Labor Day Camping 2010

So we were able to secure a last minute spot at Pinecrest Lake, near Sonora Pass in California. This is right on the back side of Yosemite and has many of the same rock formations the you find at the national park.

We had sugar pine trees all around us. They made a very interesting noise as they hit the tops of the RV's around us. It almost sounded as if we were under attack. For 3 days we enjoyed the trees, walking, swimming and hiking. It was a great way to end the summer camping season.

4th of July Fun

Friends, Fun, and a boat. Jim, Barb, Ellie & Artie DeMoss have joined us for the 4th and brought along their boat! We are having a blast.

First Day at the Beach

June 28th marked our first day, swimming at Sand Harbor this season. It has been a cold beginning of summer and the water is still only 61 degrees. But when you have been sitting in the sun for an hour or so it becomes very refreshing!

Pajamas and Legos

Yes that is our family room, the one you see right when you walk in the door!
I think I am going to have a problem motivating people today!

Getting bigger....

Meg at 5 weeks
Toby at 5 weeks
Hudson (almost 5)and Meg (5 weeks)
Hunter (13) and Toby (5 weeks)
And I don't just mean the puppies. I can not believe how big all of our kids have grown this year. It is amazing.

Our Dog and Her Mate

This is a picture of when the owner of Vito came to visit, we had a huge snow storm and the dogs had a blast. This is Ulana, Zuza & Vito - they are both Amy's dogs.
This is Vito, lana's man.
Our girl.

3 Week Old Puppies

Here are some fun pictures, so you can see how quickly the puppies are growing. They are now over 5 lbs. each and starting to eat mushy puppy food. We are hoping the weather warms up, we had snow last week, so that we can take them outside. Oh yeah, and we did finally name them...for at least the short time that they will live with us!
Meg, our only girl
Zeke - the littlest at birth
Zeke
Toby - Big Boy
Toby

The Puppies are Here!

On Tuesday, April 20th our dog Ulana had 3 puppies. After waiting a year the breeding was finally sucessful. We ended up with 2 boys and one girl. Each pup weighed over one pound so we were forced to have a c-section done on Ulana. All went well and the puppies have already doubled in size in only 5 days.

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

First Puppy Pictures only...

A Teenager in Our Mist

Yes its true, Hunter is now 13! Scary to say the least!

He has grown so much that he is almost unrecognizable. He looks just like his dad and acts like him too. Boy am I in trouble!

Stuck in the snow...

So the idea here was to take turns covering each person with snow and then let them try and break out. Somehow only Hunter & Lexy got a turn....I think Hudson and Mandy got smart!

Back in the Saddle

Life has been so crazy since Christmas! We were anticipating a slow start but that has been anything but true. I am sorry blogg family and friends that I have not been around. I will however be "back" posting some stories so please keep checking back - January's stories of grandpa will be the most rewarding! So stay tunes for more snow pictures, stories and fun.

Mandy Turns 7...

After a busy, emotional January. We came to Mandy's birthday on the 30th! It is hard to believe she turned 7 this year. It seems like only yesterday that we were bringing our little girl home from the hospital to our home in Castle Rock, Colo. Wow, that was 3 states ago! At that time she used to make a "cooing/gurgling" sound that always drew attention, now she is always found whistling a merry tune. She is a very happy child, but on the off days you will surely see the disappointment on her face, she is not very good at hiding emotion!

She was able to have lots of fun taking some friends to build-a-bear and having a sleepover. We all had a great time.

Grandpa Part 2: The Miracle

From the 7th of January all the way to the 12th we spend visiting the hospital to see if Grandpa Peter was improving. Each day seemed to be a yo-yo. One good day than a bad. The bad days were very strange, he would just lay in bed, never opening his eyes or eating. So when he arrived at our house on the 12th TALKING we were all in shock!

For 5 days we proceeded to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together as a family. All eight of us! Grandpa spoke more than we had heard in months. His first words upon arriving in his room were "Snow" and "Hello Sweeties" - when he saw the kids. We saw him smile and got to walk with him, these are all things we now consider Our Miracle.

"You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples" Ps. 77:14

When we were "knee deep" in these days, I must admitt to you, we did not look at them as a miracle. During this time it felt like we were running in so many different directions. We were on a real life learning curve; days filled with medicine doses, wondering if we were going to be sleeping thru the night, visits from hospice/friends and giving the proper care for someone in their last days of life.

It wasn't until Monday the 18th that life started to slow down. Grandpa stopped eating that day and on Tuesday he would stop drinking! Connie, his daughter was able to fly in from Vancouver and help with his care. It was now going to be a different, even longer road.

Make sure to check back for our final message Part 3: The last days

Grandpa comes home....Part 1

It was a beautiful wednesday in January. It had just snowed 4 inches the night before and we needed to get ready.

You see the week prior was filled with so many trips to the hospital that the house had been neglected! A wonderful friend, Melanie, was on her way over to help because it was going to be a big job. We had to prepare a room, one room in the house that would never have the same feeling or meaning ever again! So we moved furniture and beds and exercise equipment and couches and chairs until we got the right feel. This would be Grandpa Peters final resting place. We wanted it to be warm, sunny and PERFECT.

We chose a room that we like to call the Sun Room, it is right off the family room so you can see and feel the roaring fire yet it has the most south facing windows so you can look out at the unmarked snow of the forest and feel the peace of our Maker. It was going to be an uncharted journey for us and we were praying for His love to surround us.

By the time it was all over, 17 days later which was a lot longer than any of us expected, we would laugh, cry and be over taken by the love of our friends & church family. God was so good to us and in the end. What seemed like our greatest loss, of a dad, grandpa, and Reinhild's husband, would be transformed into the greatest gift of all -- Grandpa got to go home to be with Jesus and be restored."He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4

Look for part 2 to come - Our Miracle.