Just a normal day...

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are."
~ Mary Jean Iron

What about Bob?

Yesterday we ate breakfast at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie, near Portland. Faithful readers (and of course our family) know well that Mark loves ALL THINGS BOB. We have seen the founder of the company, Bob Moore, several times on prior visits, but it was our delight yesterday to finally meet him, and to visit for a little while with him and his sweet wife, Charlee. They graciously allowed us to take their picture as they rested on a bench outside their business. It was very nice to meet them, and to confirm what we already suspected - they are good people!
Oh, and we got to meet their 12-year-old dog, Annie, too. What a cutie! Bob told us that she follows him around literally everywhere, and doesn't like to let him get out of her sight.
It was a definite highlight of our day. We also toured a grist mill and visited with family. More about that soon.

Happy Birthday, dear Nikki

Today is our beautiful daughter-in-law's birthday. Nikki, we love you and are so thankful you are part of our family. Have a wonderful 22nd birthday! Can't wait to see you soon in Colorado!

Thanks, Jake !

Last Sunday was Father's Day, and Jake's gift to Mark was to help him do some electrical wiring in our tool shed. Today was the day to make it happen. Jake arrived bright and early, and we all enjoyed a big pancake, bacon, and egg breakfast before the guys started to work.

The card Jake gave Mark is shown above.

The first task: empty the tool shed, sorting stuff into piles: "keep," "give away," and "throw away."
How do we manage to collect so MUCH stuff?
Then you set out all of your electrical gear.
They even installed an outlet on the outside wall - very handy!They worked very hard all day. Then came the test - will all those outlets work? Hmm... let's flip that breaker switch and find out. The good news? Five of the eight work great. The others? Need a little more work. Did they get their wires crossed? To be continued... And, by the way, Jake, thanks for being such a fine son. Dad had been looking forward to today all week. WE LOVE YOU!

The Life and Times of Ben Dorr

I've been sorting through Ben's old room the past few days, boxing up stuff and getting the room ready to paint. It has been fun to look through some of his special school papers. I ran across this project, probably done when he was around fourteen.
You might have to double-click on the pictures to see them clearly - they are really fun. Ben - you actually really did take your first steps before you were two years old! :-)

Pretty good drawings, in my biased opinion.
Mostly, looking through all this stuff made my heart ache to the point of tears with longing for my Ben. Thankfully, we are heading to Colorado in just two weeks, and I'll be able to give him lots of big hugs. Love you, Ben! Miss you so very much.

Prepare for your heart to be touched...

One of my favorite blogs is "Rocks in My Dryer" (link at right), and that blog recently had a link to another blog, "Bring the Rain," that touched me deeply. It is the story of a family who lost their sweet daughter just hours after her birth, and I'd like to encourage you to read about it. Click on "Rocks in my Dryer," then on the left-hand side toward the bottom, click on "A Letter to my Daughter, " then again on "A Letter to my Daughter" under Saturday linkage. This mom's perspective is amazing. Take the time to read both the letter to her daughter as well as the complete story (where it says "click here" under the welcome). Sorry it's sort of a process to find it, but when I tried to link to it directly from this blog, it wouldn't work for some reason. The title of her blog comes from the Mercy Me song, "Bring the Rain," and the chorus, which says:

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

Anyway, I just had to share this one.

Artist Jake Dorr

Jake was one of seven artists whose work was showcased at the Giustina Gallery at LaSells Stewart Center on the campus of Oregon State University last night. Mark, Hannah, and I went to the reception (which was very well attended), and were impressed with the work of the various artists represented. Of course, we were most impressed by one artist in particular, our son Jake. And he even sold a piece! See more of his work on his web site and on his and Beka's blog (links at right). Jake's work will be on display at the Giustina Gallery through the month of June, so stop on by if you get a chance!
Congratulations, Jake! Way to be a famous artist! We are huge fans! We are very proud of you! And we love you!