Farewell for now...

Mark and I are leaving tomorrow for a two-week vacation. Our destinations include Aspen, Colorado; Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, in Utah; The Grand Canyon; Las Vegas; Visalia, California; Santa Barbara; Moraga; and then home on August 8th. It will be good to get away for a while together, and we are really excited to spend time with family at some of these various locations, as well as see for the first time some of the most beautiful sights our country has to offer. We will post pictures of our trip when we return. Jake has been helping me learn how to do the technical stuff - thanks, Jake! :-)

A few more wedding pictures...

The bride and groom... (with Jake and Ben in the background)
Mark in John Wayne mode...
This is our nephew Charlie and Mom at Sarah's wedding.

Grammy at the wedding

Here's my sweet Mom and me, waiting for Sarah's wedding to begin.

It is finished.....

The newlyweds are on their honeymoon; the tuxes, tables, and rented chairs have been returned, and the last of our guests just departed. Now, to take a deep breath and relax a bit seems to be the order of the day. What a special weekend we had with family and friends. The wedding was beautiful and nearly flawless. Sarah and Chris are SO happy, which makes us happy as well. Mark and I will leave for our vacation in five days, so we will need to complete preparation for that. But for today - a time to relax, reflect, and rejoice in what the Lord has accomplished over the past week. Our prayers are with Mr. and Mrs. Chris Brosnan. We love you guys and hope you are having a wonderful trip to Montreal. And to everyone who came to help us celebrate, some from long distances and at great expense, thank you so much for your love and support for Sarah and Chris. We love you all. And to everyone who worked tirelessly on set-up, sound, music, flowers, decorations, etc. - you know who you are - THANKS from the bottom of our hearts. Hugs to you all!!!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in town! And Hannah was able to be a volunteer yesterday. She and her good friend Pamela worked in the catering tent, passing out water, Gatorade, etc. to the hot and tired workers. Good times were had by all. Be looking for the show filmed in Corvallis this coming season. No Ty Pennington sighting, although we know he was there, but still a great experience.

Our First Blog

OK - here it is - our very first blog entry EVER!!! I've been reading (translated: stalking!) other people's blogs forever, and have been encouraged many times to start one of our own, so here it is. Let me introduce ourselves: we are Mark and Jo (Johanna) Dorr. We live in beautiful Philomath, Oregon, which is in the heart of the Willamette Valley. We are the parents of five almost-grown children. Four of our five have completed college and have begun wonderful lives on their own, and our youngest will be a junior in college this fall. We are Christians, and worship regularly at both First Baptist Church in Corvallis, Oregon, as well as at Doxology, a new and vibrant church, also in Corvallis. Mark is a teacher at Philomath Middle School, and Jo is a substitute teacher in the Philomath School District - all grades. You might ask - OK, where are the pictures that normally accompany quality blog postings? A good question... as soon as I figure that part out would be the answer! And I hope that will be soon, as our oldest daughter is getting married this Saturday, and I really want to post some pictures to share with all of you. So... thanks for stopping by! Until next time.........