More busy days in Portland

Time to update here again!  So many days and so many pictures to share!  Unfortunately it will be done on my phone, so I can’t promise how it will look. Everything takes at least twice as long to do this way. I will not be proofreading. 

Last Wednesday was a bright, sunny day. There were no usual activities because of Veterans Day, so in the afternoon we went to a nearby park.  What a great place!  We had a really fun time. 

Scenes from around the neighborhood.  The hydrangea blooms are at Jeremy and Mike’s house. 

I caught this precious moment later in the day. 

I have done lots and lots of playing with the boys.  A big project while here was organizing the toys into clear tubs so the boys can easily find and put away their things.  We LOVE Jenga, and are getting really good at it. 

On Thursday afternoon Mike and the boys and I went for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. I loved it. 

That evening I made an old favorite recipe by Jeremy’s request - Grandma’s Casserole.  It was a big hit for everyone. I hadn’t made it in years. 

That day the chimney cleaners came, and after they were finished cleaning and inspecting everything, the fireplace was declared good to go.  Jeremy wasted no time. We had gotten firewood when we went to the hardware store that morning. 

While he built the fire, Natasha and I made a recipe off her phone. I had to change the recipe from metric, so that was a bit of a challenge.  The recipe was for a stove-top apple cake. I have never done a cake on top of the stove before, but it was such a delicious surprise.  It had a caramelly top when turned out of the pan. Perfect treat by the fire. 

On Friday I did lots of playing again.  I really enjoyed listening in on Daniel’s kindergarten class.  

The big anticipation of the day was decorating for Christmas. We realized when Brennan got up from his nap that he had kind of missed the word “decorate.”  He came downstairs asking,  “Are we getting presents now?”  But decorating was exciting too. 

I made oven BBQ’d chicken, baked potatoes, and stir fried cauliflower and broccoli for dinner. Takes a lot to feed this crew. There were no leftovers!

On Saturday we played some more, decorated some more, cleaned, and made food. 

Natasha and I made an apple pie, sloppy joes, and green bean casserole. And like my mom always did, I used the leftover pastry dough to make cinnamon rolls. Sooooo scrumptious! 

 

After such a big day, it was wonderful to relax in the decorated living room with the fire crackling in the fireplace.  We watched the amateur baking show “Nailed It” and laughed so much. 

Sunday was another big day.  The guys were reorganizing the garage while I raked leaves with the boys. 

Then the big production of the day commenced - making spaghetti, red sauce, and meatballs, all from “scratch.” 

Mike made his dad’s red sauce recipe.  They are Italian Villani’s, so you know it was an authentic recipe, complete with pork neck bones.  Never heard of such a thing, but it surely was delish!  

Natasha and I made my favorite meatball recipe. 

And then there was the pasta making. Jeremy has it down to a science. I have never made pasta, so I thoroughly enjoyed watching the long process.  Even the little boys had their own little jobs in the process.  It was so much fun!!

There was energetic music playing as we worked, and once or twice a dance party broke out right in the kitchen!

Monday was the day after.  The adults were tired and the children energetic.  By evening each boy had had the worst meltdown of my entire visit.  There are so many factors that play into the meltdowns, and I certainly cannot go into them here.  Parenting during the limitations of a pandemic is challenging for almost all parents.  All those challenges are magnified when parenting broken children. The needs are enormous. I’m proud of Jeremy and Mike for doing the best they can. There are many joys and much love. But “easy” it is not. It will be hard for me to leave. 

On Monday evening they added some things to the Christmas decorations in front of the house.   I made another favorite recipe from Jeremy’s childhood for dinner - Creamed Sausage and Potatoes.  Natasha and I made Jeremy’s favorite cookie recipe - Molasses Ginger Snaps. 

We ended the day with some much-needed relaxing by the fire and watching The Voice.  

My next post will be done at home on my computer!

Busy days in Portland

I realized after I posted the last time that I had actually included pictures from both Thursday and Friday.  So I’ll start this one with Saturday’s pictures. 

I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  Then it was cleaning day.  I washed some of the big windows with the help of the boys.   I also supervised Brennan’s vacuuming.  He LOVES to vacuum!!

I was delighted to see the sun shine through the clouds at one point.  It’s been cool and cloudy most of the time so far. 

Sunday was my 69th birthday. And it was sunny!   Mike decided that Jeremy and I should have some special time together, which was awesome of him.  These kids are beyond precious, but there are some huge challenges brought about by circumstances beyond Mike and Jeremy’s control.  Parenting them is intense and all-consuming, especially because of the pandemic.  

We had a wonderful time together. We browsed at Big Lots and Ross, finding a few toys and clothes for the boys. And candles, of course.  

We went to a beautiful place called The Grotto.  There was beautiful music wafting through the air as we walked along the path.  It was so peaceful and serene. 

We also drove to a nearby lookout. 

Back at home again, the boys had fun with the building blocks I had gotten and sported some of the new clothes Jeremy got for them. 

There’s a story behind those wrestling figures in some of the pictures.  Five years ago Mike decided it was time to get rid of some childhood toys he had hung onto.  He gave them to us and told us to sell them if we wanted.  We ended up keeping them on a high shelf in our walk-in closet all this time.  

I decided recently that those toys should go back to Mike now that he’s a boy dad.  So I took an extra piece of luggage and packed those vintage wrestling figures!  It was so fun when the boys took them out of the luggage and Mike knew the name of each one! 

The rest of Sunday was really fun.  There was a Steelers game on TV that caused lots of yelling for a while.   And the boys wanted to have a dance party!

For my birthday dinner we ordered a variety of Chinese dishes.  Jeremy and I had picked up my cake at the grocery store - four quarter cakes put together.  Dark chocolate, carrot, butterscotch, and red velvet.  Each one SO yummy!!  It was a good ending to a good day!

Monday morning Jeremy and the boys were already eating cereal for breakfast when I got to the kitchen.  It was a sunny day. The boys wanted to show me how fast they can run. They have a great back yard for running laps.  Watson is always looking for a lap and a blanket to crawl under.  

The kids had online school.  Jeremy worked from home.  His big work desk is in the basement guest room.  So he uses the room during the day and I use it at night.  Works out just fine. 

Late in the afternoon we all went for a walk together.  Right behind their back yard is a public greenway, complete with a walking path and park benches.  So that’s where we started our walk.  And then on to the streets around the neighborhood. 

The beautifully sculpted landscaping, the still-blooming trees and plants, the crisp air, and the views were exhilarating.  

When we got back to their street I got this picture of the front of their house.  Then I walked around to get a picture of the back of the house.  They bought the house in March and managed to move during quarantine with almost no help. 

Jeremy and I sat on the back porch with the fire lit for a while. Then it was time to get dinner.  Mike had had a pork loin in the slow cooker, and we made mashed potatoes and stir fried cauliflower to go with it.  Jeremy brought a variety of fresh herbs in from his garden, and the boys had fun helping him to prep them. 

After dinner we had so much fun playing Jenga.  Daniel was surprisingly good at it, and we were cracking up. 

On Tuesday I enjoyed sitting with Brennan during his on line preschool class.  Just half an hour, but really interesting. 

I also sat with Daniel during his kindergarten music class.  How fun to hear the teacher helping them to chant the rhythm “ti-ti ta ta ta.” 

 The boys and I played with the Lincoln logs later in the afternoon.  They decided to act out the “three little pigs and the big bad wolf” story. Except they used those wrestling figures for the characters.  Brennan would giggle and giggle every time we blew the house down, especially when I would say, “Not by the hair of my chimney-chin-chin!”

Mike took the boys outside to play before dinner. 

I had made meat loaf, corn, and cheesy potatoes for dinner.   After the boys were settled we enjoyed catching up with “The Voice.”  What fun to watch it with Jeremy!  Our reactions are always so identical, it’s almost crazy. But so satisfying. 

I’ll finish this post with a few pictures Destiny has sent me.  She said he rolled over three times today!  

My trip to Portland, first day

Very early Thursday morning I was up and getting ready for a very long day.  Dick and I left the house at 4:45 am to go the ten minutes to the University Park airport where he dropped me off.  As usual I had plenty of time to relax before take-off at 6:25 just the way I like it.  

As I walked out to the airplane and saw this view of the sunrise I had to snap this picture.

As we took off I had even better views of the sunrise from my window seat.

When I got to the Detroit airport I had less than an hour to get from gate to gate and quite a long way to go.  I definitely felt like I had gotten my workout for the day when I finally sat down for a few minutes before boarding again.

Jeremy had booked my seat in Delta's Comfort Plus section, which was a bit roomier.  I had no seat mates.  I was able to see the ground below me the entire way across the country.  I really didn't get anything else done except looking down, taking pictures, posting them, and checking the progress of my flight on the screen in front of my seat.  Well actually, I think I took a nap first as we flew over the boring mid states. 

Only when we crossed over into Oregon did we lose sight of the ground due to the cloud cover. 

I spent the day getting acquainted with Jeremy and Mike’s little family.  Daniel if five, Brennan is four, Natasha (Brennan’s sister) is 16.  She wasn’t feeling well that day, unfortunately   

I loved the view of the back yard from the living room sofa.

Watson, who had not seen me in over three years, absolutely remembered me!  

Because of the time change that first day was LONG!!  I had gotten up at 3:00 am (our time) at home, and then because we talked and talked and talked after the kids went to bed, it was after 10:00 pm here (1:00 am at home!) when I went to bed!  I almost pulled a 24-hour shift!

That’s all for this time. I HATE blogging from my phone.  I probably would not be a blogger if I had to always do it this way.  

Our fun Saturday

Okay, here I go again - blogging on my phone.  I want to post about our fun Saturday before I leave for Portland on Thursday. 

We left around 9:00 and headed toward Lancaster.  I needed to see that precious baby one more time before I leave!  He’ll be 3 months old by the time I get back!  

We entertained him while Destiny got ready to go. No big smiles this time, but every face he makes is so cute!

She wanted us to take her and Elizer to see her dad and Lauren in Reading.  However, Frank was doing a side job near Lancaster, so we went there first.  J’von was there too. They were putting in a new kitchen and laundry floor at someone’s house.  We got these adorable pics of “Grandpa Frank” and “Uncle J’von” with Elizer.  

Then we went to Reading. The girls had gotten baths and were getting ready to dress up for truck or treat.  

Here’s “Grandma Lauren” with Elizer.  

Of course the little girls wanted in on the action too!

Beautiful Jada. 

Precious V’anni. 

Adorable Alaya. 

Elizer with his three aunts!

And other pics from our afternoon together.

We took Destiny and Elizer back home then.  Alex was home and it was so cute to see him and Elizer interacting.

I’m busy, busy getting everything ready for Dick to live by himself for two weeks and for the church music to happen without me and for me to have all the things I will need.  

In some ways it feels like a really bad time to be away.  Please pray for our dear Pastor Lynn.  After having two surgeries in the past couple of months she has been diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.  She’ll be having a third surgery next week.  Of course chemo will follow.  We love her so much!  She has ministered healing and life to our little congregation right in the midst of her deepest need. Please pray for her and her medical team and our church.  

Trying again

 Trying again!

So I found a way to post pics   Now I am changing the font.  Can you tell?

This picture was taken at 5:30 pm on Sunday   

This picture was taken at 4:30 pm when I thought it was 5:30 because I was looking at my watch instead of my phone. 

The font size keeps changing. This is going to be a big pain. 

Trial

I am once again trying to blog from my phone to see if I’ll be able to blog while I’m away. 

Hmmm. I can’t figure out how to insert pictures.