Amanda comes for a visit

Amanda, on the right was our school leader in Kona, Hawaii for our DTS.
She is amazing in her ability to get people excited for what the Lord has
called them too.
Alexis, on the left, was one of our fellow students. She has such a heart
for the Lord. She lives right up the freeway from us outside of Portland with her
hubby of one year, Derick. (not sure how he spells his name)
It was fun to get together with them an reminisce about our time together, share what the Lord has done in this last year, and look excitedly at the future. God
has great plans for all of us. We need to be bold and walk them out.

Family vacation

The Lava tubes in Central Oregon.

Adam and Eli hiking along the Deschutes River.

The beautiful Deschutes River in Central Oregon.
We also hiked at Smith Rock State park one day. Very dry and hot, yet beautiful in its own way.

Steph comes for a visit.

We had a great time with Stephanie in July. She, of course, was freezing a good part of the time. Went to the beach, shot off fireworks for the 4th, went for lots of walks and just hung out. It was so good to have her home.

Adam is graduated!

Adam has done it. Yeah!
After 12 years he is graduating,
ok, 13 if you count kindergarten.

He has been accepted at
Oregon Culinary Institute
in Portland Oregon.

We are proud of Adam and his
accomplishments and can't wait to see
where the Lord takes him over the next
few years.

Please keep Adam in your prayers as he begins
this next exciting phase of his life.

ah, the sweet sights and sounds of spring

Happy Spring everyone. I love the changing seasons. It always brings new life, new sounds, new smells. The feel of dirt on my hands, the sun on my face. The boys, young and old, playing street ball. What could be finer. Come, enjoy, let's have a real old fashion visit,complete with lemonade. Hope to see you all soon.

The green lady!!!!

Adam had a great time at his high school cooking competition in Portland. They took 7th overall and 1st for overall appearance of the food. He cooked the main dish and veggies. Salmon and asparagas.
What happens in Seattle stays in Seattle.
Adam and Eli at the Nuggets/Sonics game. We had a great time.

Adam Turns 18

Last year Kona, this year Philomath
Adam and Ian: look out world
Doing what he loves

When did Feb. get here?

Eli and Sam at Woodpecker Loop trail.
So, I've been reading a friends blog lately who writes "of important things", as his daughter says. Well, if you're expecting that here, don't!!! I write of trivial things, that may matter only to me yet I choose to share them with you at times.
Today we have a friend from Ohio visiting who is originally from Swaziland, Africa. He and Eli are good friends and enjoy the times they have together. Yesterday we went on a hike at Woodpecker Loop Trail in the William Findley wildlife refuge. It was a beautiful day to be out in the woods. Eli is playing basketball for the first time this year and enjoying it. He is very athletic so is picking it up quickly. I think he likes the fact that he can score regularly. In football he was on the defensive team and over the size limit of the league to be a ball carrier so he couldn't run with the ball. He did get a safety though. Go Braves.

Stephanie is happily living in Hawaii these days. Still volunteering as a missionary with YWAM at the base in Honolulu. She has begun hula lessons and had her first performance this last Sunday. They dance to worship music and perform as a ministry for free.

Adam is turning 18 in Feb. When the heck did that happen. He is looking forward to his adulthood. So are we! He is becoming a great chef. He is part of a competative cooking team and has his first competition the 24 of Feb. We have been the lucky taste testers-yum yum. He is in charge of the main dish for the team. All I can say about his recipe is it involves salmon and cashews and artichokes and other yummy things-hey, I can't give away all his secrets.

Today is Feb. 10, I kind of got distracted while writing. Life, it does go on....

Bob's business if doing well and he is still enjoying the work. Physically it gets hard for him sometimes and I feel badly for him, but can't do much to help. Adam is working with him more and more. Not sure if he can employ him full time this summer. If not, Adam will have to get a job elsewhere. They make a great team. Adam even has his first regular customer who calls for him, not Bob!

I started a new job. I work part time from home for a dot com business. I do not do to much computer work yet, mostly phone calling and verifying information. I love all the people I get to "meet". Eli and I are still homeschooling together and having a good year. We are also part of a co-op that meets once a week. I teach Science to 5-7 graders, help in Latin with 2-7 grade and occasionally jump in with the little guys and have some fun, 5-6 year olds. I love teaching and will miss it when it comes to an end. Till next time..

The picture is of Eli and Sam out at Woodpecker Loop trail.

New Years Snow, well almost.....

Life moves on and we need to let it.
We have been no more busy than normal.
So I can't and won't use that as an excuse for not updating this thing in so very long.
God has shown Himself time and again to be faithful to me and the family. And we are thankful for that.
We had Stephanie home for 3 weeks at Christmas and enjoyed every minute.
My cousin and her family moved to the northwest this summer and we spent Thanksgiving together as well as several days over the Christmas break. This is the first time in almost 26 years that we have had family with us at Christmas. Even Stephanie has not been home for Christmas since 2003.
I hope this new year brings you many blessings and adventures. We are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for the Holton family.

Eli turns 12 !!!!

Eli hoping to get some candy and giving away his stuffed animals on our last day in Guatemala to two of his favorite friends.

Finally, an update

Ok, so I did not intend for over two months to go by between entries. To all you faithful ones who have checked in, thank you and I am sorry. I ran into a friend of ours at the grocery store last week and he asked if we still intended to keep up our blog and was it a good way for friends and family to stay informed. I had to be honest with him and say it is a great way to stay intouch and informed IF you actually put stuff on it. Otherwise it can just be a point of frustration, which I never want it to be for anyone.
Since it's been awhile I will try to keep this brief. Stephanie is settled in in Honolulu, not Kona. She is on Base Staff with YWAM. Which means she is in a missionary position at the school. Heads up; she may be sending out letters soon. If you'd like to be on her mailing list let us know and we will add you to it. She has had some great adventures with the Lord these last couple of years and lots of growth and maturity in her walk with Him.
Adam is a senior. He is attending Philomath High school in the mornings and Linn Benton Community College two afternoons a week. He is as busy and social as always. He is going into Culinary Arts, so we have been looking at schools around the state. If you've never had any of his cooking, you're missing out. He and his dad will be atttending a Christian Music Summit next week along with 10 others from our church. Adam plays guitar like his dad.
Eli will be twelve next week!!!! When in the world did that happen. He just finished a great season of football. He is a sixth grader. We are homeschooling him and loving it. We saw so much growth in Eli while we where in Kona and Guatemala. He has such a heart for prayer and other cultures. He fit right in. He and I are taking a Spanish class together to try and keep up with what we picked up in Central America.
I think I'll save news on Bob and I till next time. thanks for sticking with this till the end.

Spending some time with Steph before......

As some of you know Stephanie is moving to Hawaii very soon. I am going to miss her dearly so have been spending as much time with her as possible. This week we did a couple mother/daughter dates. We had a delightful tea in downtown Corvallis and tonight we went to an Oregon State football game. Beavers rocked the staduim.

California Dreamin'

Ok, so while Eli and I were in Ohio boating and sunning and swimming and just plain having a good old time I started feeling a little guilty thinking about the guys back home. Well, I need not have bothered. The big boys where off having a grand old time of their own. Bob and Adam headed down to California on an eight day road trip. Big Sur, Monetery, Venice Beach, Lake Shasta.......They were home for two days then headed off again for five days to Creation Fest in George Washington. This is a Christian festival with hours and hours of music and lots and lots of people. They had a blast in both places.
We are all back to work now. Bob full time. Adam and I part time. Steph was working full time but is not feeling well so she is home resting, getting strong and healthy and helping out with Eli. Eli has started football camp this week and loving it. He is all about football.
Hope you all are enjoying your summer. School starts way to soon!!!!

Playing at the lake.....

Our time here in Ohio has come to an end way to fast. It has been such a joy and such a blessing to spend so much time with famiy. Eli and I will have lots of great memories and stories to share. To all of you who made this time so special,a great big thank you goes out to you, and to my family back in Oregon, we're coming home.

Sailing on Lake Erie

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon out on the lake. Eli was a quick study in learning how to man the helm!
My sister and her son Mikey, both experienced sailors.

The Girls

Barb & her sisters: Margo, Carol and Donna.

Eli and Barb enjoying Ohio

Captain Jack in Cleveland?

Checking out the tall ships. They were something to see.

Relaxing in Aunt Margo's pool.

Serving the Lord and having some fun!

Banana Man, the kids loved him at VBS

VBS

Ahoy, welcome to Son Treasure Island. The kids learned that God loves us and sent his only son, Jesus, to us. The greatest treasure of all.