Happy Summer from Oregon!

Wow! It's been more than 6 months since our last post. My how time flies when you are having fun. So many things have changed in the past few months and I can say we have been truly blessed in so many ways.

In the middle of April we decided it was time to get our act together and make our move to Portland, OR. Chris and I traveled to Portland the last weekend in April for our house-hunting adventure. We had 2 1/2 days to find a place to live and we weren't optimistic after our first day. On our second day we viewed a small house with great landlords and we decided to rent. We knew it was the house God had chosen for us when one of the owners called US and said she wanted to rent to us. What a relief - and we were able to enjoy some time sight seeing!

We scheduled the packers for May 8th and the movers for May 9th. We did not get completely finished with the house until May 14th. We learned that we HATE painting and will pay someone to do it for us next time. We also learned that we shouldn't procrastinate - but that probably won't change in the near future. We spent the nights without our furniture either in hotels or on the floor of our house so we could work after the boys went to sleep. The boys did well during this time even though the days (and nights) were chaotic.

Our worldly possessions were not due in Portland until May 22nd so we spent some time with my parents. It was good for the boys to have some time with their grandparents before making the move. It was good for all of us to eat something other than restaurant food, too. The boys played outside with bubbles, sidewalk chalk and the plastic pool Grandma brought while I read and Chris worked. It was a nice break in between the packing and unpacking.

We arrived in Portland on May 20th, ever so hopeful that our belongings would arrive early. They did not. We got our keys on May 21st and spent some time in the house getting the necessary utilities set up and letting the boys get to know their new abode. We also took them to the park which is just 3 houses away, although it was raining and it made for a short trip. Our stuff arrived on May 22nd - and we are still trying to fit everything from our 2600 sq ft house into our less than 1200 sq ft house. Maybe someday...

Everyone is adjusting well to our house and to Portland. The younger boys have to share a room and that took a little getting used to for them. We had several late nights when they wanted to play instead of sleep. All three enjoy our long driveway and huge yard, both of which are rare in Portland. We think we have found a church we all like and are starting to get involved. We are making friends, too. The boys are anxious to get involved with activities with other kids their age. Except for the last weekend in June, the weather has been absolutely wonderful but it has taken some getting used to. I mean, who wears sweatshirts and jeans to the 4th of July Fireworks?

Perhaps our biggest blessing of all was the sale of our house less than one month after putting it on the market. We got one full price offer less than 2 weeks after it went up for sale and it went through. We closed on June 26th. The housing market in central Texas is not very good right now, especially where our house was located, and we were worried we would be paying a rent and a mortgage for a while. Praise God that this did not happen.

I will try to do a better job of keeping up with our blog. We would love to hear from you all. We'd love to have you visit, too, but our house is so small you would have to sleep in the bathtub.