No electricity for Christmas!

We lost our power sometime in the night on Sunday Dec. 21st. It came back on around 10 am Friday Dec. 26th.

On Tuesday the 23rd Adam was going to drive home from Portland after work. We were worried about him driving in the terrible road conditions so we decided to go and get him. We ( Lorelei, Jon, Cody and I) headed out from the house a little after 3:00 in the afternoon for a normal drive time of about 1 hr and 15 min to Portland. It took us over 3 hrs to get there! Snow, ice, freezing temperatures were just a few of our problems. We finally made it to Adam's place of employment and put a new set of chains on his truck and then we headed back to his dorm room at the college.



Adam shares the room below with another student. Adam had said that his room was small. We were surprised how SMALL it really is!



We finally made it back home after 10 pm. We were greeted with a chilly house with no electricity or running water (the well doesn't pump water without power)

Below, trying to melt snow in the kitchen worked out well until the soot from our outdoor cooking pots smoked up the house enough to set off the smoke detectors. We moved everything out of the freezer and the fridge.



Christmas day, still no power. We made the best of it. We went into town for dinner to one of the only restaurants that was open. It was packed with people but it was nice to sit down and be warm and not worry about melting snow to do the dishes. They also had some amazing bathrooms there that had lights that worked with the flick of a switch and toilets that flushed!



Jon and Lorelei



Cody got some nerf dart guns and the boys spent some time target practicing.



The snow is really pretty, but we were so glad to see the rain!



I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours had some challenges but we endured. The boys were a great help and kept a positive attitude through the whole thing. We were all healthy and we have much to be grateful for.

All of the pictures for December are HERE

Glynn Jr.

Still snowing!

Well this morning the power is out, which also means we have a limited supply of water along with no electricity. A day or so is no problem but more than that will get to be an inconvenience. This morning was the most difficult driving conditions yet. Ice on the roads and then snow on top of that and then another layer of ice! I just barely made it up the road, even with chains and 4 wheel drive.



Below, Matteo, Aaron and Jon with a huge snowman they made!



Lots more pictures here

Snow and cold in the Great Northwest

After church yesterday we had a few errands to run and the forecast was for cold temperatures to be moving into the area. Jon had planned to stay in town and go to his youthgroup meeting later in the evening but we decided he should return home with us. At around 11 a.m. it began snowing off and on as we made our way around town. At the local farm store (we stopped to pick-up chicken feed) we ran into some local Amity parents one of whom had just come from Portland. He said he had been stuck in traffic for 3 hours and had seen some 30-40 car wrecks! Great, just what we needed to hear, especially because we knew Adam probably had to work and he doesn't have snow tires on his little truck. We finished up our errands and made it home and the thermometer said 39 degrees.....hey where is all this cold weather?

After lunch we did some chores outside and I finished up the calenders, still the temp was around 37 degrees. Cody, Jon and I sat down to a game of hearts and between hands we checked on the temperature as it began to snow outside. 35....34......32...it was dropping fast. By the time dinner was over it was 30 degrees and still dropping. The boys and I went out and tried the sled but the snow was very powdery so we hiked and messed around for a bit. There was about 4" of snow and the gravel road to our house was deserted with no cars attempting to come or go. We came inside to warm up and looked at the thermometer.....27 degrees!

We warmed up and decided maybe a movie would be a good idea, so we picked out "The Man from Snowy River". By now it was 24 degrees. Lorelei, Cody and I sat down to watch and Jon was checking his email. About 7:30 I glanced out the front window to see some shadowed figures approaching the house. Now I knew that someone had not driven up so I reasoned that it must be neighbors. I recognized Nic (neighbor up the road and Jon's teammate) but some of the 6 or 7 faces I did not recognize. Nic peered in the window and hollered to see if Jon wanted to come outside. As the kids waited outside, I could see that more than half of them were girls and we eventually pieced together names and where they lived from their faces. There were giggles and laughter while they waited for Jon.

Jon made it outside and the kids milled around a bit while Jon found a sled (not really a sled, but a "knee board" intended to be pulled behind a boat). Off they went, 7 or 8 teenage boys and girls with one sled and smiles on their faces.

Now after thinking about this, several things are interesting to me. Most of these kids have nothing in common! These kids rarely, apart from school ever associate with one another. They are different ages and from different belief systems. Several of them had to walk over a mile in the snow in 24 degree weather just to get to our house! Yet for this one evening they joined together and enjoyed one anothers company and laughed and talked and were just kids enjoying simple pleasures. No tv, no video games, no hurrying to be anywhere at a certain time. A bunch of young people....one sled....and some snow.

I wish adults could act this way more often!

Glynn Jr.

Lorelei's birthday!

Lorelei's birthday was last week. She turned 30 something....oops I mean 40 something....oops I mean 50 something!
We had a great day on Friday. We toured around the county poking into antique shops and second hand stores. We stopped in at an "art gallery" and soon discovered we were on another planet. When a small 4" x 4" blob of paint splatter is $850 it must be another planet! So we left there and went into a small coffee shop and had a cappuccino that we were guaranteed to be just like they make in Italy. Hmm.....what the heck, we each had one and although I didn't feel like I was in Italy, it was good! The weather was great and the company was even better!

The boys and I dropped another Maple tree on Saturday and we finished splitting it up on Sunday. I am behind on getting the calendars finished up. The boys are doing well in school and I think Jon is enjoying a break from competitive sports. Cody will start basketball soon. The weather has been too good for December in Oregon. Take care all!

Glynn Jr.

Thanksgiving 2008!

On Wednesday I took Adam, Cody and Cody's friend Lance to the Portland Trailblazers game. We had a great time!



Cody and Lance with some cotton candy.



Turkey day was a busy one. Adam's friend from college joined us. Of course there is a little more to the story. Bryce tried making it to our house on Wed. night but his car was having some mechanical difficulty, so he headed back to the dorms at school. On Thursday he tried again to make it part way to our house (about a hour and a half drive) Adam and Jon got in Adam's truck and took off to meet Bryce. They caught up with him in Tigard and made it back home before dinner. I asked Bryce how many kids were still at the dorm when he left and he said "just me and the Holy Spirit". We were really glad that he made it and had a place to spend Thanksgiving.
Here's Bryce.



My dad and Franci also drove up from California to be with us! They delivered some tools that belonged to my late uncle Bob and also the anvil that belonged to my great grandpa!

Cody and his grandpa get into a game of chess before dinner.



After dinner we solved all of the worlds problems.



And then the boys played guitar and sang some songs for us.



Our favorite girl payed us a visit too! It's always so nice to see Ashley's smiling face.



This is Iota! One fearsome attack dog that belongs to my dad and Franci.



We have lots to be thankful for. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!



Glynn Jr.