Wake up so I can play with you and stop blogging about nothing!

Some days I count down the minutes until he goes to bed and others I count down the minutes until he wakes up again. It is all about perspective. Today I can't wait for him to wake up.

Mr. Coffee

Like a good friend, Mr. Coffee is up early to greet us every morning. Little did we know that when we acquired this six years ago as a white elephant Christmas gift, that we would still be relying on it to start our day every day. I am amazed at its performance and longevity. And now six years later I am here to brag about our Mr. Coffee that continues to produce after lots of use and many years. We really owe it to the Williams family that happened to receive 3 of these for their wedding and couldn't return the extras, thus becoming a great white elephant gift for none other than the Bristow-Hanna's who are grateful to this day.

Grandma Lue

Luella Holtmann

"Grandma Lue"

Words can hardly begin to do justice to a life lived fully. My life is full of sweet memories of this lady, my grandma. I was blessed to grow up in the same town as my grandma and really know her. She was pretty hip. I know she was the first person to own a VCR in all of Trout Lake and more than likely she was probably the first person in Trout Lake to have a satellite dish. She was pretty much on the cutting edge of technology for our little hick town. We liked it though because it meant that growing up we got to watch nickelodeon and star wars as much as we wanted. Not to mention that her freezer was always full of Schwann's ice cream bars. We worked on puzzles, played games, watched the latest Disney movies, and ate food that mom and dad would never let us eat. Going to Grandma's house was pretty amazing!

Grandma was interested in many things. She collected happy dragons. She collected avon. She collected fancy ear rings. She collected salt cellars. She collected bulldogs. She collected glass floats. She loved birds and fed many in her yard. She was an artist. And a good one at that. She painted beautiful scenes of the ocean, the mountains, flowers, animals, landscapes...and she painted until the arthritis in her hands would not let her paint any more.

But beyond all of these facts about her life, the thing that I loved most about my Grandma was that she loved to visit. I loved sitting on the padded step ladder in her kitchen that served as the visitors chair while she made a fresh pot of coffee. There we would sit and talk about whatever. She liked to listen to anyone. She had many friends that would come sit in her kitchen and visit over a cup of coffee. We would sit there talking, me telling her about school, boyfriends, friends, family, etc. and she would listen and encourage with an occasional pause to look at the hummingbirds feeding outside her window.

I was not ready to get the call from my dad this morning that Grandma had died. I would have loved to have several more visits in the kitchen over a freshly brewed pot of folgers coffee. I would have loved to call her just one more time and hear her distinct voice on the other end of the phone. I miss her deeply. And the hardest thing about death is the fact that I just wish I had one more chance to see her. She had just heard that her cancer was not advancing and she wouldn't have to go in to check again for another six months. She and Grandpa watched the Mariners game last night and afterwards he tucked an extra blanket around her because she was feeling cold and they sat together visiting with his arm around her when she got very quiet and didn't answer back. She just slipped away peacefully and unexpectedly. And while I miss her here on earth, I live with the hope of seeing her again.

I have been reminded once again why I love what we do. I had forgotten for a while there how cool it is to hang out with young people. But they showed me again why they are so incredibly awesome. Teens are so encouraging to me. They are so revolutionary without hardly knowing that they are. This past weekend we spent a weekend with several teens at Camp Yamhill for Faith Quest. The teens from our group are so incredible for so many reasons, but I am glad to list a few of those reasons here. First, they accept eachother so unconditionally. They worship God with their whole heart, soul, and strength. They are so honest and tell the truth without all the beating around the bush. They are themselves. Their faith in God is addicting. I have been encouraged because of teens. They are changing the world. Their compassion is far reaching. And to think that my husband is actually paid to hang out with them and talk about God with them...amazing. Thank you God for this past weekend at Faith Quest and thank you Bellevue teens for encouraging me just by seeking God in your lives. I am inspired.

#1 Fan

I love rock and roll. And I am this bands biggest fan. I had front row tickets to this one-time special edition concert! You only wish you could be there to see him performing live. Stay away girls, he's mine...all mine!

The great outdoors

Our family has been trying to get outside and we've succeeded a few times lately. We have been hiking at Tiger Mountain twice in the past week and Jeb has been taking Liam there most days while I am working. I like hiking. I like being outdoors. Sometimes I just feel so bottled up in my little apartment that I can hardly contain my desire to be outside. Times like this make me a whole lot happier. I like God's creation. I appreciate it. It's beautiful. It's calming. It's invigorating. There's nothing quite like it. Along the way we saw this happy log. Jeb carts Liam around and always gives him a stick to play with. Liam sits there in the back with his stick reaching with all his might to hit trees and bushes with it and every now and then accidentally takes a swing at Dad too.

At the end of this particular hiking place we run across some blackberries. I know, scrumptious after a hike. They're so sweet and ripe right now too. The other day we went to some friends house to pick blackberries and had enough left over to make a pie AND a cobbler AND some to go in my freezer. During the picking I got into some stinging nettle. I haven't been stung by that stuff since 3rd grade at Camp Yamhill. My skin welted and everything! But after all that I still had a delicous homemade-still-warm-from-the-oven pie to soothe the pain. I think it was all worth it.

Later Alligator

Liam's little friends keep coming and going out of his life. Here he is with his friend Jude who moved to Texas. We'll miss Jude's mom and dad too. They are getting a pretty sweet deal since they'll be a lot closer to their families now. God bless you Abuzeides as you make your new home!