my life. my words.

This time we have visits to friends and to doctors. Let’s dive in. The very same weekend that Sky and Ara arrived back in town, we had made plans to go visit Jacquee up in Washington. We took a couple of hours to drive north, knowing this would likely be the last time the kids could visit with them for a while. Elijah has a crush on Lilly, and she on him. They already say they are ‘married’ and sit close, flirting. Oh man, we might have some issues with those two. What else? Arabella had a…

Hey there This is the week that the wife and the daughter left town. I didn’t have the greatest send-off. I went out to give Ara a hug and a kiss, but she only gave me a side hug before pushing me away and running to her friends. Love it. Who knew? I figured a ‘daddy’s girl’ would want to… maybe say goodbye since she wouldn’t be seeing me for a week? I guess not. I spent the week with the boys! We had a busy week. I took the kids to VBS (which was scheduled for all 5 evenings); however, they…

Hey everyone Hasn’t it been a crazy couple of weeks? It has been for us. I can’t believe we are going to move. It doesn’t seem real. Part of me doesn’t even want it to be real. Moving away from a place that I’ve been proudly called a ‘poster boy’ for – some place I love, is more painful than joyful. We are doing what we are doing to set our children up for a better life, a better life than what we would be able to support here. Forget the fact that the eldest is now flat out refusing to help…

Back in the groove of things. We have spent the last couple of weeks attending community events (see below: the Wood Village event we’ve been going to for the last few years). The kids like getting in the heavy machinery. Rip City Hoops? Check. See the photo below where Elijah was shooting over the defender (and he made the shot). Arabella went as well, but was a bit intimidated by everyone else who had been going to professional basketball camps and whatnot. Still a good experience to get more…

The next couple of days? A blur. An emotional roller coaster. The day after we arrived, we took a short trip to a nearby waterfall. A short trip across the state line to Pennsylvania. It was nice to clear our minds for a minute and find something (even if small) good from this trip. So, we pulled out of the offer that we made on the house due to inspection findings. We looked at multiple other houses. We ended up making an offer on a house that would probably be worth a million or more if it…

The day has come. What day, you ask? We are going to look at a home in Ohio that we made an offer on. We ended up booking a flight to Cleveland. Hotwire flights for the win. We didn’t know who we would be flying with, but that’s part of the cheap flight catch. We were booked on United and were able to book our own seats for free. Snacks and drinks included?! Do you know how long it has been since we had that? Close to 8 years ago, when we went to Disneyland and flew Southwest. At the PDX…

July! Say what? Already? We are officially into the second half of 2026. Elijah has been enjoying going to his sailing camp. We have been running all over the place with different events. Arabella had a youth night meet-up at one of the church campuses, and during the day, we spent time running back and forth from the sailing camp. Our Fourth of July was very quiet (by our standards). I love going downtown to watch the fireworks over the Hawthorn Bridge, but this year, I guess the tradition…

Mega, Mega, Mega Mega Sports Camp! Guess what we helped out with? If you didn’t guess Mega Sports camp— I really don’t know what to say. I tried to help you out! I was a huddle coach for the blue basketball team. We had some good discuand we wereons, was able to speak about Jesus, and our particular team even went undefeated over the event. The following Sunday, they gave a thank you: What else? We have looked at a house in Ashtabula – and even made an offer on it. This house is in a smaller…

hey there We have long needed to replace the flooring in our kitchen for a couple of years. The last owners left it all in pretty poor shape, and over time, it has gotten progressively worse. We were going to have the whole thing sanded down and reused, but when they came out, they found it was a very low-quality ‘builders grade’ floor that they had used, warped, and unable to be sanded. Great. When they were pulling it up, they mentioned it looked like the previous owners’ dogs just were…

Hey there! It’s June already! Nearly halfway through the year already. We spent some time fixing out our yard, we added rocks and mulch around the tree and also around the grassy area as well. Who knew it would look that good? We also went to a school event for the kids to get out, run a little and get wet — hosted by the charter school they go to. Luca loved this slide (as did the two bigs as well). A little later on, I was on X– (formerly twitter) because we ordered these “special edition”…

Hey there, We have been busy with the last part of this month. We went to the opening night of the Portland Rose Festival because it ends with a fireworks show that dazzles. This time, Ara brought along her friend Cheyenne instead of Sethanne, who apparently had something come up at the last minute (despite having been begging to go for nearly a year). It was a good event – the parents are still in town for another couple of days before heading back on Sunday… so they got to see the show as…

Hey there, Recently, in our Tuesday night Bible study, we have been going deep. We’ve been diving into the cultural context of the scriptures—asking what these passages meant to the original readers, what they would have actually heard vs. what we hear today, examining the Greek root words, and mapping the geography. I have been reading passages in a way that brings them new life. Take the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Jesus leaving the 99 to go after the 1). Instead of reading it purely as an…

Hey again, It’s that time again, better grab your balloons and invite your friends. Elijah’s birthday weekend. He turned 9 this year. What a thing. He’s changed – at least he is a little taller now 😉 He still loves his sister, basketball, and bubble baths (and in that order).

Hey there! The doors to the 95,000-square-foot literature haven opened on Saturday. It’s impressive. It’s the second-largest branch in the Multnomah library system, boasting unique offerings such as a 200-seat auditorium, an audiovisual studio, an outdoor plaza, and a rooftop terrace. We have watched this thing being built in our backyard since 2023; it’s nice to see it’s finished. The branch holds over 200,000 items and employs at least 51 staff. Opening day celebration offered free coffee (we…

hey There was a thing that Wendy’s did that said “When the first dunk happens during either the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s or Women’s Basketball National Championship Games (April 5th & 6th) , Wendy’s will unlock a FREE Dunk for America offer nationwide, a FREE Frosty & Fries** pairing redeemable in-restaurant on Tuesday, April 7 (2–5 p.m. local time) at participating Wendy’s nationwide.” Well, it happened. And who are we to pass up a freebie? Truth be told: we hit up 3 different Wendy’s…

Hey there, Ara seems to be aging out of some activities – yes, really. Like Easter egg hunting, it stopped for her last year. She was fairly disappointed and only realized it a few days before going this year. As we did last couple of years, we spent the weekend at New Hope. A Good Friday service, followed by kids’ activities on Saturday (like the egg hunt, etc.), followed by the Super Bowl weekend of church – Easter Sunday. The boys had fun. Ezra even got out and picked up a bucket full of…

Hey there, A few weeks ago, we had tickets to go to a Blazers game. The kids’ behavior was less than stellar, and they wanted to call our bluff about not going. I had asked them to do their schoolwork and help pick up any mess they made, but it was too much. They walked...

Hey there We had already been to Salem to see the Cherry Blossoms and decided this year we wouldn’t do downtown Portland’s set either. Then I read about something new they were doing this year: “A section of Tom McCall Waterfront Park’s cherry blossoms illuminated Monday night from sunset to 10:00 p.m. Hollywood Lights is...

Hey there! The day before daylight saving time, we were able to attend a First Tech Credit Union event. Shop with a Trail Blazer. Free event – open to members of the credit union (and we are). We each got a free serving of Dippin’ Dots, popcorn, some free swag, $50 GC to their team...