Update:

Hello Friends!

Just thought I would pop in, say hello, and let you know what I have been up to.

I haven't been making very many entries on here lately, but I have been working on my other websites. My Community Resource website has been receiving a lot of my attention, and my MSHA website has been getting some too.

When we were at my sister Angie's surgery, my sister Julie showed me how to make links within a blog post, so I have been going back and linking everything on the above mentioned blogs to make them more valuable to my dear readers. Well, you guys are my dear readers. Those other blogs are more factual in nature, more resource-based, and though those readers are very much appreciated, it is just that they are not really interested in who I am or what I am doing, like you guys are.

Speaking of Angie, she was released from the hospital in record time. Thank you for your prayers. She heals up quickly, it just took years for anybody to help her out with her medical situation. Thank you to Dr. Teh of Eugene! He did a remarkable job, and we appreciate his hard work.

My boy is here for now, and we are trying to get his back problem solved. I have been really thinking about the medical care we have going on in Lane County and Deschutes County. I think a very important thing is to have a primary care doctor who knows his or her stuff and who cares about you, taking a personal interest and offering a continuum of care. Isn't that what we all want? I have been observing what happens when you don't have it, and when you do. Just like Dr. Teh was good for Angie, I appreciate our physical therapist George, who took concern in my boy's back situation this week, and for Amy, his massage therapist.

Speaking of my sister Julie, she has just launched her own marketing company. It is called Twist Pop Media and she can be contacted at: julie@twistpopmedia.com if you need help sharing the story of your business. She is always doing something new and good!

Today, I went on a field trip to the La Pine Community Kitchen. First, I spoke with Chris and Carol. Chris is in charge of the big picture and all that entails. Carol runs The Closet, where they offer clothing, school supplies and toiletries, etc. The Community Kitchen's new building should be remodeled by the end of next spring, so they call all move into one nice, spacious place. I also spoke with Steven and his friend at the mobile NeighborImpact Emergency Services Van. We discussed the need for a homeless shelter in La Pine. Also, I told them about my Community Services website, and he suggested that I find out info on Christmas Valley, Ft. Rock and Silver Lake for it. So, I came home and got started on that.

Before I left home this morning, I had a great conversation with Denise at S.C.O.O.T.E.R. . She is the neatest person. I told her about the Community Resources website, and the things I have been working on, and she was so supportive. S.C.O.O.T.E.R. does a lot to help our local communities.

I am hoping to do something fun with my Best Friend Husband, Cary, this weekend. We both attract responsibility on our own ways, and time fills up quickly. We need to carve out time sometimes, and do something just for the two of us...I hope that time is right now.

Take care, and thanks for checking in!

~ Kathy

State Trophy Winners!

Our nephews Jason and Treavor both took
state last weekend in their divisions! Yeah!
Way to go boys, we are very proud of you.

(Photo from their Mom Shelly's Facebook page.)

The Science of Billowing:

This picture came through on a
forward, and I thought it was so cute!

Andy's Make-A-Wish Trip:

Our friend Andy is fighting leukemia. The Make-A-Wish Foundation sent Andy and his family to New York to visit the guys at Orange County Choppers. They had a great time. Yeah!

Please keep Andy and his family in your prayers. Thank you.

Links:

http://www.wish.org/
http://orangecountychoppers.com/occ/index.html

Andy and Paul, Sr.

(Photo from Audrey's Facebook page.)

Once upon a time there was this nice lady. She was a faithful volunteer at a structured community organization for years. If somebody needed something, she was there. She was on it. You couldn't ask for a better volunteer than she was.

One day, the organization got a new leader. Everybody was so excited! This was the guy to make their organization grow and become even better. They could just feel it. The lady was happy to help the new leader with whatever needed to be done. But, after awhile, the new leader wasn't very nice to the lady. Who knows why, but he started treating her with unkindness. Actually, he started being unkind to others in the structured community organization too. Many people decided to volunteer someplace else, including the nice lady. It was a hard decision, but she didn't need the unkindness bringing her down.

Several years later, she went to the local mini mart for some milk. There was a free car wash in the parking lot of the mini mart. Her car was dirty, so she walked over and talked to the free car wash people. She told them she would give them some money to wash her car. They said, no, it was free. Actually, more than free. They were even paying everybody a little bit of money for the privilege of washing cars that day. Now there was a twist. Huh, thought the lady. Then she noticed by their t-shirts that they were volunteers from the structured community organization that she had left those years ago.

A little bit of orneriness stirred inside the lady. She said, well thank you! And she took their small amount of money as she watched the volunteers wash her car. Then she went home. And brought back another car. They have several cars at their house, and she had them all washed that day, getting paid for each one she brought in. She thought, hmmm, this is better than returning pop cans. She stopped short of bringing in the motorhome. Would she have received even more money for having it washed? She will never know, but there was a certain sweet satisfaction of not quite revenge on the new leader who had treated her with unkindness.

The end.

Happy Birthday, Johnny!:

Today is our grandson Johnny's 9th birthday!
Happy Birthday, Johnny! Have a great day!

Love you lots,

Grandpa Cary and Grandma Kathy

Watching everybody ride their motorcycles.
Johnny is the spittin' image of his Grandpa Cary.

Dyeing Easter eggs with Chase and Collin.

Posing with Grandma Darlene, Collin, Kylie and Chase.

Good thing we have so many pictures of Johnny,
cuz I think he's going to be famous someday.
Check back in a few years,
maybe I can get you an autograph!

Johnny is a jock, and enjoys baseball and football.
He is one of the biggest Mariners
fans that we have ever met.

This was on Johnny's 6th birthday,
over at at Grandma Darlene's.

Last fall at Red Robin with Chase, Collin and Garrett.

The Dumas Boys - Summer 2009:

I took this picture of the Dumas boys in
1998 at Mt. Pishqah in Eugene: Oliver, Peter and Gabe

Gabe, Peter and Oliver last weekend.
(Photo courtesy of their sister Mischa, Facebook)

This cute picture is of Nigel's brother
Gabe and his little girl Ashton.

(Photo from Gabe's Facebook page)

Jody and Francine:

Here is my Mom and my sister Julie's newest employee, Francine.

Photo from Julie A.'s Facebook Page

Odell Lake, East Access:

Yesterday, I woke up on my Mom's couch, gathered up my boy and his belongings and headed out. First stop was Hirons (the coolest store in Eugene), where I bought Angie a gift for all her trouble. We visited with her in her new hospital room, since she was already out of ICU. Then, Nigel and I headed home. He was all surrounded by pillows and drowsy from his pain medicine as we drove over the mountain pass. We stopped at Odell Lake, and I took the pictures below ... it was so windy and so pretty.

Nigel will be staying with us for a while. For those of you who haven't heard yet, he has a bad disk in his back, is in painand is not able to go into the Navy, as he had planned. The first step is to get him healed up and then he will be looking for work as soon as he feels better and will probably be going back to school. It has been a roller coaster few weeks for my boy, as he tries to figure out a new plan, but we know that everything will be fine.

In the meantime, God gave us this beauty, which really lifted my spirits yesterday:

Thursday: PeaceHealth's Riverbend Hospital

On Thursday, my little sister had major surgery. It was supposed to last about 4 or 5 hours, and actually lasted 8 hours. It got a little complicated near the end, but she is doing fine now. Her doctor is the nicest young man, with a gentle demeanor, and we thank him and his crew for a job well done.

The new hospital in Eugene opened last year. It is a wonderful, beautiful place. This is something that I hadn't seen before: all over the place, like in an airport, there are screens where you can track your patient's surgery progress:

This was Angie, with Dr. Teh:



My Mom, Nanny, Julie, Dad, Jill, Kari, Dick and Vicki (not pictured) and I were there in the surgery waiting room, keeping each other company and trying to keep our minds off of what they were doing to Angie. Also joining us was Nanny's friend who was waiting for her husband to finish up his surgery.

Mom, Nanny, and Julie

Me and my Nanny.

Kari and her Nanny. Kari works at the hospital.
It was fun to see her office and meet her coworkers.

Mom, Nanny and Julie again.

Jill and Dad

This hospital is like a fancy hotel or something. It is located in a park like setting on the McKenzie River and everything is peaceful and pretty. And, the parking is all free.


The Chapel:



The Lobby:



The Cafeteria: