Bedtime Prayers

So, although you can't actually "see" anything in the video, it is SO worth taking a listen to - it is about the cutest thing ever.

Here's a transcript, in case you don't speak "Charlie".

"Lord Jesus. thanks for...being up there in the sky. So people won't - so the little guys, and the big people won't be so alone, be afraid of monsters. Cuz you're so, kind of like, you're big and kind of like as big as a giant and, well, look kind of like a duck. And thank you for protecting us from those monsters and ... thanks for making videos and books in the whole wide world and thank you for making cars so people, so we can drive. And, um-ee, thank you for making strollers for when our cars are, when all of our cars run out of gas and cuz our stroller doesn't have gas in it so we can just ride all the time. And, eeh, thanks for making other houses cuz I like to visit a lot...because, um, when people are all alone and they don't have their mommy and daddy, when they're not where they are then they stay home, cuz their mom and dad go somewhere else and it's night and the little guys are already in bed, um, thank you for being ... and you can be in the house when there's a monster up there and ... it's just pretend monsters in the whole wide world. AMEN!"

Our baby chicks are growing fast.

Charlie spends a lot of time making little "houses" and things for them.They spend a lot of time strutting around the house like big shots....
and I, in turn, spend a lot of time following them around cleaning up all their little messes.

(We lost our little black chick a few days ago. She just kind of stopped growing and one morning we woke up and she was gone. :( So, we're down to just the brown and yellow one now.)

Let's play "Name That Cop"Yes, folks, it's none other than the beautiful and famous Officer Devonna. Nikki, Charlie and I spent the better part of an entire Saturday hunting around the Hawthorne area on foot (and in stroller) for this celebrity.

Remember the game you used to play as a kid called "telephone"? Well, we had a grown-up, real-life version. Devonna told Nikki she'd be at 39th & Lincoln. Nikki thought she said 30th and Lincoln. So, Nikki tells me 30th and Lincoln and what do I hear? 20th and Lincoln. So...we park at 20th and Hawthorne, thinking we only have to walk a couple blocks over to Lincoln. Only to learn (to my dismay and Nikki's UTTER JOY!!!) that we are 20 blocks off. It was a day of WALKING, to say the least!

It was well worth the hunt - we got to stand at the street corner and smile and wave and snap pictures like the paparazzi for about 10 minutes...and then we had to "move along folks"!

Hmmmm...one way or another we always end up at Starbucks. :)

Ivan and Melissa finally got to welcome little baby Ava into the world! Isn't she gorgeous?!Proud cousin Ellie

Sorry it's been so long - blame it on the summer!!!

Benadryl perks and other stuff

Charlie is allergic to something - we're not sure what it is yet. Every evening, around 5:00, he breaks out in hives all over his face. So, we drug him up real good with Benadryl and they go away - and of course there are some other perks to the Benadryl...

On the way to grandpa's wedding.
Eli, Jasmine, and Ellie. They are all growing up so fast!

My friend, Nikki, drove up to Portland for a visit, so Devonna and I got to hang out with her on Saturday. We walked up and down Alberta street. ALL the way up and down Alberta street - that's one of the benefits of hanging out with Nikki, you always get a REAL good walk in!
Thank GOD Nikki's doing better. Doesn't she just GLOW with beauty? I love you, Nik! :)
I love these two so much - we have been through so much together that I will never forget. :)

Charlie and Opa having a deep discussion.

Sickness

We had a great time at the Cornerstone retreat this past weekend. It was so nice to just hang out with everyone and relax. Charlie was a little cranky and tired, but we still managed to have fun. On Saturday, Charlie took ... ready for this? ... a NAP! This kid has not taken a nap since he turned 2 years old, and he slept in our room for over 2 hours Saturday afternoon.

It was awesome!

Until we figured out the next morning why he had crashed out so hard. He had a high fever when we woke up Sunday morning. Poor little guy slept in my lap for the whole 2 hours of Sunday morning service at the camp. He was burning up! Thanks to the Moffats (both sets) and Jen and "Aunt Kisteen" for helping get him all medicated afterwards - he seemed to feel better on the drive home.

Today, we're just chilling at home. Charlie was up coughing most of the night, finally got "up" at about 10:00 this morning and wanted chicken nuggets with ketchup, LOTS of ketchup, and I thought he must be feeling better, so why not? He ate most of them, then I gave him Tylenol, the bright red variety. Afterwards, he crashed on our couch, our white couch, and his fever started to climb again.

If you can see where this is going, you are either a more experienced mommy than me...or just plain smarter, 'cause I sure didn't see it coming... Sure enough, just moments after I snapped the 2 previous pictures, our couch gained a new pink section. Ooops.

Well, a bath, some WHITE crackers, a banana, and a bowl of WHITE yogurt later, and he seems to be feeling a little better finally. We're just keeping the "puke bucket" real close by.

Here he is trying to smile, but you can tell he's still miserable. Poor baby!

For Melissa

Hey all,

We are finally back up and running! We are getting all settled in from our move and are now fully connected with the internet world once again - yay!

I'll do a full post soon, but for now here are a couple cute pics for you, Melissa. Lucie and Charlie are being waaaay too cute right now - playing and playing and then playing some more. :)

Oh, and one last shot for Christine - making a cake with Oma!

My beloved grandmother, Mildred Lee Mason

Mildred Mason, 93, of Clackamas, Oregon, passed peacefully in her home on the evening of May 4, 2009. Mildred Lee Mason was born Dec 8, 1916, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to John Walter (Bud) and Verda Strickler. With the influenza outbreak of 1919, Mildred lost both her father and grandfather, William Strickler, within a week of each other. Mildred's mother, Verda, married a wonderful man named John Foster about 4 years later and the family moved to Washburn, Missouri.

As a child, Mildred was a very energetic, brave girl and she carried these traits with her throughout life. Mildred was fearless. She told of riding horses as fast as they could go and, at times, almost crashing into cars on narrow, winding country roads. She loved life and loved people. The friendships she made in her youth she maintained throughout her life.

Mildred met Leo Mason, who was the love of her life, down on Sugar Creek one summer day and their love grew over the next couple years. Leo went to Mitchell, Nebraska, to work in the sugar beet harvest with his father in 1936 and returned in October of that year. Upon arriving home, Leo went straight to Mildred's house and asked if she would marry him. Mildred said yes, and the couple found a Justice of the Peace and were married that day.

Over the years, Mildred and Leo did migrant work in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and developed a love for Oregon and its beauty. The couple returned to Missouri and bought a little farm. Mildred and Leo soon built a small house where twins, Carl and Carlene, were born. While on the farm in Missouri, three more children joined the family; Ben, Betty, and Donna.

In 1948, the family of seven moved to Oregon and added three more children to the family; Anna Mae, Ronnie, and Phyllis. Life was hard with very little money, but there was never a shortage of love and good times. The year 1954 marked a low point for the family when young Anna Mae was killed in a fire in Boring, Oregon. Due to their love and a strong faith in God, the family survived and prospered. The farm in Boring produced wonderful crops of berries and lots of great memories.

Mildred was a woman of deep faith in God and loved to read His Word. Mildred's children recall kneeling in the family living room to say prayers, going from child to child until all had prayed. Mildred would faithfully take her large family to church whenever the doors were opened.

Today is a day of great joy for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren as we celebrate the decades of tremendous love and blessings Mildred poured out upon each and every one of us. Pen and ink fails miserably to convey what this dear woman means to each one of us.

Mildred is survived by Carl and Sonja Mason of Roseburg, Oregon, Carlene and Claire Harstad of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ben and Kim Mason of Russels Point, Ohio, Betty and Chuck Morris of Clackamas, Oregon, Donna and John Rector of Woodburn, Oregon, Ron and Catherine Mason of Wichita, Kansas, and Phyllis and Don Dumont of Portland, Oregon. Mildred was Grandmother to 17, Great Grandmother to 32, and Great-Great Grandmother to 3.

A Memorial Service for Mildred Mason will be held Monday, May 18, 2:00 pm, at Lents Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, Mildred requested that donations be made to: The Women's Missionary Fellowship of Lents Baptist Church, 5921 SE 88th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97266, 503-771-7379.