strawberry14's Xanga

Christmas 2009

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:05:18 GMT

Christmas is always more fun when kids are involved. This may be the first Christmas that Lewis will remember and he was excited this year. I don't think I remember seeing him so excited. He was leaping around excited. He and Evander had chips and candy for dinner because they were so excited. Here's his dad holding him back from the soon-coming excitement of opening presents.
Aunt Shannie made sure that the boys could pick out their packages by the letter of their names. When Lewis and Evander gave their Dad his presents from them, Lewis blurted out, "Do you like bookmarks?" I don't know how he remembered what he had made several weeks ago, but he did
Evander received a bunch of little suckers from his aunt, which intrigued him the rest of the evening. He would unwrap one, take a few licks then hand it off to someone and start opening another.

The kids had a lot of fun and of course, spent the rest of the evening playing with their toys.
Baby Gideon just enjoyed sitting on laps and smiling at the fun. Next year, he'll be in the thick of it.
Next year, we thought it might be good to ring a bell every half hour and let the boys open up their presents gradually. They have no way to process more than a couple of presents at a time.
The highlight for me was having the boys sing Jingle Bells while Lewis "played" the ukelele. [He only plays 'C' but you don't need much more for Jingle Bells.] I loved it. We ate a huge Mexican spread for dinner.

Christmas Day, we had our traditional Dutch Babies for breakfast and the four of us quietly opened the rest of our gifts and enjoyed a quiet day hanging out with each other. Just a perfect way to spend the day.

Gideon Arthur - 1 month old

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:02:03 GMT

Gideon Arthur is officially one month old today! He came for a visit yesterday. We've been gone for ten days so I haven't seen him in two weeks. When last I saw him, he was just barely opening his eyes to peek at the world, far more content to keep them closed, sleep and hang out with mommie. Not so yesterday, he was alert most of the time, content to sit on a lap with a face to look at and look he did. He let his little eyes roam all over the room taking in everything around him without a peep.

On first meeting yesterday, he sported a full-face smile for Grandma and then again for Grandpa. How they put their whole face into it, I don't know, but it was very cute. Baby G is awake and ready to get to know his world. He let both of us hold him to our heart's content. He has a lot of reddish hair, more than his brothers at this age. He's grown and gotten heavier in two weeks. He looks more like a full-fledged infant and less like a little burrito.

His brothers seem to easily embrace their new family member. Lewis was in three months of denial when Evander was born, but now having a brother is a normal part of life. Evander frequently comes over to give his baby a kiss. The very first thing Evander did upon arriving yesterday was go straight to the bookshelf for "book-ahs" which he loves. He had Grandpa on the couch reading before Heather even got settled in. Evander's language skills are increasing rapidly. He loves all kinds of books, long and short. He sat and listened to regular bedtime story length books yesterday. I think he has "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" memorized.

Meanwhile, Lewis headed straight for the new books shaped like bulldozer, fire truck and dump truck to play with and read. He had out all the heavy equipment toys and was excavating first thing. Later in the day, I took the boys across the street where a real back hoe had arrived and let them check it out. We even stopped to ask the workmen what they were doing. Evander is repeating, "Ex-ca-va-tor, Ex-ca-va-tor." Lewis knows more about equipment than I'll ever know. After lunch while little brother naps, Lewis and Grandpa watch Bob the Builder and Mighty Machines together. Well, I suspect that Granpa naps and Lewis watches.

About six, Heather straps in three little guys in her mini-van. Tired Lewis cries because he's had no nap and "wants to sit by the baby." He's only three, even though he's the big brother. It's been a good day at Grandma and Grandpa's House.

30 Reasons Why I Love Shannon on her 30th Birthday

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:32:50 GMT

Today is Shannon's 30th Birthday, a very momentous occasion and one of life's benchmarks. As she reflected on her birthday, she told me, "I've spent my youth well and I have no regrets. There have been lots of highs."

Since you love words of affirmation and birthday blogs particularly, here you go beautiful darling:

1. I admire and enjoy the woman you've become.
2. I marvel at the beautiful art you create with your photography, how you make every person look full of life and beautiful. How amazing to watch it all unfold in glorious splendor.
3. I am so happy that you invest in everyone around you. You try to include people, encourage people and build them up.
4. I like how much you enjoy your nephews. You've become auntie extraordinaire!
5. I like how you try to bring your family and friends on all your adventures.
6. I enjoy watching you put together "events" and putting your special Shannie touch on them.
7. I have fun on all our walks, talks and little outings.
8. I love that I get to see you so often!
9. I admire how comfortable you are with yourself as a person.
10. I think it's great that you have the freedom and resources to do meaningful missions. I secretly wish I could sneak into your suitcase.
11. I think it's funny that you never let being the middle child stop you from being seen and heard.
12. I love how you love to take people under wing in lots of different ways.
13. I love your singing.
14. I think it's cool that you're taking up the violin.
15. I like it that you have a wide range of friends and healthy relationships with others.
16. I admire the fact that you are usually ahead of the curve on a lot of things.
17. I'm so glad that you love all your family members.
18. I like it that you are not afraid to try to things and go on new adventures.
19. I love your funny stories.
20. I love to hear you speak, you are very captivating and I hope God opens up lots of doors for you to do more of it.
21. There's no end to passion with you.
22. I admire your generosity with your time, friendship, love and finances.
23. I'm so happy that you are a healthy person in all ways.
24. I'm glad that you're an encourager...encouragers like other encouragers....
25. I admire your volleyball skills...fierce!
26. I like the friends you've brought to Portland for short or long term.
27. I think it's fun that you are so dramatic!
28. It's interesting to me that someone else has a "task mode".
29. I love it that I got to be your mother.
30. I very grateful that you love God and bring glory to him in all you do.

I love you!!!
Happy Birthday, Shannon!

The Oregon Garden with Little Boys

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:49:14 GMT

Heather, Shannon and I took Lewis and Evander to the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon yesterday. It's been open about five years and it was our first visit. What struck me was how "Oregon" it was. We live in the nursery capital of the US. Our mild climate is perfect for incubating shrubs and trees. It so cute to see all the baby trees when you drive out in the countryside. The Oregon garden is built on a gentle hillside so there are lots of places for water features like little streams, waterfalls and fountains. There were so many plants and design features to look at. We barely scratched the surface.
The boys got right into the action with some plant and rock touching.
Shannon got to see the boys for the first time in 2 months, so she was lovin' it too. All day long Evander was calling her "Nannie" which is always a big hit with her.
And they love her.

A fountain that dripped water from above was fun for Lewis.
I would love to have this fountain at my house but maybe a smaller scale. What's not to love about a water feature?
When we came to the gazebo, a musician was setting up to do a noon concert with his trombone and euphonium. He graciously took time to show the boys how the trombone worked and then played a couple of tunes. Lewis was enraptured. He was allowed to touch the instruments and hear them played.
The hilarious thing was all three of us had our big mamarazi cameras with us so we were stopping for photo shoots at every cool place. I'll share the amazing flower photos in the next blog.
We stopped at a "Pet Friendly" section and the boys enjoyed touching the sculptures and the water.
Can't you just hear Evander saying, "Rock!"
At the children's garden, the boys played in the Hobbit Hole, the sandbox and rolled down the hill.
And then Lewis found the "Bear Bench" - how cute!
We headed to Silverton for lunch, then had a peak at Heather and J's soon-to-be new home. Quote of the day from Lewis upon entering the garden, "Is that a Japanese maple?"

Pacific City Beach Pictures

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:34:57 GMT

Check out this facebook link for some fun pictures at Pacific City Beach.

The Varied Life at 1748

Sun, 24 May 2009 22:50:10 GMT

So many different things happen in a week here, it's hard to report on all of them. Here's a few pictures of various things for a sample.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a nice lunch/reunion with three Asian women who were in my first English class at FOCUS in 1995. Wendy, is a stay-at-home mom, Lijie has two boys and just got laid off, and Susan, still works at a hospital. Her son just graduated from university. We had a lovely time and ate delicious food.
Two weeks ago, Paul and Maryjane, pastors from Rwanda, came to speak to our Tuesday night Bible study. We met Paul in 2000 at World Salt in Los Angeles and have remained friends since that time. His story of survival in the genocide was every bit as gripping as Hotel Rwanda. However, the miraculous protection and deliverance from God really inspired us. They're seen here with some of the Tuesday night group.
Vic and I took a Sunday drive last week and ended up on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge up in the mountains looking at this beautiful waterfall and river scene. There were very few people there and sometimes it's so pleasant to get out of the city and look at all the stunning scenery around us.
Lewis and Evander have taken to picking roses before they come in the door at my house to give me and it is so cute. I had to capture the moment. This is the typical scene when they arrive at "Grandma's House".

Evander is changing and growing rapidly right now. The next thing they do is go upstairs to find Grandpa, Lewis first and then Evander climbing up behind. The little rituals are important to little one. And they're important to us big ones too!

Armchair American Idol - KRIS ALLEN WINS!

Thu, 21 May 2009 23:28:26 GMT

Okay, I confess. I followed while people Twittered the finale. I couldn't stand waiting. It's a nice use for Twitter, better than live blogging because more people can comment and you get a better feel for the show. I think they should put the final on at all the same time in the four time zones so we can all watch the finale together. It would be way more fun. If a person wants to wait to watch it, you can't read anything on internet because people put it right out there. So I just found out at 7pm PDT and then watched the show to enjoy it.

What a shocker that Kris won! Who could have predicted that at the beginning of the season? He had no back story, no air time going into Top 36. He said today that he had to do a "sing-off" and even then, they didn't show it on TV. Then, in his group of 12 for semi-finals, he came out of no where and won a spot. And who were his co-winners of that group? Adam and Allison, both in the top 4. He had very little support from the judges and none from Simon and yet he kept climbing, week after week. I had heard about Kris from our Chi Alpha Central at the beginning of the season, so I kept an eye out for him but because they didn't show him at all, I thought he would end up as cannon fodder. I'm sure that's what they intended for him. What a surprise. I've liked Kris all season and really enjoyed his creative takes on many old songs. It was original and sooo easy to listen to. Well done Kris!!

Adam is incredibly talented and both were gracious toward one another in the final. Adam isn't going anywhere. I'm sure we're going to see a lot of him. He seems genuinely happy that he's going to be able to do what he wants to do musically and he's focused on what's ahead. One of my favorite anecdotes was about the night that Kris showed up with one black painted thumbnail and then Adam left that one thumbnail unpainted. I think to show solidarity, friendship and support of one another. Very classy. Adam, you kept us entertained all season and what an incredible voice.

It was a fun show last night. It turned out to be a good season even though it started really disjointed at first and I didn't connect with the contestants early on.

The high points last night in random order:
-Queen Latifah and Lil Rounds rocking out on her new single.
-Kris and Keith Urban singing "Kiss the Girl".
-Adam and Kiss - did he have fun or what?
-Danny Gokey and Lionel Richey - they sounded really great together
-Allison and Cyndi Lauper - very interesting, well done and fun.
-the shock on Kris's face and the sweet little hug with his wife
-Carlos Santana's solo on the guitar
-Kris and Adam singing "We are the Champions" and Queen showing up--nice moment.

Low points:
-Bikini girl, Norman Gentle and Tatiana
-the other golden idol clips
-Rod Stewart - he looked like he needed a walker and his poor voice is fried.

So thanks for hanging in there with my commentaries. It was fun. Now I have to get back to my regularly scheduled life. Congratulations to Chi Alpha worship leader Kris Allen! You make us feel warm with your deep connections to your songs.

Any parting thoughts?

Armchair American Idol Week 11 Final 2

Wed, 20 May 2009 15:57:11 GMT

At this point in the season, people have decided who they're going to vote for. The last night is never the most exciting in terms of ground-breaking performances. The singer can have an off night and still win or have a great night and still come in second. It's like Survivor, the jury really decides at this point.

One of the things I don't like is how the "unchosen" singer is vilified by bloggers and press alike. If the writer likes Adam, then Kris is dirt, undeserving, a no-name. If the person likes Kris, than Adam is a screecher, "Glambert", androgynous, too theatrical etc. Just because you like one over the other doesn't mean the other singer isn't uber-talented. They both are extremely good but very different. If Kris wins, it doesn't mean that middle America hates Adam. If Adam wins, it doesn't mean that Kris isn't equally talented. They are both good. It's OKAY people if you like different singers. That's what makes this world a very interesting place--we're all unique. I'm very annoyed at how the media has slandered Danny Gokey. If you don't like his singing, fine. Just don't slander his character because he's not your favorite. The same can be said for Adam.

I have to say that my favorite part of last week's elimination was the look on the faces of the judges when Danny Gokey got voted off. They, who pre-destined Danny and Adam to the finals were stunned when the voters rebelled and choice someone different. The other interesting thing was Adam and Kris were only separated by 1 million votes which is nothing. It said, "This week is going to be a race to the finish and anyone can win this."

Last night, each sang three songs:

Personal Choice:
Adam: "Mad World" - with cool blue smoke. He had a couple of nice moments where he changed it up, but since we had already heard it, it wasn't as profound as the first performance. He had a few off notes including the last note and he sounded like he had lost his voice a bit.

Kris: "Ain't No Sunshine" - playing piano center stage. It was sweet and he nailed it. He really connects emotionally and you can feel his heart. I always like that.

Producer's Choice:
Adam: "Change is Gonna Come" - a bluesy song with amazing guitar back-up. I think it's my favorite Adam song of the season. It was nicely arranged, innovative, had a cool slide in the middle and some sweet gospel riffs. Beautifully done.

Kris: "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye. Not a good choice for Kris. It didn't give him a chance to showcase what he does best. I fault the producers on that one. He did okay, but the song was lame.

Kara's Song: (The one they'll record--poor guys)
Adam: "No Bounderies" - It was kind of screamy, a bit off pitch on the last note. He's probably been singing too much this week. The song has too many words and the tune is way up the upper register. I didn't like it.

Kris: "No Bounderies" - It was just okay. He had a nice moment in the middle when he sang "Here I am holding on" - when you could hear all the Kris sweetness, but the song is too wordy and high and lame. No fault of either singer. I wasn't impressed. Bring back the rainbows.

So it's anyone's guess who's going to win. At this point, both these guys are going to do well. What a season. When I looked at their closing montage and saw all the drama queens that populated early AI this year, I'm glad two very talented guys made it this far. I still wish Allison would've been in the final because she is one talented, exciting girl.

What are your thoughts?

Armchair American Idol Week 10

Wed, 13 May 2009 15:59:46 GMT

Final Three - only one more week till the finale! I'm still feeling a little sad that Allison was voted out last week. Right now, everyone has their favorites and will be speed dialing for them. The variables are the ones who's favorites have been voted off. They can be swayed. Everyone is putting money on Adam Lambert to win. The judges are even begging people to vote for him (Simon) and they campaigned hard for their two favorites all season, Adam and Danny by giving them plenty of up front coverage during the audition phase, giving them buckets of gushing praise, and giving them the prime "pimp" spots at the end of the show. Last night Simon actually told people to vote for Adam. I really hate being manipulated and it makes me resistant. So, it's hard to be objective at this stage. I'm listening with my heart now, not my brain. So here goes...

1. Danny: "Dance Sister Dance" by Trent D'Arby, Paula's choice - It was a nice dance tune. Danny sounded good but it was all one tone and didn't give us anything new. His dancing is awkward. He looked confident and had fun. Simon and Paula went off on a childish fight which I thought was very, very disrespectful to Danny.

2. Kris: "Aplogize" by One Republic, Randy and Kara's choice - He sang it at the piano. It was very interesting as he flipped back and forth between his low and high range effortlessly giving the song a fresh touch. His last melancholy note was beautiful and he's the one singer I love listening to and would buy. The judges all went out of control....yuck, yuck, yuck!!

3.Adam: "One" by U2 - Simon's choice which he preened and gloated over obnoxiously - They used the tired blue light again. He sang flawlessly but the song didn't do much for me and it seemed utilitarian for Adam as well.

4. Danny: "You are so beatiful" Joe Crocker's version - Danny's choice - What an amazing choice for him to really show his vocal range and control. He had a beautiful falsetto. The song was arranged well and had lots of emotion plus some cool gospel riffs in the middle. I think it was his best song of the season. He has that smokey Joe Cocker voice anyway.

5. Kris: "Heartless" by Kanye West - Kris's choice - He got on stage with only his own guitar and really showed his chops with guitar and vocal arrangement. I'd never heard the song before but wow! he delivered a melodic bunch of ear candy. It was gutsy, beautiful, and Kris Allen all the way. Kris is the only one of these three that I would listen to after this competition is over. I hope Kris makes it to the final two. He's not the big belter, but musically, he's the most inventive and interesting. Randy said, "I liked this better than the original". That is high praise indeed.

6. Adam: "Cryin" by Aerosmith - Adam's choice - It was an Adam classic and Michelle (my watching partner) said it was better than Steven Tyler's version. Adam loves this kind of music and he nailed it.

What a horse race this season! I'm pulling for the underdog here - Kris. It may be ultimately better for Kris and Danny not to win and be more in control of the kind of music they want to do since both of them are Christian artists but who knows?

Any thoughts?

Armchair American Idol Week 9

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:15:58 GMT

This is the time in the season when things get very tense. It's boiled down to the four best singers and I don't want to see who's going home tonight. It was a difficult genre because two of them were out of their element. The duets were paired to favor the two rockers. Everyone has their favorite picked out and now we'll say goodbye to someone we really like. Does it matter ultimately? No. All of them will probably go on to do well for themselves. However, we're emotionally invested now and so disappointment is bound to hit. The judges are still pimping their favorites in spite of their performances good or bad. I didn't love this night of music. I thought everyone was manic and trying too hard. Being manic only works for Adam. We watched this after midnight last night, so here goes...

Best moment of the night: Allison/Adam duet.
Low Point: Danny Gokey's scream.

Adam: "Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin) - He nailed the vocal. He was definitely in his element and sang a difficult song effortlessly. I like him better when I'm just listening and not watching because he is so theatrical that I'm distracted by what feels like Adam showboating. However, he is one talented guy and this performance should put him back on top.

Allison: "Cry Baby" (Janis Joplin) - Her vocals were solid as usual and she sold it. However, I didn't think it was a song that let her show her stuff that much. She could only go so far with it. The judges were all over her again. You never here an off note from Allison and she's true to herself so why, why, why are the judges so hard on her?

Duet- Kris/Danny: "Oh Mama" - these two were the weaker of the rock pairings because neither one are rockers. Their duets were fantastic. They sounded super good together. This performance didn't help either one of them. Since Danny is the judge's pet, it hurts Kris more. I'm worried about Kris.

Kris: "Come Together" (Beatles) - Great song choice, funky and fun and it allowed Kris to put his signature twist on it. He did a good job of reinterpreting a classic song. He looked really uncomfortable and I think he tried too hard. Simon and Paula picked on him undeservedly. He's the only one who brought a shred of originality to the night. I think Kris may be in trouble.

Danny: "Dream On" - He has great vocal control. He sounds way too melodic for a rocker and the scream at the end was a nightmare. Yet, the judges gave him A+++ for effort and didn't really judge his performance fairly. He had some off notes and the song was the low point of the night. I don't like it when the judges still push their pre-ordained favorites on us and even if the person is a good singer, which Danny is, I hate the manipulation.

Adam/Allison Duet: "Slow Down". These two had a ton of fun on this song and they rocked the house. It was pitch perfect and suit both of them perfectly. Loved it.

Who's in trouble? Kris and maybe Allison
Who should go home? Danny

Your thoughts?