Oregon

Since we now live in Oregon, we need to know a little more about out home state. =)

Nickname - the Beaver State

State Flower - Oregon Grape

State Fish - Chinook Salmon

State bird - Western Meadowlark

State Tree - Douglas Fur

Motto - Alis volat Propriis (She Flies with her Own Wings)

Oregon, My Oregon

Land of the empire builders, land of the golden west;

Conquered and held by free men, fairest and the best;

On-ward, upward ever, forward and on and on;

Hail to thee, land of the heroes, my Oregon.

Land of rose and sunshine, land of summer breeze;

Laden with health and vigor, fresh from the western seas.

Blest by the blood of martyrs, land of the setting sun;

Hail to thee, land of promise, my Oregon

Eating while Working on the House

In the midst of paint, putty, caulk, etc., Laura and Bekah cooked baked sweet potatoes and we sat around the pan, eating like Indians. Bittersweet memories. =)

Back to Work! =)

It's a very rainy Tuesday. I'm just taking a quick break from work with Hunka Munka perched on my shoulder like a parrot to write this quick post. We're in Lynden again and, after three days socialization, we're back to work on the house. Hopefully, this will be our last trip to Lynden for the purpose of working on the house! Pretty much all that's left to do is touch up work, some caulking, a teeny bit of sanding,then we'll clean the house like it's never been cleaned before and pack up everything! It's been a long, busy summer and I'm ready to settle down into winter. =)

We're Back in Oregon!

Yep, after another four weeks up in Lynden, part of our family (Daddy, Stephen, Hannah, the cats, and I) is back home. We got here at around eleven last night, tired, but very glad to actually be home.

Our last couple days in Lynden were pretty busy with caulking/puttying/painting base boards; puttying/sanding/texturing dents, smashes, and holes in walls; touch-up paint work; dinner and volley ball at friends' house; a couple volley ball games (and a sprained ankle!); Hunka Munka and her bee sting; lots of time with Phil; lots of lil' Betty; and preparing and having Sarah, Stephen, and Gracie over the weekend.

The rest of our family will be coming either today or tomorrow, I'm not sure. I'm really looking forward to real life (even school!) after this back-and-forth-work-on-house summer! =)

It's been about a month...

...since I've last posted. First - the most exciting news -

Elisabeth Jean Criss was born on Monday weighing 8 lb. 3 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. I'm totally thrilled to have another niece and don't mind in the least that my prediction of a nephew was wrong! I bear the name of a doting auntie with pride. =)

Ah, the little kiddo who first gave me the title of auntie. The chubby bundle of squishiness, hugs, kisses, tickles, and sgwidgy mungerness. (I speak in baby language. =) The lil' pun'kin has a little white tooth showing through pink gums and more pushing towards freedom. She's excited to have a first cousin on the Criss side and to be a big sis (She explained to me that now that their are going to be three little babies around, she won't get as many kisses and squishes.) We had tons of fun with Gracie this past weekend when she, Sarah, Stephen, and a couple H-lines came up and we can't wait to see her (and her parents! =) this weekend when they come to meet lil' Betty.

Another highlight - the Christian Heritage kick-off picnic. We had around 220 people, mostly from Washington, several from Canada, a couple from Texas, Nevada, and two families from Oregon (guess who! =). I was at the registration table for a while and got to meet several new families and catch up with old ones. There was lots of active volley ball, soccer, wonderful fellowship, picnic dinner, potluck dessert, a talk from Mr. Bradrick, a recitation of "The Hiding Place", and tons of fun with friends!

As for everything else that we've been up to -

-Painting - mostly touch-up work, inside and out.

-Puttying, caulking, and painting the base boards

-Painting trim

-Having Grandma and Grandpa here for four days

-Washing windows

-Some weeding

-Volley ball

-Having guests in the house over the weekend

It's been wonderful to have lots of friends over helping with the house - Krista, William, and Mr. Van Cleve, McDonald family, Mr. Baker, Felmleys, Grandpa, the Hamiltons, Bryan family, Sarah & Stephen, and I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them. =) Thank you so much for all your work, guys! It's been such a blessing!

Today...

...Hannah Bandanna and Krissy came over to help with the house. We started out painting the bathroom closet, then scraping, sanding, taping, and painting the outside window sills. We had fun talking, laughing, working, and talking some more. =P Result? Paint on our hands, clothes, arms, feet, hair, and faces. And tons of memories made. Thank you so much, Grannie Hannie and Kristo, for your help!

The Never-Ending Battle of "Doorchester Whites"

The attack - our troops don't give up! =)

We like to keep the morale high.

Casualties and a box of re-enforcements.

What I've been up to...

-Painting
-Puddying (if that's a word. =)
-Sanding
-Volley Ball
-Working and talking with Krissy
-Going to Jon and Kelsie's
-Seeing lots of friends!

Dear Blog Readers

(I guess I'm in a journaling mood. =P) We are back in Lynden for ten days to clean, paint, and basically fix up the house and yard. I'm sorry I haven't really been updating the blog often - I've been doing all my updates on Buzz.

Our trip up here was pretty uneventful - lots of driving, reading, talking, and playing the "yes and no" game. We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's for a couple hours, then arrived here late last night. Jon and Kelsie were so sweet to set up a king size bed in the living room with lots of pillows and blankets, which Laura, Hannah, and I claimed. =) We slept in late, then swept and mopped the floors, unpacked out bags, then Momma, Laura, Bekah, and Lydia left for Bellingham to pick up paint and other basic supplies.

As Emily said, when the cat goes away, the mice all play.=P I suppose that will explain our chocolate cake for dinner. =P (We were told we could make chocolate dreams, but we had no milk, so we googled recipes without milk, eggs, or butter. It actually tasted good. =)

Since then, we've been watching Andy Griffith episodes as Momma and the girls are still away.

Tomorrow, I believe is the first of many painting days. I'll try to take pictures to post! =)

Lovingly,
Susi

Washing Windows

Only Six Posts this June?

Here it is the twenty-third of this month and I've only posted six times, two of which were today? That's bad, bad, bad! =P

I missed June sixth, so I have to post of a picture of that.

The invasion of Normandy, June 6th, 1944.

I also missed the first day of summer. And so, here's a picture! =)

And, I guess I owe all you faithful blog readers a little something of what we've been doing here!

A couple days ago, we organized the basement. Now is spanking clean and shining. (not really.=) The next day, we cleaned the first floor. Boxes were unpacked, the few still-packed decorations hung or set out, junk piles dispersed, all flours swept and mopped, or vacuumed. Then, today, we were supposed to finish the upstairs, but I don't think that's going to happen. =)

The weather here has been great! Lots of sun and tons of wind! It's only rained twice here, and that was just in the morning or just for a few minutes. Lydia has been spending a lot of time outside and now has a nice tan. (she doesn't burn, no fair! =)

It's cute - Lydia and Joe have two restaurants outside. Joe has "McDonald's" and Lydia, "Burger King". They also have a gas station for the bikes and I think a fire department, and bank.

In my spare time and in the early morning, I've been doing a lot of reading. Since moving here, I've finished "Stories from English History", an old book, printed in 1901; "Laura", a book about Laura Ingalls Wilder; "What Would Jesus Do?"; "Marshal", about General George Marshal - WWI and WWII veteran, secretary of state and a lot more =); and now I'm reading "Home Comforts" (thank you so much Weese family! I'm really enjoying it!) and "Bulletproof".

I need to go help Hannah wash windows. I'd love to hear what you all are up to up there in Lynden!

Pictures of our First Day Here

I think this was Thursday morning. French toast for breakfast!

When we first got here, Wednesday night, these boxes were all in a nice pile in the middle of the floor. This is after we'd been rummaging through them looking for clothes, food, dishes, etc.

More boxes!

Machoo. =)

Wee Wee

Yodel

Hensie =)

Washing dishes (wait, I think this picture was taken a couple days ago. =)

Later on Thursday, the Hainline ladies came to help us clean. Here, Faithie is trying to pry open one of the windows painted shut in the dining room.

Having too much fun. =)

Oregon Update =)

Well...what to write about! After I posted last, Daddy, Momma, Matthew, Joe, Lydia and I went back to Lynden to load up the semi with the last of our stuff. It was a lot of fun to spend more time with friends, working like maniacs, eating pizza together, catching up, reading letters out loud, cooking and weeding together. Finally, our visit was over, and we, Daddy and Momma in the front seat, and the four youngest squished in the back, headed back home.

And since then, we've been been unpacking more boxes, making this house more into a home, and getting into more of a routine. =) I have a couple pictures, but I still need to figure out my camera. =)

Tomorrow or the next day, Momma and all us children will be heading up to Lynden to clean, paint, and basically get the house ready to sell. I can't wait to see a lot of you then!

~Susi

Okay, a Post Finally!

Hello Everyone! We just got our Internet!! =) We've been without it for the two weeks we've been here. Here are a couple pictures I took the first day we were here. I have more pictures on my other camera, but I have to figure out how to get them onto the computer. =)

The girls' closet. Now, it's full of clothes and our dresser.

"My" desk. =) (Krista, Hannah M., and all my other friends, this is where I sit and write you.=)

Our room. It now has two bunk beds. I need to take an updated picture! =)

Sorry, this is a little out of order. This is "the Lounge", where most of the girls slept the first couple nights. It's now Laura's room/school room.

And my bedroom the first night - the large closet off the lounge.

I'll be back with more pictures!

The Orgonian: Moving In Update

I'll start where I left off in the previous post. =) So, Wednesday the rest of our family got here and after dinner, we went over with Sarah and Stephen and Gracie to our new house. After taking another tour of the house, we started cleaning the bathrooms and the upstairs floors where we were going to sleep that night. We went to bed at midnight that night, our first night at our new house!

Thursday morning, the Hainlines came over and helped us clean. They left soon after lunch. We then unloading the trailer, then Daddy, Momma, Matthew, Joe, and Lydia drove to the Dalles to pick up more stuff at the storage unit and to go shopping while we girls at home unpacked the kitchen stuff.

And since then, we've been unpacking, cleaning, and arranging the house into a home.

Today, Saturday, we are at Sarah and Stephen's house to help plant starts in their garden and load up the trailer with stuff we left here.

We've taken quite a few pictures, so as soon as we can, we'll post them here!

I don't know where to start!

This past weekend has been very full! I'll try to do a day-by-day journal of what's been happening.

Friday night Daddy, Stephen, and Ronald arrived.

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we packed all day long. At around four, we headed over to the museum to practice the song we planned to sing at the goodbye party that night (we packed our piano the week before.) After practicing several times, we headed back home, we started dinner and dessert. Then, back to the museum we went! The party was wonderful! Thank you so much, Mrs. Weese and Jon! It was great spending time with friends and saying goodbyes.

On Sunday, there were many tears shed at church! Afterwards, several families headed out to Birch Bay, where we had lunch, dinner, and s'mores. The girls and I headed out to the beach, threw rocks and Hannah M. and I even had a head-dunking contest without getting our clothes wet. (Well, at least that was objective. We weren't soaked, mind you, just a little damp.=D) Momma said that we were wading and our heads fell in the water.=D

Monday morning, Daddy, Momma, Hannah, Ronald, and I went to the Weeses to pick up a dryer, oven pick-up truck and trailer. When we got back, I called the McD. and VC families, saying that we were getting close to leaving. =( Jon and Kelsie and the Weeses came over and help us pack billions of boxes. Finally, when the trailer was packed, we said our last goodbyes. I have never cried that much in all my life. Lots of tears, and billions of hugs, "goodbyes", "I'll miss you's", and "I love you's" were passed around before Daddy, Matthew, Joe, and I climbed into the truck and headed out. It took a whole half an hour for me to get ahold of myself, then I stuck my nose in a book to forget the sad parting. The trip was pretty uneventful. We arrived at Sarah and Stephen's dead tired and headed straight for bed.

And, today, Tuesday, has been pretty slow, which is great! We've washed, folded, and ironed clothes, washed dishes, spent time on the computer and watched Gomer Pyle, Donald Duck, and Goofy movies on YouTube. (Hey, don't laugh! Donald Duck is cute! =P)

The last I heard from my family back home is that they are going to head down to Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight, spend the night, then head here tomorrow. Then, the cleaning and painting begins!

Living During a Move

My dresser, bed, and books.

Our room, where Hannah, Laura, and I sleep on the floor. (Do you like the mess? =)

Hensie's bed nestled in the closet.=)

The Joys of Being a Flibbity-Ibbity-Jibbet Like Me

Before kissing most of my books goodbye, I left out three titles, thinking "I won't be able to read all three of these long, boring books before we get settled into our new house." I was reading at the time (Well, ahem, I still am reading it. Jane Fairfax would have finished it before now, right?=P) a book called "Stories from English History." It's not too bad. Fourth grade history book from 1901, I can handle that...right. I stopped reading it a little past the half way point when I found The Wall series at the library. Then, I got Anne of the Island, the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. Then, I went second hand shopping and picked up two Louis L'Amour books and Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl (FYI, I'm reading this book with a black pen in my hand.=) Then, Momma bought a book on William Tyndale that's really interesting. I'm now intensely engaged in three of those books, the second book in the Wall Series, Anne of the Island and Anne Frank. Then, I look over to a forgotten dust pile in the corner of my room and see that history book. Great. I need to finish that book before I keep on reading those other ones. My reading schedule is way out of whack. Oh well. Everything is supposed to turn upside down when one is moving, so why not my reading schedule?

It's Going to Be A Busy Day Tomorrow

-Wake up REALLY early and do our hair up fancy =)

-Chicken Processing starting at 7 a.m.

-Grandma and Grandpa come

-Hannah M's goodbye party for us 11 a.m.

-Guys load U-Haul truck

-Realtor comes

-Rapture at 6 p.m. =D

More Moving Pictures

Lydia and Joe, our two hard workers, posing for a picture before unloading the heavy dolly.

=P

Furniture stacked up to make more room for the stuff brought down from upstairs.

The pile gets bigger.

One thing we have to watch out for is avalanches. Last Sunday, while Jon and Kelsie were having lunch with us, a very tall stack of boxes marked "HEAVY!" came crashing down on top two lamps, smashing both. It was good thing no one was near when it fell!