Happy Birthday to Me!

Dan's busy reading and watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals so the computer is mine, all mine...which means I'm going to do my best to get some more posted before I spend time reading some of your blogs. Here goes:

As my birthday approached Dan was very secretive. He didn't ask for any suggestions from me and when I offered some, the day or two before, he said he had everything taken care of. Well, the night of my birthday, which was a Friday this year, he told me to pack. Hmmm things are getting more interesting. I asked what to pack he got defensive. I wasn't trying to figure it out but was just wanting to be properly prepared.

Finally he let me in on his secret, he'd booked a room for us at:

In:

The hotel was right next to:

and:

We were set for entertainment!

We hadn't been in the room very long when I began to wonder if I should be offended by Dan's humor:

 

He'd booked us a handicapped room ON MY BIRTHDAY! It's a good thing for him I have a sense of humor.

Not sure where I was going to sleep...the bed wasn't even a queen to keep the aisles wide enough for a wheelchair.

Friday night was laid back and we just got some dinner, soaked in the hotel's hot tub, and then turned in for the night.

Saturday we strolled along part of the lake. We asked one of the girls at the front desk how to find some places to wander. She gave us directions and this was our landmark:

We hung out along the railroad tracks:

We admired the houses along the lake:

(Since the town is built along the horns (or arms) of the lake we determined that the houses off the lake were the prime real estate.)

We even dangled our feet off a pier:

Some time was spent admiring the artwork on the corners of the downtown streets:

We even had a little history lesson:

Eventually it was time to head on our way:

We took a detour on the way home and visited Potholes State Park. Now I grew up in the Chicago Area where the winters are very hard on the roads. As a result, I know about potholes but never imagined that a state would have a park dedicated to them. With a park name like that, we just had to add the miles and time to our trip.

When we arrived, and as we drove home, we learned about NATURAL potholes:

Overall, it was quite the educational trip:

I would have to say that Dan did very well coming up with a birthday celebration and gift for me. The only unfortunate thing, he's now set the bar for his gifts very high.

A Harbor from the Storms of Life

Before life gets away from me again, and Dan with the laptop, I thought I'd better do a little catching up while I can. He's napping and I have the laptop at my sole digression so here goes:
(WARNING: This is very wordy because I L.O.V.E. my volunteer work.)

I started volunteering at Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery about a year ago.

I was looking for something to do with my time when we first moved up here and found a service newsletter. Safe Harbor was asking for baby rockers and I knew I could do that without any problem. So I contacted them to see about helping out. Well, they weren't needing baby rockers at that time and Marta gave me some other ideas. I just wanted to be involved and was willing to help out multiple days a week. As we were trying to decide on the "perfect" fit for me Marta mentioned helping with the after school "Taming the Dragons" class. I said that I for sure wanted to help with the children. Thus began my regular weekly love affair with the children who come to Safe Harbor.

Here's a bit about what I help do at Safe Harbor. The children in our class have all experienced some type of trauma in their lives. The trauma (or dragons as we call it) varies from one child to the next. One might be dealing with a parent who has or is addicted to drugs or alcohol. Another may have been severely abused (usually by a family member or boy/girlfriend of a family member). Others may have parents who are going through a nasty divorce and the children are showing signs of trauma or crisis. Still others might be dealing the worries and concerns of a terminally ill sibling or parent. Many of our children are in some type of foster care situation, through the state or living with a family member other than a parent. The children who seek refuge at Safe Harbor are referred by parents, guardians, the courts, teachers, or even church leaders, neighbors, or friends. They are having to face grown-up emotions that grown-ups usually don't know how to handle.

When the come to our class we teach them how to slay their dragons. Everything we do in class has a purpose. We take a few minutes each week to teach calming skills and body triggers to recognize when a calming skill is needed. We play a cooperative game with them (most traumatized & abused children have to be in control so they don't do well in team settings).

We do an art project with them since art is soothing and calming to most children.

We will look at "I Spy" books with them, play games one-on-one, ask about their day, imagine, laugh, and mostly love them. We get to give lots of hugs, high-fives, cuddles, etc. that many times they are lacking in their relationships with other adults in their lives. It is the highlight of my week and one of the best things I've ever stumbled on.

Safe Harbor also teaches parenting classes to the parents of these children. Most of the parents have children who are not living with them for various reasons. A few have just had their children returned to them or are trying to reinstate visitation with their children. The parenting classes teach parents who didn't come from healthy family environments how to create healthy environments for their children. What we teach the parents aren't new ideas to most people because most people were exposed to healthy parenting styles.

The bottom line of what we do is try to break cycles. Break cycles with the parents to stop the trauma. And break cycles with the children so they know how to deal with their challenges and not continue the trauma onto another generation.

In February I was hired to be the volunteer coordinator for Safe Harbor. I recruit and retain volunteers for our various activities. I came on just in time to help plan for the annual Secondhand Rose Tea and Luncheon. This is our second biggest fundraiser each year. Each table has a hostess who decorates the table however she wishes and provides the dishes, centerpieces, tea, tea sets, tea pots, etc. The seats at each table are sold to friends and community members who wish to get involved. There is also a silent auction and treasure tables. It was a long day but a good day.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the creativity displayed at this event:

They also do a fashion show with clothing all purchased from Safe Harbor's Thrift Store. I learned that since the store began in about 2001 they have donated over $400,000 directly to Safe Harbor! It is a 100% voluntarily run store that accepts donations of almost everything except electronics. All the profits return directly to Safe Harbor. When we received carloads of items we sort through them to decide which we can use specifically at the nursery and everything else is sent to to store and it still benefits us, just indirectly.

As if that wasn't enough there were also items donated for a silent auction as well as a Treasure Table, items that could be purchased immediately without any bidding.

I think there was more I wanted to share but since it is almost 2 weeks since I started this post I'm going to end it here and add more later.

Our Addition

We have been advised by JaNae's dad and Dr. Mark to not announce anything too early but we're so excited that we can't help it. So here goes...

 

Amid all our other turmoil, yesterday we brought into our home a new bundle of joy. Because the arrival was unexpected, we have not had the chance to discuss any names so we are soliciting suggestions. We've decided to be democratic about this dilemma so once the ideas are in, we'll put together a bracket and let the masses vote.

 

Included are pictures to help you come up with some ideas, unfortunately holding still for pictures is not inborn. At this point we're not sure if it's a boy or girl, nor do we think we'll ever know for certain. You are welcome to cast your vote on that too.

 

Here are a few names we have discussed so far, feel free to vote for one of these or add your own:

• Sushi
• Plates (as in Golden)
• Guppie
• Nemo (there is a gimpy top fin so maybe that does fit)
• Scales
• Agent Orange

 

Thank you for helping us with this overwhelming dilemma.

Love,

Dan & JaNae

 

 

 

 

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

It's Sunday afternoon, Church is over + My nap is completed + Dan has driven off to Boise for the week = Time to Blog. Sadly, the equation is NOT equal.

Also on the way to Boise is the laptop. Not a big deal, yes, except all, and I mean ALL, of our currently downloaded pictures are on that computer. RATS!

Now you might be thinking, just download the pictures onto the desktop. And I would compliment you on your problem solving techniques. The only challenge there is the camera is ALSO on the way to Boise with Dan. (Yeah, I'm wondering about my intelligence in letting both get out of my grasp too.)

Certainly I can blog without pictures. But who wants that really? It's all about the pictures. Admit it. When time is short you glance at the pictures and decided whether or not to return to read the text. (And let's not mention adding updated pictures from family members' blogs into your screen saver...)

As a teaser of things to come, here's a list of what I'll be blogging about sometime in the future after the dust settles from our moves: (Yes, moves with an 's'.)

• Events at Safe Harbor (I have access to copies of those pictures so maybe that will get done this week after all.)
• My Birthday
• "Protesting" in April
• Amanda's Visit to the Tri-Cities
• Why Dan's headed to Boise (I suppose I can blog about that without pictures except then it would be out of order chronologically and we can't have that now can we?)
• Our Temporary 3500 sq ft Home

 I think that will catch up the last couple months of events and adventures. So this will have to do until the laptop returns....

Dan vs. JaNae

Last spring Dan and I went on a Day Date together. It was his turn for date night and he planned some things for us to do during the day since our evening was busy with other obligations.

Well, a few weeks ago we both had Friday off so it was time for another Day Date. However, this time our rotation made it my turn to plan our date. We've seen Big Springs, in Idaho, which is one of the starts of the Snake River. The end of the river is only a few miles from us and Dan had mentioned that he really wanted to see the point where the Snake ends and joins the Columbia River, so that is how we started our date.

Looking upstream at the Snake River.

The Snake joins the Columbia at the bend.

The point of confluence.

More about confluence.

Where the rivers actually join.

Lewis and Clark made their first camp along the Columbia River here where the rivers join.

It is also they met up with Sacajawea near this area. The state has developed the area into a nice park. They have plaques up with information about the area:

Learning circles with more information:

And an interpretative center where visitors can get a better understanding of Lewis and Clark's excursion through the area and Sacajawea's role in assisting the explorers:

We paid a small donation then wandered through the exhibit learning much about the history of life in the Tri-Cities in the 1800s.

After strolling through the park and interpretative center, we continued east to Walla Walla. Of course after leaving 'civilization' we were hungry so we kept our eyes open for a place to stop for lunch. We turned off the highway in Wallula, WA and quickly discovered, there was nothing there but houses, a few vineyards, and a Post Office. We purchased some stamps and then were back on the road trying to ignore our growling stomachs.

We arrived in Walla Walla and stopped for a nice lunch at Sterling's (which has two locations in the Tri-Citites, whoops). Then we drove through the streets of Walla Walla looking at their sites and trying to decide on what to do next. By this time we were both pretty tired so finished driving through various neighborhoods and made the return trip home.

So, I ask you...who does a better job at executing Day Dates; Dan or JaNae? Yeah, I'd say it's pretty obvious too.

Belated "Valentine's Day" Trip

So picking up where we left off...A few days after the Valentine's Dance I flew off to Utah. Our niece Rebecca had returned from her mission (Missouri St. Louis) and was reporting so Dan and I made plans to be there to help welcome her home.

Well, with other recent events I knew I needed some time with siblings. Dan was supportive of me heading out a few days before the weekend so I was off to spend time with the family in Utah.

Since Deb's hubby was at basic training I decided to stay with her and help her out with her three kiddos. We has a blast playing together, building forts, playing games, dressing up in costumes, drawing pictures, and just being together.

Spiderman & a Pirate-you never know your enemies in this group.

Oh, now Bennet's Peter Pan & Tate's the Pirate/Caped Crusader



Costumes were tried on sometimes backwards and even if they were WWWWAAAAYYYY too small.



Baby Reagan just kept wondering what her crazy brothers were up to.

Super Heros out, Animals in. (Note: Another from years past.)

Even Aunt Nae got into the action with a little pre-St. Patty's Day garb.



See, Aunt Nae started a doo rag trend.



Now we have one of the ultimate combinations: Kanga & Roo, penguin feet, and a doo rag.



The skeletal train engineer???



Of course ALL the costumes and accessories were taken out, no reason to try to keep it organized or cleaned up until they were done.



Now T's a caped, Spiderman, Ninja guy.



Towards the end of our costume fun Tate turned to his mom and said, "This the the funnest night ever!"

Part of my trip was also to meet my newest niece. After two boys, Deb & Nic welcomed a little girl into their family in December. With the distance between us, this was the first she and I met and we had lots of time together so Mommy could take care of her brothers and do a few other things. What a special treat it was when she would fall asleep in my arms.



The slightest hint of a smile.

The boys love their forts! Here they are with one of their creations...I think this is the one that I crawled out of earlier that day. Yes, I was made into a fort for awhile one morning, aka, the boys pile the blankets and pillows on top of anyone lying down on the couch or floor then try to climb into a small space under the blankets.

We had a day with Lynette and her girls but dummy me, I didn't bring my camera at all. I forgot it at Deb's house as we headed out the door. Guess getting three under 5, and the two adults into the car pushed it right out of my mind, even though I had it with all my other things...

Before I left we did meet up with Kevin & his family for dinner at Fudrucker's. Lynette joined us too, but Brian stayed home with their three girls who were feeling sickly. :(

The silly faces picture (Bennet, Cameron, & Tate)



Nathan, you're way too grown up wwwwaaaaayyyyy to FAST!

One of the nights I was there Deb had an appointment so I watched her three for her. I decided to try and get some pictures of the three of them together. This is the best one of all three! After trying to get two very independent boys to cooperate, I truly admire those who can get good family pictures.

See what I mean?

You'll notice all the first person comments, to save on Dan's PTO, we met in Pocatello over the weekend. We don't intend to take vacations without each other but my schedule is much more flexible than his so I have the free time to go heal and help. Therefore, Dan drove alone to Boise on Thursday night and stayed at his brother, Andy's, and then finished the drive to Pocatello on Friday.  We met up on Saturday night in Pocatello.

On Saturday afternoon Amanda was teaching at a conference at Thanksgiving Point so I tagged along to see her in action. (Deb found a sitter for a few minutes and drove me from her house to Amanda's conference.) She's great at what she does and her passion for her field of study shows through as she presents. It was very interesting to learn more about my Money Habitudes and guess at Dan's after learning mine. Though I think we are somewhat opposite on the spectrum, we can learn from each other and strengthen each other.

When Amanda was finished with her two classes we headed up north to Pocatello. Thankfully it wasn't too nasty of a drive for February in Northern Utah and Southeastern Idaho. Some snow but we know how to handle it.

We met up with Dan at his brother Mark's house and visited before all turning in for the night.

Sunday was the event that started the whole preparation for our trip in the first place, Rebecca's mission report! Her brother Matt's Eagle Court of Honor was Saturday in the late afternoon, but because of Amanda's teaching schedule, we were both unable to attend that part of the weekend. Thankfully Dan was there and able to help with part of the ceremony.

After our church meetings were finished we descended upon the Loveland's Home for a very yummy dinner!

Emily & Dan waiting patiently to eat.



Matt waiting not so patiently to eat so pestering his sisters, Emily & Liz.

The food was put out and blessed, dinner eaten, and more food arrived! I was planning on more than one plateful of the delicious fixin's but was too full after my first helpings.


See, finger-lickin' good!



Just one of the delicious dessert options:

The women cleaned up:

And visited:

While the boys made themselves scarce:

And then there was Dan's contribution...




We also learned..."If you play it...they will come..."

It's a family thing J

Some pictures were taken:

The big girls played dress-up in Grandma Horrocks' wedding dress:

Amanda said that Liz, Emily, & Rebecca forced the dress on her!



Well maybe it doesn't fit so well after all...Amanda couldn't get it buttoned.



Some Father/Daughter visits occurred:

Neal and I played with Emily's Apple:

Then I realized, I had almost NO pictures of Rebecca, the woman of the day! So that was quickly rectified:

A few more parting photos were taken: (Notice how some embrace the camera better than others.)

Then it was off to Mark & Amy's to rest for the night before Dan & I started our drive home the next day.

Monday morning I made sure to sneak a picture of Mark & Amy's boys. Here they are while Dad's at work, and as they wait for their mom to come home from her sister's weekend:



Enjoy the games while you can, Boys. You know Mom has a long list of things for you to do on your day off from school.

A trip full of good memories with both of our families! Can't wait to see everyone again, hope it's soon!!!!

(Blogger's been kind enough to add extra spaces between the text and pictures and I can't get them removed. So I post as is rather than delay to try to fix the unfixable.)