More vacation pics

So where did I leave off? Ah, yes... the donut party on Halloween. Well, as you can see it got a little wild.



Ahhh... the smells of the ocean air, the waves crashing on the rocks, and seagulls sailing overhead. Man, I sure do miss that! Even on a grey and cloudy day, my heart soared to be near the beach again. This is near our old house. See the lighthouse waaay out there?



This is the table setting on the first morning of our stay at the bed and breakfast in Seal Rock. Talk about pampered! What a fabulous, relaxing time. Resting on the Rock is certainly an appropriate name.

This place is called Elephant Rock. You can't see it in the picture, but it's covered with pelicans this year. Apparently they had become almost nil on the Central Oregon Coast, but they're now making a comeback. Wish I could've gotten a better picture of these beautiful, graceful birds.



And here's another shot nearby, down the beach a bit. Isn't it gorgeous?



Here's Doug with one of the many special people at Newport Nazarene. Nine years ago, Doug was at rock bottom, broken and hurting, and Don welcomed him and showed him around the place. That was the first church he'd stepped into in years...and never considered shopping around for another one after that day. We weren't surprised that Don was the first one we'd see as we pulled in. He's still faithfully waiting to greet people with that big hug and exuberant welcome after all this time.

I have lots more pictures, but not on my camera... I'm hoping for some to be emailed, so if I get some more, I'll post them!

Happy Veteran's Day

This is my favorite vet, my Dad. From my youth, he taught me to honor the dead by serving the living. Ever since I can remember, he's worked at doing that by serving in the VFW. In Buffalo, where he lives, the VFW POST raises money through Bingo and concessions at the fairgrounds to help people in the community. They supply car seats and medical equipment to people who can't afford them and wake up early to put out flags on patriotic holidays.

Love you, Dad! Wish I could be out there with you to put flags up and down Main St. today!

A little love goes a long way

Our much anticipated vacation is even better than I expected it would be. Doug worked the Dave Ramsey Live Event in Portland this year, and we got to tag along! Here's where we stayed the first few nights...


Our first night with our wonderful friends, the Foley/Connor clan. Patti and Josh are making Bobobe (ba HOE bay), a dish they learned how to make while serving on the mission field in South Africa. Yummy!!

Naomi and Katie playing dress-up for the Halloween donut party. Mark and Patti made fabulous donuts while the kids tried on costumes, waiting for the guests to arrive.
One morning we went to help Naomi move and clean her apartment. We had wayyy too much fun! Patti couldn't just paint the wall white without showing off her artistic nature.

There's lots more to come, but this is probably enough for one post.