Good News/Bad News

Today was a day with mixed news.

On the down side we found out for sure that TJ won't get his school loans this semester and of course it's too late to drop the class. No idea how we'll pay for it, but one way or another the Lord will provide. Next semester he'll be able to get the loans- assuming with whatever new job he gets he can finish this semester.

On the up side we had a lovely evening at Dinners for 6 at 6! We had dinner with Chris, Myra and Duane. Chris's house was decorated with lot's of "old stuff" as we like to say and when we left she gave us two space heaters (she is moving). This may seem small, but we've been praying for two space heaters! What is giving away something unneeded to one person is God's way of providing for another.

You Know You're From Oregon When...

It's been over 5 years since I moved to Oregon, and over 10 since TJ did. The following list contains cultural markers that show solidarity with "Oregonians." I got this list from a Facebook page and took out the ones that don't seem familiar. Not sure where the list came from originally but it's a hoot! My comments are in italics.

In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark—while only working eight-hour days. This is so true!!

You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers." All winter. When I worked front desk I never checked the weather but always said people should take an umbrella because it "would rain a bit today but there will be some sunshine too."

You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover. Also quite true.

You comment, "the mountain is out," when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it. It's so beautiful when the mountain comes out!

You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or people from California. Someone told me that when I moved here b/c it was a "light mist" and I had an umbrella.

You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day. Did it today!

You blame everything that's not right on ex-Californians. Californians, of course, are the reason everything is wrong in Oregon (because they moved here and drove up home prices). Us Ohio folks don't matter b/c we were not rich when we got here. :D

You go to a coffee bar and see two guys get into a fight over who makes the best India Pale Ale. Lot's of breweries and coffee places!

You know what is in between the East Side and the West Side, and how to pronounce it. It's a river...the Willamette, pronounced Will-am-it, not Willa-met. I was teased greatly for getting that one wrong.

A tree or mudslide has ever damaged your house or car. A few weeks ago a house slid down a hill into a street. And this was surprising but not utterly shocking.

You live equidistant to a symphony hall, a winery, and a volcano. Pretty much anywhere around here that would be true.

You complain about Californians as you sell your house to one for twice as much as you originally paid. The flip side no one talks about!

You consider something a "hill" (not a mountain) if it doesn't have snow on it or has not recently erupted, regardless of its altitude. We have a view of the hills from our windows...which in Ohio would be huge mountains! All perspective I guess.

You know a bride & groom that registered at REI. Craig & Donna!!

Every day is casual Friday. Pretty much, though it depends where you work.

Know at least eight people who work for Intel or Nike, or used to work for Tektronix. Yup, just within our circle of friends!

You think downtown is "scary" because you were panhandled there....once... TJ would agree with this!

You know that Burgerville has the best hamburgers...ever. My favorite is the Tillamook Cheeseburger...mmmmm!

You have only used 5 main freeways/highways: I-5, 217, 205, 26, and 84. Yup!

You know that Kindergarten Cop and The Goonies were filmed in Astoria and Cannon Beach, respectively. The big rock in the Goonies is from Cannon Beach...it's huge!!

You think that the Beach is the best place to go for vacation, or just for a day off. But definitely not to swim or lay out. Brrrr!

You take pride in Lewis and Clark and know who Sacagawea is. Certainly can't live here long without hearing about them.

You never go to the Tigard theater anymore since they built Bridgeport. Yeaaa Bridgeport!

You went to Washington Square....just to eat lunch at Panda Express...or Scoozi. We used to meet a group for lunch at the food court every Sunday after church.

You love the smell of rain. We do...but did before we moved here. Lot's more chances to smell it here though.

You are the only person in the line at the grocery store who asks for paper, not plastic (because while paper "kills trees" it is recyclable, and plastic bags will sit in our landfills for the next millennia). Very cultural!!

You dress in layers (tank top, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, etc). I am learning to do this.

You know the exact day you had school off because it snowed like....one inch. No joke there...even half an inch will shut the city down. If you hear rumors of snow you watch closely, and if you see snow you get home as quick as possible and stay there till it has melted off the roads- and no, no salt is used on the roads.

You have been to camp 18...or just driven by it. They have cool old stuff there, and a really neat wood cabin (huge) building and a very cute gift shop. It used to be an old logging camp.

You are sad during christmas because it never snows in the valley. It doesn't!

You know where the valley is. We live in the valley.

You go out of state and wait in your car for someone to pump your gas. I did that on a trip into Washington and was very frustrated by their poor service! Oops!

Your state and local legislatures are republican but your state executives and national representatives are democrat. Pretty much.

You are more concerned about packing a sweatshirt or a jacket when going to the beach than packing a bathing suit. Never pack a bathing suit unless your hotel has one. Definitely have a sweatshirt though!!

The red nose on the 'made in oregon sign' starts your holiday season. Actually right on...it's in the papers and on the news too.

You drive on 'the banfield'. I don't anymore, but I did!

You know The Shane Companies radio commercial word for word -- "...Across the freeway from the washington square mall...open monday through friday til 8, saturday and sunday til 5...also available on shaneco.com." Every radio station. Every day.

You've witnessed 300 nude bicyclists just cruising around downtown like its no big deal. Never seen it (thank goodness!) but wouldn't be all that surprised if we did.

Praise God!

Today I came home from work and checked our bank account, and unbeknownst to us the unemployment department had deposited $500 in our account!! They didn't tell us we'd been approved, and though we had filled out a direct deposit form we certainly were not expecting anything. We are thrilled to say the least, and are just assuming this means the weekly check will continue to come! What more can we say than, "Praise God!!"

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Ps 91:2

Nibbles

There are nibbles in the wall,
Gnawing, biting, chewing nibbles.
The cat stands guard.

Discouragement & Hope

Well, it's been about 2 weeks now since TJ got laid off and I must say we did not expect things to be going so poorly. He's been applying to jobs left and right, but so far no nibbles. We're having troubles securing his student loans, and if we don't get them will have to start making payments so he can continue. We're also not having any luck getting the unemployment checks. They say they may not give them to TJ b/c he's in school and "not available for all shifts." A decision will come on that soon. One option is for him to quit school- but again, he would still have to pay for it. Depending where his new job is, we may also need to purchase a new car, which of course is not in the budget. :( Worst case scenario is that we will find ourselves at the end of the month in a position where TJ has to quit school (which he can't start again for 2 years b/c of the schedule), get a night job, a new car, and start paying for the school he has to quit. And with the rumors of the economy slowing, well, it just doesn't seem to be a pretty picture!

On the other hand, the loans and unemployment may come through and he may get an awesome day job located where we can still commute together!

My point here is that the picture can be painted either way, and we don't know the outcome. Looking at the glass half full scenario it would seem we are doomed! Looking at the bright side we may have no troubles on the horizon at all!

We know 100% that whatever the outcome of these next weeks God has a plan for our lives to bring glory to Him. And whether we do that from the poorhouse or the castle, Christ remains our Rock, our Provider, and our Saviour. We trust our Father above with our finances, our marriage, our jobs, our health and all else we tend to want to grab hold of. And in Him we find our rest and our hope for the future...because really in the end, these light and momentary troubles are far outweighed by the glory of an eternal heaven soon to be revealed. Praise God!!

Adventures in Albany

Albany...the mystical land south of Salem. Every year they have the Mennonite Relief Sale there. We've been planning for a year to go so I could show TJ a bit of my heritage. Since the kids had the day off school Friday TJ came to work with me and helped me for the morning, then around noon we headed down the road.

First thing we visited in Albany was the Albany Regional Museum. TJ enjoyed the logging display and I liked the then and now photos. Nothing really gets better with time when it comes to architecture! Then we walked around downtown. We found an antique store where TJ found a pocketknife he's been looking for and I discovered a huge 1888 Parallel Bible. That Bible is so cool though it must weigh 10 lbs!


After the antique store we rather apathetically wandered over to the Dentzel American Carousel Museum thinking we would just stop in to look since it was right there. Wow! It was so neat! The museum part itself is interesting b/c of its age, but what was super fascinating was the Albany Carousel Studio where volunteers are carving an entire carousel. The carousel will not just be made of horses but other animals as well. Here is their website: http://albanybrassring.com.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to the Mennonite Relief Sale. TJ loved it! I did too. They had a craft area, a garden area, Ten Thousand Villages, home baked goods, food booths, a quilt show, and an auction. All the proceeds went to MCC to help build housing in Bengal.

We went back downtown after the show to the Albany Learn Something New day! At the quilt shop I learned to make a cute pumpkin coaster. We went to the stained glass shop and each made little stained class window catchers. We went to a candle shop seminar on what the colors of each candles mean. That was certainly...interesting. We learned how the color of candles will help balance our spirituality, bring healing, love and answers to life. It was sad because the others there were really believing what was said. One girl even took notes! We prayed for their minds to be opened to see the lies being presented.





After a search around town for some grape soda(not to be found!) we headed out into the countryside. We drove through Lebanon then Sweet Home, turning around at the Foster Lake Dam viewpoint. From there we went up to Scio and had a nice supper at a cute little restaurant owned by some members of the Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church.


With leftovers in tow we headed home and slept oh so well once we got there!!

A Mouse in the House!

Tonight I was sitting at the computer paying bills, and suddenly heard an odd squeaking noise. The cat came in from the kitchen and I thought maybe she was choking. No, not choking. Just showing off her catch! A little mouse squeaking in her mouth- tail sticking out and everything! She dropped it right next to me, then the cat and I looked at the mouse and the mouse looked at us - and ran under the couch.

So now I'm sitting indian style in my chair hoping it doesn't come out again. I talked to TJ who reassures me that the mouse will not climb in bed with me, so I guess I'll go to bed soon and hope for the best.

But I do wonder where the cat has gotten to...and the mouse...

Alpacas!

A year after I (Cheryl) moved to Portland I ended up at a strawberry festival where various vendors attended. One of these vendors was an alpaca farmer. I petted the alpaca and immediately added the alpaca to my dream farm. Two years later I got married and TJ joined my dream farm...and with it inherited my alpacas!

Alpacas are from the South American camelid family (llama)and is a cousin to camels. It is bred for its exceptional fiber. "Alpacas have a very strong herd instinct and can be described as protective and stoic, yet they are also intensely curious. They gracefully spar, play, run and jump to amuse themselves as well as their owners. The intrinsic qualities of Alpaca fiber make it stronger, warmer, smoother and more supple than sheep's wool and it is considered to be similar to cashmere. Over the past few years, the U.S. Alpaca fiber market has matured from mostly a cottage industry to mostly a commercial industry which is growing with great success." These quotes are from a pamphlet from the ALPACA's of Tualatin Valley farm which we visited today.

We may not be able to have alpacas now but I believe they will be in our future! If you want more history and info on alpaca's just google "alpaca history" and you'll get a lot of sites!

Pray for a New Job for TJ

This last Friday (the 26th) TJ got laid off of work. Business had been slowing for a while and he was not the only one who has now been laid off. You can pray for a good new job for TJ- one he will thrive at, that will pay well and that will not lay him off! TJ really believes that God has something good out there for him and is really looking forward to finding out what that is.

Pray for My Cousins

My cousin (through marriage) lost her father Sunday in an auto accident. They are all very close knit, and my home community is very closely knit, so it is a sad time for everyone. Pray for comfort and peace for Melissa & Joel, their children and all Melissa's family.

Pray for our friends

This has been a sad week for us. Our good friends Bryan & Lisa lost a good friend this week who was also the youth pastor in the youth group they work with. The Lord is being glorified through it all, but we hurt for our friends, and for Tara who lost her husband. Here is a link to one of the news stories (watch the video also): http://www.katu.com/home/video/28491769.html. You can also visit their church website at http://www.lakebiblechurch.com/. This tells how you can donate to the family as well. Pray for Tara, Bryan & Lisa, and their church family.

I R SHLUK

Today we were driving home from work and there was a car in front of us from Montanta. The liscense plate said "IRSHLUCK" to which I said, "I R SHLUCK? What's a shluck?" TJ looked at me funny and said, "Umm, Irish Luck?" :D

My Husband

I am signed up on Facebook now and keep up there pretty well- even a bit better than email now. Last week I was serving on a jury in a civil case between an ex-husband and wife with the claim of a really bad marriage that included lots of not nice things. In Facebook you have a "status" line to tell people your current status, and I put that I had an excellent marriage and a wonderful husband after coming home each night from this trial. I thought it would be worth while copying what I wrote there here so everyone can know where I am at in my marriage and in relation to my husband.

So My Husband:
Let me tell you about my husband.

1. My husband does not yell at me. Even when he's frustrated he never yells. He never puts me down but is encouraging. He often tells me I've done a great job, or cooked a great meal, or sewn a quilt that should be entered into the fair (though I know it's not fair quality!). He says thank-you, please, could you, let's, and so on. Never "you will!"

2. My husband does not hit me. I think if anyone tried to hit me I think he may beat them to a pulp, but never would hit/push/whack me. My husband is protective of me and all my female friends- and not in the scary overbearing way, but the long lost chivalrous way we all miss. No hitting with hands, food, golf clubs, garden tools, or anything else. He caresses, kisses, gives back rubs, hugs, noogies, and all the good ways of touch a husband and wife should enjoy.

3. My husband does not control me. Anyone who knows me or my husband knows that one! He would never tell me what to do, or say something as ridiculous as "you made me do that" when he messes up. I go out with friends and if I'm late coming home he just laughs and knows I got talking longer than I expected. If I want to go out for a drive or on an adventure he wants to come along, not because he wants to control me, but because he likes to be with me and wants to come on my adventures.

4.My husband works a job he hates because it's the right thing for us right now. His boss is mean and is never happy with what anyone does. She tells everyone they have to do her things first before they do things for anyone else, even when the other peoples things are more important. When TJ leaves work at night he's tired from the physical piece of his job, but more tired from being emotionally beat up all day. But he knows that for us, he'll have to keep this job till he's almost done with school next year- and to me that shows love and commitment to me and our marriage!

5. My husband has faith in God, and encourages me in my faith. TJ came to accept Christ only about 6 months before we met. He's not the typical Christian one might expect, but his faith is real. If I'm worrying about something he'll remind me that God is in control and I need to trust God. He won't do something just because that's what we do as "Christians," but will do something if he can see plain proof in the Bible that's what we should do. It's amazingly refreshing to me and was one of the things that I was attracted to early in our relationship. Those of you here who know him know just what I mean!

6. My husband is loyal. He is married to me for life, end of story. If he makes a true friend that friend is his friend for life. He will stick up for his friends, sacrifice for his friends, defend his friends, and generally do whatever he can for them if he feels they really need something. He is very black and white: a friend needs real help, we must help them. Yet I know that I come first in his life and like our pastor told us in our marriage ceremony, our marriage comes first and our relationship comes first. TJ is uber-loyal to us!

7. My husband is above reproach. I'm going to make this one short and give only one example of what I mean. TJ is in school to become a diesel technician (with the hope to fix John Deer tractors one day). At school he has girls hit on him. In his last class, the overt advances from one girl (who I might add knew he was married) became so bad he told her if she ever said anything like that to him again he'd go to the dean and report her. The Bible tells us to flee temptation, and that's just what he does, over and over again.

8. My husband is kind to animals and children, and both are attracted to him. Now you may laugh at this one, but if you ever meet a guy who is not run quick the other way! If someone is mean to animals or children there is a dark spot in their heart that needs to be cleansed. TJ is great with all animals, and as we've hung around kids more I've found that while he may not have much experience with them they like him and feel safe and comfortable around him. I think that in and of itself speaks oodles to who he is as a person.

I could keep going, but I think this gives you a good idea of how my claim of having a good husband & marriage is substantiated. Is our marriage perfect? Is my husband perfect? Am I perfect? Is this life perfect? No to all. But I believe what TJ is quite fond of saying, "if we glorify God our marriage will take care of itself." As we grow in our relationship with God, the great Father and Husband will show us further how to love each other as he loved us, and will lead us in all good things.

Can you help Dominic?

My friend Birdie has a daughter named Dominic who was born with some health problems that have made her dependent on a G-Tube since she was born. Here is what she writes:

Hello friends,How are you?

We as a family have a need that I am going to share with you. We are seeking prayer partners and financial support for our daughter Dominic. Dominic will be four in November and though she does have some special health and developmental challenges in general she is doing very very well, and has far surpassed all the gloomy prognosis that the doctors gave us at the time of her birth. She is an active little preschooler with a passion for life and a sparkle in her eye. She loves to jump, kick balls, look at books and wrestle with her daddy. However she is still dependant on her G-tube for eating, and it is time for her to move beyond that! I have put together a little bullet point list that helps explain that part of her life a little bit better.

Did you know…?

• That Dominic is currently 99.9% dependent on her g-tube for meeting her nutrition needs.

• A g-tube is a small apparatus surgically placed in the stomach allowing food to be deposited there directly, bypassing the mouth and esophagus.

• A wean from g-tube to oral feedings without therapeutic intervention can take many many years.

• Dominic doesn’t experience food like you and I. She has oral sensitivities, poor oral motor skills, fear, and negative associations (like vomit or pain) with food that she needs to overcome.

• For Dominic moving food in her mouth in a way that is necessary to eat is not natural, it is hard work.

• That Dominic had her g-tube placed when she was 14 days old due to urgent need of complete nutrition that would help her overcome all the challenges she presented at birth. These challenges included low birth weight ( 4.6 lb . at 39 weeks gestation), small head, an area of damage in her brain, two small holes in her heart and a severe bilateral cleft lip and palate.

• That Dominic is medically ready to wean from her g-tube to oral feeding, but she needs some help.

• Berneda and Carlos have been working diligently with Dominic on her transition to oral feeding with almost no measurable progress.

• There is a therapy available in the United States called Rapid Wean directed especially for children just like Dominic that could have her eating significant amounts of food orally in a matter of 14 days. (to learn more visit http://tofthouse.com/ )

The 14 day therapy has a cost of five thousand dollars. We have begun to prepare Dominic and work with the therapist via email and telephone. The kind of help Dominic needs simply does not exist here in Mexico, so we plan to travel to the states in October of this year for Dominic's therapy. Can you help us? This is out of reach for us on our own.

Would you commit to praying for Dominic at one of your meal times every day? We know that it is the LORD that will make this a successful mission! Could you write a check written out to Fairview Mennonite Church and put a post-it-note on it that says, “Dominic”(please do NOT write it on the check)? Please send all checks to, Fairview Mennonite Church , 35100 Goltra Rd. SE , Albany , Oregon 97321 . Thank you so much for being a part of this process with us and God bless you.

If you want to follow their journey she has a blog at http://birdiesspyglass.blogspot.com/. I also have a link to this at the bottom of this page.

Almost the end of August!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost September! Where has the summer gone? We've had a good summer. Our garden has given us produce, we've been to several festivals, had lots of friends over and generally had a nice summer.

This last week I got called to jury duty. I didn't try to get out of it since I only thought it would be for a day, but ended up getting called for a week! TJ had no ride home from work and I couldn't be at work the week before school starts. Bad timing, but it all turned out just fine in the end and the trial was declared a mistrial b/c one of my fellow jurors got really sick.

I'm still working on my quilt- almost done piecing the top and if I ever get the piece for my machine will start quilting!

TJ has a month left till his school starts again. He'll be taking fuel systems this fall.

That's all for now!

July 6, 2008

Hi! Well, in an effort to save more money next year I'm determined to figure out this (free) blog business! There are so many nice blogs out there I think if I could just figure it all out it would be well worth it! So stay tuned for more stuff. :)

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