Anyone want to buy...

... a boat?

For Sale: 1986 Bayliner Capri

Hiding Socks for Black Friday

The Morris family finds itself this holiday season with the Kitchen & Dining room remodel underway, but no where near finished. Currently our only running sinks are the two bathrooms, our closet is pulling double duty as a pantry. The office is now also housing all the dishes. 

I think the demolition has finally (almost) finished. With one last little wall to remove we are now starting the building process. 

Once the electrical is finished up in the new dining room (see above) we'll be nearly ready for dry wall. This last weekend Annie helped with the insulation (pictures will be added at a later time). However, she has been an invaluable help to us for many Saturdays past (see below).

Needless to say... This Thursday the Morris family will not be hosting any sort of Thanksgiving activities at their home. Fortunately we have family and friends who've opened up their homes to us. We're hoping to return the favor next year... however, at the rate this remodel is going there is no guarantee we'll be done by then! At least, it feels that way...

Black Friday is coming up. What are your traditions, secrets, plans for the busiest shopping day of the year? Will you go a store renown for selling socks at a very cheap price and hide several pair throughout the store so that you can come back later after the Black Friday morning rush has dispersed? Will you go stand in line at the local Best Buy to make sure you get the 'best buy' on the latest and greatest GPS? Perhaps you'll be sipping coffee at Starbucks across the street from the mall and just laugh and make fun of all those people rushing about in the mass of humanity trying to spend money in a failing economy?  Or perhaps you'll just be staring into the windows of the store with your face pushed up against the glass and you'll be mumbling "Open.. Open.. Open.." over and over (does anyone remember those commercials?).

So... Please... Leave a comment, or use the chatbox on the side.. and let us know what your plans are for "Black Friday." 

Click HERE for Black Friday ads.

DCS Play - FOOLS

Today mom learned how to make a flakey pie crust. My Annie, the kitchen wizard, took mom under her wing and taught her all she knows in the mystical art of creating the perfect pie crust. As payment, mom taught Miss Annie the secret spell of "Sour Cream Apple Pie." I'm sure Annie will be required to periodically cast the "Sour Cream Apple Pie" 'spell' for many years to come.

After the pie 'spells' were 'cast,' Melinda & Annie began to work their magic in the kitchen. Melinda created her speciality, "salad-with-large-cucumbers-that-can-be-picked-out-by-her-favorite-oldest-brother." Annie tried her hand at beating out mom's place for #1 best Lasagna in the world... and she gave it a fabulous effort! The Lasagna was delicious!

Next up, the Reays' & Morris' (along with a few others) went to watch the opening night of the

Damascus play, Fools. If you haven't had a chance to see the play yet I highly recommend it! The cast and crew did a fabulous job and the play was very funny!

Here are a few pictures from the play. I hope they're enough to entice everyone to go see the play.

"The door won't OPEN!"

"PULL! Don't PUSH!!!"

"Ohhhh...."

Leon Stephonovitch Tolchinsky professing his undying love for Sophia Irena Elenya Zubritsky.

Two Weeks In Portland

It's been a while since I've made a blog post, but I have a good reason for it! I have been distracted by a beautfiul woman, a search for employment, and two weeks in Portland house sitting for my Aunt. 

My Sis and I did a lot during our two weeks in Portland. Because my camera is broke, I don't have a whole lot of pictures. However, I did manage to steal a few from Ellen (thanks Annie!) so I can show you a bit of what we did.

First up, after Bible study on Friday we all celebrated Kate & Will's 30th birthday.

Annie created a beautfiul cake for the twins birthday. Unfortunately, the cake carrier she hired wasn't paying attention and let the cake slide around in the box a bit to much and he smooshed the sides. Hopefully she doesn't fire him!

Everyone had a great time (even those of us who are allergic to cats).

Although... Not everyone was happy to have their picture taken.

Sunday Night after church several of us went out for desert and/or dinner at Sheri's. 

Later that week Annie, Ellen, my Sis and I headed over to OMSI to check it out. I hadn't been there in YEARS, so it was a lot of fun to check things out again. It made for a fairly inexpensive way to spend the afternoon. If you go on Thursday, after 2pm, before school lets out, you get in for half price. However, they close at 5:30pm on Thursdays, so you should get there as close to 2PM as possible because there is a LOT to check out.

~~Googly Eyes Alert!! ~~

Girls just want to have fun! (Cyndi Lauper video).

If she'd only let me try then we could have solved this puzzle...

Maybe next time she'll submit! ;)

Later that night Will came by and we all had dinner and some great conversation. Unfortuantely Will was not able to stick around for long and so he missed out on a great and fun game of Taboo.

Later that night we headed over to Voodoo Doughnut in downtown Portland. I'm not sure that I'd go back there again... they sure have some wierd donuts. However, it was a fun experience. The Portland night life is... shall we say... Odd. 

In Portland for Two Weeks

Hello Blog Readers! Fall is here and in full force. It is such a beautfiul time of the year! The turning of the trees, the crisp cold mornings, the sunny afternoons. Hot Chocolate, Turkey Dinners, Oversized coats and cold noses. These are many bits of what makes fall such a great time of the year.

It may seem like not much has been going on lately due to the fact that there haven't been many updates. However, quite the opposite is true. I've just been too busy to keep up on the blog. I figured I'd take a few moments this morning to update the blog.

As many of you know - I'm now in search of employment. I've 

received a lot of encouragement and prayers and I really appreciate it! The search has kept me busy, and will continue to keep me busy until I figure out some way to get a steady paycheck again. :)

Add to the fact that I'm busy seeking employment I've also got a girl now. Miss Annie has been the person I've been spending much of my free time with.

Recently Annie came down and helped Mom, Dad & I with the Kitchen Remodel. We made some good progress that day and ended up removing nearly all the plaster in the Kitchen & Dining Room. The New Kitchen is nearly ready for drywall, and the New Dining room is now ready for the electrical to be updated. Annie plugged right in to the remodel crew and everyone worked very well together... with only a few minor injuries sustained by Dad & I.

Annie came down again the next Thursday (picture) and we went for a drive around Salem while I showed her all my old stomping grounds. Then we had dinner with Mom, Dad, Brent & Ali, followed by yet another drive to yet more stomping grounds & then desert at Gerry Frank's Konditorei.

Next up... Saturday 10 of us went to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Event in portland. We all had a great time and really enjoyed the event. Afterwards we headed to a BBQ place Mr. Hill had shown Mr. Reay.

Dave Ramsey has a lot of great things to say and I'd really encourage everyone to check him out. You can visit his site here: http://www.daveramsey.com/  or find him on 1190 KEX and listen to his talk show.

Also that weekend Melinda & I began house sitting for our Aunt. We'll be in Portland until the 16th of Novemeber. I'll be really using this time to try and find employment up here in the Portland area. It's my goal, Lord willing, to find some kind of employment (self or not, unsure) in the Portland area so that I can get moved up to the Portland area. 

Well, that's all I've got for now. Keep checking back...I've got some intresting ideas for some future posts that I'll be writing on (Why there are so many christian singles? How should a Christian vote?).