Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Long Time Gone

Wow, its been two and a half years! Sorry its been so long, I think I got busy with life and this “newsletter” got pushed to the wayside. No matter, I am starting again!

Well no point in catching you up on the missing time, it would take too long, and you don’t want to hear everything you’ve probably already heard once! I will do a brief over-view of where we are now instead.

Levi is currently halfway through first grade, and loving school. He is a little behind in reading and writing, but Justin and I are working with his teacher to do everything we can to help him. He isn’t slow or anything, he is very smart. He is just very easily distracted. One of his passions is geography! I think once we get this reading down, he will soar to great heights in that subject! He spends lots of time looking at maps and google earth. His room is plastered with maps of the world, Oregon, and the United States. Levi just turned 7 a few weeks ago, and is already planning his 8th birthday and baptism (that is the age when our church baptizes the children). He is still our little sweetheart, and that is only reinforced by comments from his teacher and Sunday school teacher.

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Hazel is still at home with me. We tried her in preschool this year, but it just wasn’t a good fit yet. I think come this next year she will be ready and excited for preschool. She is my little helper at home, she loves to cook and clean with me. She also loves to draw, and seems to really be emerging in that area. She is very creative, a great story-teller (or joke teller), and is always dreaming up new ideas! She turned 4 this past December, and didn’t waste anytime letting everyone know. In fact she was telling people she was 4 a couple months before her birthday. She is full of personality and makes us all smile!

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Justin is still working with the hospital here but has job-hopped a bit since my last post. He became the Admitting Supervisor in Albany where he learned of another job implementing the new Medical Records/Charting/Scheduling software for the hospital system. He has been working on the Informatics team for over a year now and thinks he has found his future profession! He loves what he does and gets so excited when he solves problems that no one else knows how to do. He is in the “go live” phase right now, which means the kids and I will not be seeing a lot of him. He works with the group in charge of the scheduling portion, so he visits clinics from Lebanon to the coast (about a 70 mile spectrum). He has already had a few doctors at the clinics asking for his personal number to call if they need support. It makes him feel really good about the work he is doing.

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I started my photography side-business up again and this past fall I became very busy. I hope once this rain stops things will again pick up. I love taking pictures, and I love the experience I am getting as well! I am not up to much else, but I have hopes to get back into some old habits (such as this blog) like painting, scrapbooking, sewing, baking, and other crafts!

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Well that is the long and short of our life as of now! I hope to update weekly again, so check back next week!

Monday, September 27, 2010

September and Football

Two things started this month, school and football! Levi started preschool, and so far he is loving it! His teacher says wonderful things about him, and I am so happy he has that time a few times a week!

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Justin’s brother started football as well and we have had the opportunity to attend a couple of his games. They look like a good team this year, so I am hopeful  for future games!

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We’ve been enjoying, as always, the re-start of College football! We are hoping to be able to attend a Duck game later this season with Justin’s brother and his wife. Although I am not a Duck fan, I do acknowledge the team looks good this year and I love going to football games!

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Justin is taking his insurance license test this week, and hopefully he will be selling soon! We are looking forward to him earning that extra money! And I know Justin is excited to be able to work with his dad.

I recently wrote a letter to the local Pepsi Bottling company. They have a Christmas lights display every year in December. They mostly have displays of popular characters from Disney and Warner Brothers. They also have a Grinch display, lots of Santa-related things, and a ‘12 Days of Christmas’ section. I wrote the letter offering my services as an artist. The owner personally wrote me back accepting my offer and asking me to call and schedule a meeting with him. I did so, but he was out of town. His secretary took my name and number, and as soon as she realized who I was she said Mr. Pastega (the owner) was expecting my call and that he was very excited to work with me. She also said he was absolutely impressed by my work and couldn’t stop raving about them! I am really excited to be working on this and displaying my art for everyone to see and enjoy!

We took family photos this month, and here are some of the better shots:

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

August Fun

Well we’ve had a lot of fun this past month, including my “golden” birthday where I turned 28 on the 28th of the month… a once in a lifetime birthday! The kids have mostly been enjoying the wonderful weather outside. Both love to be outdoors, so nice weather is a plus for them and me!

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We also had an opportunity to attend a friend and old co-worker’s wedding (on my birthday). It was so wonderful to see her find such happiness, she totally deserves it! It is always a joy to attend weddings, and be reminded of why you got married! Quite frankly I LOVE being married!

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For my birthday Justin made me breakfast and let me just relax for as much of the day as I could. We went to lunch with my sister and my parents. And then the next day my sister made me a wonderful dinner at her house and bought my favorite Costco cake, Red Velvet!! It was very nice of her, and I appreciated it! I got many books for my birthday, so I now have about 12 books on my to-read list! I am excited! I will never be bored!

Justin received his letter saying he is approved by the State to take the insurance licensing test. He plans to take it within a couple weeks, and be practicing with his dad by the end of September. Hopefully we can get that income flowing smoothly! I was a bit skeptical at first, but now I am actually getting excited about him doing this! For those who have not heard, Justin won’t be returning to school this term (although he does plan to finish his degree in the future), we are trying to save up money to buy a house, and ultimately start a bakery/deli business. We are working on the details for both and don’t plan to make these big moves until next summer. But I will keep you all informed of our progress!

Well college football starts soon and Justin and I can hardly wait! Its our favorite time of year, and we are so excited to see how the Beavers, Ducks, and Cougars do! Until next week…

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

All Updated!

There I am all done and updated! Now you all can relax and enjoy the pictures! I will really try to update again soon, but it may not be until September, so please be patient! Thanks!

Benton County Fair & August Fun

Another fair we get to go to for free is our own County fair. Levi went on the bumper cars, the huge slide, the kids roller coaster, and in the fun house twice. He was so ecstatic! We also watched the Rodeo for a little, and the Rodeo Queens came and said hi to the kids and let them pet their horses. The kids loved it!

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Just a couple days ago we were able to head out on a hot sunny day to a local swimming hole I used to go to just north of Corvallis. The kids had a blast, and it was nice to get away for a little.

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Crook Family Reunion

We had the Crook Family Reunion this July in Lincoln City. It was a blast, and I think everyone had a wonderful time!

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Fourth of July & Linn County Fair

I made some fun pancakes for the 4th. And we lit off our own fireworks and then watched the ones that the city does. On the 3rd, we had Justin’s family over for dinner, it was delicious ribs!

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Hazel and I got our nails done for the 4th!

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We went to the Linn County Fair for free again! We took Levi on a kids roller coaster and the Ferris wheel! He loved it!

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