We have a new member of our family! Mona-dog! She is a 1 1/2 year old Papillon. My cousin Trudy and her husband, Chris gave her to us. We love her already! She is very good with the kids and she has a very sweet personality.
I think that I (Melinda) am just as excited about her as the kids are. (I've never owned a dog before)
What has been going on since our last blog entry.. hmmm..
Well, in December Mike and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary! We had a blast! We went to Pacific City and stayed at a B&B for 2 whole nights while Grandmama watched the kids. We haven't had that kind of time to ourselves in 3 years! It was sooo relaxing..sitting by the fire, sleeping in, eating..just what we needed.
When we got back, though, we realized that our basement had leaked! Ug! First home ownership nightmare. Our basement is finished so it required us tearing up a wall and carpet a bit. We had a plumber come to rule out the plumbing. (It was from all this rain!) We checked our downspouts on that side of the house and they weren't draining to the road. We don't know where they are draining into (yet) We have our work cut out for us still. The good news is that it isn't leaking anymore. So, it was probably from the first really bad rainstorm. We have since then, gotten over the panic and realized there is way to do this one step at a time.
Baha'i children's classes in our home have been happening regularly every Saturday. We have really been enjoying teaching the class and getting to know the children in our community. A Portland Baha'i mom group has just begun and that has been fun to be a part of too! The Milwaukie Baha'i community has a nice close-knit feel that we are enjoying. We were able to walk to Feast a month or so ago! That I haven't done since I lived in NH!
Melinda has been going to some "sustainable living on a budget" workshops lately and learning how to cook from scratch-things like bread, granola, creme fraiche..she even tried donuts. We got some raw milk and she is going to try yogurt next. We also got a small chest freezer when we ordered 1/8 of a grassfed cow. We also joined a CSA(community supported agriculture) for this summer to get our veggies directly from a farm. There is so much to do that can better support our environment..and our health! It is really fun learning about and trying new things! We have really decreased how much garbage we make each week.
http://www.sustainablebudget.com/
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Michael recently performed (playing congo drums) with Bob Basset in a concert to raise money to make an album! I think it felt really good to be back into doing music again. It was a little depressing when we had to temporarily pack up his drums again when the basement leaked, but they are back out and in action again!
Tristan still enjoys preschool immensely. He hasn't been as into balloons lately, but he is having a blast doing a lot of pretend play and dress-up. He also loves to tell/make up stories. He's a great story-teller! Sequoia is learning to write some letters. They are both learning about letters and letter sounds. Sequoia will be 3 in March and Tristan will be 5 in May. Time is passing quickly. Conversations of kindergarten next year are happening more and more lately..
We recently lost our cat, Serendipity. He had been going down-hill for a long time-his thyroid and then his kidneys.. We've been having a lot of conversations about death and life after death lately. The kids miss their cat, but they are handling it very well. They know their kitty will always be in their hearts. Cousin Trudy, who gave us our Mona dog, also has cancer and we are all processing that too.. We had a wonderful visit with Trudy and Chris when they came to visit and bring us Mona (just this past Monday 2/4). We send them many many prayers for their stength through this! It again reminds us to appreciate each day that we have-our relationships, our family, our friends. Not to take anything for granted.
Speaking of family-David (Melinda's father) has some big travel plans this summer! In May, he is going to Europe for 3 weeks; and in June he is going on pilgrimage in Haifa, Israel! What an adventure he will have!
We are looking forward to Spring. (Really haven't we had enough rain this winter!!) We plan to expand our garden and go camping...and fix our basement/leak problem. And I am expecting my friend Cathy to come to visit from Alaska for a week in June! I haven't seen her since my wedding! Yikes!
Well, that's all I can think of for now..
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