The Clement Family

Family & Friends Garage Sale

2009-03-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Start gathering your stuff and join us in a family and friends garage sale. The more the merrier and the more stuff the better.

WHEN: Friday, May 29th & Saturday, May 30th

TIME: 8 am - 4 pm-ish

*If your interested in joining in please send me an email. As you go thru your things and begin gathering your sellables please send me an email with a listing of what you will be bringing over. Our garage will be open to start gathering the "goods" the week before the sale.

Items needed to organize efficiently: long tables and/or card tables, racks to hang clothing, paper or plastic sacks, xtra hangars.

Dawn clement810@comcast.net

Making a house a home

2008-12-14T10:27:00.001-08:00

I am excited to say that during Christmas break for the girls this year I have some much needed time off of work. I love my job but all good things can benefit from a short break and this year it is some extra time with the girls. Ahhh, they will be so excited to clean the house top to bottom with mom. (a little sarcasm)

We have lived in our house for 2 years in January and have yet to paint any walls or make it distinctly the Clement house. We have planned to do projects before but life has a way of sucking out all of the hours in the day and nothing has been accomplished. So.... during my 2 weeks off of work I am hoping to quarantine ourselves in the walls of our house and make it into a home. Paint some walls, hang some pictures, have friends over to help (hint, hint) and just overall relax while creating some organization.

News Years Resolution - Already?

2008-11-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

So our family has sat down and vowed to a new years resolution that will begin a month earlier than traditional this year. S L O W d o w n! Sounds so simple but boy has it been challenging for our house. The girls are overscheduled and my work schedule has been a bit nutty in addition to Dave's ministry schedule and we hardly know who is coming and going. So in an effort to organzie and slow down I am trying to create some sort of sanity with a weekly schedule/to do list.

First goal for this week is making 5 out of 7 dinners at home. Sounds so simple but it will be a hard task to pull off at our house. I'm dusting off the crock pot and googling some recipes this afternoon. Wish us luck!

Here is a link to a newly reunited group that recently sprouted up on Utube. A good friend of mine tipped me off to them and they are my new holiday favorite. I love true talent that can hold its own without a bunch of high flying techno lights and sound effects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iajdUlQRgIc

Aren't they beautiful?

2008-11-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Ok, I haven't posted in forever but I had to take a quick moment and post a pic of the girls on Halloween. At our house we had an angel, snow princess and butterfly. They are such a gorgeous bunch! :o) (I do realize I am a bit bias)

More updates to come .....

Olympic Mania

2008-08-10T23:53:00.001-07:00

The Olympics have started and I don't know about your house but on our tv and computer screen that is all we have up and running. Who knows what exactly it is that draws us in but the Clement house are Olympic addicts. Thankfully, we have some good friends that are equally as nutty and into the Olympics and all of its competitions. We had a wonderful night with friends tonight cheering on the competitors and holding our breath on final finishes, out of bound tumbling passes and final dismounts. Phew, it was great!

The Olympics are definately something that drawn in individuals that are likeminded in competitiveness, hardwork and a secret desire to achieve such a huge accomplishment as a gold medal or for that matter any color medal and the dedication that goes into that dream. Whatever it is that glues us to the screen we are looking forward to tomorrow's coverage and hoping that we can draw the 2008 Olympics out as long as possible.

Go USA!!

Getting Caught Up

2008-08-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have a small window of time to sit down & post a few words on what has been going on at the Clement house the past 3 months. Where to start?!

May ~ Emily tried out and made the level 4 competitive gymnastics team at FlightSchool gymnastics. She has diligently worked hard all year long with the end goal being team tryouts and when the day finally came she was incredibly excited. She rocked all of her skills but that pesky front hip circle. Try, try and try again .... She did fabulous and is very excited for competition season to begin.

June ~ The girls finished school with excellent report cards. Emily is now officially a 4th grader, Graci is entering 1st grade and Jillian will complete her last year in preschool. Wow, 1 year away from everyone being in elementary school together. Crazy!! Emily, turned 9 years on the 5th and had a very fun rock climbing party with many of her friends. She reminds me weekly that next year she will be double digits at 10 yr. Seriously, it blows my mind.
On the 17th of June we celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday by letting off balloons in the sky and singing Happy Birthday. He went home to be with the Lord in February of this year and our world has never quite been the same. A piece of my heart and soul went with him the day he died and the healing process for myself has been unimagineably hard. He truly was a man to admire, emmulate and laugh at his stubborness.

July ~ The girls all walked in the Hillsboro 4th of July parade representing their gymnastics team. They had a great time and we enjoyed spending the evening watching a fun display of fireworks with friends. Dave's middleschool camp came and went in the middle of the month and it was a lot of fun up in Everett, WA. About 100 middleschools attended and were impacted by a dynamic speaker, Marshall, from Bridgetown Ministries.

August ~ Emily and Grace partcipated in a gymnastics TOPs testing this past weekend and did awesome. It was a neat chance for them to experience what all of their hardwork has gone towards and also learn what they need to continue to develop.

~My goal is to get back to posting once a week and the month of August will hopefully bring a lot of end of the summer fun. Wedding, camping, pictures, birthday's, anniversary, re-decorating, it will be fun but adventurous as we fit everything into the next few weeks before the routine of school begins.

Updated Post ~ Tonight

2008-07-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

Our posts have been a bit MIA. Planning to post an update this evening .... Stay tuned.

Decorating

2008-05-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

So, I am on a mission. We have now lived in our house for a year and a half and really haven't changed anything to make it "ours". I have been frustrated lately because I can't seem to keep it clean and it just doesn't reflect the Clement's. The family that lived here before did a great job with wall color, etc but now it is time to pick my own. Maybe I have drug my feet on the whole project because the max we have ever lived in one spot has been 2 years. The thought of putting all of the funds and effort into decorating and then once again we pick up and move is a true concern. However, Dave and I have chatted at great length about our future plans and unless the Lord shows us a completely different path we are destined to stay in the Hillsboro area for many years to come.

I used to know my decorating style but honestly over the years with adding 3 girls to our family and then passing thru the baby stage things have changed. I am fortunate enough to have a very dear friend that is an interior designer and she is going to come over and help me pick colors for my walls and gain some vision for future plans. Ahhh, I have the decorating bug and I have to admit it feels good. I can't wait to have a summer bbq and show off some of our changes!

It's Been Awhile

2008-05-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been over a month since my last post! I could pretend I don't know how that happened but honesly who are we kidding. Our days have been crazy busy with ending a gymnastic season, school testing, youth group activities, getting ready for gymnastic team tryouts and just simply or not so simply holding down the schedules of all 3 girls.

One of our accomplished tasks in the last few weeks was making it over to KM photography for pictures of Emily (she is turning 9 yr in just a few weeks) and to document Graci's missing front teeth. The pics turned out wonderful and it is amazing to see how much the girls have grown in the past year. You can view our session by going to http://www.kmdesignphotography.com/ , clicking on clients and typing in Clement for the password. Thanks you Karen for sharing your talent with our family! Jillian's turn will come around sometime in the fall closer to her birthday.

House Mouse

2008-03-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia Encyclopedia: The House Mouse (Mus musculus) is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus commonly termed a mouse. It is a small mammal and a rodent. In most parts of the world, they live in close proximity to humans.

So the litte creatures have invaded our house! Honestly, I can handle most any animal or rodent but there is something about mice with their beady little eyes and poop droppings everywhere that just absolutely gross me out.

This past week Dave was out of town in Canada and one was caught in the glue pad next to the fridge. I didn't enter the kitchen for over a day and just kept piling things everywhere so my peripheal vision wouldn't catch site of the little critter. I almost had to ask a good friend of ours that lives down the street to come rescue me and get rid of it when my unsuspecting brother in-law came bye to drop something off and I bribed him with dinner if he would dispose of it.

Charlie (our dog) has definitely not passed the mice dog test as he hasn't detected anything. Hopefully, they will find somewhere else to live as the weather warms up or I might be knocking on someone elses door with the girls in tow to spend the night.

Born to Dance

2008-02-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

Okay .. so I only wish that I could dance. I just returned from watching a new movie that just came out in the theaters "Step Up 2" and I am so inspired. Man, if I could dance like any of those characters it would be fabulous! I have always dreamed of dancing, beginning when I was young. A lot of girls at school particpated in dance classes and what not and secretely I was always envious. The Lord had another plan for me and to be a knock out dancer isn't in my story. (You would be scared to see my uncoordinated dance moves behind closed doors on cleaning days at home.)

My girls can dance and it is so fun to watch. Emily has quite the flare and can definitely hold her own, Gracie has a quieter style but amazing potential. The jury is still out on Jill but hey if she can't dance I am sure she'll be happy to debate another talent.

Who knows maybe they'll only grow up to be secret, laundry day dancers and not the next Portland Blazer dancer sensation. (And this may actually be a good thing.) Just remember to knock before entering our house or you could be in for a big, music blaring, dance party suprise.

Rock Climbing Diva's

2008-02-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

The girls are taking a rock climbing class for the month of February and today was their first class. Emily was the only one in the class to climb confidentally to the top and ring the bell in record speed. Now if we could only instill that enthusiasm, confidence and speed in other aspects of her daily routine. lol

Gracie also did great and enjoyed bouldering from one side horizontally to the other. When it came time for her to belay and climb to the top the height factor wasn't her thing but she by far free climbed the farthest of the other girls. Her upper body strength was a huge advantage. Fun times!

Sunday Afternoon Dinner - Come On Over!

2008-01-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday Afternoon Dinner ~ Open Invitation

WHEN: Sunday afternoons, beginning February 3rd
TIME: Dinner will be served at 2 pm (menu will vary)
WHAT: A time to relax with friends and family and to eat what I hope will be a great dinner. (Traditionally, lunch on Sunday's is renamed dinner and dinner is renamed supper. Go figure.)
WHERE: The Clement's House

*No RSVP required unless you are bringing a friend along and then please shoot me a text or e-mail so we have enough food prepared.

**I will plan on sending out an e-mail a few days before with our anticipated menu. Occasionally, I may ask for someone to bring dessert, extra pickles, dinner rolls, you get the idea. Please, if possible shoot me back an e-mail if you are planning on coming over. If your out of town, busy washing your hair, etc. don't worry about responding we'll plan on catching you another time.

Questions?

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-25T14:46:00.001-08:00

Joel P West

2008-01-19T01:16:00.000-08:00

Joel has released his first CD and this past December lead worship at Winter Youth Celebration. He currently lives in San Diego, CA playing at various smaller venues and creating a name for himself with his music and art.

You can find Joel's music on iTunes and he has a personal website to show off his artistic talent. If you have a few moments to spare it is definitely worth checking out!

http://www.joelpwest.com/

Priceless Pic

2008-01-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

Emily and Grace participate in a special class that emphasizes strength training and flexiblity at our gymnastic gym. Another mom of a little girl in the class snapped this pic of Emily while she was trying a new stretching move aided by her coach. Her expression is priceless ....

Visiting Santa

2007-12-24T15:05:00.000-08:00

Every year we have taken the girls to see Santa and it is neat to look at the pictures thru out the years. (In most of them someone is crying, usually Grace.) This year, Emily decided that she would only be telling Santa her gift wish and is refusing to tell Dave or I or anyone else for that matter. Luckily I have a few secret spies out there and think I have landed on the prized wish. We have always stuck with the motto that you are only young once and the excitement of believing in something "unbelievable" just because your heart wants too lasts such a short time. I hope the girls have been good this year because Santa time is almost here.

Grace & her 1st press

2007-11-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

To those that aren't hanging around a gymnastics facility daily you may not know what a press to handstand is. But around our house it is a really big deal. I had to share a novice video of Grace completing one today. (Please, keep in mind that until today I didn't even know I could video with my camera. So to say that it is awful camera work is an understatement.) She is currently taking classes in the TOPs program at our gym and is hoping by this spring to be able to compete. It may be a bit too early for her but if not this year definitely by next year. The first video is of her completing her 1st press and the 2nd video is of a girl on Youtube that is actually testing for TOPs qualifying. Grace's goal by spring is to complete 5 press' w/o stopping as a 7 year old.

Copy & Paste the link: (This little girl is 9 yr so her req are a tad harder.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3bQ2oIMEGY

Coupon Clipping

2007-11-04T00:10:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I get on a kick of some sort ... Those that know me fairly well are probably laughing at how true that is.

So my latest adventure is coupon clipping. But not any ordinary coupon clipping, it is actually a strategic operation and there is a nifty website set up just to help you out. www.thegrocerygame.com

Weekly the website is updated with the exact coupons to clip at Safeway or Albertsons and how to combine them together, double them, etc so that you get rock bottom deals and sometimes even free items. Hence, the name "Grocery game". Whatever saves you a $$, right?

I'll let you know what my lowest total is for the month on my food bill once I have done it for a few weeks. My game face is on, bring it on baby ...

Professional Pics

2007-10-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

We tried something different this year for our Christmas pictures and I think they are going to turn out great. We went to a friend of ours who is also another mom on Grace's gymanstic team. She owns her own studio in Hillsboro and does such a great job of capturing the "true" child in a picture.

You can view our session at www.kandmdesign.com and then click on clients and type in our last name for the password.

Fav Song

2007-10-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile a song will play and it will fit into my life perfectly. I heard one of those songs this week when I bought the girls the new Miley Cyrus CD.

This song is a bass driven song called "Last Dance". I am not a fabulous dancer but this song sure makes me thing about getting up and trying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTzMg4NL5Sk

FlightSchool Wreath & Poinsetta Fundraiser

2007-10-13T13:27:00.001-07:00

The girls are participating in a wreath and poinsetta fundraiser for FlightSchool gymnastics team. Listed below are the details and prices. If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail or phone call. I have only heard rave reviews about how beautiful and big the poinsetta's are and the wreaths are also excellent.

HOLIDAY POINSETTA COLLECTION - from Iwasaki Bros., Inc (local off of MinterBridge Road in Hillsboro)
*Colors Available: Red, Pink, White & Marble
*Prices: Small $10; Large $20

WREATH COLLECTION - from Zelenka West Nursery
*Noble Fir Wreath - 100% Noble Fir, Incense Cedar, Juniper Berry, Two Pine Cones, Wreath Diameter is 20" or 26" ($18 OR $25)
*Noble Fir Candy Cane - 100% Noble Fir, Juniper Berry Two Pine Cones, Length 26-28" ($18)
*Noble Fir Mantle Arch - 100% Noble Fir, Incense Cedar, Juniper Berry, Three Pince Cones, spread is 28-30" ($18)
*Western Red Cedar Garland - 100% Western Red Cedar, Lenth is 15 feet ($18)
*Noble Fir Deluxe Cross - 100% Noble Fir, Incense Cedar, Juniper Berry Three Pine Cones, Length is 24" ($20)
*Noble Fir Centerpiece - 100% Noble Fir, Incense Cedar, Cones and Juniper Berry, 8 inch Ring, Wreath Diameter is 12-14" $18)
*Noble Fir Door Swag - 100% Noble Fir, Incense Cedar, Juniper Berry, Variegated Holly, Two Pince Cones, Length is 26-28" ($18)

Upcoming Wreath & Poinsetta Fundraiser

2007-09-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Both, Emily and Grace, will be participating in a wreath & poinsetta fundraiser in the upcoming month to raise funds to participate on Team at FlightSchool gymnastics. We need all of the help we can bribe, beg and flash our eyelashes at so ... Please, save this "thought" as the holiday season is coming upon us and you are getting ready to decorate.

If you think you may be interested and would like more information, send me a quick e-mail and I will keep you updated as we know more specifics and the holiday season gets closer.

Thanks everyone for supporting our gymnastics adventure!
~The Girls
Emily, Grace & (in another year or two, Jill)

1st Big Meet

2007-09-16T12:01:00.001-07:00

Gracie had her 1st big gymnastics meet and it went well. She has lots of things to work on through out the year but also a lot of skills to celebrate! She did great and had a lot of fun. Next weekend is her 1st meet against other gyms and it will be in St Helens. If anyone would like to join us at a meet thru out the year you can find the schedule at
www. flightschoolgym.com/meetschedule.htm

Pictures speak a thousand words ...........

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The Big Dilemma (Warning.. Vent)

2007-09-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

I have sweat, thought, cried over and researched an incredible amount on whether or not to send or hold Grace in beginning elementary school for the past 3 years. A quick update for those that don't know our situation ... Gracie's birthday is August 30th, 2001. To begin kindergarten you must turn 5 yr on or before September 1st. So technically she could have joined the kindergarten ranks last year and skated in by 48 hours as the youngest student in the class. But, because of her severe food allergies and having a personality that becomes overwhelmed easily we decided with a lot of discussion, etc to have her attend a 3rd year of preschool and start kindergarten as the "older" student.

To say that she has grown leaps and bounds in the past year is an understatement. You would never know that she just turned 6yr this past Thursday and has matured in many ways by huge strides. However, trying to lead with consistancy and backing our original decision we have continued with our kindergarten plan and just attended a kinder open house this morning and took an initial assessment test. She breezed thru it with flying colors. How do you really know when to push on or stay comfortable?

We have a big decision in the upcoming week or two and that is to continue with kindergarten and keep her challenged with additional work at home OR bump her into 1st grade and start an entirely new transition.

San Jose Vacation

2007-08-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Our big summer trip to San Jose, California was a success! The girls had a lot of fun and it was neat to see a few of the olympic hopeful gymnasts up close and personal. The girls had their 1st plane ride and did great.

Emily thought it was "awesome" and when she finally opened her eyes to look out the window wouldn't stop gabbing about everything she could see.

Grace wasn't as wild about the take off and landing because it hurt her ears a lot. But she was a trooper and chewed thru an entire pack of gum on the way home.

Jillian made friends with the pilot, airline attendant and the man sitting next to us. I don't think she got what the big deal was to fly but really liked the pretzel package and cup of sprite.

We had fun at the gymnastic event and the hotel offered free breakfast and dinner. What more could you ask for? (Dave loved the free food ...) We were lucky enough to bring along two very good friends from our gymnastics gym with us which helped make our big vacation adventure even more fun.

Here are a few pics ...

(Middle Pic) Can you see Shawn Johnson in the white leo, bottom right?

(Last pic on R) Gracie lost her 1st tooth. Can you see the black space on the bottom?

Denise & Ryan

2007-08-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

~August 4th, 2007 @ 2 pm ~

The church was decorated beautifully, the weather was perfect and it was time to get married after a year long engagement. I think that the wedding party was just as anxious to get started as the bride and groom.

Denise and Ryan had a fabulous day and everything went off without a glitch. Ryan was the picture of calm and cool and was truly a handsome and in charge groom. Denise was a picture perfect princess and couldn't have looked more incredibly beautiful! Her dress, make up and hair are exactly what all little girls dreams are made of.

They had a personal slide show that pictured them from birth until now with pictures that enveloped their relationship as a couple and their families. Ryan did such a great job of choosing songs that had real meaning in their lyrics and made everyones eyes cry with happy memories. They are such a great couple!!

My girls were flower girls and (I know I'm the mom so I'm a bit bias) they couldn't have been cuter. From my 1st perspective they seemed a bit squirelly on stage but honestly when I watched the video afterwards they behaved perfectly. Jillian did the typical lay on the floor, walk around and dance off to the side flower girl routine, Grace was a picture of duty in such a serious job and hardly moved a muscle and Emily yawned a few times and picked at the large flower bouquets. How can one wedding describe their personalities so perfectly! lol

Here are a few pics to introduce ... Mr & Mrs. Ryan Godfrey!!

(I didn't capture any pics of Emily.. major bummer! She was one hard junior bridesmaid to catch and I didn't notice my blunder until after the big event. Will add double pics of her in the next post.)

Lots of Changes

2007-07-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Our family has had a lot of changes in the past 2 months and I am certain that the future will bring us more. The old saying goes "The Lord will not give you more than you can handle" can be a bit of comfort but hard to comprehend when the list of changes grows. Friends have moved, parenting philosophies are challenged, dreams are altered and the list goes on. It will all fall into place it always does but even being an eternal optimist I can feel a bit of doubt set in. Thank goodness for a promising fun vacation next month to San Jose, California! More details on that to follow ....

A friend of mine passed on the idea of posting 5 pictures for the week when creativity is feeling low and putting together a post seems like a daunting task. This past month has felt a bit like that so here are a few pics to fill in the gap.

New E-Mail Address

2007-06-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

We have changed our e-mail address! If you knew how much I depend on my e-mail to communicate to the outside world you would understandably be compassionate for my nervousness in this simple yet complicated endeavor. (Very poetic sentence, right?)

To ease my mind, please change ASAP our old e-mail address to the new one. Our old e-mail will be disconnected as of midnight tonight with our old provider, although, I will have e-mail forwarding for the next 30 days.

Changes:

Family E-mail: Clement810@comcast.net
Dawn's E-mail: Pacific.Dawn@comcast.net
Dave's E-mail: DaveC@vbconline.org (the same)

Hope everyone has had a great start to their summer!

~Dawn

Babies everywhere

2007-05-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

When is the moment you instantly know that your family is complete and your done having babies? Hmmm, I think I have had that "moment" several times but then a friend will have a new baby and it brings back memories. I think God creates a state of amnesia in mothers so we forget the sleepless, nonstop fatigue of the newborn months. My very good friend Kelly just had her baby this past week and she had a beautiful baby girl named Reese. A co-worker is due in September and it seems that everywhere I turn someone is newly pregnant.

Dave and I have talked several times about domestic adoption and it is still a very real possibility for us. It is such a huge decision and one that inherits an incredible amount of privledge and multiple challenges. If God leads us to adopt I envision it will be a young boy or girl who is a toddler or young child. We'll see where God takes that dream in the upcoming years. We have several friends that are adopting internationally right now and 2 specifically are in China right now meeting their new baby girls at this very moment and 1 is awaiting the official date of departure. How amazing is that!

Our family this summer has officially entered a phase where we no longer have small babies running around. Emily turns 8 yr next week, Grace will be 6 yr in August and Jill is 3 1/2 going on 13 yr. The older girls are learning to ride a bicycle on 2 wheels (some more eager than others) and Jillian can ride behind our bikes on a tandem bicycle like a champ. Its kind of funny because I still call her "baby" out of habit but have realized in the past few months that she is definitely growing up quickly. My guess is she'll be my 1st on the 2 wheel bicycle .. lol

Multi Family Memorial Day Garage Sale

2007-05-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

5/24/07 - Slight Change in Schedule

Garage sale will be held on Saturday & Monday, only!

Please, feel free to bring any contributions over anytime after 4 pm on Friday afternoon. See you then!

What: Multi-Family Memorial Day Garage Sale

When: Friday, May 25th 9 am - 3 pm & Saturday, May 26th 9 am - ??

Why: To raise money for our crazy kids activities and reduce some moving clutter

Who: Anyone that has something to contribute is welcome to bring things over.

Please, be prepared to have your items priced w/initials so we can keep track of sales. Thursday night our garage will be open for set-up. Everything that is left over on Saturday afternoon will make its way to Goodwill or the dump. If you want to rescue your items you will need to be at our house by 1 pm on Saturday to begin clean-up.

Items for sale: Headboard, mattress', Crib, changing table, little girl clothes, shelves, rocking chair, toys, books, videos, small gas bbq grill, nick-nacks and the list goes on ....

Send me an e-mail or call if would like to join in on the fun.

pacificdawn@msn.com

Team Try Outs

2007-05-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend both Emily and Grace tried out for "gymnastic team" at FlightSchool gymnastics. The weekend looked like this; Friday work out from 4 pm - 8 pm learning the routines, working with the different coaches and generally evaluating the kids learning styles, work ethic, etc. Saturday the group of 25 kids ranging in age from 5 yr - middle school performed one routine each on bars, beam, floor and vault.

To say that nerves were running a bit high is an understatement. Grace has been looking forward to team tryouts for weeks and has been working her fanny off diligently to have all her required skills. Emily was trying out for the experience so that she knew what to expect for the following year to try out again when she has acquired the recommended skills, since she has been in class' only this past year. With video camera in a shaking hand and a lot of nervous laughter between other mom's the routines began and we all held our breath.

Sidenote: I have received many opinions and a bit of criticism on our decision to allow the girls to pursue gymnastics competitively. A lot of thought, prayer and gleaning information off of respected seasoned team parents and coaches has gone into the weeks and frankly year before this "try out" weekend. Our decisions have not been made lightly! I could ramble on for quite awhile on the positive things that this specific gym has brought into our family and how we literally "fell" into this sport. Feel free to ask away if you would like the full story!

I think as parents most of us struggle with offering our kids opportunities that will lead to success & learning opportunities (aka disappointments) in the future and gently encouraging them into those success' along with guarding their childhood and the carefree fun of just being a kid. When is the right time to push and not push is definitely a fine line and there is a lot of grey area. A perfect time for the phrase: "It takes a village to raise a child." I really think it depends on who you allow in as your "village". The coaches and staff at the gym are encouraging, affirming and have a special gift of instilling personal drive and a dedicated work ethic, they are without a doubt a welcome addition to the Clement village!

The girls did fabulous and after Saturday night performances we were left to wait for the mailman in his shiny white truck to bring us the news of team acceptance or the recommended direction in class' for the following year. Grace woke up and went to bed and many times in between asking if the mail had come yet. Nevermind that it was Sunday or Monday morning and the poor mailman hadn't even been to work yet. Emily was also excited and we eagerly waited for the mail to come by Tuesday afternoon.

Drum Roll ..... (Seriously, I think I just about gave myself an ulcer from all the anticipation.) Grace is now a proud member of FlightSchool gymnastics team level 4! Emily is now the proud partcipant of an invited group of girls into pre-team and will continue to work towards gymnastics team and tryout again next year.

Let the fun begin .......

Ipod Learning Curve

2007-04-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

Dave gave me an Ipod for Christmas this year and until this weekend I haven't touched it. It sounds ridiculous because I am fairly computer savy but it seemed a bit overwhelming to figure the thing out. But finally, and with the help of some very good friends who are teenagers, I figured out how to load all of my CD's (all 1000 songs) and even created a few playlists. Now if I could only locate the headphones or are they called earbuds now? I do, however, have an alarm clock and undercounter radio in the kitchen that are adaptable to my Ipod. So we have spent this past week listening to some old favorite songs and I've even downloaded a few new ones off the internet.

I've read and heard that an Ipod playlist is a window into a persons soul. Hmm, what is on your favorite playlist this week?

Easter in the Rain

2007-04-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun this past weekend celebrating Easter and everything it brings with it. Saturday we spent the morning searching for eggs at the church easter egg hunt. Although, the weather forecast was hopeful during the days leading up to the big event the actual day turned out to be a bit wet. The weather held out just until the moment that they released all of the kids 4 yr and up outside to begin searching. Then the downpour came and we ended up running around a freshly cut field with wet grass in the pouring rain.

The girls had fun and came home with quite the stash of candy. Sunday, the girls dressed up in their Easter dresses and we headed to church. Notice in the picture above, however, what Jill's Easter dress looks like. She insisted that she didn't like to wear dresses and created her own ensemble. I chose to go with the old saying "Pick your battles" and she won this round.

We all headed to my parents that evening and had a good time just relaxing and eating way too much food. How many pie options does one family need? Lemon meringue, pumpkin, chocolate creme, berry ..... P.s. Dave didn't have any pie because he ate too much Easter candy.

Engaged At Last x 2

2007-04-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

Forever together, Amen!

My brother, Doug and his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years are officially engaged. They are planning a small wedding for this summer and everyone is very excited. My girls are ecspecially thrilled that their dear preschool teacher will be "Aunt Cindy", soon! If you happen to bump into them around town be sure and ask to see her beautiful ring.

My sister, Denise and her boyfriend of over a year are also engaged to be married this summer. Denise is beginning a new job at Pacific University and their wedding will happen sometime in June or July. She has chosen a dress, picked her colors, and is beginning to think about flowers, now only for that final date. Beware if your ever slyly offered to play a round of cards or Settlers with Ryan, he is a quiet but quick study and can beat most any competitior.

My parents never imagined that we would have a parade of weddings all in the same summer. Good thing Dave and I are logging in 11 years of wedded bliss this summer, no suprise announcements from us!

Home Sweet Home

2007-03-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

We have moved! Dave and I have been married for 10.5 years and have managed to move 7 times. Our prayer with this lucky number 7 move is to make it our last for quite a few years, maybe even a decade or two. Just for a moment (and with Dave rolling his eyes in the background) let's reminisce with our travels across Oregon and Washington ...

August '96 ~ Portland, OR

August '97 ~ Kent, WA

January '98 ~ Maple Valley, WA (our first home purchase)

May '00 ~ Gresham, OR (2nd home purchase)

April '02 ~ Hillsboro, OR

November '03 ~ Hillsboro, OR (9 months pregnant, 3rd home purchase)

January '07 ~ Hillsboro, OR (4th home sweet home purchase)

If you would like our new address send us a quick e-mail and we'll send it your direction. ;o) This has byfar been our hardest move and certainly taken me the most time to unpack. Actually, the unpacking isn't finished and I think I do more time staring at the unopened boxes than feeling a creative, organizational urge to unpack them. We are hoping to host lots of barbeques this summer so hopefully things will look a bit more like "Martha Stewart meets Pottery Barn" by then.