Lately.

So October is nearly over.  Actually, 2013 has gone by in a blink - what a year it has been for us.

We continue to enjoy autumn in the Pacific Northwest.  The air is cool, the leaves crunch and football is on incessantly.  Jackson treats me to a Triple Grande Pumpkin Spice every Saturday and the Buckeyes are still undefeated.

I'm still baking a lot and already planning all the holiday treats I'm going make this year.  Jackson and I will make truffles together as we do every Christmas.  I will also be making loads and loads of Mint Chocolate Bark and Eggnog Cookies.  I really enjoy filling up little holiday tins with homemade goodness and handing them out to people we love.  But before all that is Thanksgiving which is another wonderful opportunity to cook and/or bake delicious food.  I'm hoping to do a Pumpkin Roll again.

There are so many awesome movies out/coming out soon that we are both excited for.  We saw 'Gravity' a few weeks ago in Eugene and were both blown away.  It was simply incredible.  Jackson has been eagerly anticipating 'Ender's Game' and I even think I'll see it with him, even though I'm not into the Sci-Fi the way he is.  We've both been waiting the past year and a half for 'Catching Fire' which is going to be absolutely nuts.  I'd also like to see 'Frozen' which is the new DreamWorks or Pixar or whatever that's coming out on Thanksgiving.  Then at Christmas we're interested in seeing 'American Hustle' with Bradly Cooper, Amy Adams, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence.  It's just crazy all the good movies coming soon.  I'd also like to see the new 'Romeo & Juliet' that's out now since it's directed by the same guy who does Downton Abbey.

A few weeks back we went to the homecoming football game at one of our local high schools.  A couple of the girls I worked with at the blueberry farm were on the homecoming court.  We had a total blast watching the game and cheering for the team.  It was a little like going back in time.  I went to plenty football games in high school but Jackson only went to maybe one or two.  We had a lot of fun.

I still need a good job.  Please keep praying for that.

It's Autumn (definitely).

We're enjoying our first autumn in Oregon.  Compared to California, the season's change dramatically up here.  At the end of August we were floating the river in 90 degree heat but once September hit you could feel a change in the air - cooler mornings, mild afternoons, falling leaves.  We've had some rain already and autumn colors are starting to show in the foothills behind our house.  It's put me in the right frame of mind for my favorite time of year.  Jackson and I have been keeping our weekends very low key.  A typical Saturday involves sweat pants, a Pumpkin Spice Latte, Ohio State football, a good book and relaxing in the parlor.  Last week I felt a strong urge to bake with pumpkin.  The result was GF Pumpkin-Maple Granola Bars and Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Vanilla Icing.  I must say, both turned out quite good.  Now I want to go crazy and bake every day with pumpkin but it's a bit unrealistic when 3/4ths of our house is GF and trying to avoid sugar.  I'm thinking for Thanksgiving I'm going to have to do a GF DF Pumpkin Roll.

The blueberry farm has wrapped for the year and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to work there for three months.  Now I really need a permanent job.  I had an interview to work at the local newspaper but they were unable to offer me enough hours.  So the search continues.  Please pray I can find something soon.  Soon.  Really soon.

In an effort to do something useful with all my free time, I now help out our pastor and his family a few days a week.  They home-school their five kids and, needless to say, have their hands full all the time.  I grocery shop, help the younger kids with school, clean house and do whatever.  Sometimes we bake and play board games - last week it was Horseopoly.  The kids are always wanting to show me their Wii games and it's really funny because I've played Wii like twice in my life and so I get on there and just get destroyed by these little kids haha.  But they love it so much it's really funny.

On September 1 we were officially covered under the health plan offered through DC Parks.  This was tremendous news as it was determined that neither of us had seen a dentist in 4-5 years simply because we could never afford it.  So on September 1 Jackson called and made us appointments and we saw the dentist for $10.  It was a happy day.  I have good teeth!

It's August (barely).

Summer flies by.  It's just a fact of life.  In the entire history of the world there certainly has never been a summer that's passed slowly.  June through August - just forget about it.  Now September, which is still classified as summer until the 21st, absolutely qualifies as autumn because come Labor Day you can buy Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks.  That settles that.

Thanks to everyone who was praying for the job with Roseburg Playschool.  I didn't get it and was pretty disappointed.  I still have lots of faith the good Lord will come through for us.  I just kinda (foolishly) had my heart set on that position.  Something else will come along.  I'm still getting a few days here and there at the blueberry farm so that's good.

Jackson's Aunt Valerie came down to visit this past weekend and we all had a great time.  I've virtually never spent any time with her and Jackson hadn't really seen her since high school.  We made pizza, ate ice cream, played UNO Attack and Settlers of Catan and floated the river.  Yeah, I'd say that's a good weekend.  This Friday our good friends Zach and Lacy are coming up from California to see us.  We're going to show them the countryside and maybe go out to the coast and/or float the river.  We're going to cram em into the parlor so it'll be a full house haha.  Should be lots of fun :)

Besides that, we're getting super excited for football season.  The Niners pre-season has been uninspiring but that's only because Scott Tolzien and Colt McCoy have been running the offense.  Thankfully in real life we have Colin Kaep.

Since wrapping up One Tree Hill a few months back I've been looking for another show on Netflix streaming.  Now I'm pretty hooked on Once Upon A Time.  Don't laugh.  Ginnifer Goodwin is awesome in it and def one of my favorite actresses.  And what the heck is up with Downton Abbey Season 4 not coming to the US till January?!?  Not OK.

Some recent pics

Time goes by. Fast.

I regret to admit it's been quite some time since my last post. That's what crazy hours at the blueberry farm has done to me. I've not had much spare time for, well, anything but eating, sleeping, and relaxing on the couch with Jackson at the end of my long days. The second harvest officially ended yesterday so just like that I'm in need of work again.

Cara Lanterman, I miss your face.

Speaking of blueberries, I just made for the first time a batch of GF DF Jumbo Blueberry Muffins with berries from the farm. Holy cow they turned out so good! Blueberry muffins have always been Jackson's favorite but he's not been able to eat them in a long time. Jackpot.

Speaking of jobs, I'm very excited for a interview I have tomorrow with Roseburg Playschool for an Assistant Teacher position. Playschool is a preschool that focuses on exploratory and creative learning. They believe play is central to early childhood education. All the activities are very hands-on and geared towards giving the children the tools to initiate their own discovery. I would really love this job for lots of reasons and I'm just praying now that my interview goes well. No matter what comes of this I'm really not worried. God is Able. The position is (nearly) full-time and would pay enough to enable Jackson and me to move out on our own. That would be, well, as you know, pretty amazing haha. We've been checking out apartments around here and we can get a 2 bedroom in a fairly nice complex for $525/month!! That's not a typo either. Rent also includes water, sewer, and trash. Can you believe that?! We can't either.

July has been a substantially hot month especially for this area. We've had long stretches of 90-95+ degree days. For free weekend fun we've been floating the river and it has been awesome. I have to say the Umpqua is a much nicer river to float than the Russian. The water is very clean and clear. The stretch we float has some rapids that are pretty good size (for floating in a tube that is) that will flip you if you're not careful. So so so much fun! It's been the best thing we've done all summer. Jackson and I are planning to start a new tradition for our family: an end of summer water balloon fight. We have the balloons and the water spout filler piece and we're just waiting for some hot August weather. That's going to be really great :). We're talking about making a day trip to Crater Lake on my birthday at the end of August as well, so I'm looking forward to that.

In other news, my big sis is now in Australia with YWAM. For those of you who don't know, she'll be staffing the base in Adelaide for one year. I'm very glad to know we'll be Skypeing but not happy to know I won't see her in person for one whole year. Please pray for her whenever you think of it.

If you've not seen the new Catching Fire trailer, wow, you really need to. The Victory Tour, the victor tributes, Finnick, THE ARENA!!! Aaaahhhh November 22!!!

GREAT NEWS

Jackson got a phone call last week from Gary, the Director of the DC Parks Department, offering him permanent, full time employment!! As you can imagine, this is incredible news for us. We accepted this job back in May with a lot of faith that the good Lord would provide and make a way for us. The job was originally only guaranteed through September but we were praying that we would find out before then if there would be permanency. Well what do you know, Jackson had only been with the department two months before being offered permanent work. It's just so amazing to see the good Lord putting all the pieces together for us in Oregon. As previously mentioned in another post, county jobs are highly desirable and don't come along that often. Beginning September 1 we will be getting quality benefits including vision and dental, which we've never had. As most of you know I'm super blind and borderline crazy about dental hygiene so yeah, I'm looking forward to that haha. Jackson will also be getting paid sick days, vacation days and holidays. On top of it all and more important than the benefits is he's enjoying his job and learning many news skills. Every work day is different from the last. The other day he got to go out on the county parks motor boat and move these boowies (sp?) around to make a swimming area. He had lots of fun doing that because then they had to cruise the reservoir looking for any downed trees that needed to be removed. So all in all Jackson couldn't be happier to have this job. He may not stay with the Parks Dept for the rest of his life as they offer lateral mobility amongst other county departments. So down the line if there's an opening he's interested in he already has a foot in the door.

Needless to say, I'm a very proud wife. Jackson went down there and just dazzled them with his work ethic, character and integrity. He earned their respect and has now been rewarded with a permanent job. It's just awesome. This is a big step towards he and I moving out and having our own place. I still need permanent income in order for that to happen so you can be praying for that. The blueberry farm could be wrapping up in three weeks or so depending on the weather. I'm hoping they ask me to stay for the August harvest.

On another note, I've also been experiencing the worst allergies of my life recently. It's been very debilitating and today I even stayed home from work. I've been taking a 24hr. pill every morning that's not been working very well in addition to two Benadryl every night just so I can sleep. There's an allergy clinic in town that, depending on the cost, I may have to wait and see in September when I have medical coverage. Jackson's been taking good care of me and buying different over the counter medications for me to try. I'm hoping to at least make it through blueberry season. I need Jesus to heal me so please be praying for that.

Becky on a Blueberry Farm.

I started work on Friday June 14. It's been very educational. And exhausting. And crazy. And fascinating. And difficult. And the most challenging job I've ever had.

To give you some perspective: the farm employs 400-450 pickers and 150-175 packers. It's nothing for the pickers to pick 150,000 pounds of fruit in one day. That means the packers (my people) have to inspect, process and pack 150,000 pounds of fruit, more or less in one day. Needless to say, the days are quite long, anywhere from 10-15 hours. It's basically been kicking my previously-unemployed-for-three-months butt. The work has certainly been taking it's toll on my body and I'm about ready to collapse at the end of each day. I've only been working just over one week but it feels like I've been there for months. In the pack house there are no windows or clocks (like a casino haha) so at any given moment I have no idea what time it is, how long I've been there, what's going on in the outside world, or if it's night or day. So that's a little strange.

I'm very thankful to be working however and know the good Lord is seeing me through. My wonderful, supportive husband has also been very strong for me. The other night at work I felt so terrible, like all of my mono symptoms resurfacing, achy all over with a pounding headache. I came home and he took good care of me.

I will post pictures from the farm and pack house before the season is over.

In other news...there's really not any. Jackson's still plugging away at work with DC Parks. We've not really had any adventures since I started at the farm because I work like 6 days a week. The secondary harvest ends sometime in August so we're hoping to go camping at least once before the summer's over. Other than that we have nothing really planned for the summer as far as trips go. We'll definitely be sticking to activities that are free - floating the river, hiking, going out to the coast.

This Thursday Lenny and Phil are leaving for California and will be gone 5 days. So yeah...we're looking forward to the time alone :)