He's Here

Grandbaby #4 arrived.  David and I were on a trip, but only a couple hours away, when at 4:00 in the morning we got a call that Ivy was in labor.  We were up and on the road in the wee hours of the morning and were able to be at the hospital when little Everett James arrived.  We feel so blessed to have a new little man in our family.  He is so adorable and sweet and looks a lot like his big brother.  I was able to stay around a couple days and enjoyed time spent with this adorable and special family. Welcome to our world little man.  Thank you Lord.

God bless you all and have a great day.

Alicia

Happy Grandma and Grandpa

Mom and Daddy loving pictures of their new baby.  Alex and Ivy
have a photo business in addition to being youth pastors, so their pictures
are amazing.  

Look at my adorable grandkids.  

They all look so big once you add a little one to the picture.

Camping Wallowa

We haven't scheduled a lot of camping trips this year.  A couple of weeks ago we did get to go out though.  We went to a place in Oregon called Wallowa State Park.  It is a bit of a drive from our home but well worth it.  Brent, Latisha, and kids, Brent's parents, and another family joined us.  It was so fun to get away.  We went during part of the week days and it was very relaxing.

 As we approached the area, I was struck by the beautiful mountains.

 They just got grander and more amazing as we got closer. I wish my camera was able to get better pictures to show how amazing they were.  They were compared to little Alps, and that is what I thought of when we got there.  Then I saw these little "Heidi" shops and a sign that referred to them as little Alps, so I guess I was thinking correctly.

 Then we got to the lake, perfect

We took our bikes and did a little riding.  

 There is a tram you can take to the top of one of the mountains

 This was a nice hike we took that Aidric was able to do and it was fine. August hiked up, but was a little tired on the way down.

 crossing the bridge on our hike

 we made it to the waterfall.  So beautiful!!!!

 I took a little video. I felt like my pictures just weren't getting the full picture

 The grandpa's hanging out with Brinley

 The kids went miniature golfing on a really nice course, some also rode horses and go cart riding.

 Isabella and I went for a walk around the town.

 I really loved this mountain.  Isn't God's creation so amazing!

 On another day we went to the town just down the road and got ice cream, coffee and did some shopping

 On the way back we pulled over to see Chief Joseph burial site

 We were finishing dinner, and these beautiful deer literally came up to our table.  It was so cool.

 Game night

We also had smores and a lovely fire.  The whole trip was wonderful and I highly recommend the area.  Getting away for a few days can be so relaxing.

Latisha and Brent opened the back of their vehicle when they got there and had a couple stowaways - a couple mice.  They were a little concerned about eating their food, but there was more then enough to go around.  That is the fun of going with others. They rented a cabin, which was very close to our camp site and were able to just ride their bikes to us.  Perfect.

I hope you all are able to get out and do some adventuring this summer. God bless and have a great day.
Alicia

Summer Smiles

Ok, so summer is only half way done, but we have been busy.  The weather here has been pretty close to wonderful.  I am a fair weather gal. When the weather is between 55 and 85, I am the happiest.  In the winter I don't mind it dropping below freezing and getting a few good snow storms, but below 20 degrees and I don't care to leave the house.  The opposite is the same in the summer, I am good up to 90 degrees then I prefer the indoors or at least shady areas.  Still working on that being content in whatever but I will get there.  Back to where I began, the weather here has been lovely and only a few days above 90, with some little rain storms here and there.  This keeps most things green and pretty.  Even the mountains still have a shade of green in them and that makes me smile.

The end of May brought a sad but happy day as Brent and Latisha moved into their new home.  They did a wonderful job building this house.  The builder's price came with the basics but to add on the upgrades they wanted, in most areas was cheaper to do themself or higher someone else to do it.  So they have been working like crazy changing door handles, light fixtures, adding shelves and miscellaneous things.  They just got new countertops put in and have been working on the kitchen backsplash.  I am so proud of all they have done and it is turning out beautiful.

the new home

 Cassandra got her honor star.  It was bittersweet watching her getting her hard work recognized and we were so proud.  There is always a little catch in my throat as I realize my babies are growing up.  I also had a little bit of a mourning time for my Isabella.  She will never be an honor star, we still wait for her to say mom and dad.  I probably should just accept who God made her, but I believe He has more for her.  Sometimes though reality of what may never be and my dreams for my child hit me and I feel sadness I can't explain.  It has been a hard year for Isabella.  She has increased in seizure activity, has a harder time walking and is mostly confined to her leg braces, we have seen little progress in her cognitive levels and the genetic testing basically found nothing except a potential candidate gene.  We are thankful for Isabella, and if this is what God has for her I will embrace and love her with all I have.  She is my baby girl, and I love the joy she brings to our lives.

Cassandra getting her award

David and I with our girls

It had been a couple years but I was able to attend the homeschool conference!!!
Even more exciting was that I got to share this time with Ivy.  She is looking
forward to homeschooling her own children and look forward to advice and
ideas from the conference.  It was a good conference and I enjoyed our speakers

The next great event was the baby shower for Alex and Ivy's new little man.  Because they are having another boy they didn't want a real big party, more of a family barbecue.  Everything went lovely and we had a wonderful time celebrating this new little life.

Me and my son

Look at this lovely mama.  

 Cassandra also had a birthday.  She turned 11 and wanted a water party.  We had a great turn out and went with a Luau theme.  The weather was perfect and the day was great.

 Some friends of ours daughter was getting married where Alex and Ivy live.  It worked out for us to go and we did a family birthday party for Alex and Cassandra at an all you can eat pizza place.  I have little self control there and everyone was amazed with my quantity of dessert pizza, :)

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Fathers Day was a great day to have a golf day.  We joined together and hit balls at the driving range and David got to give Aidric some pointers.  

Auntie Cassie entertaining her nephews and niece. 

 Next we had August's 4th birthday party.  My oldest grandson is growing so well and handsome.  I had told him when he came by how Grandma loves him and misses him, and he said,"you miss me Grandma." It just totally melted my heart.  Such a sweetie.

The other day Isabella had a neurology appointment.  When she came out of the car she landed funny on her foot and squealed.  We didn't think much about it but upon taking her to our next grocery stop she landed funny again.  This time she was very unhappy and refused to put pressure on it.  We took her home and I examined her foot.  It was definitely swelling.  She kept trying to walk on it but would let out screams.  We took her to the doctor and yep, she had broke it.  Poor little girl.  I wonder if she landed on her heal wrong and her hard braces didn't give.  She now has a broken heal that she is supposed to stay off of for a few weeks.  She was very unhappy and doesn't like staying off it. We took her to the park and Cassandra really wanted to push her around.  The rose garden was beautiful and I think it took her mind off her foot.

We went to get some ice cream after. 

 That brings us to the 4th of July.  We had some friends over and once again it was a perfect day.  David cooked up some burger and hot dogs, we played some games, lit off some fireworks and celebrated this amazing country of ours.

Volleyball

My children still at home

Latisha, Brinley, Brent and August

My love and me

Here we now are in the midst of summer, enjoying our time together and looking forward to our new grandbaby.  We have  a couple other events up and coming and maybe I can find some more time to post.  Hope you all are enjoying the summer.  God bless you all,
Alicia