Catching Up

Meggie has been off at Oregon State University for two weeks now and came home to visit and take a trip to pick some apples. We went out to get fresh cider, apples, squash and corn and enjoy the beautiful October weather. Meggie's loving college and her independent living in a christian house along with 48 other OSU women.  Everyone's glad to see her!

I've been taking Solomon up to Portland weekly to meet with doctors and look at options. This visit started at 5:00 AM and to Mom's defense, it was dark out when I grabbed his shoes.

Three weekends ago I headed up to hike South Sister with a friend's son. We left at 9:00 PM and got up to the trailhead about 12:30. We then had a 2000 ft. hike in the dark to get to the family's campsite. Due to blackness and a few uncertainties we didn't roll into the tents until 4:00 AM. What an adventure. We did get up and down and back to my home by 8:00 that evening. It was a great hike.

Last weekend Leo and I hikes Diamond Peak. I think this is one of my favorite hikes. It's a pretty easy 12 mile hike without much tedium or technical difficulties. It is so beautiful! The mountain with snow is South Sister, the mountain I had hiked two weeks prior.

All is well with life and the kids. Solomon continues to grow in understanding of family and language. He and Lydia are enjoying each other a lot and it's fun to see the "wild siblings". The three youngest are home schooling and going to Chinese School on Sundays and doing really well. Lydia is still holding back because of her arm, but we are on week 8 of recovery, so hopefully she can jump into activities soon.

Emma is in Portland and Solomon and I get to visit her on our Portland medical trips. We love seeing her. She just got a raise at her current job and took the test today for teacher's college.

And Simon is a month and a half into his ACL recovery. He is out of commission for 6 long months total, which has been a bummer for him. He has a tough high school load but misses all the athletic activities.

Mom and Dad come in a couple of weeks and we are so excited to spend the time with them. I am so thankful for their frequent visits!