Potter Times

She said Yes!

2012-02-16T15:12:00.001-08:00

Our Valentine's Day was awesome!
We got to visit with John and meet Kelsey.
They are expecting a baby in September.
Such exciting news!

We went skiing at Ski Bowl.
They were both excited because they had never been night skiing.

Towards the end of the evening, John proposed to her at the top of the mountain.
It was very sweet and we feel very special to have been there. What a way to celebrate
Valentine's Day!

Congratulations Bubba and Kelsey.
We are so HAPPY for you both!
XOXO

For My Valentine:

2012-02-16T15:00:00.001-08:00

This is a few days late...but better late than never.
Happy Valentine's Babe-
YOU ARE THE PEANUT TO MY BUTTER,
TWINKLE IN MY EYE,
SHAKE TO MY BAKE,
BLUE IN MY SKY,
SPRINKLES ON MY SUNDAE,
FLIP TO MY FLOP,
BUMBLE TO MY BEE,
JEWEL ON MY CROWN,
MILK TO MY SHAKE,
SPRING IN MY STEP,
BEAT OF MY HEART,
LOVE OF MY LIFE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T00:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to each of you.
May yours be sweet and full of LOVE.

Baking up some Love...

2012-02-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

We made 50 of these yummy cupcakes today!
They are a combo of chocolate & strawberry.
It's a sign that LOVE DAY is just hours away!

I made both batters from scratch. The frosting is also a mix of chocolate and strawberry. The kids will pass them out at school tomorrow.
I know everyone will enjoy them because they are made with lots of LOVE (:

Cookies, Cookies & More Cookies!

2012-02-12T19:52:00.001-08:00

Girl Scout Cookies are here! We picked them up today!
My garage is now jammed packed with over 1,000 boxes!!

A HUGE "THANKS" to all of you that supported Lilly and her Troop this year.
It's greatly appreciated by a very sweet group of girls that all have big ideas and dreams.
This money will go to a great cause, so give yourself a "pat on the back" for helping out!

Lilly and I will be in touch with those of you that placed orders soon to make arrangements for delivery. Payment is due upon delivery. For those of you that live far away, we will be shipping them to you shortly. Please send us your $$ owed. Checks can made out to Girls Scouts Troop 45512. *PLEASE, send $5.00 - $10.00 (depending on how many boxes ordered) for shipping costs and it needs to be separate from your cookie money total, so either just send cash or make a check out to me for the shipping.
For those of you that didn't get an order in, but are now just CRAVING these delicious cookies- No Worries...I got your back (:
Just call, text or e-mail me and I can get you some!
THANK YOU!

Much Better...

2012-02-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Mr. Griff is all recovered from his Dairy mishap and moving on!

YEAH (:

He has discovered Play-Doh and thinks it's just the coolest thing right now.
So glad he is feeling better.

Dairy is a No Go...

2012-02-08T12:27:00.001-08:00

Poor Griff...

He is broke out in a bothersome rash, battling some gut problems and just not feeling great.

At least, I know the cause of it and he should be all better very quickly. It's all because of Dairy. Dairy, mostly milk, just does not agree with him. We learned this right after his first birthday when we attempted to make the switch from formula to milk. It didn't take long for his little body to let us know that regular milk was not going to cut it. No biggie- we made a quick switch to soy milk and he's been fine since. We were advised to attempt dairy milk/products around age two. So, we did and here we are again. He seemed to be tolerating it well for the most part. He had a slight rash, but we were expecting that to a point. He was on a 50/50 mix of soy and regular milk at that point. After almost 3 weeks of that, we progressed to full on dairy milk. The rash got worse and the poor guy's belly blew up like a balloon...he was miserable.

YIKES...
We are back to soy and will just keep it that way for a long while. I am not too concerned. Soy milk is very nutritious and hopefully he will out-grow his sensitivity to dairy just like Mac and Lilly did. I just feel bad for trying this and making him so uncomfortable!

Wednesday Picture

2012-02-08T09:28:00.001-08:00

I never know these days how I am going to feel each morning when I wake up for a new day.

I try to make it a CHOICE to wake up with a smile and positive perspective. I guess the key word in that sentence is "try"...I do not always succeed, but at least I know that I put all my effort into it and that if I have a rough day...IT'S OK and IT WILL BE OK.

I awoke this morning with a sadness that cut deep into my heart and soul...it physically hurt. I immediately knew it was me missing my Dad. I wanted so bad to be able to pick up the phone and call him to fill him in on everything that we have been up too, how well all 3 of his grand-kids are doing and to share joy in the fact that he has another grand-baby on the way. I just simply wanted to hear his voice and tell him how much I love him. It's amazing to me how quickly someone that is so near and dear to us can be taken away in an instant. It's a lesson that I think we all learn in time. I am making progress with it each day. It's a hard one, but a necessary one.
I will get through today and hopefully wake up tomorrow with a smile.
Love to you all.

Majestic Monday

2012-02-07T14:04:00.001-08:00

The mountain was calling out to me today.
This may sound odd to some of you, but not to me.
It was crystal clear out, calm and peaceful.
Mt. Hood is simply majestic.

How blessed are we to be surrounded by something so beautiful, magnificent, strong and glorious?
VERY BLESSED.
I think a lot of people forget it's right out their back door.
I hope this reminds you to stop and take it all in from time to time.
TRULY BREATH-TAKING...
Hope you all had a great Monday.

Family Birthdays & Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-07T13:25:00.001-08:00

All the family gathered on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl and celebrate a few birthdays. I love having everyone over to enjoy good times and create memories...it makes our house a home. I even remembered to put out the "Big Cake" on our front porch to wish the birthday people a happy one...as well as writing it on our chalk board in the kitchen.

Everyone was buzzing around, visiting and laughing.
Griff was eating...

...and eating some more!

Tarver, Mac & Alec cheering on their team.

Tarver and Lilly doing some cheering...

Sydney doing some cheering & lounging.
Happy 18th Birthday sweetie...can't believe you are 18!

Baby Brewer checking out the game...

Big smile from Papa.

CAKE TIME!

After we sang and blew out candles,
it was thoroughly enjoyed and devoured.

What a great Super Bowl Sunday and priceless family day...
even with a "cruddy" half-time show!
LOL...

Sunshine, Rainbows & Sweeeet Tricks!

2012-02-07T12:17:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful, sunny weekend!

We all hope that this is a dose of how our summer months will be.
It was just awesome.
We had a bit more "pep" in our steps and spent the days soaking
up the warmth and sunshine.
It didn't take long for the bikes to come out, a long with Mac's ramps.

Everyone was strutting their tricks...

...even Pat! (sorry for blurry picture)

Lilly and I took a time out to draw some chalk creations on the sidewalk (:

She is a great artist!

Yep- sunshine, rainbows, sweet tricks and smiles made it a wonderful weekend!

SILLY!

2012-02-07T12:00:00.001-08:00

Just got a few snapshots of my silly kids to post.
They are so much fun. I love being their Momma!Griff has been rocking his Home Depot Safety Goggles...

...he seems to think they improve his gaming on the Wii.
HA, HA!

Miss Lilly finally lost her first tooth at home....YEAH!
(her other teeth have been pulled by the dentist)

I simply tied a piece of dental floss around the tooth, gave it a tiny, little pull and OUT it popped. She was thrilled when the Tooth Fairy brought her a $2.00 bill!
She has another tooth that is so close to coming out, but she has been hesitant to let me try to "help it out". I told her that she has a dental appt. this Thursday, so she better get it by then or the dentist will do it. She doesn't seem thrilled with that idea, so we'll see if she gets it out before then!

Portland Shriners Crab Feed Fundraiser

2012-02-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

(Carla, Me & Carmen rocking the crab feed!)
This year marked our 6th year of attending the Annual Shriner's Crab Feed Fundraiser.
We always have a blast with our great friends from our old neighborhood in Canby, plus all the money goes towards an awesome cause! We sure miss living right next door to them!

I am so grateful that we have made the effort of keeping in touch
and seeing each other when we can.

Good Times and can't wait until next year!
PS: THANK YOU Momma B for watching the kiddo's while we were out playing (:

O.T.P.A Spelling Bee

2012-01-31T20:01:00.000-08:00

WAY TO GO MAC!!!
We are SO proud of you!
It takes a lot of guts and nerve to compete in front of your entire school!
You did TERRIFIC!

Mac competed in his first Spelling Bee Competition today and he made it all the way to the
TOP 7th position before misspelling a word!!
It was a tough one too- "Laborious". He only missed it by one letter.
He was a great competitor and did an outstanding job. We are also very proud of him for being such a great sport when it was time to "step-out" after he spelled the word incorrectly.
Lilly was more upset than he was- She had big tears in her eyes and said, "But I want Mac to win!" It was pretty darn cute.
I think we will make a trip to TCBY tomorrow to celebrate!

LoVe NoTeS

2012-01-31T19:47:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been finding little love "notes" all over the house from sweet Lilly Belle. They have been popping up every where...the one above was on Henry's bed, the one below was on Mac's bedroom door.

This one was in our room.
I found a total of 17 love letters today. Each one made me SMILE (:
I better remember to buy some more post-it notes this week!

Snow and Ice Bloopers

2012-01-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

Nonna sent this video to me. It's titled "Why we go South for the Winter". I thought it was worth sharing. I can totally relate. We saw two cars slide off the road yesterday morning on our way to school. The kids were laughing. It was a good thing nobody was injured.
Have a good day!

You & Me

2012-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

This post is for my guy, my husband, partner and best friend.

I think of you when I hear the lyrics to this song.
I am carrying this song with me today in my heart, for we can do anything...just as the song says. We have had a very challenging and sad few months. We both have had to say goodbye to our Fathers, which is extremely difficult to do and the fact that they both passed away so close together in time is just really insane. It has been difficult for our little family- to say in the least. It's hard to "hold" us all up when we are both truly hurting. You have done an amazing job. I appreciate and love you with all I have. Thank you for all your love, strength and calmness. Thank you for reminding me that it's OK and GOOD to laugh/live again after an unspeakable loss.
You have showed me that JOY will wind it’s way around scars that will never un-knot within us – like smiling ivy warming tree roots.
I am so blessed to have you by my side.
Love You (:

So Pleased With Himself...

2012-01-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

Another "Griff Mess" happened in The Potter Household today.
This kid keeps me going all the time!

I was busy packing everyone up for the next few days. All 3 kids are going to different places to stay while Pat and I go to the Eugene area to bury Uncle Albert this weekend. I had just packed Griff's "food/snack bag" for Momma B's house and proceeded to head upstairs to do some more packing. Well, I must have left the bag just close enough to the edge of the counter for his lil' fingers to grab it. When I came back down the stairs, he was happily devouring every single item in it...even the raw mac-and-cheese pasta noodles! He was SO pleased with himself. It didn't matter to him in the least that he had spread his snacks all over Henry's dog bed. Who knows what all is on that thing...dog hair, dirt, etc. Yuck-o!

I let him finish his feast and then attempted to have him help me clean it all up!

I wish Momma B the best of luck with him this weekend (:
Also, thanks Izer's and Robinson's for watching over our other angels while we are away.
I also want to wish all my Romp-to-Stomp pals a great, fun, safe and successful race this weekend. I wish I was there with you all. Kick some Butt!!!

The New Year...

2012-01-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

The start of the year according to the Gregorian Calendar - Not mine.

Here are a few thoughts I have on 'New Year's Resolutions" ...again, just my thoughts and opinions. After all, this is my blog.

I usually do not make Resolutions like a lot of people I know because most of them never make it longer than a few months! So why make resolutions, when you're just going to break them. Why not make yourself this single promise instead:
To live life.
Your life, and not anyone Else's. Make it a good life, a life you want, a life that makes you happy, a life you are proud of...and remember to help others a long your journey.

Don't promise yourself you'll join a gym you won't go to, don't promise yourself you'll save money you haven't got.

Promise to live your life. That way, when you reflect on what life you want to have, you'll reconsider the extra-fudge brownie, for two reasons: you'll have saved twice over. Once for the $2.75 that could have gone to gas money or groceries, and twice for the 275 calories you didn't eat.

I've been trying to make an active lifestyle change. Not for the new year, not even for my family, but for me. For the fact that I want to live properly. I want to be healthy, and that's not coming from a gym membership. That's coming from the little choices I make that will inevitably make differences in the long term of my life.I have lots of things I think I can improve on, lots of things I have never tried. Maybe, I would learn a lot of new things about myself and hopefully set a great example, as well as teach my kids a few life lessons a long the way.

There's no doubt that a lot of these thoughts and feelings are coming from a deep sadness and hurt that I have been caring around for almost 2 months now...sounds like a while, but in the timeline of "life", 2 months is nothing or is it everything? I guess it just depends-

I know that I am a bit "lost" at the moment, but it's a necessary lost, a lost that I have been forced to experience. How I come out of it and what I learn from it- depends entirely on how I choose to handle it. This reason alone, is why I have decided to make a single promise to myself; not a New Year's Resolution.
Now don't get me wrong here, I am not knocking or putting any of you down that make a New Year's Resolution. I wish you the best of luck with it.
This is simply my first step towards- My Life Promise.

I really hate that I have to start my New Year without a few loved one's in it, especially my father. The thoughts of him that happen daily are just painful. I miss him terribly. I can't seem to find any comfort yet in our thousands of happy memories. This must be why I have put off even thinking or acknowledging that it's 2012. Yes, I know that in time- all of this will change and I will be so thankful for the thousands of memories I have of Dad.

For those of you that know me well, I am NOT the most patient person, so waiting on "time" is not the easiest thing for me. Hmmm... wonder where I got that from? Griffis' are not the most patient people. At-least, I know that I came by this one honestly-
This will be one of the many things I will work on from here on out- patience.

It seems I am rambling now, so I better close before you all come to the conclusion that I have officially "really lost it"...and the fact that Griff just woke up from his nap. Thanks for reading and know that I am attempting to get a little bit stronger each day.
Much love to you all-

Picture of the Day

2012-01-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Griff has a new favorite hiding spot!

Moving along...

2012-01-10T16:16:00.001-08:00

I am making a little progress each day. There is so much to do after a person passes away. I have had a gazillion phone calls to make, VA forms to fill out, Thank You cards to write and mail, funds to move around, accounts to close, design a headstone/grave-marker...the list goes on and on. I do it all with a very heavy heart for the most part...but I have noticed that some relief comes out of it as well. I copied, faxed and mailed all the final VA papers today. It was a huge task and I am so glad to have it all done for the most part. I also finalized the design for Dad's headstone. I think it's pretty amazing and everyone will really like it. I have been off and on the phone all week with the Trooper that worked my Dad's accident/scene and also the Towing company that hauled Dad's truck away from the crash site. There are a few things missing that I have been hoping they could track down and return to us. One of them was Dad's glasses. The Tow Truck company found them yesterday and is mailing them to me! I was so glad he took the time to look for them. Some days are easier than others and I notice the kids are the same way.
We are having a service/gathering for Pat's Dad this weekend and the following weekend we will bury my Uncle Albert. Life is just really hard sometimes...it's amazing though, how we all come thru it in time. TIME is my friend right now...I need lots of TIME.
Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers.

JJ-Jump Extreme

2012-01-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

I took Mac and a few of his buddies to JJ-Jump to celebrate Mac's birthday. They all had a blast and burned off some energy.

Mac got all harnessed up for the Zip Swing...OFF he goes!

Lilly got to tag-a-long and had a blast too. She was the first of all of them to get harnessed up for the Zip Swing.
It's a good thing she can keep up with all the boys!

Go Lilly!

After 2 wild hours at JJ-Jump, we came back to the house for pizza and cake. It turned out to be a great party for "throwing" it all together very last minute. A huge Thank You goes out to my sweet friend, Ginnie for getting us all the passes for the day!

Even Griff thought the party was fun.

My First Born is 11...

2012-01-10T15:14:00.001-08:00

Happy 11th Birthday Mac.

You are an amazing kid.

We think the world of you and are so blessed to be your parents.

We see you as you really are- Powerful, Sensitive, Determined and Gracious.

We see you achieving everything you choose to achieve.
You can accomplish ANYTHING!
We love you with all we have,
Mom and Dad

Chritmas 2011

2012-01-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Our wait to see Santa was incredibly long this year. All 3 kids did an awesome job standing in line and being patient, which totally surprised me! Griff stayed in the stroller the entire time without much complaining or attempts to break-out. As we got closer to the front of the line, I was feeling pretty good about how the meet and greet with Santa would go and even fooled myself into thinking that I might just get a decent picture this year. Ha! Joke was on me. Griff took one look at him and came UN-glued. Lilly was ticked at Griff for screaming so loud that she could hardly chat with Santa and Mac, well his face says it all.
Oh well, we tried and will try again next year!

Lilly quickly got over her frustration with Griff as soon as she found out she was going to get to ride on the train. She has loved trains since the time she began crawling. I always thought she would sort of out-grow it, but she hasn't yet. (:

We made our traditional gingerbread house too. The kids love all the frosting, candy and mess that they have free reign with for this project...

I do believe that Griff ate the most candy this year!

This was very late Christmas Eve night after Santa came and tucked everything under the tree. We waited for him to leave and then came out to just "rearrange" a few things.

Mac and Lilly were up at 4:00 am ready to rip into presents. Pat and I were SO tired and I wasn't about to wake Griff up, so we started without him. I tried holding them off until Griff woke up, but knew better. It's all about picking your battles...right? That's what I am told anyway-

Lilly was THRILLED with her new mountain bike that was from Grandpa Tex. He had bought it for her before he left and we had told him we would give it to her Christmas morning. She says that she will never, never, ever get rid of it because it's from Grandpa. Bless her heart.

Mac was THRILLED with his Gilly Suit that he got from Grandpa Tex. I know he too, will hold on to it for ever.

Griff woke up way after all the excitement happened. We had his pile of gifts for him to open and he really just wasn't all that interested. He really just wanted to play with all of Mac and Lilly's things that were all over the house. Lilly was more than happy to be his official "gift opener".

Dedication video for my Dad, Jerry M. Griffis

2012-01-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

My cousin made this video in loving memory of my Dad. It's amazing.
Bless your heart Tana. Thanks to you all for the love and support.
I am broken, so are many others that loved him. I mend a little bit each day.
Bless you all-
Click on link below to see the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4TCHU6d9A&context=C340dfb6ADOEgsToPDskL4rxAVU7cQ5Lq5IzoSgXnT

I had posted it on Facebook, but am pretty sure I will have to remove it due to some copyright stuff.

Pillow Pets...

2012-01-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

I found this short video today that I had shot of the kids in November- just 3 days before Dad left to head back home. Make sure you have your volume on. I will so cherish this now. (In the background of video) Dad is in his chair, kicked back, enjoying every second of watching his grand-babies goof around. His big, booming voice is horribly missed in this home. I still have not been able to put his chair back in the living room. We moved it when we got back from Texas to set-up our Christmas Tree. It may have to stay where it is for awhile.
Anyhow, the kids have a new use for Pillow Pets. They make great "riding pillows".
Too funny.

Trying to make sense of it all-

2012-01-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

I am so far behind on blogging. I do have Christmas photos and Mac's birthday photos to post, but I am so far behind...I can't get started. We attempted our best for the Holidays and even had a small party for Mac's birthday. He is now 11! Growing up all too fast.
We thought some of the hard times were passing and were vowing to move on into 2012 with a positive mind set.
Got a call on the 30th that my Uncle Albert passed away early that morning. The story is tragic and it was most definitely not expected! Another blow to our already struggling emotions. Our thoughts and prayers are with Aunt Alice, their children and everyone else that loved Uncle Albert. He was always such a fun and happy guy. I will miss his stories, laughter and smile.
We will bury him this weekend, probably on my birthday and we have Grandpa Jack's service the following weekend. I know you have all kept us in your prayers for awhile now, but please keep them coming. We need them.
Love to you all-

Jackson Lee Potter

2011-12-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hi All,
Here is a link to Pat's Dad's Obituary. Some of you wanted to have the info for memorial donations.

http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Obituaries/Obituaries-for-the-day-of-December-22-2011

Love to you all-

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all...near and far. We love you with all we have. May you have Peace, Laughter, Love and many Happy memories this Holiday Season.
~LOVE~
Pat, Laura, Mac, Lilly & Lil' Griff Potter

30 Days...

2011-12-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

It's been 30 days since my world completely stopped turning...at this very moment, 30 days ago- I was sitting on my floor in total and complete shock, rage, confusion, turmoil, heartache...I hadn't moved from the floor since getting that phone call about my Dad. My legs would not work, I was shaking like crazy and knew that I had to get up and talk to my babies about why I had been screaming and lying on the floor for over an hour. It has been the most difficult thing I have had to do so far in my life-time. Not much has changed for me on the inside in 30 days. I am not lying on the floor anymore- but the rest is still there...and there are days/times that I wish I didn't have to get up or move at all...but I know I can't give into it. I am so ANGRY about Dad's accident. I am so ANGRY that I only got 62 years with my Father, my Hero, my Rock, my Anchor in life. Why was it his time to go? I asked God to get him home safely. I know that he doesn't always answer yes to everything I ask...but I wasn't ready for my Dad to go dammit!!! I feel that I probably shouldn't post this stuff, but everyone wants to know how I am doing/feeling...and I am tired of saying that I am OK. I am not...I know that in a long while...I probably will be, but not right now. I am so sad and broken that I can't see straight or think straight. I don't know how to process all of this.
I am so ANGRY that my babies lost not just one Grandpa, but two in just a few short weeks!! WHY? I don't get it...how is it fair that Pat and I had to sit poor Mac down and say...so sorry honey, but another Grandpa didn't make it. It just plain sucks and we are all tired of hurting. The holidays will never be the same. Thanksgiving is forever marked by Dad's accident and the long and horrible days around it. Griff turned 2 on December 1st and spent it on an airplane to get to Texas to bury Grandpa Tex. Everything is just a blur...I think we have been home about 2 weeks. I have tried so hard to make things normal around here and up-beat for Christmas and the kids...if I was being graded, I would probably barely pass. Pat's dad passed away Sunday morning. I again found myself with my feet knocked right out from under me...I was barely on them anyway, but it was another blow. It's now only 3 days to Christmas and I also realized that Mac's 11th b-day is only 8 days away and I have not planned a thing for him. Then it's New Year's...I don't even want to go there right now.
I pray constantly for some relief from all this anger that I feel. I pray for just a little comfort, a little peace. I pray for strength every time Lilly looks at me with her huge brown eyes and cries "I miss Grandpa", without even knowing that she has lost another one.
I pray that each day will get easier...
I am trying...trying to be patient, trying to let go...
I am tired, so tired...but I don't sleep. I think of how bad WE ARE ALL HURTING. It's overwhelming and exhausting. I hope tomorrow is a better day. I am so thankful for my kids and Pat. I get up every day for them right now...I make myself do all the things that need doing for them right now. I have not a clue where I'd be without them.
I sure hope tomorrow is a better day. Love you all-

2011-12-19T10:09:00.001-08:00

Rest in Peace Grandpa Jack. He passed away yesterday morning from a heartache. He leaves behind 4 children- Kelly, Tim, Pat & Sherry and 10 Grandchildren. Please pray for everyone...we are hurting from my Dad's passing and now Jack's. For those of you that will see Lilly over the next few days/weeks...we are not telling her about this right now. It's too much for her. Mac does know because he is to old to hide this from. This is a very difficult time for all of us. We appreciate all your prayers.

In Loving Memory of Jerry Mac Griffis

2011-12-16T14:18:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share my Dad's obituary with those of you that don't live in Texas and didn't have access to a local newspaper. I also included my tribute to him. I know that all of you that knew my Dad will be moved by it.

In loving memory of Jerry Mac Griffis.

Born August 9th, 1949 in Brady Texas.
Died November 22nd, 2011 in Payson, Utah.
Proceeded in death by his parents, John and Clara Griffis.
He is survived by his two children:
Laura Griffis-Potter and husband Pat of Sandy, OR. and
John Allen Griffis II of San Marcos, Tx.
Three grandchildren:
Mac, Lilly Belle, and Lil' Griff Potter of Sandy, Or.
One brother:
Johnny Griffis and wife Lola Kay of Alpine, Tx.
Two sisters:
Sharon Griffis Coody and husband Joe of Pecos, Tx.
Beverly Griffis Hathorn and husband Doug of Pecos, Tx.
He is also survived by several nieces and nephews and many, many dear friends.
He loyally and honorably served his country in the Vietnam War from
January 10th, 1969- November 16th, 1971.

Service & Burial
Hillcrest Cemetery in Ft. Davis, Texas
Saturday, December 3rd 2011 at 11:00 a.m. with a gathering to follow at Pam and Buster Mills home.
Officiant- Oscar Medley

Tribute-
Laura and John wish to express their sincere thanks for all the prayers, support, flowers and other expressions of love during this time of bereavement.

Our Dad was always a great provider- so great that he gave us his all without the need for us to ever ask for it. He was a man of integrity and devotion. A man who understood a hard day's work. He worked his entire life to take care and provide for his family.

He served his country in the Vietnam War and defended our freedoms with tremendous courage, honor, devotion and loyalty. He is a true American Hero.

His core accomplishment has always been John and I. Our Dad poured vast amounts of love and energy into our lives everyday. He always held our hands in his- and helped us navigate and discover life and the world around us.

He pushed us when needed, stood next us when needed and carried us when we needed it most.

He was so strong, so loyal and so steadfast in ALL he did. He was a man of few words, and when he spoke- all listened because we knew it was well worth listening too.

Dad worshiped at the feet of honesty, honor, loyalty and integrity. People talk of these values, but Dad LIVED them and embraced them. The many awards/medals and accolades that he received during his lifetime for his dedication, hard work, loyalty to family, friends and his country and the RESPECT that we all have for him are a testimony to this.

Dad always soldiered on bravely, no matter the circumstances. He was more concerned about the people he loved than any discomfort or pain he may have been in. To all of us he was a very kind person and was always there to help. He never wanted to be acknowledged for anything he did. When he helped, he simply helped.

His grand-kids were one of his greatest joys in recent years. He knew that LOVE to them was spelled T.I.M.E....and quality time is what he gave them. He spent every second he could building a deep bond that will always stay with them. They will always remember their special times and love from Grandpa Tex.

He was bigger than life, tougher than nails, stubborn and hardheaded. It made us all love him that much more.

As a beloved son, father, brother, uncle, friend, veteran, cousin and amazing grandfather, he leaves us with many memories, stories and an honorable legacy. Always remember him and everything he shared with us. We will carry on our Father's Legacy and keep him with us always.

In His Grip-
Laura Griffis-Potter & John Allen Griffis II

Struggling...

2011-12-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Struggling...each day to do just the basics I need to do.
I do have faith, do believe and do know that with time...things will get easier. I just feel like I am in a constant fog...a nightmare almost.
I got this today and it calmed me a bit, so I wanted to share it with all of you that are hurting/struggling with the loss of Dad. I wish so badly that I could fix it for all of us ...
but I know I can't.
Keep your thoughts and prayers coming- I do need them.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Feel every moment to its fullest.
Be present to whatever time it is and embrace the journey as your heart is shaped by the moments of life that refine your character.

We are home...

2011-12-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hi All, Just a short note to let you all know that we are back home from Texas. I really can't THANK YOU all enough for all the love, support, encouragement, help and kind deeds that have come our way. The food, cards, flowers, cleaning my home, the Christmas tree that was awaiting us...and turning on our street the night we got home to see Christmas lights and decor up- was both amazing and over-whelming. It means so much to me and Pat and the kids. I have a lot to do still...but it helps so much to know how many people are pulling for us. I am trying to take one day at a time. Love you all and be patient with me if I am not in touch as usual.
Just trying to get my feet back under me.
Love you all dearly-

He's Home

2011-11-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Dad is on Texas Soil.

Thank You Lord for getting him home safely.

He's coming home

2011-11-30T01:14:00.000-08:00

Hi All,
DAD WILL FINALLY BE ON TEXAS SOIL WHERE HE BELONGS.
He will be flown home today from Utah. Please pray for a safe flight/transport. I cannot express enough thanks to all of you for your prayers, love, help, support and willingness to do anything and everything possible to help us. Getting Dad home is our first major step to carrying him as far as we can and laying him to rest with all the honor and dignity that he is owed.
Love you all-

Dad's (Jerry Griffis) Burial Information

2011-11-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

We will be laying Dad, Jerry Griffis, to rest on Saturday December 3rd,2011. We will have a procession at 10:00 a.m. for those of you that would like to join, please be at Alpine Memorial Funeral Home by 10:00 a.m. Graveside Service will be at 11:00 a.m. at Hillcrest Cemetary in Ft. Davis. Hillcrest Cemetary is located on Cemetary road off Hwy 118. Following the service we will have a gathering at Buster and Pam Mills home. Everyone is welcome to come and visit, share stories and honor Dad. If you plan to send flowers, please call Forget Me Not Flowers in Alpine, Tx at 432-837-2233 and they will make sure that all flowers are delivered to cemetary for us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or any of our close family and friends. Thank you all for your prayers, support and love.

Sincerely, Laura Griffis-Potter and Family

Headed Home...

2011-11-24T17:02:00.001-08:00

I am leaving in the morning for home. I am going by myself so I can have a few days to get things done, planned and organized. John Allen will be meeting up with me and the family in Ft. Davis on Monday. We have a lot to do. My precious babies and Pat will fly in on Thursday, the 1st of December to join us all. Ironically, the 1st is my youngest (Lil' Griff) b-day. He will be 2 years old.
As of now, we are awaiting a signature on Dad's death certificate. It should be done as of today. This enables the funeral home in Utah where Dad currently is- to file all the permits we need and book the flight to finally bring him home. John Allen and a few others will be building a pine box to bury him in. This was one of Dad's requests and something that we are more than willing to do in order to honor his wishes. As long as there are no glitches/hang-ups with the permits, etc from Utah...Dad should be home by Wednesday, the 30th. We do not have an exact date set for the burial, but I can tell you that it will be in Ft. Davis.
I want to thank everyone for all the kind words, prayers and thoughts that my family has received since this terrible tragedy has taken place. I still have no words- please just keep praying for us all to have the strength and courage needed to get through the next few days and weeks. I will post more updates as they come. Love you all.
In His Grip- Laura & Family

Update-

2011-11-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

This is the latest info I have on Dad's accident. It doesn't help me much, but maybe it will be off help to some of you. We are awaiting the State of Utah to sign his death certificate before we can get him home. There are no arrangements yet. I promise to post them as soon as I can.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52971269-78/griffis-pickup-canyon-fork.html.csp

2011-11-23T03:06:00.000-08:00

It is with much dis-belief, and a very heavy and hurting heart that I am posting this news to you all. My Dad tragically passed away in a vehicle accident sometime early this am in a rural area of Utah. He was headed home from a 6 week visit here in Oregon with me and my family. ...We are all in dis-belief and complete shock. I have no words for anyone at the moment... I will do my best to get the funeral info posted as I can.

If you knew my father, you know what an amazing person he is. He will be so dearly missed by all of us. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to say goodbye and navigate our way through this. My entire family is in turmoil at the moment. Please keep them ALL in your thoughts...my brother, my poor kids that just kissed and hugged him goodbye yesterday a.m. My Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nonna & Pe-Paw, Close Friends...Everyone.
This is just un-believable to us all. I will be headed home (to Texas) very soon-

Happy Birthday Pat!

2011-11-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Pat! (it was on Friday)
We didn't do anything big like last year, but we did have a small celebration and enjoyed our evening. We had the Lekberg's over for a nice dinner and some yummy cake. I put all 43 candles on that cake and when he blew them out...we had some smoke!

We also woke up to our first little snow dusting of the winter...I told Pat that it snowed just for his birthday! It actually snowed pretty good that night. The kids all went out and played in it. It's all gone now, but I have a feeling it will be back very soon!

OTPA Fall/Winter Showcase Inquiry

2011-11-20T14:32:00.001-08:00

The kids had their first showcase at school last week. It's always neat to see what they have been learning in each planner they do. Lilly's class sang a few songs and they were all very cute. We then went into her classroom to see all the cool things they have been studying. She enjoyed showing us some dog and cat bones!

Mac 's class has been doing experiments with all sorts of different things. Mac chose to do a study on After School Stress. If you zoom in on this picture you can read his question, purpose, hypothesis, process, observations and conclusion. It's pretty funny and entertaining to read the thoughts of a 10 year old! Grandma Kathy should get a laugh out of the piano part!

Trip to Newport

2011-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

On Veteran's Day we made a trip over to the Coast. It was a gorgeous day over there!! We could not have picked a better day. It was sunny, warm and there was NO WIND. It was just awesome.

The kids were begging to play on the beach first, so that's where we headed when we got there. They found a HUGE sea kelp that had washed a shore. They were running around with it and decided to name it "Bob". We even brought him home with us and Grandpa Tex is going to take him home...funny, I know. It looks like a big bull whip or something along those lines. I think it will end up hanging in the cook shed at Nonna and Pe-Paw's.

The pictures below were taken on the beach at the end of the day. It was raining just a bit, bit it was still just gorgeous out!

We also went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It is such a neat place. It use to be home to Keiko, the whale. The kids' favorite section of this place is "Passages of the Deep". It is really impressive. You walk through Orford Reef, Halibut Flats and Open Sea. There are tunnels that are submerged in the water...it's all around you and and all the fish, sharks, reefs, kelp forests sway and swim above and below the tunnels. Pretty amazing. The kids were in awe...
Dad was admitted in free of charge because it was Veteran's Day- I thought that was really COOL!

After we drug the kids away from the tunnels, we had lots of other cool things to see and do!

The Sea Lions even gave Dad a "proper" salute! I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but it was really special.

Our next stop was the Hatfield Marine Science Center. It was full of really cool experiments, science info and exhibits. We didn't have a lot of time there because it closed at 4:00 and we got there at about 3:30. It was worth the stop in, very neat info!

We spent the rest of our time doing some sight seeing, shopping and eating Mo's clam chowder, Dad's favorite. Was a great trip!

I think I may have found the perfect birthday gift for Mac while we were there...you can purchase tickets for kids to have over-night sleepovers in the tunnels where the fish and sharks swim. It looks pretty neat and would be something he would really enjoy! I am contemplating it at this point. Last year we did The Reptile Man, which totally rocked and I have been trying to figure out how to "top that"...I may have just found it!

It's almost here...

2011-11-15T20:25:00.001-08:00

Here's proof that Ski Season is just a few short weeks away!
I pulled out all our bins of snow gear to see what the kids had outgrown and what we need to replace before the first day of skiing gets here. Griff was enjoying trying on all the gear and he seems just as excited about the winter weather activities as the older kids.

I am not sure we will have him on ski's just yet, but he would definitely try it if we let him!

* Let It Snow *

End of Football Season

2011-11-15T14:51:00.001-08:00

The 5/6 Sandy Black Team finished in the 2nd spot for the season. Our championship game against West Linn for the #1 title was a great game. The boys held them off all the way to the end of the 3rd quarter! Score was 0-0. It was a nail biter of a game. The boys played their hearts out!

This was great year for Mac. He learned a lot about the game and had one touch down for the season. It was great. I enjoyed being "Team Mom" to these boys! I am very proud of all of them. I hope we end up with a lot of them on our team again next year!
GO PIONEERS!

Toy Story 3 on Ice

2011-11-14T21:49:00.001-08:00

A few weeks back, I took my Girl Scout Troop to see Toy Story on Ice. It was a great show and the girls loved it! They worked hard for it, so I am glad that they all enjoyed the show. We made some great memories that evening! A BIG THANKS to all our parents that attended and helped out. We have a great group of girls!

Potter's Halloween Bash

2011-11-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween Bash was a lot of fun this year!

Grandpa Tex had a great costume-

Totally Groovy Baby...Austin Powers stopped by!

Reagan & Krissa

Momma B and her "date"...

Sara and Travis

Blue Man and Lilly Munster

Crazy Blue Man...so thankful he was here with his camera!! He took all the awesome photos!

Tavin, Dan and Ginnie

AHHHHH...Cereal Killers!

Dan and Ginnie

Elyse, Kaymen, Dave and Molly

Cecily, Annika and Grant

Kevin, Keaton and Tavin

Momma B and Me!

Handsome Football Player and Cute Cheerleader!

Reagan and Lilly

Crazy Guys...

Lil' Griff...enjoying all the yummy food!

I had a lot of fun games planned out for the kids. In the picture below I was reading them the first of MANY clues that they had to find as a group. Momma B did a great job of writing the clues and hiding them all over the house. The final clue led them to a pinata! Good Times!

As soon as Pat hung it up, Griff wanted it. He had no interest in being patient and letting the kids take a whack at it!

Our next game was a good old fashioned apple bobbing game. It was so funny watching them all come up out of the water with an apple!

We also played pass the pumpkin and had a dance off! I turned out all the lights, turned on the strobe lights, cranked the music, gave them all neon glow-in-the- dark bracelets and away they danced- I think the kids all had a blast!

Griff is In Control...

2011-11-09T13:08:00.001-08:00

This is one BIG MESS crafted by one smart, little Dude that is totally in control of certain situations...Griff follows Grandpa Tex around almost constantly. Why??
Well, let's just say that he has figured out that Grandpa Tex will at some point forget to close a door to a room that he knows he is not allowed in, or Grandpa will possibly leave his laptop on the kitchen bar where it's easily within reach and even sometimes leave his coffee cup within his reach as well.

In Grandpa's defense- he has done REALLY well at tolerating all our Griff-Proofing that we have done around here! I agree, it's NUTS...but we do what we gotta do! Griff is just super quick and very crafty! He can spot instantly anything that is out of place for him to get into and he doesn't waste even a second to get to it! GRRRR...

This morning- I have no doubts that Griff was just waiting for Grandpa to get out of the bathroom...he was betting that he'd leave the door open. I was down stairs and thought that Griff was sweetly in the playroom entertaining himself. I should have known better! I walked into the bathroom to find this mess. He was having a ball. He ate a whole tube of toothpaste- thanks goodness it was fluoride free. He was working on eating his way through a tub of Vaseline, using his toothbrush as a spoon. (This ought to make the next few diaper changes a bit interesting!!)
He had played in the toilet, the sink, the bath tub and made sure to empty every drawer in sight. He also made sure to use all the Q-Tips and put a nice, thick coat of baby powder, baking soda and shampoo on the floor and cabinets. I am not even going to tell you how long it took to clean this all up. YIKES-
Yep, Griff is definitely in control!

Mr. Nibbles

2011-11-09T12:57:00.001-08:00

This is Mr. Nibbles, the newest member of the Potter Family. We have had him for about 2 months. He is a big hit with the kids. I was sort of hesitant to let them buy him, but they had saved thier money and worked hard to earn him. I have to say that they have really done a great job with all the maintenance and care he needs. Our biggest issue is with Griff. He has a meltdown when the kids have Mr. Nibbles out of his cage and in the ball that he rolls around in. Griff thinks it's a real ball and wants to play/throw it. He just doesn't understand that it's not "that kind of ball"...

Hopefully, Mr. Nibbles lives a long and happy life here at the Potter Home!

Football is Wrapping Up!

2011-11-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Mac Attack (#27)

The Sandy Black 5/6 team has made it to the Championships!! They played Molalla on Saturday and are now in the #2 spot! They play West Linn this Saturday for the #1 title! I know we will all be there screaming and cheering them on!!

This has been a great learning year for Mac. He has 3 outstanding Coaches that have really taught all these boys how to play this game well! GO TEAM!

Trick-or-Treat

2011-11-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

Halloween Night was a lot of fun. Both kids and adults had a great time. We hosted a pre-Halloween party on Saturday night (pictures to come later) so, all my decor was still out and very festive!

One of the trick-or-treater's that came up to the door was yelling out to his Mom "Harry Potter gets his mail here!!" He was looking at my mailbox with our last name on it. He was so excited...must be a big Harry Potter fan...I told Mac he needs to dress like him next year and hand out candy (:

Griff was really pitching a fit about having a costume on. He screamed and screamed every time we attempted to put one on him...I tried a few different costumes and finally got him to wear part of the one pictured above. He was suppose to be a soldier. I wanted to paint his face up and had a hat and dog tags for him to wear, but that just didn't pan out. He trick-or-treated for awhile, but didn't last all that long. Every time someone opened their door, he would run straight into the house as if he lived there!!! It was nuts! Luckily we know most of our neighbors, so they laughed at it all...but I am not sure Pat was laughing all that much.

Grandpa Tex was a little excited for Halloween too. It had been a while since he handed out treats on Halloween Night! I had the outside and inside of the house all decked out. He handed out candy and I hosted all our guests that were in and out of our house throughout the evening. I served the adults hot-toddies as they came around with their ghouls and goblins. My hot-toddies were a big hit!!

You can tell very well in these pics, but we had strobe lights, scary jack-o-lanterns, a fog machine, music, a cemetery and ghosts all around the yard to greet out trick-or-treater's. It was a good balance...not too scary, but still "cool" enough for the older kids. Lots and lots of people took pictures with Mr. Grimm below...

At the end of the eve, all the kids were diving into their candy collections!!
My, they all got a ton of it!!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Happy Birthday Grandma Kathy and Uncle Jimmy!

2011-10-24T23:04:00.001-07:00

We had a little celebration yesterday for grandma Kathy and Uncle Jimmy. We had our traditional chocolate cake and even did some skits to "pick on" Jimmy a bit about his fishing hobby! It was a good time and it's a good thing Jimmy fishes so much because he and Dad have been catching enough fish these past few weeks to feed us all! It was a delicious dinner!!

Mowin' the lawn

2011-10-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

Our two boys seem to be OK with mowing the yard...for now.
I am sure that will change all to soon!

The Griffis Gene runs deep...

2011-10-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Big Griff and Lil' Griff- two peas in a pod!
These two are getting a long pretty well. Griff was a bit shy at first when Grandpa Tex arrived, but it didn't take long for him to climb up in his lap and eat filberts with him. We could not have picked a more fitting name for our baby boy! I am so blessed that my Dad makes a trip up here every year and spends good, solid quality time with us. We are having good times and making lots of great memories that will last forever!

Grandpa Tex...The Fisherman!

2011-10-24T21:47:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Tex has turned into one heck of a fisherman! He has been coming home each weekend with plenty of fish. We have been enjoying it very much, makes some good eatin'!

Mac's First Touchdown of the Season!

2011-10-20T22:53:00.001-07:00

This was the hand-off/play that led Mac to his FIRST touchdown of the season! Once he got that ball, he went for it. It was AWESOME. I screamed so loud that I embarrassed him and the Coaches I think (0:
What else is a Mom suppose to do?
It was a great day!

Naked and Happy

2011-10-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is how I have found Griff the last few mornings...I guess he prefers to sleep in the nude!

A Princess Castle...

2011-10-10T08:32:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Tex had this castle built and set-up for Princess Lilly in less than one week of arriving here...that's a dedicated Grandpa!! Lilly is in awe of it...
as are all the other Princess' in our neighborhood.

The boys seem to think it's great to plan surprise attacks on the fortress and Griff already knows how to work the draw-bridge! This is one cool castle-

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-09T23:18:00.001-07:00

It's officially almost Halloween now that we have carved our Jack-O-Lanterns! The kids had a few friends over and the pumpkin guts were soon flying all over the place.

They had a great time as always!

Grandpa Tex and Lilly carved one earlier in the day. It turned out really neat-o! I will have to get a picture of them all lit up at night-
Let the spookin' begin...

Let's play ball!

2011-10-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Lilly has started basketball. She has been so excited for her first practice. She had a great practice and proved to be a competitive little gal. She took it all pretty seriously. She listened and followed instructions very well.

When Grandpa Tex showed up to watch her, she was beaming! I think we will all really enjoy watching her learn the game.

Go Lilly!

Mr. Griff

2011-10-06T21:31:00.001-07:00

Mr. Griff is now 22 months old...wow, where in the heck does time go? The boy is very busy. He runs (no walking) everywhere, all day long. If he isn't running, it's because he is climbing or jumping. He chats up a storm in his own little language...he can say a few words here and there and if you tick him off, you better be ready for a major butt-chewing! It's hilarious. He has an escape plan for anything and everything that he does NOT want to do- for example: if he needs a diaper change, some clothes, his face wiped, etc- he magically and somehow quietly disappears. I found him out in the back yard the other morning because he saw me coming down the stairs with a diaper and clothes in hand. It was raining and 50 degrees out, but he was flat out refusing to get dressed! It took me a few minutes to get him back in the house and I had to wrestle with him to get him dressed.

His favorite pair of clothing at the moment, is his rubber boots. It's the only thing he wears all the time. He is such a hoot. He loves having Grandpa Tex here. He watches him all the time...sort of checking him out. He hasn't been to keen on letting him hold him, but he follows him everywhere and laughs at him a lot. It's pretty darn cute to watch. He also knows that Grandpa Tex will leave stuff around for him to get in too, so he makes the most of that as well. I can't wait for him to talk more. He is very animated and has a lot of great expressions and personality. The name Griff fits him all to well!

A Ballerina Birthday Party

2011-10-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

Lilly's sweet friend Reagan had her birthday party at a dance studio she attends lessons at. All the girls had a total blast...Lilly will not stop talking about it and is begging for lessons now. Thanks a lot Krissa (:
We are looking into it...

Princess Reagan is such a beauty!

The party was really well planned out. The girls did a craft, played around and even got a lesson and to top it all off, pictures were taken by the studio as well! These girls were in Tu-Tu Heaven!

Thanks for a great party Reagan (:

Family Portraits

2011-09-20T09:34:00.001-07:00

We just got our all our portraits back from a our photo shoot we did a few weeks ago. I love them all...and WOW- I have 217 photos total. I am going to have a very tough time picking out some to put up on our walls!

I HIGHLY recommend this photographer to all of you! Her name is Sarah Mueller and she will meet you anywhere you'd like to take pictures. She gives you lots of great ideas for photo props and is great with kids! She chased Griff all over that park to get snapshots of him. They are priceless and all turned out amazing. I love that she gives you all the pictures on a disk and you can print them anywhere that you want! Her number is (503) 929-2588.

First Week of the New School Year!

2011-09-13T12:28:00.001-07:00

It's official- Mac is a 5th grader and Lilly is a 1st grader. YIKES is all I can say!
Our first week of school is really just one big blur...we were and are so busy. I was barely keeping up last week. The kids are both loving it. No complaining yet, not even in the mornings when they are still tired and shoveling breakfast down in order to be ready on time. They both have been getting up so well and getting themselves ready all on their own! It's amazing and makes things a lot easier for everyone. I was more stressed than they were (:
I helped all week with our new drop-off and pick-up procedures at school. It was a bit CRAZY and stressful for the first few days, but I think everyone is figuring out what to do now, so it's going a bit more smoothly. We do not have buses, so it's a lot of cars, people, traffic to coordinate! I am hoping it all works out sooner, rather than later.
This week seems way more calm because my carpool schedule has started and I am not driving this week. (so nice!)
I feel like I have a lot more time to prep for the day, etc. Our evenings are a bit hectic, but with practices, school meetings, Girl Scouts, etc...we do the best we can. The kids seem to be adjusting to it all so I am not going to worry about it or drop any extracurricular activities until they become an issue. I know both of them will start coming home with homework soon and that may cause a ripple, but we will deal with it.
Griff definitely misses both kids. He gets up and plays with them each morning and cries when it's time for them to go. It doesn't last long because he seems to be enjoying our one-on-one time a lot. I am thinking about signing up for a Mommy and Me play-time class at the Recreation Center. I thought about Story Time at the library, but he is way to WILD for that still. It would be a disaster for sure (:
All in all, we are getting in a groove. I think it's going to be a fun school year!

Warrior Dash 2011

2011-09-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Wanna- Be Warriors Before...
...True Warriors After!!

We rocked this race! Everyone kicked some major Bootie! I had such a great time and what an awesome group of people to race with!

Pat couldn't run this year due to an injury, but he did it last year and I cheered him on...he was my cheer-leader this time around!

For those of you that don't know what the Warrior Dash is- here's a quick update...
It an Insane 3.18 race where 14 crazy and daring obstacles await each true Warrior to tackle and defeat them! It was mostly all up-hill and pretty darn challenging! I had a blast on all the obstacles, but definitely cursed a few of the hills...all with my broken toe! We had a few members of our group with injuries that decided to just brave the race anyway...so we are truly WARRIORS!
I am ready for next year baby!

I was nicknamed "Dash Warrior" because I put my eye blacks on the wrong way...oh well! I kind of like the name Dash anyhow!

After we all finished, it was time to chill and enjoy the music and festivities all around us. I managed to get my shoes off and let me toe breathe a bit. I had not had a shoe on since the day I broke/smashed it, so I was ready to get them off (:
Hoping next year I will be injury free and can beat my time of 45 minutes. I also hope Pat can do it with me!

Mommy and Daughter Photos

2011-08-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Lilly and I went to one of her friends birthday parties a few weeks ago. It was a very nice party and they had a photographer there! She snapped a few shots of Lilly and I. We may call her to take some family photos for us!

Catchin' Some Air!

2011-08-24T18:33:00.001-07:00

This was Mac's day today...click on pictures to make them bigger-

Doesn't matter if he's on land or in water...the boy's got some tricks!

Go Mac Attack!

Gearing up for a Great Year!

2011-08-24T13:50:00.001-07:00

We are now 3 weeks into Football Season...which means that school is right around the corner, YIKES! So much to do...

Mac is on the 5\6 grade team this year. Being that he is a 5th grader and some of the other players are 6th graders, he is one of the smallest boys on the team. His height is not too far behind some of them, but his weight...WOW, he is definitely small. I cringe every time he takes a good hit/tackle from some of those bigger boys. He is such a trooper. He gets right back up and is ready to give it a go- again and again and again...bless his heart. I told him if he keeps eating the way he does, he'll catch those boys next year!! He loves the game, is having fun, learning lots and has outstanding Coaches this year. We are excited and I am Team Mom...like I needed another "job" to keep up with (:
Below, he made an awesome catch...keep it up Mac Attack!

With summer winding down and fall sports kickin' into gear, I am simply trying to keep up and prep us all for back-to-school. It always seems to sneak up on me. I do have school supplies and clothes checked off my list, that's always a good start. Lilly is very excited about being a 1st grader and Mac is looking forward to 5th grade as well. I do fear that they might not be ready for Summer-to-School Transition that is about to take place in The Potter Home! This means bathing suits have faded, the sun is setting earlier and the final summer adventures are fast approaching...it also means much EARLIER bedtimes, letting go of our looser schedule that had room for more spontaneity and starting to plan for a lot more structure that our school year requires. Once we get back into our school groove, it will be fine. I just may need a few breathers before we reach the finish line...LOL
Both kids are looking forward to the Ice Cream Social coming up next week. This gives them a chance to mingle/catch up with friends, meet new friends and their teachers, check out the classrooms, etc. I have spent a few days helping out down at the school to get it all freshened up...it's looking great!
I am mentally prepping for the big schedule change. I become drill sergeant in the mornings to get everyone up, fed, dressed, teeth brushed, lunches/backpacks in hand and in the truck on time. I have a carpool schedule and cannot be late...if I am, it makes everyone else late! I will also definitely have to entertain Griff more...he is going to miss the kids terribly. He is not going to like them being gone all day, 5 days a week! After school pick-up/carpool is done- it will be a scramble to get homework done, dinner on the table and be on time for football practice. Throw in the fact that I am Vice President for our Parent Club at school, Co-Leader for Lilly's Girl Scout Troop, Team Mom for Football...ugh...I am already tired just typing this. I better take my mighty-woman vitamins everyday!
In all seriousness, it sounds like I am complaining- BUT I am NOT. I love every minute of it and would not have things any other way. I always remember to make time to hang-out with my Gal Pals (they are busy Momma's too!) and visit/relax. We all exchange funny stories and give each-other advice (:

We are going to have a great school year!

WIPEOUT!

2011-08-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

We went to a WIPEOUT birthday party this past weekend. What a BLAST. The kids had so much fun navigating their way through an obstacle course competing for the fastest time. The big bonus was getting to see Hunter and Logan and all our other Canby Friends!!

The first obstacle was a mud pit...Lilly was getting coached by Mac on her way through it-
They had a few other obstacles after the mud pit (I didn't get pics) and then moved on to the hopping ball, where parents were spraying away with water guns...

Next it was onto the balance beam...parents were chucking water balloons at them in an attempt to knock them off balance!!

Next came the fire truck/ball pit obstacle. They had to crawl low to the ground and make it through all the balls...this proved to be more challenging for the taller kids!

Making a basket was a sign that you were almost done...

The Finish Line was a fast and final slide to the end!!!

Just when the kids thought it was over...Carmen brought out this huge pinata on steroids- It was gigantic. The kids were going nuts and could not wait to bash it open!!!

They all did a good job of thrashing on it, but Carmen had to provide a little bit of assistance.

Once Lilly had all her candy stashed safely, she decided that one of the cones from it made a great Princess hat...

Griff kept Pat and I running the ENTIRE time. (what's new) We had to take shifts to keep up with him. It was exhausting. The only time he sat (it was very short-lived) was for cake. He is going to do Pat and I in! He is simply too busy and too high energy for just one of us to handle (:

What a great party Robinson Family.
We miss living right across the street from you!
Happy 6th Birthday Hunter and Logan!

More Summer Fun...

2011-08-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm....donuts!
Pat has made it a regular thing to bike down to Joe's Donuts every weekend a.m. with the kiddo's. They love it and can't wait to race back home and eat up their donuts. If we miss a donut- run, it does not go unnoticed.

Our summer is flying by. The weather has been yucky for the most part. Don't get me wrong, we have had some nice days here and there but they are very short lived. There are quite a few things we have yet to do- simply because the weather has basically sucked. We do make the best of the nice days and deal with the "UCK" days. I know the kids feel just a bit cheated out of a summer this year. It seems to be on their minds at the moment because school is fast approaching!!

On nice days we have tried to hit all of our favorite parks. I usually let the kids invite a friend or two along. One of our favorite parks is in Wilsonville next to the water fountains. They have some pretty cool play structures there. We discovered them a few years back when we lived in Canby. The kids love going there in the summer.

Cute Kids!!!!

Vietnam Memorial Dedication in Canby

2011-08-07T20:12:00.001-07:00

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.
To all the brave men and women who have dedicated or given their lives
to protecting this country and it's freedoms:
Thank you.

On Saturday, it was our honor to be present at the dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Era Veterans Memorial. The community of Canby (where we use to live) has been working on raising funds for this memorial for 11 years!! What dedication to such an amazing and very necessary cause. We had purchased a brick in my Dad's honor about 3 or 4 years ago to help support the fund raising. It was just amazing and breath taking to see it all finally come together. The bronze statue was the last step to completing the beautiful memorial. The statue itself was $90,000. The statue has been named "A Hero's Prayer", depicting a wounded soldier carried by another soldier with a Vietnamese girl holding the wounded soldier's hand. It brought tears to my eyes and chills to my skin standing in front of it...just trying to take it all in.

Also at the memorial is Bell UH-1 "Huey" helicopter and a landing pad with a Red Cross Symbol.
Aloft on its pedestal, it is the most recognized helicopter type in the world. Thousands of lives were literally saved because of the dependability of the Huey and bravery of her crews. It stands as a humanitarian symbol that brought compassion and lifesaving during this time in our history.
The plaza is in the shape of an Asian character meaning "long life".

Across from the helicopter is a temple bell inscribed with "believe in peace" in Vietnamese.
The memorial also has a Blue Star memorial Marker, first erected in 1944 by the National Council of State Garden Clubs to honor those who served in the armed forces.

The ceremony was conducted by the Oregon National Guard with a jet and helicopter flyover, a 21 gun salute, music and speeches. Below is a Brigadier General.

This is my Dad's brick

Jim's special brick (Momma B's husband)
The wounded soldier in the bronze statue represents Jim's childhood friend, Warren E. Newton.
The artist used a photo of Warren that Jim gave him to do the soldier's face. Jim showed me a picture of Warren in a helicopter. The photo was taken just 3 hours before the helicopter went down and Warren did not survive.

The kids kneeling down by Grandpa Tex's special brick

There were a lot of people there. Definitely a lot of veterans there from all walks of life. I was looking/reading all their shirts, vests, patches, etc. It was very moving to see them there and know that I was standing next to TRUE American Hero's. I was wishing that my Dad was there to see it with us.

After the ceremony, families were welcome to explore military vehicles and talk with soldiers. It was a very moving ceremony! You could feel everyone contemplating it all and remembering those who have served and the many, many sacrifices that were made.

Truly an amazing memorial, made possible by many amazing people. We were truly humbled and honored to be a part of it. I want my kids to know how very blessed we all are to live how we do. I want them to know that it is all because of our SOLDIERS. It doesn't matter if you believe in War or No War...we all still owe them a heartfelt Thank You in the least!!!! Wars have taken place in the past and are CURRENTLY happening, so REMEMBER...there are SOLDIERS (past and present) that are risking their LIVES everyday to protect us all and keep us safe. May God Bless them All.
If you would like to support this memorial please visit- http://www.vietnameramemorial.org/
If you would like more info on supporting our troops please visit- http://thankasoldier.net/index.html
The "Thanks a Soldier" website is amazing...it will bring tears to your eyes.

Christine's Baby Shower

2011-08-07T14:11:00.001-07:00

We did Christine's baby shower yesterday after the dedication ceremony of the Vietnam Memorial in Canby. The shower went great. She got a lot of great baby gear and super cute clothes! Baby Boy Callahan will be very well dressed (:

I made her cake and Momma B made this super cute fruit bowl!! It was a very nice shower.

To the Dog Bowl...

2011-08-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, Griff has decided that he prefers to eat his food out of Henry's dog bowl instead of one of his own bowls. It's comical- I give him a snack in one of his bowls, he then heads out to the back, grabs Henry's bowl and dumps his snacks in it. I even caught him putting his face down in the bowl and eating like a dog. Henry is not sure what to make of this new habit!

Water Park

2011-08-03T08:23:00.001-07:00

We hit the water park/fountains in Wilsonville yesterday. It was a fun and busy day. I chased Griff all over that place...did not sit down once! We had a good size group. There are even a few kids missing from the picture. We are all loving this weather!!

My Front Porch Flowers

2011-07-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

My flowers have done great so far this summer. I am surprised at how well they have done because we have had a lot of rain and clouds. I guess we have had enough sunshine for them to grow, even if I think we haven't!
My hanging basket has gotten so huge, that you can't see our front door. If it gets any bigger, I will have to move it!

Everything in the yard is starting to finally bloom.

It's looking kind of pretty around here (:

Fun in LaPine with Family

2011-07-12T21:43:00.001-07:00

Brewer and Griff

We had another great trip in LaPine. Awesome weather, great family to hang with and two very BUSY baby boys! They were pretty cute to watch. They are starting to play together and spent a lot of time chasing each other around. They are 5 months apart in age.

We did some moto riding, swimming, water sliding, bounce housing, game playing, chicken catching (will explain) and even made it to The High Desert Museum. The weather was perfect- sunny and warm in the day and cool at night. The front yard looked like a carnival. I took our big Bonzai water slide and Sherry took her big bounce house. We had both of them set up in the front yard. We also had bicycles, water guns, toys, etc spread out all over the place. The kids definitely ruled the yard! Sherry had also brought her chickens, yes...funny I know. They were out back in the "coop". Mac and Tarver spent many hours chasing those poor hens around. They did eventually figure out how to catch them. I tried to get pictures, but the timing never worked out. Anyhow, they may not lay any eggs for awhile, they were a bit stressed by the time the boys were done with chasing them!

The High Desert Museum is a really neat place and very kid friendly. I hadn't been for a few years. We all had a good time. We left the babies with Grandma and took the older kids. We saw a lot of critters on our visit.

Catie Lynn and Lilly

Mac and Tarver

All four munchkins together

Catie Lynn and Lilly putting on a shadow show

The play area outside was really neat. The kids enjoyed the tunnels and big spider web. They were climbing on it and screaming like a spider was coming to "eat" them.

These are just a few of the critters we saw.
Warning to Grandma Kathy- there is a snake in this group of pictures...close your eyes!

On Saturday, we loaded everyone up and went swimming at Sunriver. It was a perfect day to hang out at the pool. Griff really liked the kiddie pool. They also had a big water slide and a small one. I couldn't get pictures of the older kids going down them because Griff kept me on the run the whole time.

I am so glad we headed over there and spent some time with the cousins. I told Mac and Lilly how very lucky they are to have cousins around to play with. I am ready to go back that way...where it's sunny and warm. It has pretty much rained here at home since we got back- Ugh...so tired of it!

10 Years

2011-07-05T11:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Husband and Best Friend-

It's time to reflect on ten years ... spent next to each other,

neither one leading nor following,

but instead walking next to each other -

side by side

always there, always together.

Our 10 years together has taught me ...

to cherish the many ordinary, yet magical moments that we share;

to uphold and honor and respect the relationship that we have forged in our years together.

It has cemented the undeniable love that we continue to nurture and

highlighted the reality that love is precious - not something to be squandered or taken for granted.

Know that I love you;

know that I adore you and

know that our love is my greatest accomplishment-

Happy Anniversary!

4th of July

2011-07-05T09:51:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July!
We had a good 4th. It didn't turn out as we had planned, but that's how things go sometimes. We were just happy to be together and enjoyed staying home.

I did make it out to Canby to pick up the kids from Momma B's. They had to stay with her while Pat and I left on Thursday for Baker City to take care of some things with Pat's Dad. We thought we would be back in time to follow through on some plans we had, but as I stated earlier- things happen. We didn't get home until late Sunday night.
I met up with the kids and Momma B. We watched the 4th of July parade and walked around the festivities in the park for a bit. I then loaded up everyone and all our stuff and headed home to celebrate the rest of the day with Pat. We had a wonderful dinner, prepared and packed with lots of care from Momma B, as well as all the usual fun things we do on the 4th. The weather was great so we hung out in the yard and played, had a silly string fight and once it got dark we lit off our fireworks. It was great!

We missed out on a few celebrations with friends and family, but you were all with us in spirit! Hope you all had a safe and fun 4th!
A HUGE THANKS goes out to all the helped us while we had to "jet" out of town so quickly. Thanks Krissa for watering my flowers and watching our house. Thanks Momma B for EVERYTHING...I don't even know where to start. You are truly a blessing to me and my family!

Allison Krauss and Union Station

2011-07-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to see one of my all time favorite singers. She has a voice like an angel and song lyrics that can move mountains.

Just amazing...
A great time spent with great friends!

Thanks Momma B and Christine for getting in line so early and getting us a great spot to watch the concert from (:

Moto Riding in LaPine

2011-06-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

What a group! (There's a few of us missing in the picture) We had a great weekend hanging out, playing in the water, sunbathing and moto riding.

All the kids are becoming great riders!

Lilly is above and below are all the little tough gals in our fun group!

If Griff could hold on by himself and run the bike...he'd be gone! He loves the motorcycles.

He loves Henry and Elyse's spaghetti too!

Thanks Izer's and Whitlock's for coming out and spending the weekend with us!
Had a blast (:

Signs of Summer

2011-06-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

We haven't seen much sun this spring or early summer...but when we get the chance, we seize it! We spend every waking hour outside knowing that it probably won't last long! I had to snap a picture of the mountain the other day because it was just beautiful.

Playing in the backyard seems to be Griff's favorite activity at the moment. He does NOT want to come in the house whatsoever...he would sleep out there if I let him! He climbs everything and is really hard on his knees, so I decided to put the knee guards on him. He wasn't a big fan of them at first, but once he realized he could play a little "rougher", he was all for them.

This is our new toy for the summer. It attracts the whole neighborhood. We love it!!

MMM...GOOD!

Griff - 18 months

2011-06-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

Griff had his 18 month baby-well visit yesterday. He now weighs 27 lbs and is 33 inches tall. He is a busy, busy little man. He keeps us all running after him constantly. His favorite word is "NO" at the moment. He also likes to yell "ticka-ticka-ticka" a lot. (means tickle, tickle, tickle)

He appears to have forgiven me for leaving him while we went on our Disneyland trip without him...I swear he was mad at me for a few days! He also likes helping you out when given the chance. It's very sweet and cute- he helps me make beds every morning, load the dishwasher and even helps Mac with feeding Henry and Snickers. He claps for himself after he completes each job and squeals "YEAHHHHH".
He eats very well and is very good at throwing his food for a touchdown at every meal. I find food all the way into the living room! We currently have all dining room chairs, kitchen chairs, etc. stored out in the garage because he uses them to climb up onto everything! I only have two chairs in the kitchen for the kids to pull down when it's dinnertime...Pat and I stand up to eat dinner now days! He's a BOOGER and we love him to pieces!

End of the year sports and school...could it be summer?

2011-06-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Go Lilly! This was her last soccer game for the season. She scored a goal too! She will definitely play again in the fall. She loves soccer.

With soccer done and track done, we now have a full 2 months off from sports. Well, the kids have a few sports camps over the summer, but we don't have to sit and watch those! School is now out, so it's time for summer camps, play-dates, sleepovers, camping trips, swimming, lots of moto riding, VBS, BBQ's, vacations, parties, trail hiking, berry picking and well, if we're lucky...some down time too! All we need is for MOTHER NATURE to start cooperating. It's still cool and rainy way too much for summer break! I hope the sunshine starts showing up much more frequently and very soon!!

Disneyland!

2011-06-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

Disneyland was a dream come true for our kids! We had a blast and my favorite part was seeing the excitement, anticipation and amazement on my kiddo's faces when we got there. It was awesome...

The Princess' were a huge deal for Lilly. She was beyond excited to see them. Her and I bought tickets for Ariel's Grotto. It' s the coolest restaurant where you get to sit down and eat and the princesses come out one by one to greet each visiting guest. They talk to you and take plenty of time for pictures.

Lilly was speechless...for the first time ever! She was literally shaking with anticipation. When the first princess came out, she took a huge, deep breath and looked at me with big fat tears in her eyes. I got teary-eyed just watching her! It was a great moment. I know that she will remember it forever.

I know this is funny picture below, but Lilly was even amazed at our dessert dish that was brought out. Everything was edible, even the sea shell and the Ariel decor on brownie. Lilly said it was her "bestest day ever!" She was so sweet and saved most of the desserts for Mac and Pat.

If you go to Disneyland and have a little princess that wants to meet all of the Disney Princesses, I highly recommend this place. You get most of the princesses done all at one time and you don't have to stand in line for HOURS to meet them out in the park!!! The picture below is of Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder from Tangled. She wasn't at the restaurant, so we had to grit our teeth and wait in line for over almost 2 hours to see them. It was crazy, but Lilly did not complain one time. She stood in that line like a pro!

We completely lucked out with seeing Princess Jasmine. She always had a very long line and we had passed it up a few times. We suddenly saw her walking through the park and she stopped to take a quick photo with Lilly!!! I was so relieved!

The next set of pictures are from Fairy Land where Tinkerbell and the other fairies live. We waited almost an hour to see her, but it was worth it.

Mickey's Toon Town was a big hit with the kids as well. They loved seeing Mickey and Minnie's houses and we ran into Pluto, Minnie, Goofy and Dale. We didn't have any wait time with them. We just happened to be there at the right time!

Lilly wants a house just like Minnie's when she grows up...

Mickey's house was really cool!

OH MY GOODNESS...Lilly spotted SANTA there too. He was taking a much needed vacation! We saw him at the "It's a Small World Castle" of all places-

I told Pat that I would like to have a moose just like this one in our yard...

Mac was a great sport about riding some of the "kiddie" rides with Lilly. He was very patient. He got to ride all of the big rides plenty, but we had told him he would have to do some rides with Lilly. He did great. They came out the Mr. Toad ride and Lilly was flipped out. It was a dark and kind of spooky ride, but I was still a little bit surprised that it scared her so badly. I was also surprised at how many of the kids rides in Fantasy-land were actually dark and spooky. They are suppose to be for young kids, but they are just a tad scary. We just let her ride what she wanted and left it at that. She did all the roller coasters and other big rides without blinking an eye...I guess because most of them were not in the dark.

We got a front row seat to their new Mickey's Sound-Sational Parade. It was awesome! The floats were beautiful and all the characters were there!

Lilly was hilarious...every time a new float or character came by she was screaming like we were at a rock concert or something! Her scream is very loud...but it worked in her favor- the characters would look directly at her and smile, wave and even blow her kisses!

We even spotted Mary Poppins!

We took a few days off from Disneyland (thank goodness) and fully enjoyed the California Beaches. Pat and I both had "Disneyland Hangovers" after three full days of it. AHHHH, the beach was just what we needed. It was warm and just down right relaxing! It was really a good idea to take a break from the parks for a day or two.

Pat and Mac worked hard at learning how to body surf on boogie boards...

...Lilly and I enjoyed making castles, walking a long the beach front and even some shopping!

We spotted this little crab...the kids wanted to keep him, but he was having no part of it!

The whole trip was just incredible. Our drive down there and back home went as smooth as it could have possibly gone. I had a few rough days missing Griff, but I did OK and he was very well taken care of.