Are You Listening, Haley?

New Year's Message for Haley (Mom really loves you, really, she does!).

And here's your message from Dad (he loves you too!).

Haley in Concert!

Here are Mom and Dad, Haley and Annie at "The Grotto", a Catholic Holy Site in Portland, Oregon. Haley was a choir member for a 45 minute performance in the sanctuary. The choir and musicians traveled in one bus while us parents, family, and onlookers traveled in another bus. The theme during Christmas is "Festival of Lights" and they did not disappoint!

Me, too. I want to be in the picture!

Official Christmas Picture Posted.

Okay, THE official Christmas picture. Merry Christmas, everyone, and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Hot Christmas Models!

Once a year, Annie and Haley go to Annie's friend's house to do their "Christmas Modeling". Annie says this might be Haley's last year, seems she is getting so pretty she is making the other ladies think their own pictures aren't so good...

We Visit the New Quiznos in Forest Grove

So we received this $2.00 off coupon in the mail from Quiznos and decided as a family we'd check it out. After church we headed over and Annie snapped a picture. It was our first time trying the sandwiches. Haley and I split a honey mustard chicken and bacon sandwich. Annie enjoyed a bowl of broccoli cheese soup. I'd give it a two thumbs up! It is rare to get a nationally recognized franchise business all the way over here in Forest Grove. But with Pacific University only one block over I'll bet it is a good business decision. We'll be back!

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The Christmas Tree is Ready...

Haley and Annie spent the week getting the Christmas tree ready. We have one big container of saved ornaments and I think it is those saved memories from each year that become part of our new Christmas experience.

And this is Haley one year ago!

Haley on Grandma's Birthday...

Haley on Grandma's birthday!


And using lumapix fotofusion we have a nice photo card to put in with Christmas cards!

Tribute to Kharen

What better way to begin December and the Christmas season than a tribute to a loving and sweet niece in the Philippines! I met Kharen in 1999 when Annie, Haley and I went to the Philippines to celebrate Annie's littlest sister, Whilma's, wedding. In these photos you can see Kharen as a bridesmaid and a few assorted pictures over the years. The most recent pictures are from August of this summer when everyone was helping Lola Pitts (top right) enjoy her birthday.

And why a tribute to Kharen? Well, today I received my very first text message from the Philippines and it was from Kharen. Apparently text messaging is a big thing over there and she has recently been texting wife Annie's cell phone. I know little of texting (or cell phones!) but Annie showed me a website that would let me text using our computer (www.chikka.com) so I gave it a shot and this morning I had a text message from dear niece Kharen!

So "thank you, thank you, thank you", Kharen. You are still a true sweetheart! And since this is on the internet, available for all the world to see, please let me know if there are any eligible bachelors interested in meeting Kharen. Word has it she is still available and looking for love! At age 24 the clock is beginning to tick very loudly! LOL

Bless you, Kharen.

Water Gives Life

This morning as I walked out the door on the way to take Haley to school I looked down and saw the most wonderful collection of dew on the plants. If you click the picture and look to the top left area you can see a small light show. God delights us with His creations!

The Basketball Season Begins!

Just back from her first game of the season. Haley was a joy to watch and has been working hard to learn all she can about being a good team player. We went to the Gilkey International school (folks were speaking french there). The team lost but, wow, a lot of potential for improvement! Great job, Haley!

A Peaceful Thankgiving Weekend

After a fairly formal Thursday's Thanksgiving meal at the parent's place,
This little table layout is just perfect for Annie, Haley and I. Some Turkey,
Dressing, Cranberry Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Beans.
Perfect!

A Blanket for Whilma...

Annie recently spoke with her mom in the Philippines and she asked if Annie could keep an eye out for a nice blanket for Annie's youngest sister, Whilma. As you can see, Annie found a beautiful blanket! Sometime after Christmas Annie hopes to have this blanket in a box of goodies to be sent to the Philippines. So about February it should arrive and be much used and appreciated!

Fuchias Into The House

Freezing weather finally predicted. Time to give the more delicate flowers a place to stay! Tomorrow the fuchias will be taken to the garage and will hopefully weather the coming winter with little harm.

A Birthday Trip to the BEACH!

Although a bit cool and breezy, it was still a wonderful day to walk along the beach!

This was yesterday. Mom, Dad, Annie, Haley and Lori all joined me in celebrating my 52nd birthday by going to Lincoln City. Our first stop? The Buffet at the Chinook Winds Casino! Yumm. They always have the best salmon. It was an excellent lunch.

Next, while everyone else did their gambling thing (Annie came home a winner!), Haley and I traipsed over to the Arcade and dropped some quarters on the games. Haley took me on in air hockey and it ended up a tie. She "rode" a motorcycle and spent a good amount of time at the pinball machines. (used to be machines were a quarter a game, now fifty-cents and up! Yikes).

After that, we went down onto the beach and walked a while. We saw some fishermen (isn't it weird, fishermen seem to be happy in any kind of weather!) and sat for a bit on some rocks. We got this picture and then moved to the folk's van where we waited for everyone else.

All in all, a very nice day to celebrate a birthday and to have some fun!

Time for Walnuts!

Dad says walnuts need to be dried for 12-17 hours in the fruit dryer. Luckily, there is still enough good weather left here in Oregon right now to get those walnuts gathered up!

Let's Party! Filipino Style!

Filipino parties are always so much fun! Wife Annie made new friends with Perlie, another filipina, and we got invited to their house warming party. No pictures of Haley because she spent last night and today at friend, Holly's house...

The Generosity of Apple Trees (and parents!)

Wowie! Mom and Dad have an extra food dryer (imagine, this dryer is made out of an old dishwashing machine!) and several highly productive apple trees. The tree-fall apples alone filled two big boxes and would go to waste so we volunteered to put the diswasher to the test.... Gotta say, so far they look delicioso!!! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Testing BlogJet

I have installed an interesting application - BlogJet. It's a cool Windows client for my blog tool (as well as for other tools). Get your copy here: http://blogjet.com/

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." -- Pablo Picasso

A Personal Message from "The Keeper of the Blog"

The Hardest Working Man I Have Ever Known!

(click to enlarge) A typical fall day for Dad...