PBS, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer)

• How do these children's drawings bear witness to the gross criminal acts happening in Darfur? Do they provide hope in any way?
• We are called by Jesus to become like little children. Can we learn anything from these children's drawings about right and wrong? Justice and injustice? The mind and heart of God?

Please feel free to post your thoughts on these questions as comments.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Princess Adalie Grace

After I took this picture of Adalie, we walked around the neighborhood and she threw rocks in the dirt. Who says a princess can't get a little dirty? (See Kylia's pictures for more proof of that. ;-)

Mac 'n' Cheese Ala Kylia Praise

A Little Lake Wenatchee

Actually, Lake Wenatchee in Washington State (kinda by Leavenworth) is not little at all. But my photos from our visit there number only 3, thus "a little." There was no sign of the recent forest fire there, except a bunch of pup tents for firefighters at a camp nearby and on the day we visited, it was sunny and windy. Very windy, in fact. In the background of one of the pictures I took of Seth and his daughter, Adalie, you can see some of the kite surfers, there were 4 in all, sweeping the lake. It was fun to watch.

Crater Lake

In August, Mom, Dad and I headed down to our favorite campin' spot (which will remain anonymous...crowd control, you understand ;-). Nearby, is Crater Lake. Grandpa joined us on Sunday and after Mom and Dad headed back (I decided to stay a couple extra days), Grandpa and I headed to Crater Lake. More pictures are here.

Guess who's 3?

Well, I'm a bit tardy getting pictures up from the last month...but here's a batch from my niece Adalie's 3rd birthday party which we celebrated up at Wild Waves.

Rainbow Trout Tremble In Fear As Himes' Envoy Prepares to Descend On the Rogue River

Rainbow Trout up and down the upper Rogue River trembled in fear as rumors of a fishing expedition planned by members of the Himes' family reached the wild and scenic waters of the Rogue River and its tributaries. Thankfully only two of them actually fish, while the third prefers the leisurely hikes, a hammock, and the latest issue of Sunset magazine to pass the time. But Dale and his daughter Amber are widely feared especially along the stretch of the Rogue known as the Windy River Canyon. Fish along this route have only to be thankful that other members of the Himes' clan, including those who have married into the family, are otherwise engaged this fateful weekend.

A Smile to Brighten the Afternoon

Well the sun finally came out and if the sunshine didn't cheer you up, maybe my niece's bright smile will help. (And yes, she is reading Lemons Are Not Red.)

Kylia vs. The Bunny Cake

Pictures from Kylia's first birthday at Mom and Dad's (The Homeplace) are now posted at The Gallery at Sleepyhead City (finally!).

Kylia Praise: Year 1 Complete

Kylia's birthday was yesterday. She's now 1 year old! Amazing!! I haven't had time to upload all the images I took of her birthday party on Sunday yet, but here's a few to tide you over.

Kylia and Adalie Cool Off

On Sunday afternoon, we celebrated Kylia's birthday (she'll be 1 year old on July 26th). Dadoo inflated the whale pool and the girls were in and playing within 5 minutes of their arrival. Kylia was surprisingly agile in the water. She could even crawl in and out of the pool like little Nemo, when he was finding his way to the ocean from the dentist's office. More pictures to come. Seth was blocking the sun for Kylia, and she came out dark in most of the pool pictures I took. So I Photoshopped the darkness out as best I could so you could all see her beautiful happy face. Adalie, who will be 3 years old on September 4th, is in the background. Click on the picture for a larger image.

Update: Cousin Deborah in Thailand with Dengue Fever

Update: My mom corrected me on the spelling of Dengue Fever. Apparently I was going with the phonetic version. ;-) But more importantly, Deborah is improving. Her platelet count is 47,000 and continues to head in the right direction. A platelet infusion is not planned as of this morning. (This is a good thing, thanks for praying!) Uncle Ken says that she's cracking some jokes and really wants to shower and brush her teeth—all good signs.

~~~

Please pray for my cousin Deborah who is in a hospital in Chiang-Mai, Thailand with dengue fever, which she caught in Burma. She has been in the hospital 6 days; apparently dengue fever usually lasts 7-10 days, so the next few days are important. Right now her platelet count is low (20,000—should be above 100,000) and on Monday (Sunday night, West Coast time), a determination will be made as to whether a platelet infusion is necessary. Her blood type is 0- and missionaries that are with her in Thailand are searching for donors on her behalf. Please pray with us for a miraculous increase in platelets in the next few days.

Thank-you.

4th of July in Seattle Pictures Posted

July 4th Weekend (2005)

Family members flocked to Seattle where we enjoyed the hospitality of newlyweds Brant and Jackie, a Sunday afternoon Mariners' game at Safeco Field, the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, and a spectacular fireworks show on Lake Union.

Update: now with captions! Who-hoo!

Good times in the backyard

Posted some new pictures of my family (mostly my nieces—they're my favorite subjects :-)

I went to Olympia on Friday and Saturday to visit with Seth and April and their girls (this week Kylia started crawling and it's really hard to see one's niece crawl over the phone!) but then they came down to Portland on Sunday to visit Mom and Dad. Good times were had by all in the backyard, spruced up for many relaxing afternoons to come this summer.

To view larger versions of the pictures below, go to: The Homeplace Album (The Gallery at Sleepyhead City)

Hangin' in the Sound

Posted pictures from brother-hang-out-time in Olympia and Seattle over Memorial Day weekend. Pictured here is my littlest niece, Kylia Praise, eating Cheerios and checkin' out the ginormous fountain in the Seattle Center at Folkfest. More pictures at The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Hangin' in the Sound. Enjoy.

L.A. weekend pictures posted

Posted my pictures from L.A./Alex's graduation {finally}.

There's a sub-album in there with several shots of Alex's friend Grace's installation. The story is that Alex used some elements from Grace's pieces, digitized them, 3D'd and animated them for her fine arts installation (which turned out very cool, btw.)

As in life, people move on to different opportunties, environments, and geographical locations. I thoroughly enjoyed hangin' with Alex and her friends who have supported her and loved her through four grueling years. Thanks for taking care of my friend!

A Marathon of Togetherness

When we were in high school, Alex and I used to do something on Friday night, then she'd decide to sleep over, so then we do stuff Saturday as well, and then she might decide to stay over Saturday night as well. My mom used to call these types of weekends "marathons of togetherness." This past weekend was a sort of recapitulation of the marathons of togetherness of long ago. We decided on the term "recapitulation" because it truly felt like our friendship somehow came full circle and we got to witness the exact moment in time that it was renewed, that a former chapter ended and a new one began. It's like we could sense the page turning.

This weekend Alex graduated from Otis School of Art and Design. Studying art formally has been a long time goal of hers and the amount of sweat, tears, and puke that went into accomplishing this goal has been heart-wrenching. Seeing her installations in both the fine and the digital arts was exciting. Seeing the accomplishments of the seniors as a whole was astonishing and delightful. Knowing that this was just another beginning to yet another journey was humbling and exhausting to think about, but exhilarating just the same.

These impressions of hope, promise, and potential were almost too much to bear, but so good to experience. I feel tired but courageous. I have the courage to resign from a prideful existence of lackeyhood and encouragement to listen closer, draw closer, and be closer to my God, my Creator, my Savior, my Friend.

Thanks for a great marathon of togetherness, Mav. May the months and years to come bring accumulations of hope, storehouses of promise, and truckloads of potential scanned, signed-for and successfully delivered to our doorsteps. And may our hearts be enlarged to receive these things and make the most of them. (Oh, and let there be love. Lots and lots of love.)

Goose out.

Mom's Day in Olympia: Pictures Posted

The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Mother's Day 2005

Producer on board for Noah's Friends

My brother, Seth, has just informed me that he's got a producer on board for Noah's Friends!

Congratulations Tall Brother!

Noah's Friends launch

We launched the Noah's Friends site over the weekend. This is the brain-child of my brother, Seth. He's written 12 episodes of the adventures of the animals who stuck around after the flood and turned the ark into their own personal clubhouse and home. A team of animators has been working on the characters and background designs — I've been amazed by the incredible talent. I did the web site working from a start from Seth's friend and am pretty happy with how it turned out. It was a fun project to work on, especially with all the incredible art to work with. Seth's pitch on the site casts vision very well, I think, and hopefully someone will catch that vision and enable Seth to run with it.

I set up a design gallery for the site as well. The animators have been working hard over the last year or so and Seth wanted an easy-to-update, professional, and organized way to display the various designs. Its powered by the same program (Gallery) that runs my photo site, The Gallery at Sleepyhead City. There's a little tweaking to be done on the design gallery's stylesheet, but it's getting there.

Check out the pitch for Noah's Friends, an animated series ...coming soon to DVD (God willing!!!)

Go Seth!

Far away, so close

wed·ding
2 : an act, process, or instance of joining in close association

The Angel said to me, "Write this: "Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!" —Revelation 19:9 (The Message)

rec·on·cile
1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony

If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! —Romans 5:10 (The Message)

It has occurred to me, through participation in various family gatherings in the past two weeks how weddings and funerals bring people together—albeit in different ways and for different purposes. Although a dim one, I have seen both the wedding and the funeral as a reflection of how God has chosen to bring us into close friendship with himself. How? Through the pictures of family members, some of whom have not been seen together in many years. Though it is difficult to make clear to you, I have seen in my heart a glimpse of how and why God uses a death and a wedding to bring us together with him.

Grandma Faye: Out of Suffering and into Paradise

On Sunday, December 12, 2004 at a few minutes before ten o'clock in the evening my Grandma Faye died. I was with her on Saturday and Sunday, just trying my best to be present with her. The only way I could think to do that was to read to her out of Scripture. She was in a lot of pain and it was one of the hardest things I hope I'll ever have to witness.

This picture was only recently found in the house and was placed on the bookcase by her bed which was in the living room. On Sunday afternoon, I was watching over my Grandma and trying to keep her mouth clear of the secretions that were coming up from her lungs. I asked my Dad to find some Psalms for me to read over her. Dad told me later that day as we were driving home that the moment that I began to read Psalm 103, this picture fell from the bookcase and onto the floor. I think the angels were crowding close to hear the words of God spoken over her and accidentally knocked the picture off the shelf.

Praise the LORD , O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD , O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Grandma Faye: run and jump and dance with Jesus in Paradise. Someday, I imagine the King puts you in charge of choosing the spices and herbs for his renowned feasts and celebrations. I can't wait to see you at the banqueting table in the everlasting days to come.

The big night: round one of pics

The Gallery at Sleepyhead City :: Brant and Jackie's Wedding

Wedding Rehearsal Pics are Posted

Posted pics from tonight's wedding rehearsal. The rehearsal was chaotic, as it should be, the food delicious, as it should be, and fellowship delightful, as it should be.

The only thing that isn't quite right is the fact that my Grandma Faye is dying. Please pray for my mom and Grandpa Doug especially. This is not easy for any of us, but they are hit especially hard by this.

Brant and Jackie to be wed this Friday

My youngest brother, Brant is to marry Jackie Vandehey this Friday, December 10 at 7:00 pm over at Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, Oregon. More information can be found at BrantandJackie.com

I am a bridesmaid and get to wear a princess-dress. (No tiara, unfortunately.) The dress is red, but not the same red as in Seth and April's wedding. (Warning, factoid: Both my brother's betrothed chose red for their bridesmaids dresses. Hmmm...what could it mean?)

I'm excited to get another sister-in-law. The brother-sister balance of power in the Dale/Martha Himes clan will finally be restored. And if Brant and Jackie have as many daughters as Seth and April, the girls will win the day for certain. (Of course, they are expected to have boys in order to restore the niece/nephew-grandaughter/grandson balance of power. And all of this childbearing will hopefully take place after the pair of them have finished with their undergrad (Jackie) and grad (Brant) studies.)

This message was inspired by a panicked e-mail from a friend who shall remain nameless. ;-)

Pumpkin Patch Pics Posted

(Say that five times fast!)

Once again, we went to that place in North Plains with the train and the boat and of course, the pumpkin patch. Pictures posted at the Gallery:

Pumpkin Patch 2004

Kylia Praise: 2 months, 1 day

Two-month pictures posted of Kylia Praise at the Gallery...taken at Mom and Dad's house. (We were celebrating Mom's birthday.) Similar close-up style pics were taken of Adalie Grace when she was about a month old.

Adalie Grace
Kylia Praise

I have sweet beautiful nieces. Wow.

New pics of Kylia posted

Auntie to the power of two

Kylia Praise was born yesterday morning, at 6:07 am. She weighed 8lbs 12oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. She is niece #2. I got the call from my brother, Seth, at 5:22 am and made it to the hospital in Olympia at about 7:30 am in time for Kylia's first bath. It was a very laid back morning at the hospital. Friends of the family Dan and Marie came by early, but other than that it was just Seth, April, Kylia and I for a little while. Such a contrast from Adalie's birth-day. Swarms of relatives all day long and lot of first-baby excitement and craziness. I had to leave at 11:00 am to catch the PHP security tutorial in Portland at OSCON. Today I have another tutorial (PHP and MySQL with Bells and Whistles), so it'll be this evening before I make back up there. My other brother, Brant, was miraculously able to leave work early yesterday and had the joy of seeing Adalie Grace interact with her new baby sister. I am hoping that joy will be mine tonight.

More pictures of Kylia Praise are here.

Cousin Gavin posts pics from Brazil

My cousin is in Brazil (again) and set up this little blog to post some pics. Gavin's Webpage Muito bom, Gavin! (I think that means 'very good!' - I only knew how to say it, not spell it, so that's what babelfish spit out. =)

Seattle Pics and Update on Grandma

Well with all this hospital craziness* in the past few days, I'm glad I got my Seattle pics up on Gallery when I did. (I absolutely adore the iPhotoToGallery plugin -- what a blessing.) So for you close friends and family out there, here they are:

Photo Gallery: Brant's SPU Graduation and subsequent celebratory activities

* Update on Grandma Faye: after 2 "episodes" (heart attack?? shingle pain??) Tuesday morning (at mom and dad's -- "call an ambulance") and Thursday Morning (at St. V's), they did a angiogram and found three blood clots, two in major arteries. So they put two stents in the two clogged arteries which immediately cleared up the clots and solved that problem! I saw her about an hour after the procedure was finished and she looked better than I have seen her in a long time! We are really hopeful that solving this problem will help her body combat the shingles she's had for 18 months and now that she has better blood flow (and consequently better oxygen flow), she'll be able to walk without assistance.

A growing "city"...

This has been an exciting week for sleepyheadcity.com.

This week, we added 2 new blogs and a photo gallery.

These blogs are just getting started...but I'm excited to see the vision for sleepyheadcity.com evolve...maybe soon I'll be able to actually put an index file in the root directory!

So thank-you, Shawn and Brant, for your enthusiasm to get this city off the ground and welcome!

Happy blogging!

Birthday Edition

Thanksgiving has come and gone and once again it's December 2nd which is only significant to me because it is my birthday. But a birthday is a good day to be thankful too. So in order to exercise my thankfulness muscle, I think it's only wise to think of a few things for which I am thankful. So...

Today I am thankful for:

• The guy who took my order at La Terraza who thought I was only 23 or 24. That was very kind.
• Our wonderful receptionist who says I remind her of Grace Kelly. That was WAY too kind.
• VJ's gift which was perfect because I was just thinking the other day of how much I wanted a new candle. And it smells so nice.
• My mom and dad and their friends, the Vandeheys, who sang Happy Birthday in 4-part harmony to my voicemail this morning on their way to Seattle.
• A successful e-bay auction, the proceeds of which will support my trip to India in February.
• Internet access at The Apple Store at Washington Square which just opened a few weeks ago and enabled me to check the auction in its final minutes last Saturday. (That was very cool.)
• My 15-month-old niece, Adalie Grace, who I swear nearly said "Auntie Amber" the other day. She is so cute.
• The generosity of my family and friends and their support, whether financial, personal, and/or prayerful of me as I prepare to go to India for a few weeks in February.

This has been a good exercise I think. In the midst of so much preparation and looking forward, I forget the importance and the gift of the present moment and all that has been given and sacrificed for me to live as I am right now. A lot less worrying and a bit more celebration is in order for my life, I think. A bit of renewal. A change, I think...

The John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast but your disciples do not fast?"

Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.

Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

—Matthew 9:14-17

Buy this go cart

Update:
It sold! I can't believe it. Closing bid: $177.50. Unloaded it on Sunday to a mechanic with 2 small boys eager to get it fixed up.

Photoblog = family fun

Just whipped together a photoblog with pictures from my 'lil bro's recent birthday party celebrated in Olympia at my *other* 'lil bro's home. As with all pictures of my family (in the last 15 months, that is) they feature my adorable (not kidding, she is SO CUTE!) niece, Adalie Grace.

Hope to get more pics on that blog [aka "witness"] in the near future.

Welcome, Stephen!

Just want to give a shout out to my cool cousin Stephen who used to live in Northwest and as of this moment, is the only other person who knows about this site!

Welcome!! Here's a link to Sojourners, that magazine on faith, culture, and politics I was telling you about.