He's home!

Elder Nathan Kenner arrived today from Sierra Leone West Africa!  After serving an honorable mission and baptizing 70+ people and learning and growing he is home and ready to start his new phase of life!  He and Kari are planning on getting married before too long so watch for that!  We spent a great day with him and he was released at 5 pm.  We are looking forward to his report this weekend!!  We love you Nathan!!!

A trip to plan for a move!

Last week Rob and I went to Oregon to find a place to live and to  make other necessary arrangements for our upcoming move.  We were able to get a townhome the first afternoon we were there.  It is two stories and has two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.  It is very nice and we know we will be very happy there.
Here is Rob in back of the place:

That is our balcony behind him.  Our first floor is the second story and our second floor is the third story.  The view we have from our home is Delta Ponds - a nature preserve.  We can't even see the city!

Because we acquired housing on the first day. We had extra time on the second day.  it was a beautiful cloudless day and we decided to drive to the coast - only 55 miles away.

It was very windy, and you can't really swim in the ocean in Oregon even in summer (it is super cold) but we had a nice afternoon walking on the beach and enjoying the day.  The drive to and from the coast is beautiful, especially now with the colors.  The "pass" that we went over was 769 feet!  We also saw a beautiful covered bridge on our way back.

We spent the next day make a few more arrangements and getting the lay of the land.  Friday we had to drive back to Portland to the airport and because the trip was successful so early, we had the chance to go to the temple.

It was a great trip and although we will miss family and friends we are excited for our new adventure in Eugene Oregon.  It is a great place to visit - come on up sometime:)

The BEST news and the end of extreme stress!

We learned about a month ago that Rob would be losing his job of 27 years. Talk about stress. And the end of benefits. And a pension that would be a lot smaller than we planned. And over a years pay for severance - paid at the end of THIS year in a big lump (most would go to the IRS). He started to apply for other positions with Pfizer. If he could get another position with Pfizer everything would stay the same, benefits, pension etc. He had phone interviews, face to face interviews, he flew to other states for interviews. After 7 rejections - HE GOT A JOB! We are so extremely excited. He will be working for the Pfizer Vaccines Division and we will be moving to Eugene Oregon. Ironic that we will be closing out his career in the next 5 years in the same place we started it 27 years ago!! We have come full circle. He is officially unemployed tomorrow but will be starting the new job on November 1. That essentially means he will have the rest of October as paid time off! Thanks to all those who prayed for us and sent good thoughts our way. We are very blessed and will be having gratitude prayers for a long time to come.

Wordless Wednesday - Elders Kenner & Eyinda - Zone Leaders

Thankful Thursday - On Friday - Grandsons:)

I didn't get a chance to do this on Thursday, so here it is Friday. I am SO thankful for the opportunity to be a grandma. These three boys, Kyle, Lucas and Jack are amazing and such sweethearts. I am thankful every day that they are in my life. I am convinced that Heavenly Father lets us be grandparents as a reward for raising children. We have such a good time with these boys and learn a lot from them. They always brighten our day. You guys are the best!!!! Hoping for more in the future (and maybe a little pink)!

Thankful Thursday - my Elders:)_

I am extremely thankful today and every day for my two wonderful missionaries. I am thankful that they are have such awesome experiences and meeting such wonderful people. I am thankful for their love and dedication. I love to get emails every Monday and letters at other times. I am thankful for the many blessings that come from having missionaries serve. I love you both and we look forward to Elder Africa being home at the beginning of December (although I know he has mixed feelings) and hearing from Elder Philippines for another 14 months!! You guys are amazing!!

Wordless Wednesday - a Day out with Thomas - Tattoos!

Thankful Thursday - Partner in Crime:)

Today (and every day) I am thankful for my Stephanie, my partner in crime - fun and everything else we do together. I am glad to have this time with her before she ends up getting married and having a husband to be with. We have a great time together. This picture is from our trip to Las Vegas (Robert was there with us). We are currently trying to get in shape and are doing Zumba twice a week - we also need to start walking the other three! She is a blessing in our lives and I appreciate her quick wit and awesome writing skills - check out her blog. I love how great she is with her nephews and how she can make her dad laugh. I love you homes.

Wordless Wednesday - wide eyed boy!

Thankful Thursday - Daddies

Last week Thankful Thursday was for the mothers of my grandsons. This Thursday (and every other day) I am thankful that my darling grandsons have such terrific daddies! These two awesome men not only love their wives dearly, but they love their sons like you wouldn't believe. They are both totally involved in the care and raising of the boys too. I am glad that my sons are such good priesthood holders and examples for these young boys. Thank you both for your hard work and for allowing me plenty of time with the little ones! I love you both.

Wordless Wednesday - Elder Nathan --- In Africa:)

Thankful Thursday - On Friday - Mommies

My Thankful Thursday started yesterday, but I was uploading pictures to Shutterfly for a father's day surprise and blogger wouldn't cooperate. So, here it is today. I am very thankful EVERY day (not just Thursdays) for these two beautiful mommies. They are the mothers of my amazing grandsons. I am thankful for the dedication and love they show every day in raising these boys. Being a grandmother is one of the most amazing things in the world. I love my little boys ( and certainly should have more and maybe some girls:) in the future) and I am so thankful that they have mothers who care about them and want what is best for them. I am thankful that they have mothers who will tell them NO when it is necessary. Thank you my daughters - I love you!

Wordless Wednesday - Killer Smile!

Thankful Thursday - My Best Guy!

I am very thankful for this wonderful guy! We have been married for almost 29 years and through thick and thin he is awesome. He is a great dad and supports his kids in the things they do. He is a wonderful grandpa and the boys just love to play with their "papa". I love to spend time with him and dream about the future with him. I appreciate all the hard work he has done over the years to support our family. You are truly the best, Robert!!

Wordless Wednesday - Our Newest member:)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for pictures. Yes, pictures. yesterday we received a micro SD card from Elder Nathan in Africa - those micro cards are so tiny it was hard to believe that there were 6 videos and 722 pictures on it!! But there they were. I downloaded them and used self control to wait to look at them until Robert and Stephanie could be there too. After dinner we sat for about 1 1/2 hours and enjoyed the pictorial journal of his time in Africa for the last year or so. I am going to add a few of them here - but for the best - go to Stephanie's blog and watch the cutest video ever! (Her blog is called "blog" on my list)

Yes, I know I put one picture in twice but I have to go to work and don't have time to change it:)

Wordless Wednesday - Machete Attack!

Wordless Wednesday - Victory!

Race for the Cure

Here is a picture of our team,This is a picture of the survivors on the steps in front the the train station building

Saturday our family participated in the Race for the Cure for the fourth time! We missed last year because of a family trip to South Carolina. We had a great day and the weather was lovely. There were about 20,000 participants this year. They changed the route and we went backwards from the way we have always gone. It was fun to see people dressed up and see their dogs and children dressed up too. We got there early and went to the little fair and obtained some fun SWAG. It is always an inspiring sight to look ahead and see this:

Wordless Wednesday

April 30, 2011 - 7 INCHES OF SNOW!

Wordless Wednesday - Awesome Accomplishment!

A New Floor!

I know that Jessica is going to blog the journey to the new floor, so I am going to just present the finished product. We have been planning a new floor for our kitchen and entryway for a long time. When I went back to work, part of the goal was to get the floor. Our previous floor was awful and we were in dire need of a new one. we finally found the materials that we wanted and we had it installed recently. We lived with our house in chaos for about two weeks during the process. Sometimes we even head to the family room for the refrigerator even though it is back in the kitchen! We are so enjoying the finished product!

Coming soon: graduation and the BEST EASTER EVER!

Wordless Wednesday

Look at this! A New post! And it has only been 3 months!

If you read Stephanie's blog (and you should - it is awesome) you may know that Robert, Stephanie and i went to Las Vegas last month for a few days. One of the best things we did while we were there (no, not drinking, gambling or anything else that would have had to stay there) was seeing the Donny and Marie show at the Flamingo where we were staying. The above picture is the suit Donny wore for his last dance on Dancing with the Stars, and yes the trophy is the actual disco ball given to him when he won. This was displayed in the hotel. Donny made sure to tell us at the show that the trophy was encased as it was so that Marie would not be able to steal it! It was a very entertaining show and we were glad we saw it. We also walked A LOT along the strip and saw some very interesting things. In the Venetian Hotel, we felt like we were actually there - in Venice. (for some reason that picture is above the first one I put in - I do not know how to use this very well:) We spend two hours in the M&M Store which was awesome and we saw a great 3D movie! it wasn't really warm there but it was nicer than here. We really enjoyed the time away. On the way home we had to drive through an awful blizzard which was an adventure. All in all, a great trip.