...Tidings of Great Joy

So I haven't updated here in a LONG time.. Facebook has sorta antiquated this blog. But happy news must always replace sad news. We welcomed Christian Samuel to our family on February 27th of this year and it's been a whirl ever since.

Merry Christmas!

Disneyland photos added

The last of the photos needing to be added, or at least decent enough to add, can be found here.

Lots More Photos

Okay, I managed to add quite a few photos with more on the way. Our trip to Sacramento and our recent trip to Los Angeles are largely featured. I still have to add Disneyland pics, though.

Here's the link.

Disneyland!

He had a great time, though I think the Casey Jr. Circus Train won out as the favorite... even more than the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride or the Winnie the Pooh Ride. If I get these new, larger photos from our new camera figured out, I'll get more loaded onto our family photos page.

Happy Birthday Tom

Uncle Tom is 33 today!

I called to wish him a happy birthday and he mentioned all was well and that they will likely be going to dinner tonight to celebrate. Sounds like a plan.

Below is a photo of (from right to left starting with Tom): Tom, Kate, Hayes, Jill and Gabriel from our trip a few weeks ago to Sacramento to visit.



And, of course, the following photo is too good not to post from that same trip:



Happy Birthday!

Merry White Christmas!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that Santa was extra generous this year. We had a great Christmas and even had snow! The odds of that happening in the Portland area are less than 1%, so it was quite a treat.

Gabriel did quite alright at our house. Santa left him a Thomas & Friends toddler bicycle and a toddler digital camera. Both were hits, but the big hit was the Brio Aqueduct waterway toy that we got him.. photo is below.


It's a wet mess in the kitchen, but the boy has been captivated by it and Bebe has had a blast with it as well. Yeah, there's wet towels all around the place but hey - no single toy has ever kept Gabriel's and Bebe's attention in the same place at the same time for as long as they can play with it!

Nana, Papa, and Great Gramma were able to join us for Christmas, including a dinner with the tastiest smoked ham I've ever had. Organic and nitrate-free from New Seasons. Leading up to Christmas, we enjoyed Zoo Lights, the Grotto, baking sugar cookies, and leaving some cookies out for Santa on the fireplace on Christmas Eve.



In addition to the above photo, I've made a greatly overdue update on our Flickr! photo page with shots spanning from Maui in October to Christmas just the day before. Also included are Gabriel's SuperGabriel Halloween Costume courtesy of Gramma, Autumn Leaves, Tea Parties, Family Thanksgiving, Christmas Tree Hunting, Jill's Birthday (see post below), and Gabriel's first movie theater experience (and first foreign film The Red Balloon).

Happy New Year!

Happy Belated Birthday (Post) Jill!

Jill celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks ago and I've been rather remiss by not posting anything. Truth be told, it's been kinda difficult to grab the digital camera memory chip during all the holiday festivities this month. Excuses, excuses.

I hope you had a happy birthday, Jill. It was sort of a two-day celebration with the company dinner at Andina on your birthday and then a family get together the next night. But I know you had a good time and managed a nice pair of new earrings as well! Gabriel clearly had a blast, too.


Happy Birthday, Sweetie! I love you!

New Website Additions

You'll notice that in the right-hand margin, there are a couple of additions to the page. First, the obvious one is the new Flickr slideshow of our family photos. They change automatically, but you can pause on one you like, move forward or backward, or just click the photo and you'll be taken to the larger version at the Flickr website.

Second, I've added a link under Family Links, to the Wachdorf geneology website, Wachdorf Connect. You can learn all about the Wachdorf, Pfleger, Hardison, and Plaehn families over there at your leisure. It's well done, with lots of photos, family letters, and other information scanned and meticulously organized.

Happy surfing!

(Grandma) Betty Jean Reid

Grandma Reid passed away early Monday morning in Farmington, New Mexico, where she lived for as long as I can remember. Her health took its course as it does with folks who live to be over 85 years old. She had been receiving care in and out of her own home as her health declined.



We last saw her in person a couple of years ago when we were able to take Gabriel and enjoy a visit in her own home. Before that, and before I came to Oregon, I usually tried to drive through Farmington when I headed home from college in Texas, usually right before Christmas time. Slick roads, cold air, and herds of sheep between Cuba and Farmington made their home on La Plata drive a welcome destination. Grandma (and Grandpa) were always happy to see me, even as I greeted them with the same corny joke about whether or not they knew a certain blue spruce was growing in their front yard. Pizza (Little Caesar's - "Here's $20.. don't forget the green chile!"), sometimes cards, and always a lot of conversation were guaranteed from her shortly after my arrival.

She will be missed. I have posted the entirety of her obituary below, courtesy of the Farmington Daily Times newspaper website.

Betty Jean Reid
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 09/18/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

FARMINGTON

Betty Jean Reid

April 26, 1922 - Sept. 17, 2007

Betty Jean Reid, 85, of Farmington, passed away peacefully early Monday morning, Sept. 17, 2007. She was born Betty Jean Tunison on April 26, 1922, in Sterling, Colo., to Edgar D. and Julia M. Tunison.

Betty was the oldest of three children raised on their family's homestead between Sterling and Akron, Colo. She graduated from high school in Atwood, Colo. She met her future husband, George H. Reid Sr., on a train from Denver, Colo., to Sterling, Colo., in 1945, as he was returning from his deployment in the South Pacific at the end of WWII. Betty spent her time caring for her family and friends, quilting, camping and fishing.

Betty was preceded in death by both of her parents and her brother, Edgar Dennis Tunison of Palm Springs, Calif.

She is survived by her husband, George H. Reid Sr., of Farmington; her sister, Kathleen Michael of Palm Harbor, Fla.; son, James Reid and his wife, Yvonne, of Fort Morgan, Colo.; son, Steve Reid and wife, Ellen, of Casper, Wyo.; son, David Reid and his wife, Dianne, of Hillsboro, Ore.; daughter, Betty Rice of Farmers Branch, Texas; son, George Reid Jr. of Farmington; 10 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation for Betty will be 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, at Memory Gardens of Farmington, with Father Tim Farrell.

Betty is in the care of Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home; (505) 325-8688.

May you finally enjoy rest and peace.

Happy Birthday To Us!

Blowing Out Candles, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Gabriel turned 3 and I turned 35 yesterday, capping a three-day birthday celebration for the both of us. Here we are blowing out the birthday candles on our family party birthday cake.

Gabriel is growing up to be a sweet, curious, determined, and very funny little boy and I couldn't be any happier or more proud. Happy birthday, little man.

Gabriel had a Saturday morning party at a local park for his friends Ian, Nolan, Vanessa, Zane, and Bryce. Sunday, we had a great family birthday party (I cooked my famous Hawaiian ribs and smoked salmon - eat your heart out, Tom). We were joined by Gramma, Grampa (photo?), Me-ma, Nana, Papa, and Aunty Sandy Nemeth who drove down from Mill Creek north of Seattle.

Thank you, everybody, for coming and for your generous birthday gifts. We hope you had good food and a good time. We sure did!

I have also updated our flickr.com photo page with MANY, many photos that have been taken since the last update. That includes our trip to Canada, our birthday parties, final play dates with Davon & Kaya, Toni & Teryn's visit, chickens, Thomas the Tank Engine in Hood River, Tom, Kate & Hayes' visit, and various other fun.

Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Here's a shot of Easter dinner with Gabriel working on eating all of the crust off the bread. Jack Nemeth is in the red shirt, Memo and Grandma on the left, Papa and Nana on the right, and Dada in the foreground in the blue shirt.

Mama is snapping the photo. Also visible is our new dining room set that barely made it in time for Sunday. I had to rent a U-Haul at the last minute to go pick up the set from Consignments Northwest because they called and canceled our already-delayed delivery.

I read the company owner the Riot Act but the best he could do was "help us load it if you bring a truck yourselves." I got this news on Saturday afternoon - how I managed to rent a truck that late in the day on Saturday is a milagro. With several strokes of luck I got the dining set back to the house and Jill and I unloaded it ourselves.

Unfortunately, because of the ordeal we didn't have time to dye Easter eggs with Gabriel, but honestly he had so much fun running up and down the U-haul truck ramp that he clearly had a great time anyway (REALLY BIG TRUCK, DADA!!)

But all in all, it was a happy Easter.

Seattle to Portland Ride Photos

This link will take you to the Post Falls Recumbant Active Unofficial Group (PFRAUG - guess what the animal mascot is!) website.



There you can find various photos of the groups's bicycle journey from Seattle to Portland a couple of weekends ago. Here's a shot I took at the finish line along with some action shots of Gramma Dianne, Andrea and Jim Ed.





Congratulations Again!