Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2013

Balloon blowing Sunday...

Man, I love this man.  
All I had to do was mention that it would be fun to decorate with balloons for the Easter egg hunt and his mind was off and running... and I have to admit, I wasn’t too keen on blowing up the balloons myself so I was so grateful that he (and his wife) came up with a solution.  
On Palm Sunday, after many workers had scurried about and set up all the tables and chairs, he gave me a quick demo which quickly turned into an assembly line with some of my all-time favorite people. Whew! I’m glad I remembered I had my camera – I mean I HAD to capture this moment! Although, I don’t think I’ll forget it anytime soon. 
My neighbors, Curt and Ann were also given a quick lesson on tying balloons and then they were off and tying! 
Chuck had rigged up his air compressor with just the right nozzle to blow up balloons. Mind you, he has to keep one foot on it while it’s running or it bounces across the room, but it works like a charm! Oh, those balloons got blown up in no time! 
His wife, Pat even took some time and played a little “balloon catch” with my little girl. Oh, it was so precious!   
I adore this man. He always has a smile on his face. He always has a hug to give. And he’s a terrific adopted grandparent to me and my family (and to many in the community).  If you ever pop into our church on a Sunday morning, you might want to choose a seat next to him and you just may find that you’ll enjoy the hymns even more. Oh man, his voice is absolutely beautiful.
 Oh, he works so hard. I cannot even count the times I drive by that church and there he is, working in the yard, mowing the lawn, painting a sign, or doing some other church repair. And every Sunday morning after the coffee has all been drank, he takes his spot (along with Curt) behind the counter and they serve the coffee and goodies and then they both take a place at the kitchen sink and wash all of the dishes. 
Oh, they both serve with such commitment and kindness.
 
Ever since the "balloon blowing Sunday", many times I have caught myself giggling as I think about Chuck with his foot on the compressor, a smile on his face, filling up balloons and chuckling about how his teeth might fall out from the agitation of the compressor. Oh, his giggle and his heart for serving others makes my heart so happy.  
And he did it all just so we could have balloons at this years Easter Egg Hunt!
 
T’was a beautiful moment at our beautiful little country church!


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Erin and Brian came to visit!

A couple of weeks ago, Erik's sister Erin, her husband Brian and their three little cutie-pies Estella, Mariah and Isaac visited us from Minnesota. It was an action packed 10 days! Here are just a few of the photos that I took during their visit.


Saturday April 23rd, 2011 - Community Easter Egg Hunt and Hiking at Beacon Rock







 "The sailor went to sea, sea, sea.. " in the parking lot of Andrew's Pizza, where we ate dinner.
 And dessert courtesy of Granny's Gedunk.



Sunday April 24th, 2011 - Easter Sunday & Exploring at Big Cedars Campground



Elena and "the little girls" making dessert.

The kids table.
Huge trees at Big Cedars. :)

Lots of rock throwing and skipping...
Surprise! Deacon hid inside of a stump.


Our trusty nature guide, Rick had a wealth of information for us. Here he's showing Estella and Deacon a little about panning for gold.

Monday April 25th, 2011 - Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa
Erin and I spent a relaxing afternoon at the spa and this is the view we saw on our way home. Two rainbows that seemed to end right in the Columbia River, it was a lovely ending to a lovely day.

Tuesday April 26th, 2011 - Hiking at Catherine Creek
Quick story time before heading out on the hike.
 Brian and all three of his kiddos.
The view was stunning!


Estella, Deacon and Mariah taking a break after the hike. They are the best of friends, they all get along so well, Elena even mentioned how she would love to have them as her sisters. :)
It was a beautiful hike, we didn't get to do all of it, because it was a school night... so, we cut our hike short and rushed over to eat dinner at Pizzicato in Hood River, the Pear-Arugula salad is the best!


Wednesday April 27th, 2011 - Crazy Hair Day, Grocery Shopping & Crafty Ladies Club
Crazy hair day for Elena and Deacon at school.
 Triple "shoddy horse" with Uncle Erik.
 Grocery shopping with all of the kids!

 Crafty Ladies Club at church.
The girls made necklaces and colored some pictures, it was so adorable!

Thursday April 28th, 2011 - Bonneville Dam


Every time Erin and Brian visit, they make a trip to see Herman the Sturgeon, he's at the Oregon side of Bonneville Dam. The girls were so excited to see Herman!

Friday April 29th, 2011 - Portland Zoo


 Isaac loved watching the ducks, they were clearly his favorite animal at the zoo.



We had a lot of fun at the zoo, we saw tons of animals, had a lot of laughs and my kids are asking when we can go back again! After exploring the zoo, Erik met us for dinner at The Olive Garden, yummy!

Saturday April 30th, 2011 - Columbia River Historic Highway & Waterfalls
The view from Crown Point.


 Brian's mom, Dolly drove down from Seattle to spend the day with us. We were so glad she could join us, we had so much fun with her!


 Erin, Brian and their kids at Bridal Veil Falls.
Elena and Deacon at Multnomah Falls. We stopped at a handful of waterfalls and did several shorter hikes throughout the day. Erik, Brian, Dolly and the kids ate dinner at the Big River Grill in Stevenson, while Erin and I went home with a sick little Isaac. Due to his illness, we got an extra day with Erin and Brian, so we had a little fun at our neighbors farm...

Sunday May 1st, 2011 - Fun at our neighbors farm!






Thanks Brad, Patty and Tara for sharing your farm with us, we thoroughly enjoyed it! It was a lovely ending to a wonderful visit with Erin and Brian!



As always, thanks for stopping by the Lundby Hive!