Adam's Water Polo Team

Lori & Bob have watched Adam begin his career in Water Polo. Now a Junior in High School, Adam is helping the Ashland Grizzly Polo team to a winning season! Recently, they won a big tournament in Redmond, Oregon and last week-end they won all 4 games against some of their toughest competition in Eugene. Adam and his best friend Forrest, combined for 9 goals to beat Cottage Grove. . .he then scored 10 more goals in 3 games to get wins over both Eugene teams and a Marist teams. Ashland won the state last year and this year their headed for another championship. They just returned from Rocklin, CA near Sacramento, where they met some of the toughest teams in the West. And as you can see, Adam always draws a crowd! Congratulations to Adam and his team!

Big Party in Texas

Holly & Joe Pair had a big party in Corsicana to celebrate Blake's 3rd birthday. They splashed and played and ate cake with Roly & Candy and Ashley and Zack. Blake certainly enjoyed the sandy beach at least for the camera. We all would have loved to be there to join in the celebration!

Jana & Paul Vacation in Belize

If you want a vacation outside of the U.S.A., Jana & Paul & kids would suggest Belize: a small country in Central America next to Guatemala on the Caribbean Sea. It's a simple country with simple prices and simple living. Seafood is plentiful if you catch it or find the right restaurant. The roads are even simple and sometimes hard to find which makes this vacation spot a grand family adventure! They swam with the turtles and fish, snorkeled and kayaked and got plenty of sun. Sometimes more than they wanted. They hiked narrow trails and found waterfalls and tarantula spiders as big as your hand, climbed coconut trees and even ate raw coconut! Derrick, Brady & Payton came home full of adventure stories and experiences in simple nature. . .and they all survived in good shape ready for another adventure to who knows where!

Ashland About 3 Weeks After

Nearly 3 weeks after the horrible fire, life goes on. Everyday the stark remains of our neighbors houses lie dormant and lifeless. Nothing has been done to remove any of these scares. Asbestos red tape and insurance haggling continue to hold up any signs of rebuilding. Several families have decided to abandon Oak Knoll and relocate. On our side of the street, burnt pages from Bibles and other books catch the wind and dot the street and our yards as daily reminders. We pick up the pages as if a heavenly sign and search for a sign of wisdom amid the paragraphs.

But, life goes on. . .I'm sure the hummingbirds that live here year round were frightened and wondered if they would have to build a new nest. Their home is next to the street in our big evergreen where the firetrucks parked for the day. They must have watched the fire from a safe place in the tops of other trees but they have returned and still enjoy the feeders. But now they must wait their turn as One Red Headed Woodpecker has learned to balance on the feeder rim and enjoy a sweet drink several times a day!!! We couldn't believe the sight. I finally got a photo without scaring her away, a delightful sight in the middle of rubble.

Ashland Fire on Oak Knoll

Who would believe that in a small town with an over abundance of Police and the latest and best fire department coverage, that a simple fire started accidentally by a homeless man would get out of control, jump the Interstate and roar up our street demolishing 11 homes and damaging 4 others. When the firefighters finally got to our street, 3 homes were already engulfed in flames and we were running to get our car keys to get out!!! It was about 10 minutes before the first truck got there along with 3 helicopters! Within the hour there were 16 Ashland & out of town fire depts pumping water as fast as they could. As Esther and I walked back, everything was blocked so I circled back of our house thru the golf course and on the street behind our house and the smoke was so strong it appeared that our place was on fire. There were two firetrucks directly in front desperately trying to save the houses directly across from us. The only house still standing is the flat roof house across from our front door. The photo of the trucks I took at the corner where you go to the golf course. If you look thru the haze, behind the trucks are the large pine trees in our front yard. You can see the burnt spot on our front walk that nearly fired up the two pine trees that border the street and our walk to our front door. The firemen shoveled dirt from our yard to put out this spot fire. The huge pine tree back by our patio has been seared and the damaged needles are now blowing over everything. This seems so insignificant as we are reminded every time we go outside of the heartache our neighbors are experiencing. Tomorrow is trash day and I cannot make myself put our trash out in the morning amid the piles of burnt memories and debris from our neighbors losses. You realize in a hurry that material things are so unimportant when your running for your lives. Jesus said, "Don't be attached to this world" . . . I understand that better today. I'm sure Shawna, Dan & Sheila's daughter, also understands since she too lost all her possessions this year when her apartment burned while she was at work. Like our neighbors, all they had was the clothes on their backs and no bed and place to go home to. We haven't heard any whining or complaining only concerns about their temporary housing and dealing with insurance and rebuilding. Today some came back and looked again and wondered. . .as the reality sinks in. Remember the Oak Knoll folks in your prayers.

Portland, OR at Dan's

Last Monday & Tuesday, we joined Dan and Sheila in Portland to get acquainted with Wes, Jaime's husband and their daughter Celeste who will be 1 year old Sept. 3. Celeste is our 2nd great grand daughter and another wonderful addition to the Freed clan. Wes is now mom and dad while Jaime is in training in the U. S. Navy at Great Lakes, Illinois. She has just entered her first training session after boot camp and gets no breaks or leaves until Christmas. Wes has stepped up as dad and is giving Celeste lots of tender loving care! As you can see, Celeste is getting plenty of attention. Even Aunt Shawna manages some motherly moments! Naturally, Esther & I are proud to add our love and support!

After Holly & Joe's Wedding

Lori was also busy taking photos and captured Esther & I with Roly after the wedding. She then departed the next day for Boulder Dam, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Adam & Amanda along with her boyfriend Will took in more Vegas Strip sights then on to Arizona for a few days to take in some of their natural wonders. They had a great time sliding down the rocks into natural pools. . .although a little rough on the behinds!