Wintery Mix the last day of February . . .

Well, I guess winter is not over here in Oregon. We have had snow for the last 2 days with not much sticking, but this afternoonI was working at the store and it started hailing and then wahlah! SNOW!!! It is so beautiful I had to post a couple of pictures. I am glad I am not a school teacher today! I bet the kids are all going bonkers over the snow since we do not get it too often.

Have a great day!

PS: I will try to get some pictures of the kids this weekend and post some updated photos to let you all see how much they have grown! Tate is actually taller than Josiah now!!!!

Just for fun . . .

I thought I would post some older pictures of the kids and hopefully get some new ones up soon just so everyone can see how much they have grown and changed.

Well, it looks as though I was only able to download one of Mabinty. I had many pictures that I had picked out, but for some reason only 1 downloaded. I will work more on it later. Hopefully then I will have updated pictures of the kids to poast then . . . Keep checking back!

Boycotting Best Western Motel Chains

This past weekend I flew to Boise, Idaho to meet Shawn and drive home with him. We had a great time. I chose a Best Western Motel to stay in and while I was waiting for my husband to arrive I was flipping through the stations on the TV. It was just about 9 PM. I was appalled by what I saw!!! At first I was not real sure what it was, yes, you can laugh and call me naive. It ended up after I finally figured it out, it was a porn movie!! AT NINE PM!!!! I called the front desk and then later went down to speak with the manager. I told her how disappointed I was that this kind of thing was being shown. At first I thought maybe somehow I pushed the "pay-for-view" button and signed up for something accidentally. She informed me that this was a regular station that they carried and that if I had cable at home this would be something that we could see at home too and there was nothing they could do, they would have to revamp the entire motel chain just to change this ONE station!!!!! I don't think she got the idea that I DID NOT WANT TO WATCH THIS and was VERY DISGUSTED THAT IT WAS EVEN ALLOWED ON AT 9 PM! Heck, there was an entire hockey team of high school boys staying at our motel!!!! UGH!!!! I am still thoroughly disgusted and cannot believe the reply that I got from the manager!

So, my advise to all who do not want to watch this stuff! BOYCOTT BEST WESTERN MOTELS! I know we will. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like had the kids been surfing through the stations and stumbled upon this. I am sure they would have watched for a few minutes wondering "what in the world" this show is . . . Thank goodness the kids were not with me.

Besides boycotting Best Western Motels beware of hotel/motel TVs. I guess since we do not have TV at home and monitor what movies the kids watch, this is really disturbing to me.

Thanks for listening to me on my little tirade! I pray that this will enlighten those who wish to be enlightened.

Oh Happy Day . . . : )

I am on cloud 9!!! I can hardly believe it!!! I am so excited!!! Oh, I guess you would like to know why!?!?! My dear friend, Carrie, and her husband, Russ, and their 2 girls, Rachel and Katie, are moving to AMERICA!!!!! Carrie is origionally from South Africa and Russ from England.

I am not sure who squealed most when she called me a little bit ago!! I am so thrilled!! I am just beside myself!

We met in 2003-2004 when our families were together at Mercy Ships for Gateway! They stayed with Mercy Ships and have been in the UK since our Gateway class ended. Carrie is a supportive wife, mother, and a GREAT party planner among her other duties!! Russ is procurment officer for Africa Mercy and will continue to have that position, but in for all of Mercy Ships when he reaches Texas.

We are thrilled to be a part of their missionary work but even more thrilled to have them on the same continent again!!

Please pray for Russ for he heads out tomorrow morning for Africa for 10 days. Pray for a safe and wonderful trip for him and pray for strength and safety for Carrie and the girls as Russ is away. Please also pray for their preparations to move to the US and all that comes with that. That is a huge move. Not to mention Texas being a whole different culture in and of itself. Good thing they've been there before! LOL!

I thank the Lord for bringing Russ and Carrie and the girls a little closer! I cannot wait to see them and have some fun (in person) with Carrie once again!! Carrie, I love you and cannot wait to see you!!!! (I am squealing again just thinking about you being in Texas! LOL!)

Movie Review . . . Facing the Giants

We watched a great movie last night! In fact, it is the best movie I have seen in a long, long, long time!! It is called, "Facing the Giants." It is a very Christ centered movie and one I recommend that all see!! I think I cried a record number of times during the show! Not because it was sad, but because it was very touching, uplifting, and spirit-filled. Just remember, with Christ, all things are possible! If you see this show, let me know what you thought about it!

Long time no hear . . . UPDATE

Well, I am finally getting back into this after a years break. So to update you, we have had a very exciting, scary, roller coaster ride over the last year. We finally took the plunge and opened up a log furniture store with a full line of western decor. It is going very well and we are thrilled! God has truly blessed us in this endeavor! Thank you LORD!

I posted a few pictures of a couple of the items that we carry and a picture of our last show at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Shawn has been traveling around the western United States doing shows, remodeling shows, rodeos, fairs, etc. It has been a blessing because now that he is getting known out there on the show circuit there are promoters that want our store to come to their shows because the display is so beautiful and draws people to their shows. We have made a really good friend who does antler lamps, and other antler art that really goes well with our decor. He has actually become like a member of our family and he and Shawn have a ball at these shows. They headed off last night for Boise Idaho for a week for another show and then who knows where next. . . Shawn will have to stay home long enough to get caught up on his orders so hopefully it will be a few months before the next show but summer is approaching us all to quickly and that is when we are REALLY busy!!

The store's website is cougarcreekoutfitters.com Please visit us and drop me an email and let me know that you stopped by and what you think. I will post more later. . .