Everyday is new here in Cannon Beach!!

Hello All,
Well we are having an exceptional week here in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The weather has been gorgeous, the food too good, and the memories numerous. We are having a great time although there are only six of us here. The Bible teachings have been incredible and challenging. Ray Pritchard has been our teacher. His ministry website is Keep Believing which has links to some of his sermons and outreaches. It has been a blessing. Check it out.
Here are some more pictures of us at the beach. This one is a favorite of our family jummping for JOY at the beach. A moment in time when we are just plain silly in the air and having FUN.

Left to right, Kayla, Leah, Hannah, Doug, Laura, Sarah and Mary!!!


These past few months, a group of friends donated money for the Conference Center to buy four Teak wood benches as a Memorial to Susan. The benches are in front of the Pacific Beach Lodge on the Center campus. Here is a picture of us sanding down the benches in preparation of treating the benches with Teak oil. We had "In Loving Memory of SUSAN CAROL VETSCH" plaques made up as well to put on the finished benches.
They look super and I will have some pictures of the final product later this week. So when any of you go to the Cannon Beach Conference Center you can see and sit in these benches and reflect on Susan's life. More later.....

We are in Cannon Beach, OR

Hello family and friends,
We are currently in Cannon Beach, Oregon at the Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center. We are having a great time, only been here less than 24 hours. The trip over was about 8.5 hours and arrived no problems. Smaller group this year for us. Jason and Aaron were not able to make it because of work (it always gets in the way of our play time, doesn't it but required in order to play!!!). And Leah is still fighting fires in Eastern Oregon. But she did come over last night to spend two days with us. We all have fond memories of Cannon Beach. The concept of coming here all started with Susan's vision of a family get away (Thanks to a special group of friends back in 2004 who funded the first year's stay here at the Conference Center). It has been a special family time since. Here is a picture of my girls, with Haystack Rock in the background.

And before dinner last night we got a nice picture in front of the dining hall.

Also here are some pictures of activities over the past month.

My dear aunt Greta visited from Minnesota with her husband Harold. Aunt Greta is my dad's sister and we had a great visit. They were here for a wedding in Spokane. But they visited when we had the graduation party for Hannah. We have a praise too! Hannah got a job with Coeur d'Alene Pediatrics. She will start on October 1st so that allows Hannah to finish out the summer as my Nanny and then to visit a friend in California for a week in September. So it all works out for everyone. Jake is working really hard with road construction crews this summer. So that takes up his time at least for the summer. They are both doing very well.
At Hannah's graduation party that we had in our backyard. Thanks for all the family and friends that showed up to help celebrate Hannah's accomplishments.

We also worked at Creation Festival again this year. This is our ninth year at helping out. Here is Hannah, Mary and Laura on the grassy slope of the amphitheater overlooking the main stage and the Columbia River. A beautiful setting to give God all the glory for the blessings in our lives.

At Creation, Hannah's friend Anneliese came along and worked with the my girls in the Music Tent, selling music and posters and t-shirts. This is a picture of them working behind the cash registers.

Here is Nathan running in his first triathlon in Coeur d'Alene. He was pretty fast in the swim, really fast in the biking and running. He finished 15th overall out of about 500 people. Great Job, Nathan!! Along with that, Nathan, Leah and I are now signed up for the Portland Marathon on October 4th.

A couple weekends ago we went river rafting on the Spokane River just outside of Post Falls. The river was slow except for one set of rapids which made it all worth while. It was cool and fun. We are having a great summer!!!!!

Lastly, Sarah had her surgery to remove the breast Fibroadenomas (benign tumor that was found, I wrote about it on the last blog entry). All went well and the mass was sent off for further testing. We have not heard anything else on the results. But Sarah is doing well. Thanks for all the prayers.

"Be Anxious for nothing.....

But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the PEACE of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Hi Family and Friends,
I can't believe how July flashed by us. Summer was going along at a nice snail pace for a while then it took off like a wild fire. And so much has been going on. We are continually looking to God for our strength for the day and the hope that a relationship with Him brings. He is Faithful. First, praises and prayer requests:

1) Sarah has been going through a lot. A couple of weeks ago, Sarah had a detectable lump in one breast checked out. This was very concerning for all of us because of the cancer history with dear Susan. It turned out to be a breast Fibroadenomas. They are benign (not cancerous) breast tumors that are made of glandular and fibrous breast tissue. Yesterday she had an appointment with a surgeon to get further advice on removal of the tumor. It was encouraging to her to find out that it is a very easy procedure with a very small incision. Procedure will take about 30 minutes and without anesthesia. Out patient care. So a praise that was benign and prayer that the removal will be clean and minimal scarring. Sarah also goes in today to have a staple removed from her left hand where her thumb tendon had to be reattached (result of last year's snowboarding accident). The staple aided in the mending of the tendon.

2) Nathan had a work related accident that could have been serious. He is a diesel mechanic, and part of one procedure is to use a chisel to seperate two parts of an engine assembly for removal. He then went to pickup the assembly and the chisel, without much notice, sprung out and into his face. It hit him just a half of an inch above the left eye. He had to have 10 stitches and he had a pretty good shiner for a couple of days. He returned back to work that night. What a tough guy!! Oh, yeah, he is a US Marine, I forgot. Praises that his sight in that eye was not affected and he is doing well. Also, Michelle is doing well with the pregnancy. They are both so excited as God continues to shape and form my first grandchild. Pray for Michelle as she is experiencing some ribcage pain, probably due to the development of the baby.

3) Praise for the closing of Leah's house in Bend Oregon. Leah bought a house in Bend for a good price. Jason plans on moving over this fall and living/working in Bend with Leah. Pray for Leah and her fire fighting work in Oregon. Not too many fires so far this season but that is changing I think. It has been hot and dry of late.

I will publish this for now, but will continue because I have more......