Our New Ride...

We are rockin’ the Toyota Sienna. That's how we role. We were rocking the Ford Windstar but it decided to drop a transmission. It was a lemon. We just bought it and it fell apart on us. We do a lot of driving around here, in the first three or so months we put 7,000 miles on each of our vehicles. So we decided we needed to get a more quality vehicle. I never thought I would like a minivan but we have been enjoying this one.
In other news…It’s a boy! No we did not have a baby. We did get our first male foster kid…well…our first male foster kid that can say more than blibble blabble da da da. It has been a nice change for me. He's a good kid. He was actually in another foster home here when we first arrived back in January. He was one of the first kids we met and he helped us unpack. He was able to leave foster care for awhile but now he is back. It's unfortunate that he had to return but I am glad to have him in our house.
In our last blog I was a little rough on our girls. Please understand it was mostly in jest. Yes, it’s a little hard to be surrounded by girl drama all the time but the girls that we have are really amazing. It is awesome to see who they have become considering what they have come from. They are fighters.
We actually have six kids in total now. We are normally only supposed to have five but due to an on campus situation we ended up with another girl. It’s a very full house and adds an interesting dynamic but we have been having a lot of fun with our kids. Since it is now the summer we have been trying to think of interesting things to do. I got my North Carolina fishing license and an Ugly Stick fishing rod so we have been going on a couple late night fishing trips. So far we have only caught a couple of small ones but it has been a lot of fun. A couple nights ago we were out on the lake until after 3:00 am fishing. It's very peaceful. And last weekend we went to sliding rock. Here is a picture of me sliding down the rock.
Okay that's not really me. It was actually really busy the day we went. We had to wait for 20 minutes for a 30 second ride. It's kind of lame waiting in line for nature. We'll have to go back on a weekday.
We are heading back to Portland at the end of July/early August. We have our tickets all set and everything. Now that all the details are coming together we are getting more and more anxious to head home. We are working on lists of things to do and people to see.

From my backyard…

Okay this picture is not exactly from my backyard but it is pretty darn close. Recently, I have been so caught up in the day-to-day business of cleaning, cooking, appointments and playing taxi that I have not taken advantage of the abundant nature that is around me. Yesterday I was getting really restless and it appeared that my dog was feeling the same way and so I finally decided to get out of the house and go with U.B. for a hike. Right outside campus there is Old N.C 105, a gravel road that leads into the mountains. Off of 105 there are countless little trails that are perfect for hiking. This could be a major tourist attraction; luckily it is not, so the locals mostly get to enjoy it. The road itself is so rocky that it can cause major damage to your vehicle if you spend too much time driving it. We hiked up a trail that branched off to a couple of lookouts, one of which is pictured. The other one was is set up specifically to watch hawks. It was pretty amazing. I had been so stressed out by all the little annoyances of life but all that melted away as I took in the breathtaking view around me. U.B. was a great hiking partner as I had hoped he would be. He still has the puppy attention span, he has to sniff EVERYTHING, but he was up for jumping off of rocks and climbing hills and then just sitting with me as I enjoyed the view from the top.
I call myself a poser outdoorsman and a wannabe naturalist. I have always dreamed of spending more time out in nature and learning about it but have never spent near enough time actually doing it. We live in the perfect place to experience nature. There are the amazing mountains and trails but there is also plenty of nature right around our house to explore and learn about. We regularly see deer bounding around campus. I have never seen so many different types of bugs, spiders, etc. Last night we saw our first lightening bug. It was awesome. It’s little butt was like a bright green LED light.
There are plenty of bugs and animals around that are less desirable. The bees and wasps are plentiful and they are huge. They are almost the size of hummingbirds. They could head butt you and leave a bruise. There are plenty of ticks, earwigs, and pincher bugs that make there way into our house. Today one of our girl’s school bus ran over a rattlesnake. There are also cottonmouths and copperheads around. Occasionally a bear has made it onto campus (though not since we have been here).
So there are scary animals all around us, but there is an animal that is more vicious than all of these. She is the teenage girl. They mostly attack each other but just being around their savage nature is enough to leave you feeling wounded. On the rare occasion that I dare confront one of these dangerous beasts, say to tell her that she needs to cut the attitude, she usually turns on the waterworks and brings up her period. This is a low blow for which there is no counter attack. Of course the girls can be and often are amazing. We have been blessed by having them. But recently there have been some major issues and we have had a few major struggles with these lovely ladies.
A little while ago I went to the store and bought Jen a dozen roses. I have bought Jen roses several times and more times then not I have had a conversation with the female checker that goes something like this:
“Ah, roses. What are you in trouble for?”
“I’m not in trouble, I just love my wife.”
“Right. You know that deep down you are in trouble. Men are always in trouble. You did something wrong.”

After a conversation like this I almost feel like I should just give the roses to the bitter checker lady because she obviously needs something to change her views on men. But I shared this story to say that I was not buying roses for Jen because of something that I did wrong. I was buying them for her because of everything that she does right. She has been so amazing at dealing with the savage beast that is the teenage girl. I am often frustrated because there are many things that I simply cannot do because of my maleness so Jen is of course left with so much of the ugly work of working with the girls. I am excited about being here because of all the natural beauty that surrounds me but I am more excited to be here because I am here with my beautiful wife. I have been able to watch her grow and become stronger and stronger and I have been blessed by it deeply.