Sunny Oregon Beach?

                                                      How often do you get to go to the Oregon Coast 

and get a gorgeous day....or two?!                                                                  

Last weekend, I headed to Manzanita with the ladies of Warren Baptist for our annual Spring retreat.

  

Hard to believe it has been six years since I've been on a retreat.   It's always a great way of getting to know others that you see every Sunday, but really don't know that well...just a little bit better.  It was a very relaxing weekend.. much needed!   

 Friday was cloudy, but really nice.   On Saturday,  we had a smattering of showers,  but we were able to get a couple of walks in...inbetween them.

Then, Sunday, we woke up to blue sky and hardly any wind.  Lamar spent the night in Lincoln City by himself and then drove up the coast to pick me up so we could spend the rest of the day enjoying the beach together.  That was definitely a bonus!

Happy 25th Birthday, Andy!

Our son, Andy, turned 25 today.  I still remember longing for a baby for what seemed like forever.  I remember getting that unbelievable call from our caseworker telling us that they had a baby boy just for us.  We loved him the second we laid eyes on him.  God brought us all together.  He made us a family. 

Happy 25th Birthday, Andy!

Friesen Family Together Again

We had a great weekend visiting with Lamar's family.  Lamar and I had the week off, so we were able to spend even more time than we normally would have with them all.  Mahlon and Darlene flew up from S. Cal.  Mahlon was a speaker at a ministry conference in Portland, so we all took advantage of them being here.  Their daughter, Melissa and her husband, Todd drove down from the Bellingham, WA area, most of all to see their parents, but also to see all of the rest of us here in the Portland area. 

Friday, the three sister-in-laws got together for a Starbucks visit and Olive Garden lunch.  It was a really nice time to just sit and chat and catch up on our lives.  We've never (in all these years) ever done this before, so it was really special.

Saturday afternoon, we all got together for an early dinner.  We met at Lamar's parents' home and visited there for awhile before heading over to the Home Town Buffet in Portland.  Seems like we were eating

all weekend!

Sunday evening, Mahlon, Darlene, Todd and Melissa came over to our house

to spend the night before heading back home on Monday.

We'll miss them.  It was so nice to have this unexpected visit this time of year!

And it was so nice to have the unexpected beautiful weather while they were here!

Bonus!!

Mom's Baptism

Mom was baptized on Sunday at our home church, along with two others.  It was pretty cool seeing my mom make that step of faith at 75!

Pastor Winslow and mom had "a chat" up front telling everyone her journey to this point in her faith.

You can just see her anticipation on her face! She was pretty excited!

And she made it out of the water, to her delight!

Afterwards, our family gathered to have lunch at our place. Yumm!

Lincoln City Beach Time

Boy, we had a great two nights staying at Lincoln City.  Thank you Uncle Bob and Aunt Lynn again for letting stay at your place!

After we arrived and unpacked, we went to Mo's to eat some yummy lunch. 

Then, of course, we had to hit the beach, especially since it was soooo beautiful outside!

What a great surprise to find clear skies and mid 60's temperatures!  And, most of the time, we had no wind on the beach, which is so unusual for Oregon beaches!

In between beach walks, we also spent some time at the outlets.  I found some great bargains

on clothes for all the grandkids! Woohoo!

And with the gorgeous weather, brought spectacular sunsets each day!

God gave us so much beauty on this earth for our eyes to see!

Tuckered Out

After playing outside, it wasn't long before the kids (and Papa) were ready for a nap.

But, that didn't last long, for Rile', anyway.  She found herself a corner to play with Hunter's pirate ship...in her tutu, of course! 

Hunter, on the other hand, took exactly 15 seconds to fall asleep right where he was. Magic!

Outside Fun in February

Ahh, when the sun finally decides to shine in February, that means that we go outside!

And at our place, there is always lots of exploring to do...

and treasures to find.