Dear Nana....FINALLY

On Dec. 26, 1988, 3 months after my thirteenth birthday AND with the date in Dec. specially chosen because our destination was supposed to be experiencing frigid freezing temps, my cousin Sally, nana, and I boarded our plane.....

Our first touch down was Denver- I am not sure what kept us on the ground longer than expected but a plane delay in the 80's meant some Freebies for the passengers.  Dinner vouchers (free from the airline) because we were going to be in Denver over dinner were handed out and my nana told my cousin Sally and I to find us some dinner........When your 13, twenty 'airport bucks' seems like a bottomless pit of spending- It was fun walking around the airport carefully selecting what we wanted to eat :) 

I still remember looking out and seeing all the lights when we landed in St. Paul, Minnesota, our final destination, and also my Nana's home state when she was growing up.........This is where I had been pointed to if I wanted to know what it felt like to be in below zero temp's, ice skate, and have your wet hair frozen to your head (yep, I tried it while my cousin Sally looked on)....I really think the Mall of America was calling my name even back then but, because my shopping maturity was limited to Goodwill (still love that store) and our local J.C. Penny, I did not recognize the 'call' right then.........I mean, for the love of Pete, it was in complete ignorance that I choose to visit the city that houses the LARGEST MALL in America.........I was born to shop!! (side note for Deb & Kristi- I still have not forgot about Seven's fabulous Kimmie's...darn that they are so new and so expensive)

I sat with my precious Nana today and we talked about our Minnesota trip- We talked about the fact that we stayed with Nana's best friend (since 5th grade) Margeurite and how Nana and Margeurite still keep in touch..........how it's possible to be friends with someone for 80 years.  As we were talking about our trip my cousin Sally walked in the door- Sal and nana are neighbors...Sal comes over everyday and helps my nana remember to take her medications and manage daily life. 
Here Nana, Sally, and I were 25 years later, all in the same room, talking about a trip we had all 3 taken together............a trip that was a gift from our Nana. 

As I was getting ready to leave Nana's house today I asked if I could look through her photo albums to grab a few pictures of our trip... I could not find the pictures but did come across a picture of Nana and Margeurite.

There are so many gifts we give others in life- One's we recognize during the giving, one's we recognize later, and some we may never recognize.......some will be monetary, some will be words(the gift of encouragement is one example), and some will be a gesture (a hug or smile).  Some gifts will be talked about for a moment and some will touch generation after generation.

I am blessed to be the grand daughter of Harriet Hagen Chamberlain
I am blessed to be able to pass the Legacy she has left and is still leaving on to my children and someday my grandchildren

'Thank you Lord Jesus for my Nana.....Please guard and keep her as she begins her 90th year....Please fill her heart with the knowledge that she has left and is still leaving so many precious gifts to those around her.'

 

 

Here we are a week later...(ALMOST) Dear Nana part 2

When I wrote the first 'Dear Nana' post on New Year's Day I had high hopes of writing part 2 of the post within a couple of days of the first....
Here we are a week later :)
I also had high hopes of stopping by my Nana's house and grabbing some pictures out of her photo album of our trip (to share with you all)....
Again, here we are a week later and I still have not made it to pick up those pictures...

Over the past week I have been chasing a potty training toddler (who has pooped and pee'd multiple places both inside and outside........I can't believe how fast she can whip down her pants and go...WAIT A MINUTE HERE!!!).  This week I have also sanitized my house after the head cold flu went through- although I may have pre-sanitized because I had to pick Ryan up early from school today because of a fever and ear ache (thankfully it has missed Matt and I so far...whoo hoo- Maybe my next blog post will be about Matt and I getting the flu too...smile).  For some reason, I have also been extra hungry all week so I have been doing a lot of cooking- I was mulling over today 'Why in the world am I always so hungry?' (especially since the pregnancy test came up negative......JUST JOKING...no more babies for us).  I came to the conclusion that, after over eating during the entire Holiday season, my body is not recognizing that the holiday's are over and it's time to scale those 5 meals I've been eating a day back down to 3- maybe I'll work on that next week :) :) :)

Last week's blog post ended with this:

On Dec. 26, 1988, 3 months after my thirteenth birthday AND with the date in Dec. specially chosen because our destination was supposed to be experiencing frigid freezing temps, my cousin Sally, nana, and I boarded our plane.....
 

My goal is to make it over to my Nana's in the next week or two so that I can grab pictures of our trip- This post was ALMOST going to be 'Dear Nana' part 2 but it just did not seem right to write without the pictures.

P.S. Below is a fun picture from a year ago.  Towards the end of last year, we bought the below house to either rent or sell- After doing a 'lip stick' makeover on it (paint, carpet, laminate hardwood, garage doors, etc) We listed it last Dec., by owner, for a couple of weeks before deciding that we wanted to rent it.  After taking the 'marketing' pictures my laptop broke and I thought the pictures were gone.  A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from a popular real estate website offering a 'complimentary' market analysis on the house- Attached to the e-mail was this pic (that I took and they saved)

Hope you are having a great Tues.!!



Dear Nana...

Part 1 of 2

Dear Nana,
These 2 posts are dedicated to you.  Thank you so much for the role you have played in my life- for all the prayers you have prayed, for sitting at my basketball and volleyball games when I was in high school, for never failing to tell me how beautiful you think my Ellie is and how you know God choose her for our family.  Thank you also for giving this granddaughter of yours a special memory for her 13th birthday- a memory that, as an adult, turned into a tradition that I have carried on for my kids. I admire your independent spirit, the twinkle in your eye, and that you have loved the Lord through incredible heartache.
I Love you,
Steph


As my cousin Sally's phone was ringing yesterday, my cell pressed up against my ear, I had already been thinking about what I was about to ask her for hours.  I had woken up with 2 things on my mind this New Year's Eve day- The first thing on my mind was our friends Dale and Bonnie (KK and Code Man)....they would be waking up to the 10th anniversary of their sister Janet's passing....She was killed in a car wreck on New Year's Eve of 2004 (we love you D,B,K,C).  The second thought was where I was 25 years ago....

'Hey Sal, guess where you, nana, and I were 25 years ago on New Year's Eve?'

I have mentioned my Nana on my blog a few times- She is our grandma on my dad's side.  My nana became a widow when she was in her early 50's- I wish I could say that I remember meeting my grandpa Ray but he died from stomach cancer a few months after I was born.

My Grandpa Ray and Nana had 3 children who went on to have 11 children of their own:

•  My dad Rick- He has Anne Loree, Jodi, me, Chris, & Levi
•  Aunt Petra- Who has Monica, Jay (who passed away), and Sally
•  Aunt Anne- Who has Luke, Molly Muffin, and Anna

A trait I admire about my nana is her independence.  To this day, 9 months shy of 90 years old, she lives on her own, in the house that she raised her kids in- A house that has deep family roots, where many a Chamberlain Family get together has taken place over the 50+ years she has lived there.  Living on her own looks a bit different even than it did 5 years ago (she has some help when it comes to remembering to take her medications etc.)but none the less my almost 90 year old nana still lives on her own.

Nana embraced her 50's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's by traveling, gardening, and playing racquetball.  It did not surprise me several years ago to pick up our local paper and see my nana and her racquetball partner making our headlines for faithfully playing racquetball a couple times a week at our local gym (I think the reporter was shocked not only how long they had been playing racquetball together but their age).

Most of us grandkids were able to be a part of my nana's passion to travel.  For our 13th birthday she would give us the gift of a trip in a way that did not spoil us but gave us an opportunity to see outside our home state of  Oregon if we choose...

'You can choose anywhere in the United States to go BUT you must save up the money to pay for your own food'



As my sister Jodi and cousin Sally turned 13 in 1987 they jetted off for a weeks long trip to Hawaii with my nana....It never even crossed my mind as someplace to choose......
My brother headed down to Disney Land, my Cousin Luke and Molly to the Billy Graham Camp in Tennessee (where, at 13 Luke met his future wife Becca), Anna to Monterey...

For years before my thirteenth, I had been developing a fascination with cold weather- What did it feel like to be in below zero temp's?  What was it like to ice skate?  What was it like to have your hair frozen to your head?

On Dec. 26, 1988, 3 months after my thirteenth birthday AND with the date in Dec. specially chosen because our destination was supposed to be experiencing frigid freezing temps, my cousin Sally, nana, and I boarded our plane.....


p.s. Happy New Year!!

Nana, earlier this year, with most of her great grandchildren

From our Family to Yours...Merry Christmas!

Our family is celebrating the greatest Birth in Earth's History.............

The Announcement delivered by Angels proclaiming the Birth of Jesus.......the Messiah, the Lord

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

From our family to yours..........
Merry Christmas!!

 

Luke 2

New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Thank you for this picture Treva

 

A Little of Him....A Little of Me

Matt and I were able to spend a couple of nights away this week- All summer long I go camping with my boys..........during the winter Matt will take at least one trip (sometimes two) to the city (about a 4 hour drive away- or 45 minute flight:) ) with me.
The city is not my man's ideal way to spend a vaca BUT staying 6 weekends out of 13 this past summer in a travel trailer is not my ideal way to spend a vaca either- Somewhere along the 20 years of being together we have found our Medium.

Give and Take.................
A little of him a little of me......

Thank you babe for taking me to Cabela's- for the laugh we had while there when we walked behind the silent farter (only to both grab our noses and struggle for air as we were laughing so hard we could hardly walk straight)
Thank you for holding my bags as we went from store to store
Thanks for watching 2 Halmark movies in a row as we sat on our bed eating pizza smothered in ranch
Thank you for the great talks about 'life' as we drove
Thank you that you have not allowed our marriage to be all you or all me-

I love you Matthew Benjamin and thank you so much for stepping out of your comfort zone into mine.  Thank you also for including me into your comfort zone- For the times you have insisted I 'join in' instead of sitting curb side..........

Your my heart babe
deep down my heart
and I am so grateful for you

p.s. I took the camera out once on our trip- I jokingly took a picture of Matt waiting for me as I was trying on clothes- He grabbed the camera and took a pic of me in return- The camera never came out again

'Don't Duck..'

Thank you for this picture Alliance Defending Freedom

 

 

 

Right Now......Camo or Coach

4 Things going on right now

• I am watching a show called 'Nitro Circus' with my boys right now.....While I am cringing every time someone crashes on their bikes my boys are cracking up thinking it's awesome
• My house has a faint tinge of cow poop smell right now- Boots were not washed off before walking into the mud room- BOYS!!!
• Going back to the Nitro Circus I am watching right now, what kind of life did Travis Pastrana have growing up to make him such a dare devil adrenaline junkie?  His poor mother was probably beside herself....or his mom was like my friends Bonnie and Val- They would be cheering their boys on when they did all the crazy stunts
• Right now, on my Ryan's back, he has a camo Band-Aid covering a cut- Camo's a big deal in our house- Camo Clothes, hats, jackets, Bog Boots, under-wear, blankets, you name it we've got it in camo...........my boys love them some camo p.s. I don't prefer owning camo- If it's starting with a C I'll go with Coach :)

Hope you all have had a great Tues..



Well Would you look at that- Coach has camo!!