A Home In the Making

As we begin to call Portland our home, we excitedly await the construction of our new house, which we hope to reside in later next month.  It has been fun to watch the raw materials gradually take shape.  

Around Dec 20th 2011

We were thrilled and blessed to have joined this project at an early stage because it has allowed us to tweek minor details in the floor plan and make decisions about colors, styles, and finishing materials that individualizes this home to be a special match for us.

A few weeks ago....

This week...

Micah and Jonah excitedly standing in Micah's new room

Today

 In the neighborhood...

Last night we were making our final decision about paint colors for the exterior as it seems a break in the weather will allow the house to be painted this weekend.  Sherwin-Williams has this great web application that allows you to upload a pic of the house and "paint it" virtually.  So fun!!  Below you can see our color choices "painted" with crude digital tools.  We are thankful for technology that allows us to see an image before making these color decisions.

Check back for updates as we are slotted to move in about a month!!  Whoo hoo!

Winter Crafts

We have been in Oregon now exactly one month!  We are in a three bedroom apartment with the majority of our belongings remaining in boxes as we await our new home project to be completed.  This means that we have minimized the toys and playthings that are available to the kids.  SO... we needed to get creative and I decided to make homemade Valentine's with Micah and marshmallow snowmen with Micah and Jonah.  

 Micah displaying the variety of homemade Valentines she created.

 Hard at work, you can see it on her face.

 

 Her favorite... so cute!  She is so excited to share these with her classmates on Valentine's Day, even though it is still almost a month away.

The snowman craft was inspired by a pancake breakfast with Jonah's class last week.  They invited the parents for this event and had crafts and activities for the parents to do with the kids.  We continue to be so happy with our school choice for both kids as they are thriving at Portland Christian School.

Ha!

Micah's "replica"at home... her favorite part was eating it.  She has a sweet tooth!  

Of course followed by some extra flossing and brushing. :)

More Multnomah Falls

In an earlier post we mentioned our hike to Multnomah Falls earlier this month and I wanted to share more images from that day.   We enjoyed a beautiful 2.2-mile hike as a family to the top of the 542-foot two-tiered waterfall with amazing views of the Columbia River Gorge.  

 After some initial 'adjustment' to the walking we had a chipper crew.

 Silly kids.

 Jonah... not afraid of heights.

Columbia River Gorge in background with a beautiful, thick fog settling in the valley. 

 From the top of the falls, looking down.

 Pearce... in his element... enjoying God's beautiful creation.

At the end of the hike: Micah gives the day's events a thumb's up!

The kids did great with the 2.2 miles and we are looking forward to more hikes as a family, as there are so many options for great outings in the Portland area.

 MORE VIEWS of the Gorge...[kids didn't want to get out of the car at this viewpoint]

We are under WATER- literally?

Hi everyone,......we are not literally under water, just in case anyone was worried, but we certainly are in a NEW, .....and fairly wet setting. We just moved to Portland Oregon in the middle of the rainy season. We arrived just before Christmas with Pearce driving our family dog in the SUV cross country and Heather and the kids flying out to meet him.
  Today was one of our first wet Saturday adventures. So far the weather has been splendid allowing for outings to some city parks, Multnomah water falls and much more.

FAMILY HIKE AT MULTNOMAH FALLS

 We have so much to update in our blog as it has been neglected far too long. We are hoping to turn over a new leaf in that department.

   In honor of the wet weather today, we decided to get REALLY wet and made a trip to the OMSI museum (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) with a specific visit to their submarine exhibit!  This was not just an indoor visit but the retired USS Blueback submarine floating outside the museum in the Willamette River.  Micah and Jonah( and parents too) had a great time climbing through the bulkheads, seeing the living quarters, control panels, looking through the periscope, and seeing the real torpedos!  We were so inthralled we forgot to take pictures inside.

WALKING DOWN TO USS BLUEBACK SUBMARINE

IT HAD STOPPED RAINING AFTER OUR TOUR

MICAH AND JONAH POSING WITH A SUBMARINE PROPELLER

Hope to see you again here soon....