Awake

(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?

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!

We celebrated Kylia's 4th birthday (which was July 26) during the Mitchell Campout at Stub Stewart State Park. With the cabin decorated, cupcakes candled, presents wrapped and bagged, and family gathered, Kylia reveled in turning four years old. (Later, she decided she would like to go back to being three since she reasoned that a "big four-year-old" doesn't get held as much. We promise to hug you and hold you, Kylia!)

I took 41 pictures before my lithium ion battery died (and I forgot my charger) and here they are: Photo Set: Kylia's 4th Birthday

No pictures from me of the campout. I'll have to rely on others to post theirs.

Enjoy!

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

It's all about the silly silent videos...

Videos (Set)

88!

Grandpa Doug turned 88 yesterday! We celebrated with a barbecue over at Drew and Kelly's. Uncle Steve and Gavin were in town for the occasion which was especially cool because Gavin will be going to Japan in a couple weeks for at least a year.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Doug!

more pictures here...

Playin'

Pictures posted from hanging out at mom and dad's a couple weekends ago...

Check-em-out: Photo Set: At the Homeplace

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

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 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

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

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

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!

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

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!

Happy Birthday Seth!

Happy Birthday, Tall Brother!

(Do you think anyone will notice that I pre-dated this post?)

Dale O. Himes Consulting, LLC Open For Business

Just this past Fall, my dad has started his own consulting firm, Dale O. Himes Consulting, LLC. Currently, he is "directing and coordinating feasibility and pre-construction development activities" for Phase 1 of Village's campus expansion project.

He is also putting together an intitative called, "Global Professionals in Action" that aims to match and coordinate professionals with opportunities in the area of diaster-relief and recovery. This idea has been largely driven by his recent trips to the Gulf Coast with Northwest Medical Teams to do construction on houses affected by massive flooding in Moss Point.

So I hope you will check out his new web site and drop him a note of encouragement. We've just updated the content and we'll be posting more in the near future. 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.