The Doell Family

2009-10-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

Matisyahu tonight in Eugene. I think this link will apply to two people I know. Oh well: http://ping.fm/Qeorf

Emme's First Day of Kindergarden!

2009-09-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

2009-07-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

Such a good edition of This American Life: http://ping.fm/KXjDG

2009-07-08T16:56:00.001-07:00

Great 70 page resource on ‘how to’ off grid living which is usually up to $20 retail. Downloadable for free currently: http://ping.fm/hdHxN

2009-06-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

Off to Kailedescope Pizzaria to meet the Youngs: http://ping.fm/04UzF

The Garden - Phase II

2009-06-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

In phase one of the garden, we added lime to raise the pH and soil amending compost to break up the clay and improve drainage. Then, after tilling it in, we let the ground sit for weeks to reach equilibrium again. So, we tilled everything in late March following the last winter frost (almost!) and didn't get back out there until late April. Here is the garden area once I put in all the posts as well as a picture of the green deer gate I got (the deer get really aggressive here, especially as the summer browns the wild and peoples' yards are the only green area.

2009-06-11T14:04:00.001-07:00

You've probably heard about it - Cash for Clunkers - here's a guide: http://ping.fm/P3rnA (it's not that effective)

2009-06-11T11:47:00.001-07:00

The Holy Grail of renewable energy: http://ping.fm/ovLtD

2009-06-09T11:10:00.001-07:00

Pack a lunch? Get one of these: http://ping.fm/Jj2O5

2009-06-02T16:23:00.001-07:00

Worth watching on TED: http://ping.fm/z2z7m

Garden - Phase I

2009-05-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

These photos are from the end of March. I can't wait to show you pictures of what the garden looks like now but I'm finally posting the pics from the beginning. Actually, in the beginning, the area you see was waist high weeds. Weeds with burrs. I threw away the shirt I wore the weekend I cleaned that area out. Anyways, if you've never gardened I highly recommend it. Whether it's in pots on a balcony or on land like this. Gardening yields many lessons, not just fruit, herbs and veggies. Lessons I would have missed if I wasn't in the garden.

2009-05-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

Another good reason to play an instrument: http://ping.fm/OVMRa

2009-05-18T10:19:00.001-07:00

Free. Cold. Play. http://ping.fm/jmHFI

2009-05-04T14:14:00.001-07:00

I can't/wouldn't go, maybe you can/would? Discount: http://ping.fm/KzfdR

2009-04-22T10:37:00.001-07:00

We helped the Rogue River Greenway Project win a $10,000 grant: http://ping.fm/aUyKQ

2009-04-22T10:17:00.001-07:00

My friend's cause - choose your charity and get a unique organic-cotton t-shirt: http://ping.fm/MCquU

2009-04-14T10:41:00.001-07:00

An unnerving video combining history and speculation about new media: http://ping.fm/qElVN

2009-04-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

A young rivalry in the Western Conference is born: http://ping.fm/lb8TL
Go Blazers...

2009-04-10T08:41:00.001-07:00

Understanding happiness: http://ping.fm/DActa

2009-04-01T17:26:00.001-07:00

Beware: http://ping.fm/tskjM
Fun or invasive?

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I have been meaning to update our blog for so long and finally I am going to do it tonight!

A few weeks before Christmas we drove up and hunted for a Christmas tree. It was a beautiful sunny day. Hardly any snow on the ground but we had a great time. Later that night it was so much fun to watch the kids enjoy decorating the tree with Christmas music playing.

Our Christmas celebration began with a Sunday evening "Early Christmas" with Mom & Dad Doell. The kids could not wait to open their presents -- it was torture for them to have to eat Christmas dinner first! It was fun to watch them open their presents in delight and say cute things like, "I wanted this my whole life!" Even Finn got in on the action by ripping up wrapping paper. He is 8 months old and not crawling yet which actually worked out nicely this Christmas -- we didn't have to worry too much about babyproofing!

We continued our Christmas celebration by traveling to southern California to celebrate with Anika's family. The kids talked about it for months! It was so wonderful to be all together and even though the trip got off to a rocky start with illnesses, the Lord blessed us with over a week of getting to be together. Our nephew, Angel, who had a liver, bowel, and pancreas transplant in July, had to go to the hospital in LA for clinic but thankfully did not have to be admitted while we were visiting. This was the best Christmas gift of all!!! It was so much fun to watch all the kids play together and at night we stayed up late after they were all asleep. We had such a great time! To top it all off, the weather was sunny and in the 70's -- ahhhh, wonderful! The day before New Years we were excited to take the kids on a little outing to the beach. We took Hudson along and Sarah & Nick took care of Finn. We rang in the New Year all together with hopes for a calm and peaceful 2009. It was sad to say goodbye but we can't wait until the next time we can be together again!

The kids on Christmas morning at Oma & Opa's (wearing their new PJ's from Oma) :)

Emerie and Elias sharing a special moment at the duck pond near Oma & Opa's house

Emerie, Auntie Sarah and baby Haven (5 months old)

Uncle Erik and Finn (8 months old)

Hudson, Angel, Uncle Nick and Elias at the Bass Pro Shop

I play sax in a Hobo Band

2008-11-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

We have a ten piece band formed at work. I would describe the music as vaudevillian skiffle. The songs we play are mostly early American ragtime-jazz-blues (think roaring 20's), best described by the instruments involved: banjo, mandolin, resonator, washboard, snare drum, acoustic guitar, trombone, violin, tenor sax and alto sax (me). It's fun to play with a horn section again. Here's a countdown to our next show:

It's the End of November Already!

2008-11-24T22:24:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has almost been a month since Halloween. Where has the time gone??? Now the countdown is on for Christmas and soon we'll be ringing in the New Year!

We are all doing great and this week especially full of "THANKS" for the goodness of the Lord in our lives and all of His many, many blessings. It was cute today to overhear the kids telling each other what they are thankful for -- unprompted and from the heart. Emerie is especially thankful "for her baby brother and her cousin Angel." Elias said, "I'm thankful for my pumpkin....and for my Papa." So sweet!

The kids had a blast playing in the leaves and getting Matt to blow on them with the leafblower!

My parents came for a visit a few weekends ago - what a great time we had together!

We loved seeing Michael and Candice - they live in Arizona now -- we miss them!!!

Family photos.....Finn is 7 months old and finally sitting up nice and sturdy!

Halloween

2008-11-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's Matt entering the halloween post. This is the first year that our kids are aware of October 31st. I don't think Eli would really have noticed it by himself but he watches Emme's every move and therefore he at least acts like he knows it's halloween. Anyways, the occasion isn't celebrated in the same way in Austria, or Europe for that matter, so this was the first year Emme grasped it. She saw the stores that pop up in the mall to sell costumes and props and the decorations on houses around the valley. One of our favorite things to hear Elias say was, "scary skeleton" whenever he saw this one skeleton hanging on a neighbor's door. He doesn't pronounce the "s" so it comes out, "cary keleton". Really cute.
We had a great time carving pumpkins with grandma and grandpa the night before halloween. Then, we met with a bunch of friends on halloween to have a crazy group dinner at Red Robin (hence no pictures of the group because we were chasing 40 kids around the restaurant!). After dinner, we went to Table Rock Fellowship for the second year for a really great Harvest Festival put on by the church. Cotton candy, inflatable castle structure, bean bag toss, cake walk, etc. This year they had paint balling for older kids and mixed martial arts cages. The one thing I escaped last year and didn't escape this year was the goldfish in a bag. The game was really difficult to win a fish so I was bummed when the guy gave a fish to Emme just for trying even after she failed the game! I was telling the guy, "those are the rules, she doesn't get a fish. You gotta follow the rules." Nope. Anyways, Emme asked where we were going to keep the fish at home and I said, "oh, we have a bowl for him (her?). It's porcelain with plenty of water for him to swim around in." Nonetheless, it was a fun evening with friends and our little family. Emme was Cinderella, Elias was Ironman and Finn was a Bear. Here are some pictures.

Finn

2008-10-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Griffin Matthew Doell (AKA "Finn") is 6 months old now. He weighs 19 pounds! He is very tall (95th percentile) and looks like a mix of Emerie and Elias. We think his eyes are going to be hazel which is the color of Matt's eyes. (Emerie has brown and Elias has blue like Mama). He is REALLY easygoing and so sweet. He is so easy to make laugh or smile. All sorts of things crack him up like the kids jumping up and down or throwing things in the air. He loves jumping in the johnny jumper. He can jump for an hour! Finn has been taking his time as far as motor skills go. He is finally rolling over with ease in both directions and learning to sit up on his own. He almost never cries and rarely fusses. He's an absolute delight of a baby! To top it all off, he sleeps 11 hours straight at night and takes great naps! The joy and peace he brings to our home is amazing. We are so thankful for this little guy, our last baby. Tonight I was holding him and he leaned forward and reached his arms out to Matt. Boy, did that make Papa feel like a million bucks! (He doesn't even do that for Mama!)

Griffin and his buddy Preston who is 4 days older and crawling already!

Autumn Saturday

2008-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

This week it REALLY feels like Fall. In fact, it FROZE for the first time last night! The leaves are sure to change color quickly now. It is strange to be having such cold weather already but maybe we'll have another warm spell before the cold sets in for many months ahead.

Today we took the kids to Seven Oaks Farm. They had a great time petting the goats, riding ponies, frosting cupcakes, picking out pumpkins and playing together outside. Finn took in all the sights from the comfort of the cozy stroller. (He turns 6 months next week!) The day was made complete with a cup of hot apple cider as we sat in the sunshine on a beautiful, sunny, cold & crisp October Saturday.

2008-10-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures of the kids. They both adore their baby brother and it is so much fun to watch them entertain him. Nothing makes Finn laugh like his big brother and sister! Emerie and Finn snuggle on the couch in the same spot every morning after they wake up. So precious!

Country Living

2008-09-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

It has long been my desire to start a blog for our family. The big hang-up has been the unreliable internet access at our house. We have lived on our little one-acre place in the mountains for almost a year and we really truly LOVE living in the country. But, like anywhere, there are a few drawbacks. With a chuckle I can list that we have experienced things like having a bat fly around our bedroom twice in the middle of the night, deer devouring just about everything we plant, our dog daily bringing pieces of a deer skeleton home to our front porch, and poor Elias getting stung by yellowjackets twice this summer (see picture below)! The things I love about this place (see other photo of us camping in our front yard!) far outweigh these "country challenges" but the one thing that has greatly frustrated me is our internet access (or sometimes the lack thereof). I don't need to explain in today's world how the internet just seems to be a vital part of everyday existence. Some really important things like following my nephew's transplant progress are done on the internet. Anyways...all this to say that I really am super thankful that we even HAVE internet access and I've decided to try to start a blog even if it takes me a little longer and the process of posting is a little bit frustrating. The best things in life take a little bit of dedication, right?