Wasp Stings, Trojans and Leaking Roof

What do all three of these random things have in common? Why would I be blogging about them? Well.........all three happened within the span of about 36 to 48 hours here at Fanno Lodge.

That's right folks! Tuesday started very bright and early with me out in the front yard taking advantage of the cooler weather to tame the Weed Dragon that had overtaken the flower beds. Arthur was up and out of the house for a busy day at work. (He is down an assistant at work so the work load has doubled and in some cases tripled.) Dacia Grace had come out to learn how to use the special garden tool for yanking out nasty dandelions by their roots. When all of a sudden, OUCH! and into the house I ran calling for Dacia Grace. She followed as I began to .... ahem .... divest myself of my pants for you see the dang wasp had gotten trapped in my pants from the pant leg. As I began to inspect the pants to see if I could kill the dang wasp, it proceed to sting me not once but two more times on my upper arm......I SCREAMED!

For those of you who do not know, I have a history of BAD experiences with bees, wasps, mud dabbers, you get the picture. (Actually the week before this happened I was at the allergist being tested for bee sting allergies....I failed on the first test so they had to do a blood test to determine the extent of the allergies....we don't have the test results back yet and won't for quite some time.) I digress.....so 50 mg of Benadryl later, a 911 call, a frantic call to Arthur's work requesting him to come home as soon as he arrived, two phone calls to Arthur FROM the 911 and paramedics found me quite loopy but doing just fine. So yes.....I am allergic to bees, wasps, yellow jackets, mud dabbers, bumblebees. Yes, my purse now weighs more since an Epi Pen is carried with me EVERYWHERE!

Trojans and Leaking Roof......our trusty computer started acting excessively weird that same evening. But it was not until the following day that I was able to discover through the help of my trusted computer advisor, Melissa and her wonderful hubby Sam that our computer is infected by a virus, a trojan and a worm! Yes, you read that correctly....all three!

At about the exact same time that I was discovering this nasty bit of news, I went outside on our wonderful screened in porch to rest on our couch.......WET! It has been raining quite a bit this week and our roof is leaking! Not just one spot but two!

So folks, no pictures available on this post of our beautiful girl because....well.....I just can't upload one right now. This will be my last post for awhile until our trusted computer (I need a name for this member of our family) is repaired and in working order. Neither will I have much email access so I will catch you all when I can.

Artist in Training

Not only is Dacia Grace an artist in training but she is also very compassionate. She loves her friends and when one of them is hurting she is very concerned about them. When she found out that a good friend broke her bottom jaw in three places, her first response was, "Mommy, we need to share my Princess band aids with Amarissa! That will fix her owie!" What a sweetie! So this morning Dacia Grace is busy painting Princess pictures to send with the band aids to her friend. Later today we will mail the picture and the band aids along with other cards for some sick and hurting friends.

Father, I pray that You will continue to grow Dacia Grace's compassionate heart for the sick and the hurting. May she always be willing to reach out and share Your love with those in need.

Camping at Beverly Beach

In mid-July we spent three days and two nights at Beverly Beach which is located just south of Lincoln City and north of Newport on the central Oregon Coast. It was a wonderful break from the 90 degree weather that Portland was experiencing.

We had breakfast/lunch one morning at Cafe Stephanie located in the historic Nye Beach are of Newport. It was WONDERFUL! If you ever have a chance to eat there, you will not be disappointed.

We also stopped at Seal Rock one day where much to our delight we found a OSU art extension class being taught. There were about 50 or so artist using various mediums all painting Seal Rock. Dacia Grace was in AWE of the artists than their interpretations of the landscape. One artist was even painting a rendition of the other artists painting Seal Rock. What fun! Mainly though, her fascination was the BEACH!

Sorry, no pictures for this post as there is a problem with blogger. However, you can click here to see an online album of our camping trip.

Newly Married Fellowship Reunion Pictures

Everyone was concerned about Emma....she was so tired!

Dacia Grace (3 1/2), Jaden (almost 2)
Brett (6 months) and Emma (10 months)

Here they are just chillin'

Five years ago this summer about twelve couples started on the journey of marriage. Once married all of us joined the newly married fellowship. None of the couples knew each other but we soon became friends as we met for a year and were discipled by two of the neatest couples in the world....Chris and Amy McReynolds and Tom and Alicia Moore. Over the five years about six of the couples have stayed close friends. In mid-July we gathered one afternoon at the home of Kim and Jamie for a reunion. Here are our kiddos.....not everyone was able to be there but what a blessing these kiddos are to each of us!

Beauty and the Letters

Here is our little Beauty playing with the letterboard that was mine when I was a little older than she is now. She loves to play dress up....currently her favorite is Belle. I found this dress at Value Village for 99 cents! Actually it was more but I would not pay for it and when the manager heard me talking to Dacia Grace, she lowered the price! Wonder why I am such a loyal custormer.

My Little Helper

I have the sweetest little girl....she is a gem! Recently we have been watching her little servant heart grow and grow. Here are just a few of the precious moments from this last month.

I will do the laundry, Mommy!

When I am done here, do you want me to BBQ, too?

Notice she is standing on a small stool and reach the sink!

When did my little baby grow up?

So happy to be washing dishes with and for Mommy!

"Reading" the directions for Mac-n-Cheese to Mommy.

Time to add the cheese!

Peas!

Early in July I purchased some English Peas from the local produce stand. Dacia Grace was very excited to learn how to shell peas. She sat on the counter and shelled peas for about 30 minutes or so. I told her about growing up in St. Louis on "the farm" and shelling peas under the apple trees with my brothers and sister or down in the basement when it was too cold and rainy outside. Growing up we would shoot peas at each other until our Mom would finally call a halt to it.....so Dacia Grace had to try shooting some peas as well. She did a fine job of that as well! She has a good eye for throwing anything...including peas!