Three babies

Most of you know that Mark and I have been eagerly expecting our first three grandchildren: from Sarah and Chris, Jake and Beka, and David and Nikki. Today I went to the Hallmark store to look at cards. I wanted two specific cards, and I found them.

One I will happily give to Jake and Beka at Beka's baby shower this coming weekend, the other I mailed to Sarah and Chris. One expresses great joy as we celebrate an impending adoption, the other expresses deep sorrow as we mourn another miscarriage for Sarah.

Three babies, three much-anticipated grandchildren, and all so immeasurably precious. One we will hopefully cuddle very soon, another we will cuddle in April. But the third little one we must now wait longingly to cuddle until we arrive in Heaven. All three babies so longed for, so prayed for, so wanted. SO LOVED.

We rejoiced and cried with happiness for Jake and Beka when they announced their plan to adopt a tiny little guy in Ethiopia, and we rejoiced and cried with equal happiness when David and Nikki, and then Sarah and Chris, announced they were pregnant and were also expecting our grandchildren.

And then we cried again this past weekend, this time with grief, when we learned that the sweet precious baby Sarah was carrying was no longer living within her body.

Three dear, dear babies. And so today, I bought cards for two of our kids and their spouses. One celebrating new life, the other mourning a death. Both cards tucked neatly together in the same envelope as I left the store. And I sat in my car and I cried.

Of Mouse and Man

My dear husband is not only my BFF, my knight in shining armor, and my soul mate, he is also my hero. We have had a critter on the loose in our garage, and he caught the little guy (gal?) a few days ago. And since where there is one, there are probably more, he re-set the trap in the hopes of catching this one's friends and/or family. So this story may have a sequel. Thanks, sweet hubby!
He also mowed the lawn this past weekend. Isn't he just the handsomest guy ever, with his jean jacket and his Stetson hat? Of course he is! He keeps our lawn in tip-top shape.
Love you forever and always, honey!

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Last night Mark and I watched the DVD: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. If you haven't seen it, you should. This film, which is hosted by Ben Stein, was the #1 documentary of 2008, and had been recommended to us by several people. The main thrust of the movie is that, when it comes to academic freedom on college and university campuses all over America, there is basically none when it comes to the debate over intelligent design. And regardless of your position of this issue, it is pretty scary when the mainstream science establishment suppresses academics who believe they see evidence of intelligent design in nature and who have the "gall" to criticize evidence supporting evolution. As teachers, this issue was of special interest to Mark and me. Basically, within the academic community, unless you spout the party line supporting Darwin's theories, you are blackballed and could lose your job (and many have). Even if, as a professor, you don't necessarily believe in intelligent design, but believe that there should be a free exchange of ideas on the topic, you are in big trouble. This link explains more about the film. It's definitely worth a watch.

Fun weekend!

Family. Is there anything better? I think not. And this weekend, we were able to connect with all of our kids except Ben and Christine. Above are David, Jake, and Hannah on the couch, with Sarah in back and Goliath squeezed in for good measure. Thanks, Sarah and Chris, for hosting us for a yummy lunch together.
Beka and Hannah.
Mark relaxes on the floor.
VERRRRY relaxed... zzzzzzzzzzzzz......
Sarah and Chris.
Goliath had to wear his protective cone. For his own protection.
Dad, you have GOT to check out this web site.
The reason David and Nikki were in town was for Nikki's brother Michael's wedding to Whitney. Here Hannah and Mark wait for the ceremony to begin.
Mark and me. Sorry for the poor quality of these shots.
David was part of the wedding party. Here he escorts a bridesmaid down the aisle.
Michael and Whitney exchange their wedding vows. Such a beautiful wedding ceremony.
Sealed with a kiss.
David and Nikki. The flash on our camera was not cooperating (probably operator error!), so again I apologize for the poor quality of the picture. It was so wonderful to be with our kids and their spouses - even briefly - and like I said, life doesn't get any better than that!

6:41:49.68

Well, we did it. Hannah and I completed the Portland Marathon on Sunday. Our time of 6:41:49.68 was 20 minutes faster than my finish time last year. WOO HOO!!! I am so proud of Hannah. And so thankful for her. She hung in there with me, and was such an encouragement and inspiration to me. Once along the route, at around mile 18 or 19, both of my calves suddenly and simultaneously seized up with cramps, and I had to immediately lower myself to the street. Hannah quickly started massaging one calf while I rubbed the other, and she was soon pulling me to my feet to resume walking. At times when I felt like giving up, she prodded me along, "We can do this, Mom," and we stepped on the finish line together at the end of the course. Thanks, Han. I love you!!!
Here we are in the parking garage in downtown Portland at around 6:00 a.m. It was still dark, but we had our game faces on. Dear daughter Sarah had made these bright, colorful posters to hold up along the course to give us extra support and encouragement. And they worked. Mark, Sarah, and Chris were able to connect with us at six or seven points along the 26.2-mile route, and it seemed like those three made their appearances just when we needed them most. We would come around a corner, and there they were, cheering and waving these posters.
Our cheer squad.
Thanks, Sarah, Chris, and Mark, for your love and support. It meant the world to us.
Here we are at one point in the race - early on, I think.
And here we are, below, almost at the finish line. I am all hunched over, trying to avoid the pain in my heels, which were multi-blistered; my toes, which were also full of blisters; and my right calf, which has a pulled something-or-other on the back side.
Posing with our foil blankets, our roses, and our medals.
CONGRATULATIONS, HANNAH, ON COMPLETING YOUR FIRST MARATHON.
YOU ROCK, GIRL!!!
Back home, wearing my finisher shirt and medal.
Last night we had our friends Bill, Denise, and Renee for dinner (well, we didn't literally HAVE them for dinner), and Denise brought me this lovely bouquet of flowers from her garden to congratulate me on my marathon finish. Look closely at the arrangement - there are Band-Aids poking through among the pretty blooms! Thanks, Denise. They are lovely - and so are you.
Will I ever do another marathon? At the end of the day on Sunday, lying in my bed with all my "owies," I definitely would have said
"NO, NO, NO - a thousand times NO."
Today, however, three days later, I'm thinking, "Hmmm - just maybe I could do it again."

More summer fun, Part 5

OK, I promise, this is the last installment in the summer vacation series. After our adventures in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah, we headed to Southern California for a few days. First we stopped in Santa Barbara for two nights to spend some time with my mom. One of the many things we did together was go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. We had been there before, years ago, and since that time the library has added Air Force One to its collection. They built a special room to house this huge airplane, which served seven presidents, including Reagan, until a new Air Force One was built. It was so impressive to walk into this room and see this massive plane. We were able to go inside of it, too, and look all around, although pictures were prohibited in the interior of the plane.
This is the car President Reagan used when traveling from place to place during his term in office. Note the license plate!
Also on display was his presidential helicopter.
And here is his final resting place. He had not yet died the last time we were there, so this part was new to us.
Upon seeing this sign in the garden, Mark was inspired to show off his hat with the genuine rattle snake head band.
We had a great visit with Mom. At 80 years old, she is in the midst of building a brand new house, and we were able to go to the site and check out the site prep work that was going on. You go, Mom!
Next on our agenda was to stay two nights in San Francisco, the city of my birth. On the one full day we had to tour around, we went to several places that were important in my early life. The gray building below is where my parents lived when they were newly married. It was a series of rooms that were rented by various people, with a shared bathroom. I don't know what it is used for today, but we had to take the picture as we were driving down the road, as there was nowhere to stop and park, and it didn't look very safe to do so anyway.
Next is the house where I lived when I was born. Located at #3 Prospect Street, it hasn't changed much at all over the years. Take a good look at this house, and then at the next picture.
The picture below was taken when I lived in the house 57 years ago. Doesn't it just look almost exactly the same?
You will notice in the black and white picture above that there is a mail slot in the lower right-hand corner of the building. Yep, it's still that way today!
A close-up of the mail slot.

Next we set out to find the hospital where I was born on July 13, 1952. I was born at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Hospital, which of course still exists, but I was interested in finding the exact place. The "building of my birth" is below. Mark hailed down a maintenance guy (Mark said that those guys always know everything!), and sure enough, the guy was able to tell us which part of the hospital was there in the 1950s, and which portion was added later. We went up to the 15th floor, and lo and behold, it's still the maternity portion of the hospital.
The sign welcoming people to the labor and delivery area of the hospital:

Then we went to the gift shop, where I bought a teeny tiny t-shirt celebrating my birth:

My dear sister-in-law Laura was able to be with us on this journey of discovery.
Finally we went on a double-decker bus tour of the city, just to get a tour guide's perspective of the culture and architecture of the city of my birth. This guy was our tour guide, and he did a great job.





The clouds gave way for a brief time so we could see the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory.
My brother Chuck and me.
Chuck and Laura. Love you guys!
This is Cookie, Chuck and Laura's dog. Many, many years ago, when their family was visiting us in Philomath, Chuck and Laura got Cookie as a tiny puppy from a family that lived near our home. She is getting very old and frail now, but is still such a sweet dog. Love you, Cookie - our Oregon cousin!
After our days in the Bay Area, we headed back home. All in all, it was for Mark and me a wonderful two weeks of beautiful scenery, special people, and time together with each other.