A special birthday surprise for my 65th birthday

I was really surprised when all my kids gathered in Portland to give me a special birthday party for my 65th birthday.  I was so touched and honored.  They had planned a special day to surprise me, and no one had informed me of it in advance.  We met in Washington Park and had fun and shot photos of the family, and that evening Chris had reserved a room in a restaurant in Old Town Portland for us to have pizza and Joe's special homemade (my mother's recipe) banana cake.  Everyone gave me gifts, but the most special one was a book the Joe and Griselda had put together of pictures and memories the boys had come up with.  Each of them had written a tribute in there to me and their Dad, and that was most meaningful to me.  I was so touched by the family's love for each other and their thoughtfulness to me.  Nathan doesn't have a car, and Joe goes back and forth toAstoria to get him so they can be together, and Chris and Joe have outings together with Milo and Sofia and Evelyn.  Steve and Sandie go out of their way to drive up and see their siblings.  These things mean a lot to a mother, and I am grateful for such a good family.  This was one of the most special days of my life.

Check out these beautiful pictures of Chris and his family.  Chris is the man behind the camera, too.  He took the pictures in Washington park, has lots of photography equipment, and gets the bug from his grandpa.  Chris has a beautiful family.

Here are some pictures of Joe and his family.  Joe is the least photogenic one of the family, though he is perhaps the handsomest son of all.  He looks sick in every picture he takes!  Sorry Joe)  So we have a few bad pictures of Joe here, who is a super guy, and his beautiful family.

Steve and Sandie had five hours to travel to our event, but arrived late because one of the children threw up in the car.  It was a tough trip.  But they arrived happy and their family was so sweet they made me cry.  How I love those little grandchildren!

We took a very nice picture with Nathan, who Spearhead and planned this whole event.  We really appreciate him in our family.  He is definately our social chairman!

All the brothers are together.
As usual they are horsing around a little!

A WEEKEND IN ASHLAND TO MEET MY NEW GRANDSON

I flew to Ashland OR to meet my new grandson, Samuel Vernon, a beautiful baby shown here in his blessing outfit, as he was blessed on Sunday.

When I got in we went for pizza and salads.  Then they introduced me to their new house, a craftsman style in a new neighborhood full of that style home.  It was a beautiful home.  We cozied up to the fireplace and watched Mama Mia, to which the kids knew all the lyrics.  Seth fell asleep against me humming the lyrics, and Emily was correcting what bad language there was in the musical with the correct word.  (there wasn't much, thank goodness).  Sammy wasn't used to me yet, so Evan helped me hold him.

SOME PICTURES AND THOUGHTS ON MY WEEKEND IN ASHLAND

I was so impressed with Evan, who is 8.  He loves to take care of the baby, and he knows how to carry him comfortably, how to rock him and comfort him when he is crying.  He holds the baby for long periods of time and never gets tired of holding him.  What's more, he can be trusted to be responsible.  Sandie is very blessed to have such a good son as Evan.  He is a really wonderful boy,  and I am so proud of him!!!

We spent a pleasant afternoon on a walk and swinging in the park.  The weather was beautiful: in the 60's.  

Seth loves Star Wars and plays long imaginary games with this weapon that he gladly posed for me with.  I forgot what he called it, but it is the most important toy in his possession, and he can do all kinds of holds with it (he reminds me of some kind of martial arts expert with a big stick!)  He and Emily carry on long pretend fantasies simultaneously----she talking about Mommies, Daddies, princes and princesses, he talking about Star War characters and warriors, with constant dialogues going on.

CHRIS, SERA, AND MILO'S SNOWY CHRISTMAS IN PORTLAND

Chris's home in Portland and Milo with his snowman


2008 brought an unprecedented snow storm to Portland, Vancouver, and Tri-cities, where, Chris, Joe, Nathan, and Val and I were holed up for Christmas.  We couldn't get to each other, but we had a lot of fun in the snow.

STEVE AND SANDIE'S CHRISTMAS

We welcomed our new grandson, Samuel Vernon Jensen, on December 6, 2008. And here are our other beautiful grandchildren, Evan, Seth, and Emily, who all took a three-month trip with their parents across the USA in a motorhome this year.

OUR CHRISTMAS LETTER

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY



Christmas at our house---a few favorite things and a lot of music, Vern's art, the family.  What are we doing?

We have a big Christmas recital for my 50 piano students on the 23rd in an auditorium, a very large production, so I must prepare my students.  Val is usually found singing in choir and choral productions.  We love to bake good things and have friends over.  In the quiet evenings Val studies his German and we listen to Beethoven and Handel, and we try to take in one or two of the many concerts available here before Christmas.  Then the kids, our family, converge on us for Christmas, the fun part, when the noise and celebration begin.  The house gets messy, kids are everywhere, the smells of good food and the familiar "Hey Mom" remind me of years ago.  Life is so good.

Judy and Val

THANKSGVING

The day before Thanksgiving was Sofia's birthday.  She turned six.  She like blueberry cheesecake  (in the background with candles).  She and her sister Evelyn spent the summer picking their father's blueberry plants clean every day and coming in with purple faces and hands.

My camera stopped working so I couldn't get pictures of everybody, a big disappointment.  But we had Chris and Sera and Milo, and also Nathan.  We ate 8 pies, as I had to make both sugar free (for Nathan and Joe who are type 1 diabetecs--Joe being on insulin) and also sugar for everyone else.  We ate a healthy meal----lots of yams, brussels sprouts, salad, as well as turkey and all the trimmings.

Nathan and Joe brought their poetry.  They are almost better writers than their father was.  What a gift in our family.  And Nathan is so well-read.  He reminds me of Vern in his learning.  Joe reminds me of Vern in his personality and temperament.  And Chris reminds me of him with his gentleness, humbleness and humor.  The three of them are their Dad!  Now Steve---I think he takes from me.  But we make a great family;  I am so thankful for our family.  Thankyou Vern for our fine sons. 

I just finished a quilt for a new grandbaby to be born to Steve and Sandy in December.  We don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, so it is appropriate for either!  Very soft and fluffy.

The colors in our yard are so beautiful right now,  so I photographed some grasses and aspen trees and the Bradford pear.  We have had a very mild and beautiful fall.  In fact, we are still eating our blackberries, and it is November 10th!

A WALK ALONG THE COLUMBIA

It's nice that Chris and Sera, Joe and Griselda and families live just across the Columbia from each other now. Just a 15 minute ride. Last weekend the brothers and kids got together for a hike and found a deserted beach on the river. Not only did they find a deserted beach, a very appealing discovery to those boys of yesterday, but they found some old abandoned bricks. Wow! Something to build with! So they spent a pleasant Fall afternoon building a castle, while the kids built sand castles and watched an ocean-going vessel come up the channel. I wish I could have been there, but I chuckle to think of the fun they all must have had.