A Bunch of Birthdays!!!

Jaime, Holly and Sheila Freed started Birthday realities for 2010! And Lori Freed's birthday turned into a surprise in Ashland at a local favorite Mexican restaurant. You can always check the calendar to see how old she is now but it has been several years now since her big 5oth! It was a fun evening with several surprise friends showing up to celebrate with us. One week later, Adam had his big 16th Birthday and ready for his driver's license! He enjoyed his new phone with his friends since starting school along with Grandma's special Afghan! Congratulations to all for another year of surprises ahead. Birthdays are a reminder that your all special with unique abilities to encourage and bless.

Ashland Basketball

Last evening, Esther and I attended the Ashland High School Jr. Varsity basketball game. Adam, Lori & Bobs Highschooler, is a regular on the team. It was to be a close game and was until the half. But something happened to the team and they came out fired up and built up a 30 point lead which held to the finish! It was exciting to see Adam and his team all fired up! Adam is number 30 and at times seems to be dancing with the opposition! He is very aggressive in his play and has to be careful with fouls but defensively, he has turned into a powerful presence on the court. Next year as a Junior, he'll move up to varsity. It's amazing to see him and all his friends maturing into 6 foot men!

Friends from Taiwan

Jimmy Wu, a student at our University in Ashland, started attending our Presbyterian Church several years ago. He was learning English and American ways and far away from his family in Taiwan. We became friends and several years ago invited him to spend Christmas with us. He was excited to experience his first "Christian Christmas" in the USA. He had no idea that we gave each other gifts and was really surprised that we included him with gifts! He then moved to Washington & began attending Western Washington University. He made the 600 mile trip to be with us again for Christmas & this time he was prepared with gifts!!! Jimmy fit in well with our family. This past Christmas, we received a call from him and he was able to come again but had a special request. His mom & dad & brother were coming and wondered if it would be ok if they came too? We were delighted! We invited them to stay at our place and they accepted! Jason, his brother, knew very little English and mom & dad did not speak English! They were a lively family wanting to experience everything they could! They played games with us including Five Crowns - they jumped on the trampoline - they enjoyed our food - they brought gifts & received gifts - they wanted to attend our candle lighting service at church - they even had fun scraping the frost off their rental car's windows. Whenever there was anything to do in the kitchen, Mrs. Wu was there helping. . .words were not necessary. . .cutting, dicing & stirring are the same in all languages!! And whenever we needed a translator, Jimmy was always there! We had a great time with our new friends making this past Christmas a grand memory.

Christmas in Texas

December, a month to remember! A Rose Bowl disappointment for the Oregon Ducks and families gathering. But Oregon and Texas do have long lasting memories of both losing their Bowl games on National Television! We all know that the Christmas Season is happy for most folks but sad for many others. We all remember those unusual Christmases over the years but this year had many enjoyable moments. Roly & Candy had their clan gather in Corsicana, Texas. The usual climate is mild even in the winter even though I remember ice storms in December. But the winter blast waited until January for Texas where they have been shivering with 20 degrees! and in Oregon it's Spring, almost! We all missed the Texas kids and grands and greats! And finally received these memories to enjoy with them. Now headlong into another year, we are all thankful for life and the opportunity to grow some more gratitude to keep us warm!

Thanks to Candy, Roly, Ashley, Zack, Holly, Joe, Blake and Tyler! We all missed you!

Hummers Stay in Ashland

Several hummingbirds decided to stay in Ashland instead of heading to Arizona for the winter. They probably know that obligates us to feed them until the flowers bloom in Spring! But this week we have an Arctic blast of cold air that seems like zero degrees wind chill even though the sun shines afternoon! Yesterday and today, the fog was so thick the frost grew every minute obscuring the sun. The barren trees and shrubs were all covered with a snowlike covering. I went out to get a photo and as usual, the hummers protested. They have claimed the feeders and let you know your too close. The hummer you see, decided to wait me out in the top of the frost covered tree and as soon as I went inside, took a long sip of sweet feed and retreated to home in the top of the nearby evergreen.

Ashland Water Polo State Champions!

Adam, Lori and Bob's water boy, helped the Ashland High School Water Polo team win the state championship! As a sophomore, Adam has worked hard and landed a regular starting position on the team. The final game was very close against a tough Portland team. Going into the final quarter, Ashland was behind 8 to 10. Against a super goalie, they struggled for goals but outlasted their opponents and scored the winning goal with just seconds to go. Congratulations to Adam and his team for a superb accomplishment!

Tyler Reports from Boulder, Colorado

Roly & Candy dumped Tyler their youngest, as new fallen snow, in Boulder again this fall. Now in his second year, Tyler looks forward to the first snowfall so he can snow board!! He finally figured out how to maneuver a photo from his cell phone to my cell, then these photos became my problem on how to get them from my cell phone into my computer all the way to this Blog! You don't want to know all the hoops we had to jump thru! 'But alas, 2 photos from Boulder! You can see the University football field in the distance and enjoy the beautiful Colorado snowfall! Thanks Tyler for this great effort!