Willy and Ida

If these are the dog days of summer then I love hanging out with the dogs.

Ruby gets a trim

Joel gave Michelle a lesson in trimming a young horse's hooves. Here they are and they all survived!

Sports weekend

The girls played at a fall tournament this weekend in Hillsboro. They had fun and won 4 out of 6 games. Richard had a soccer game Saturday in St Helens. David and I did the divide and conquer to get them where they needed to go. What are we going to do next spring when they have to be at three places at the same time?

Richard's 2nd Place Fish

Richard won 2nd place in the Johnny's annual fishing derby. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

In memory of my dad

Lee Smyres January 16, 1943-July 23, 2008

Matthew 25: 35-36 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'

This bible verse accurately describes how my dad lived his life. He was always ready to do for others no matter the task, if I do half as much as Dad did then I will have given immensely.

Dad's life was about us, his wife, his children, his grandchildren. In addition, it was about serving the Lord by helping people through tough times. He cooked for the homeless, volunteered at church both at the local and the conference levels, and was a Stephen minister. His salaried job was the assistant director of a non-profit organization which helps disabled homeless people. Dad and his blue pickup were always ready to help.

When he would come to visit he wanted to be busy. Every day he would work in one of the many gardens I had. Once they were cleaned up he would move onto blackberry eradication. He was better than a goat at removing blackberry vines AND probably just as stubborn. Appropriately, the last pictures I have of Dad are from when he came to help build our new house. Again giving of himself.