The Yellow Dog

Allow me to introduce you to the Yellow Dog. What a fun name for an espresso drive thru!  And for your information it has the BEST coffee I have ever tasted!  Even Andy, who is a serious coffee critic, said this is the best he has ever tasted as well.

 

 

 

 I am a fru-fru coffee drinker.  I am a  true blue Dutch Bro. girl! 

 

 

 

 

But..... the other day I got "a shot in the dark" with a little cream, from the Yellow Dog, and let me tell you something.  It was the B.E.S.T! 

I had know idea what "a shot in the dark" was until my knowledgeable, coffee drinking husband informed me that it is a 'drip coffee with a shot of espresso'.

 

So, if you are ever passing through our neck of the woods.  Stop and get yourself a fabulous cup of coffee.

 





 

 

 



 

Lincoln City

We adventured  to the beach in Lincoln City a couple weeks ago.  The weather was chilly, cloudy and rainy. But it was still a good day to go exploring.

 

I love these small smooth rocks down by the water's edge.

Mud boots, jackets, and a small kite.

 

Resting on a piece of drift wood. 

Carson had brought Moby Dick and wanted Andy to read a little bit.
 

Not impressed with the cold sand.

We dined at this very small establishment following out beach excursion.

Fish and Chips for all ~ Yum!

 

Our First Sunday







 

April 7, 2013 was our first Sunday at our new church; Countryside Church of the Nazarene.  This was a very special day!  Mr. Bud and his wife Maggie were there for the Installation Service.  Mr. Bud did the talking and Mrs. Maggie did the picture taking.   Basically this ceremony was about introducing  our family to the congregation; challenging Andy to lead, guide, and shepherd his new flock; and challenging the congregation to pray for  their new pastor and family.  

 

 

 

It appears from these pictures that I stood up front with my eyes closed.

Mr. Bud used a prayer by John Wesley and the words really struck me.

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,                                      thou art mine, and I am thine.

Following the service was a welcome potluck ~ yum!

Westward on the Oregon Trail.

 Maybe you’ve heard, maybe not.   We have moved…  We have left behind the wonderful state of Idaho, the familiar and loved; packed our treasures, loaded our covered wagon, and hit the Oregon Trail.  

Pioneer Park ~ Pendleton, Oregon

 

Our modern day covered wagon.

 

Joining the wagon train cattle drive ~ Pendleton, Oregon

 

Giddy up Cowboy

 

The lady riding side saddle.

 

 

 Somewhere along the way we left behind the high desert beauty and traded it in for the lush green.  The wheels on our ol’ wagon went round and round until we reached the sandy shore of the great Pacific Ocean.    

A cloudy, misty welcome.

 

We were so blessed to have Nana along for the ride!!

 

We have done some adventuring, but mostly we have been working hard to move into our new house, find our routine, meet some great people, remember lots of names, and make new friends.  

 I have discovered the magic ingredient that makes this land so green…you'll never guess what it is. That magic ingredient  is rain, and lots of it! I'm going to have to learn to make my peace with this thing called rain.  (According to Google, Emmett gets 13 inches of rain per year, Cloverdale gets 83 inches per year.)    Although, for the past 3 weeks we have hardly any rain!  It has been beautiful; sunny and warm with lovely blue skies.  They tell me this is not normal, and not to get used to it…so I am thankful and soakin’ it up! 

This is Haystack Rock in Pacific City~ one of our new favorite places to go.

Yes, it is some C-O-L-D  water!

And now for some strange and random photos:


While cleaning out the small shed behind our new house this discovery was made.
Somewhere out there, is a very tall man missing his leg.



Andy and the "leg".

My silly kiddies



This wonderful bag of deliciousness was a welcome gift from the
Ministerial Association of Tillamook county.

 

     

On our very first Sunday, this truck was parked catawampus in the parking lot close to the entrance.
We found out later that the truck belonged to some "loggers" that live up the hill from the church, their intent was to be an irritant to the church people.  

 So, with that random tidbit  I will bid you adieu.

 

 

Happy Mama's Day!

I am thankful to have a wonderful, Godly mama.
She is my friend and my cheerleader. 
She believes in me, she prays for me and with me, she listens to me and is a good sounding board.
I am blessed!

Cooking with Nana.

My Mom with all the kiddies.

I am also blessed to have a great Mother in law.  She is a wonderful "ma maw" to my kiddies.

Playing with the littlest man.

I am also blessed to be a Mama and thankful for these little people that make me one.

My sweet kiddies and the beautiful flowers they picked out for me.

Silly boy!

 

The table arranged with presents for me. 
Colored art work, cards, and roses.

Being a Mama is my favorite "job" ever.  I am blessed!



Measuring my noggin

Ok, I am back.... not only do I have all the normal baby stuff to take care of like eating, sleeping, and pooing, but I also have to fight for computer time.  O well, that's life.

So here is the scoop on my very first appointment to meet Ms. Amy and get my noggin measured for my new "party hat".    This is me and my mama hanging out waiting for the fun to begin. (Hey Pops, do you recognize that bib?  You got it for my brother Carson when he was a baby.)

 So the first thing I had to do was take off my shirt.  Why must a baby be naked for everything?!?!
Then Ms. Amy stretched a sock over my head and tied it under my chin.  She also put some pretty neat stickers with black dots by my ears. 

 As you can see from the above picture, I was not feeling very cool at this moment.  I have a sock on my head... would you like to have a sock on your head?    Ok so mama carries me into a dark room and lays me down inside a glass crib. In this picture you can see my black dot stickers.

 Mama was holding my hands and Ms. Amy was holding my chin and I was being very still.  Then....

 Then I heard a little beep, and a red line came down across my eyes and then it was all done.  This is how they measure my head, then the computer does the figuring of how big my helmet should be.  Technology is very cool.   I had to wear the sock because even my hair could mess up the computer measurements.

 As you can see below, I was having a few issues.  I was ready to get out of my sock, and get on my shirt and boy was I hungry!!

 

 

The exam room we were placed in was "the hundred acre wood" room.  Carson and Kenzie really loved playing with the toys they had there.  



 

I loved meeting Ms. Amy, she is very nice.  She even gave my brother and sister a sucker.  I wish I was old enough to have a sucker!

So next time I write, I will tell you all about getting my helmet.  Mommy and Daddy picked blue to be the color.

 

If you would like to read more:  http://www.starbandkids.com/     http://www.orthomerica.com/products/cranial/starband.htm

 

Later gators.

 

~Clayton~



Me and plagiocephaly

So you may have noticed that I am now sporting a blue helmet.   My Daddy has decorated it with a BSU sticker …. we’re just supporting our team.  It’s not really so bad, in the beginning it made my head sweat a lot, but now it is a cozy place to put my head.  The only problem is that it is starting to get a little stinky, but being “stinky” just kind of goes along with being a baby, right?  Every day when we take it off my momma scrubs it with alcohol, which really helps keep the stench down.   

So for your information I will start at the very beginning.  During my short birth process I conked my noggin, and was born with a bump on the top of my head.  My daddy calls it my lucky bump.  The fancy name for it is a cephalo hematoma.   Basically it was a large, fluid filled bump/ bruise on the top of my head. We were told that it would go away….eventually, but before it went away it would turn into a calcium deposit and become hard.   Well, it has not gone away and it has turned hard. 

 So, I’m guessing because of this bump, I spent most of the time sleeping with my head turned to the other side and so I developed plagiocephaly; that’s the fancy name.  The other term for this is flat head syndrome.  Yikes, I just don’t like the sound of that!  I would rather say plagiocephaly and watch the people nod and pretend they knew what it means. J

My poor mommy was very worried; she knew something wasn’t right with my skull bones.  She got really worried after she used Google to try and diagnose me.  When I was two months old I went to see my pediatrician.  She was the first to diagnose me.  My pediatrician then referred me to a Cranial Facial Surgeon and we were scheduled to attend a “head clinic”.    Dr. G looked me over, measured my noggin and said “I strongly recommend you get this boy a helmet”.     The next day my mama called Idaho Orthotics and made me an appointment to see Miss Amy.  She pretty much is the coolest thing since sliced bread and she always gives my big brother and sister suckers when we go to see her.  

I really want to tell you all about my first appointment and how I got measured and stuff, but I think I need my diaper changed so I will get back to my story after I get this business taken care of.

~Clayton~



Below are some pictures of me and my funky shaped noggin.

 

 

 

This picture shows my lucky bump.