The Billings' family

2011-04-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

I thought it best to update you all on what we have been up to since my last post. I will start with Jason's sisters Christmas visit! As you can see Ivan was very excited...as were Jason and I to see Auntie Jen. We even made her a sign :)
Big hugs!!

We had some wonderful but cold weather so we took Jen to all the tourist places.
Ivan loves books and enjoyed his time with Auntie Jen!

Christmas Eve! Time to decorate cookies for Santa!

Ivan had so much fun and let me tell you...Santa was on a major sugar high after all the frosting and sprinkles Ivan put on all the cookies!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Ivan getting ready to dig in! Helping Auntie Jen open her gifts.

We had a big storm hit the day before Jen was supposed to fly out. It was touch and go for most of the day if Jen would be able to fly out on time.

JANUARY 2011!

We had another lovely...but cold day and Ivan and I decided to go for a drive and take some pictures. I'm really going to miss Maine!! I am by no means a photographer but I enjoy taking pictures :)Sea smoke, how cool is that!

FEBRUARY

Every year I always make a cake for Valentines Day. This year Ivan also got to make one :)

My cake Ivan's cake, he's becoming such a big boy!

Letters!! My big boy is learning his letters and doing such a good job!

I wrote the A on the left and Ivan's A is on the right.

Another snow storm! We had quite the snow drift growing at the back door!

Helping with the dishes.

Jason taking care of the driveway. You can't really tell in the pictures but the wind was blowing so hard! It was so cold and the snow was coming down so fast it really hurt when it hit you!

Yes, the snow drift is at the top of the slider!!

Jason digging us out!

After about 4 days of never ending snow Ivan and I were starting to go stir crazy! I had to get creative. So I made Ivan his own cape :) He loves it!

I love his face in this picture! He thought the cape was the coolest thing ever!

More snow and we can't use the back door AGAIN!

This picture really shows how hard it was coming down.

MARCH

Coast Guard Appreciation Dinner

Woohoo, Mommy and Daddy have an excuse to get dressed up and go to dinner :)
Jason received several awards! I was very proud!

You can click on the picture to see a larger view. This one was from the State of Maine.

From the city of Rockland

Now what looks wrong with this picture? Is there something in his jammies?

Why yes there is...........

a squirt gun :) He so cute I can barely stand it!

APRIL

Why paint on a piece of paper when you can paint yourself!?!

Then it was my turn. The best manicure I've ever had :)

As most know I'm really into genealogy. I've spent the last 3 years researching my family and the last year researching Jason's family tree. Through my research I descovered that Jason's direct line spent 100+ years in and around Boston, MA. Later this month we will be going to Boston for a few days to do research. Well I say we but it's really my thing but I'm excited to show Jason and Ivan what I've found.

When I started researching Jason's family all I had to start with was a list of name put together by Jason's great grandfather. I belong to ancestry.com and started my Billings' family tree shortly after. I can't wait to get back to the West coast and share all the information I've collected with Jason's family!

Now to explain these photo's. All the information I had on Jason's 4th great grandmother was her name. Through records I was able to find out that she was born in Mercer, Maine. Which is about 1 1/2 hours North East of where we live. While researching Mercer and city records I found a listing of the local cemetery. I was shocked and thrilled to find a Billings buried there! Come to find out that Jason's 3rd great grand aunt was buried in Mercer. I was also able to find records showing that Jason's 4th great grandparents were married in Mercer. I took Ivan on his first genealogy research trip and we headed up to Mercer. It's a very small town with not much there. The cemetery was huge but we were able to quickly find the grave.
I could go on all day about this stuff but the blog is already long enough :)
Ivan sitting next to the headstone of his 4th Great Grand Aunt

This could very well be the church that Jason's 4th Great grandparents were married...but I'm still doing research on that.

Now what do you do when you have a bunch of cars and you can't carry them all at once?

Stick them down your jammies...my kid is so awesome!

TA-DA! All the cars in one trip :)

Happy Easter! Auntie Jen sent an amazing Easter package to Ivan. It was stocked full of goodies!

Two of the most amazing men in my life! They are my whole world :)

Alright now we are all caught up! I promise to do better with my blogging!

2011

2011-04-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! With most of our family on facebook that's where I do most of my updating. I'm really going to try and do better at blogging!
We have a busy month of May coming up. With Jason's boat going into yards and trying to get the house ready for the movers. Yes, that's right...we are transfering! We are heading back to Astoria, OR!!!! I will try and update with pictures soon!

New sewing projects

2010-12-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here's what I've been up to after Ivan goes to bed :) I've tried my hand at purse clutch designs. I've had lots of idea's but putting them from brain to fabric has been a learning experience!!

I think this is going to be my Christmas party purse.
The picture doesn't show it very well but this fabric is purple.
This clutch I used a lime green zipper to make it kind of funky and fun.

I thought a ruffle would add an interesting texture. It didn't turn out how I had planned but I'm still happy with it.

The ruffle even matches up pretty good.

This was my first clutch design. I love how the red zipper pops with the black and white print.

This is the inside.

My sister's favorite color is pink so I made this one for her. Surprise Courtney (I haven't sent it to her yet)!!

My other project is trying to design and make oven hand mitts. This shows my progression with trial and error.These pics show the front and back. The first one I tried to stitch it down so it wasn't as thick but I didn't like the way it looked. The second one I didn't layer it right...opps. The third I tried to see what it would look like if I sewed it together and then flipped it right side out, kinda worked but the edges were really bulky. The forth is actually my first attempt at a hand mitt. As you can see I made to long. The fifth was the last one I made and am pretty happy with the shape. I'll make a few little changes to the next one's I make but it will looks similar to this one.

My neighbor (thanks Sam!)sent me a link to a craft she really liked, it's called a crayon roll. I thought I'd give it a shot and am really excited how they turned out. My other neighbor wants to buy one from me so I'm excited!

Sam asked me to make one for her nephew who's Dad is a Coastie and this is the one I made for her.

Here is another one I made. I love the orange hand print button and how it matches the inside fabric.

Thanks for looking :)

Christmas Time

2010-12-03T09:02:00.001-08:00

Well it's that time of year again. Jason's been underway so Ivan and I have been keeping busy with Christmas themed activities :)

HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

I found a recipe online for making homemade ornaments and thought it would be lots of fun for Ivan. He's my little helper!

Note to self....next time don't wear black when using flour or wear an apron!

After they cooled Ivan had lots of fun coloring his new ornamentsThe other ornaments we still need to decorate.

CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING

This is the first year that Ivan really understands what Christmas is all about. He also wanted to decorate the tree all by his self.

He really liked putting ornaments on this branch!

All done! He was so proud!Bless his little heart he worked so hard. We fixed the tree later that night.

This year I let him have his own special tree to decorate. We are going to put the ornaments he made on it.

He wanted to put his cars on the tree too, it's his tree after all!

Cutting paper to make ornaments

Some how putting stickers on paper turned into putting stickers on us. We had such a great time!!

VISIT WITH SANTA

Ivan and his buddy Landen spent a cold afternoon waiting in line to see Santa. They were both so excited!

Sea Glass

2010-10-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

One of the things we really enjoy about Maine are the beaches. Jason and Ivan love to skip rocks on the water. One day while we were at the beach we noticed small pieces of glass in with the sand and rocks. So while Jason and Ivan skipped rocks I looked for sea glass. It's something that we really enjoy doing when the weather permits.

Here is what our collection looks like now (we also have a bunch of pottery pieces but as you can see we didn't have enough room at the window)

Here are pictures of a few of our outings to the beaches this year.

It was a beautiful day but it was COLD!

Ivan is turning into our little helper :)

We went to a local beach at low tide and found all sorts of treasures!

At first we collected the sea glass to have something pretty to look at. Then we thought maybe we could do something with it. Come to find out there is a large community of people who search for sea glass and make crafts out of them. And you all know how much I love my crafts!!!

This is the first sea glass necklace I made.

Well this isn't sea glass, it's a crochet wire bib necklace I just made :) For the next one, I think I'll add a few more layers.

This is my interpretation of a popular pendent called "Tree of Life". My circle went alittle wonky but it's not bad for my first try.

This was my first attempt at making a wire wrap sea glass pendent. It looks kinda ruff but I learned alot making this one.

Here is a piece of sea glass that I drilled and used a single wire to make a scroll embellishment in the front through the hole and the pendent in the back.

Here is my second attempt at making a wire wrap pendent. I really like how this one turned out. This is one side...

and this is the other side.

As I mentioned before if I can improve my skills I would like to participate in some of the local craft fairs in the area. So stay tuned to what I try next :)

Snotty nose and crafts

2010-10-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long 2 weeks as a cold virus swept through the house. Ivan was first, then Jason and then it was my turn :( Thankfully we are all feeling much better! Ivan's back to school, Jason's back to work and I'm back to my crafts :)

Their colds really wore them out!

My brother, nephew and niece all have birthday's coming up. I did the boring sister/aunt thing and got them all school supplies. I wanted to give them something special so I made them each a money cuff. You could really put anything in there, key, special notes or money :) I sure hope they like them.

I wanted to make sure they worked so Ivan tried it on for me :)

Here is Ivan with his new glasses. We always knew that he would need them with the combination of my horrible vision and his complications from being born so early. We let him pick them out and so far he's only broke them 2 times....we set a record.....3 trips to Augusta (an hours drive from our house) in 3 days to get them fixed. He's doing much better with them now.

I'm loving this necklace! I saw a picture of a necklace made out of 3 colors of chains and I thought it looked great, this is what I came up with. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking about maybe adding a piece of blue sea glass to it.

I made two "Buttercup bags" that I posted a few weeks ago. I found it from a tutorial online. I bought the rights to make and sell these bags so I'm hoping to make more and sell them in the near future. Here is the first large buttercup bag I made. If you know me you know I love purple....my mom always called me her purple derple....anyways back to the point....I'm happy with the way it turned out and I learned alot making it.

The front

Cell phone pocket

The other side has a big pocket with a divider for a pen...I hate digging for a pen at the bottom of my purse!

When I was at Joann's (my new favorite store!!!!) and I saw a book about crochet wire jewelry. I learned to crochet a long time ago and have made some blankets. I thought it would be something new to try and here is my first crochet wire necklace. I'm excited to make more and I'm hoping to make some that incorporates the sea glass that we have found since we have been in Maine.

Here's a close up of the necklace

2010-10-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Well Ivan's sick so no school today. This season is so tuff for him. He seems to catch everything out there! He had the same thing happen last year. We almost took him out of his preschool program because he missed so many days from being sick. After a month or two it seemed he caught all the colds that were out there and wasn't sick anymore. I sure hope that's what happens this time!! So right now he's cuddled up on the couch watching cartoons.
With the four day weekend it gave me a chance to do some sewing and crafts.
Here is the original purse from www.warehousefabricsinc.com
And here is the purse I made from the tutorial. This is the first time I used piping and I'm really happy with how it turned out!
I added magnetic clasps and it has a pocket on either side. I didn't follow the pattern for the inside. The original posted made a pleated inside and I really didn't think it was needed. So I modified the pattern but it worked so that's all that matters :)

With all the felt work I'm doing for Ivan's Christmas present when I saw these flowers I just knew I wanted to try and make it!

I made mine smaller then the original and added beads to the center. I haven't decided if I'm going to use it as a broach, add it to a purse or add it to a headband to wear in my hair. I might just have to make more so I can do all three :)

This is another craft that I saw and just knew I wanted to try!

I didn't want to go out and buy the supplies the tutorial called for so I used what I already had. Here is what I came up with. I also learned a few things along the way: It looks alot better if you use beads that are all the same sizes, mine weren't. The hemp cord I used wasn't thick enough but it worked. If I try this again I will try to get the right cording.

Craft'in up a storm!

2010-10-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is changing and we are forced to stay inside I've been crafting. It's something I really enjoy doing and it keeps my hands busy :) My new found love is craft blogs! There are some creative people out there!! I've got a long list of craft projects to keep me busy this winter!

Here's what I've been up to:

I started this quilt when we were stationed in Astoria. I cut out all the pieces but never got a chance to sew it together. Last week I finally got to sew the pieces together and I love the way it turned out!
With scraps from the quilt I put this wreath together. The colors remind me of Fall.

Ivan needed a new trick-or-treat bag so I made this for him. I added reflective tape and glow in the dark thread. Now everyone will see Ivan coming :)

With left over fabric from the quilt and Ivan's bag I made these two purses. I got the tutorial here http://www.made-by-rae.com/ One of the blogs I frequent is http://www.makeit-loveit.com/ She posted about a hemp ball accent tutorial. I loved the way hers turned out. I found hemp cording at Walmart and found 2 pack Styrofoam balls for $1. at The dollar tree. After an hour I had burned fingers (from the hot glue gun) and these hemp balls. So worth it because I love the way they turned out!! The original poster spray painted some of her balls and put them in a wire basket. I still haven't decided if I'm going to add color to them or leave them the way they are. Now I'm on the hunt for something to display them in :)

My other project is play felt food. This is the start of Ivan's Christmas gift. We plan on making a play kitchen for him so I'm making food to go into the kitchen (and I'm doing all by hand!).

This picture has 2 donuts, 3 saltine crackers(gonna make more of those) and animal crackers.

This one has a Popsicle, push-pop, 10 strawberries and 5 green beans.

How cool is this Chinese take out box!?! I plan on making fortune cookies to go in it.

Here are links to where I found tutorials and patterns for the felt food:

http://www.lbbspassion.blogspot.com/

http://www.skiptomylou.org/

http://www.americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/

Ivan's 4th B-day

2010-10-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ivan decided that for his 4th birthday he wanted a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. We had the party at a place called the Playroom. It worked out great. It's a big building full of every toy you could think of. Ivan had 10 friends come and they all had a great time! I took great pride in making most of the stuff for Ivan's party.

These are the invitations I made.

Cut and glued these together to put on the tables.

We decided to do cupcakes instead of a cake...way cheaper!I replaced the water bottle labels with mickey mouse ones :)

I made these for the kids

Let the party begin :)

There were to big bounce houses and the kids had a blast!

Blowing out his candle

Even the dads sported the mickey mouse ears!Ivan opening his gifts.He is very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!

My birthday boy, he's getting so big!!!

2010-10-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a year since my last post. Many of our family and friends are on Facebook and I've been doing the updates there. Knowing that there are some family and friends not on facebook............I'm back :) Here are a couple pictures of us. Ivan just celebrated his 4th birthday and I'll post pictures from the party soon.

Here we are at Acadia National Park. The views were breathtaking!!

Ivan's first day of preschool.

My birthday boy! The birthday party theme was Mickey Mouse clubhouse.

2009-09-07T10:18:00.001-07:00

Here is Ivan with his new backpack. He's all ready for preschool!

I've been horrible with updates lately! There just doesn't seem like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done. We are all doing great. I leave tomorrow to fly home for two weeks. The first week I will be spending in Oregon and Idaho researching my family. The second week I will be up in the Steilacoom, Lakewood area with my mom's side and Jason's family. Tomorrow Ivan also turns 3 and starts his first day of preschool!! Jason has promised to take lots of pictures for me.

Well I need to finish packing so I will try and update again soon.

Maine Eastern Railroad

2009-07-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Jason and I won 2 roundtrip tickets on the Maine Eastern Railroad at the Coast Guard Appriciation Dinner. We decided to save them for when my Dad came so that we could have a father daughter day. It was alot of fun and I got some great pictures. Of course my Dad will never let me live it down the fact that I made him miss out on a picture of a deer!

The train

Dad and I before we boarded the train.

Leaving the station

Our house! If you look close you will see Jason and Ivan standing on the front porch waving!!!

There were only 3 people on this train ride so the conductor let us go to the back of the train to take pictures (it's not normally open to the public)

The front of the train, getting ready to go over this cool looking bridge.

I thought this picture turned out really well.

Coming into Wiscasset

Walking back to our seats

The "famous" conductors. These two are on all of the Railroads promotional material.

All along the route were these old power poles. I thought they looked interesting.

Jason and Ivan waiting for us at the station.

Highlights of Dad's visit

2009-07-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Dad's visit with us. Hopefully he will come out for a visit again soon.

Ouside of Montpelier- the Henry Knox museum

Dad's dream car

At the Owls Head Transportation Museum

Hugs!

The Marshall Point Lighthouse-this is the lighthouse in the movie "Forest Gump".

Helping grandpa tie his shoes

Birch Point State Park

What a tourist

At Colonial Pemaquid, this is one of the first settlements in Maine. It was first settled in the 1600's.At the top of the Fort Pemaquid

Dad's new friend :)

My Ivan's!

Too funny!

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

The lightkeepers quarters On our way to playgroup

Ivan stole grandpa's hat :)

I made us a picnic lunch that we enjoyed by the water in CamdenOntop of Mount Battie, over looking Camden

Being a tourist again!

At the Olson House made famous by the artist Andrew Wyeth

Enjoying a train ride at the Boothbay Railway Village

Of course Dad loved the carsPlaying hide-and-go-seek

Poker

2009-07-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

For almost the first week of my Dad's visit it rained. So Dad and Jason played alot of poker! I'm so blessed that my father and husband get along so well. Ivan even joined in in all the fun.

My Birthday!

2009-07-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe it but I turned 26 on May 27th! I got the best present I could ask for....my dad came out for a 2 week visit! I picked Chinese for my birthday dinner. It was yummy :)

IKEA!

2009-07-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Jason's such a good husband, he helped me get the car ready at 1am! Here's my car with all the Ikea finds (most of that stuff is not mine!) We were going to take Mary's car at first (she has an HHR) and there is no way it would have all fit!

Some friends and I made a trip to Ikea in May. The closest Ikea is in Boston so it was quite a trip. Our friends the Saiz were transferring to Alaska and had to fly their cat there. We had to leave Thomaston by 1am to get to the airport on time. So after getting the cat safely on the plane we headed to Ikea. It's been awhile since I've been to an Ikea and I forgot how overwhelming it is. There is so much stuff there! I got a great little table and two chairs for Ivan and a couple other little things. Ivan and I have enjoyed many a meal at that little table :) He get's so excited when I sit at "his" table.

Safety first!

2009-07-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Jason has been riding his bike to work when the weather permits. After watching Daddy wear his helmet and gloves, it seems Ivan thought safety first when riding his horse :) Ivan did this all on his own and was very tickled with himself as he went riding around the house.

Guest Bedroom

2009-05-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

After making my mom and brother sleep on a blowup mattress in the TV room when they came to visit in September we realised that we need a guest bedroom. So we turned my never used craft room into the guest bedroom. I love antiques but antiques and a 2 year old don't mix. So alot of our antiques are going to go into the guest bedroom. The dresser that I previously blogged about and the new antique bed frame we just got are in there. The way I would describe the room is nautical antique. The room is still a work in progress but here are some pictures.

Here is the bed frame in the driveway about to get two coats of sealant. We got this great sailboat from a local designer.

Dresser scarf

2009-04-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I checked the mail there was a package waiting for me :) It was a package from G-ma (Jason's grandma). Inside was this letter "Love the dresser. It really needs a scarf. This one is old, Norwegian. It's called "Hardinger" and is home made by my Aunt Elsa (my mother's sister-in-law). Hope it looks good. Love you, G-ma"

Inside the package was the most beautiful dresser scarf I have ever seen. I can't believe it was hand made, Aunt Elsa was VERY talented! I ran upstairs and put it on the dresser. It's a match made in heaven :) They look so good together. Thank you G-ma for the amazing gift! We will treasure it always!

Jason's trip down to New York

2009-04-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

Jason's boat the USCGC Abbie Burgess made a trip down to New York to help another USCGC maintenance their seasonal buoys. It was a week and a half trip and Jason finally remembered to take the camera. The boat went down the East Coast to New York and then traveled down the Hudson river. Here are some of the pictures that he took. The pictures include the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and random things along the way. When Jason gets home (yes, the boat is gone AGAIN!) I will try to get him to write a blog about his trip. You can click on the pictures to enlarge.

Operation Homefront

2009-04-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Ivan was so excited :)

Waiting to go on the Easter Egg hunt

The Space Shuttle

Jason and Ivan were on cloud nine, look at all those buttons! If you know these two you know they love to push buttons :)

Inside the fire truck

Farmer Ivan!

Farmer Ivan milking the cow

Ivan in the 50's diner

Trying to get a family photo

Firefighter Ivan

He didn't like the hat

Ivan working in the grocery store

Recently an organization called Operation Homefront (like the USO) put on an Easter party for all the local military branches. It was held at the Children's museum of Maine. The event started with an Easter egg hunt and then the kids were able to explore the three floors of hands on exhibits. Then they enjoyed snacks and were given a filled Easter basket to take home. Ivan had such a good time. It was very overwhelming for me because there were so many kids, many of them older then Ivan who wouldn't look out for the smaller kids. I spent most of my time asking the kids to please not push my child out of the way and slow down. I got the impression that most parents wanted to sit back and chat while their children ran crazy. I would love to visit the children's museum again but when it's not so busy :)

Staining fun!

2009-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

We bought this old dresser last year with hopes of fixing it up and using it in the guest bedroom. The original owner had it for over 30 years and had resently stripped the dresser. It sat in our garage for a few months while we waited for the weather to warm up so we weren't freezing our butts off while we stained it. Now that Spring is on it's way..........THANK GOD!...........and it's warming up we decided to finally tackle the dresser. We tried our best to match it to the original stain on the mirror and after two coats we got it as close as it's going to get. I'm so happy with the way it turned out! So now when we have family and friends come visit us (hint, hint) there is a lovely little dresser to put your clothes in :) Here are a few pictures of the dresser before we stained it, getting ready to stain and the finished product.

Jason let me use his coveralls.

YA JASON!!!!!

2009-03-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

After a year and 1/2 Jason finally received his awards from the Dec. 2007 storm in Astoria. If you remember it was quite a storm. Ivan and I were lucky enough to be there and I took some pictures. There was also a reporter from a local paper there taking pictures and notes. If we make the paper I will make post it on here. I copied the letters to make them easier to read. I am so proud of Jason and glad that he finally got recognition for all his hard work. Jason recieved the Coast Guard Achievment Medal (he was the only service member involved in the storm to recieve this medal! two points on the service wide WOOHOO!) and the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation.

CITATION TO ACCOMPANY THE AWARD OF
THE COAST GUARD ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
TO
JASON C. BILLINGS
DAMAGE CONTROLMAN SECOND CLASS
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
Petty Officer BILLINGS’ is cited for superior performance of duty while assigned to Group Astoria’s Housing Department and responding to damage from the Advent Storm which ravaged the coast of Oregon during the month of December 2007. In the temporary absence of the maintenance supervisor, Petty Officer BILLINGS quickly accounted for all members of the department when the Thirteenth district ordered to an area wide recall. During the peak of dangerous hurricane force winds, he responded to numerous maintenance calls to Group Astoria and serviced both the Group’s and the remote Fort Stevens’ emergency generators. During the storm, Petty Officer BILLINGS directed the housing staff to go door to door checking on the health and wellbeing of all residents, rendering immediate assistance to many families. When it was reported that a family was in critical need of electrical power to run their child’s breathing machine, he immediately delivered a portable generator, providing emergency power for a period of five days until commercial power was restored. During the days in which commercial pwer was out, he directed the housing staff to rotate portable generators among all housing units, providing backup power to run refrigerators, greatly mitigating residents’ food loss. Petty Officer Billings compiled the initial list of housing unit storm damage which was sent to CEU Oakland and ISC Seattle justifying the release of $25K for emergency repairs to Group Astoria housing. When members from the USCGC ALERT arrived, he directed 16 members into working parties to assist with picking up debris and the removal of downed trees which covered roads, children’s playgrounds, and common areas in housing. Petty Officer BILLINGS’ diligence, perseverance, and devoted to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.

His new medal!

The Commandant of the Coast Guard takes pleasure in
Presenting the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation to: CG GROUP ASTORIA ENGINEERING STORM RECOVERY TEAM
For service as set forth in the following
CITATION:
“For meritorious service from December 2007 to January 2008 while serving on Group Astoria’s Engineering Storm Recovery Team planned and executed a myriad of repair and recovery operations. The December 2007 Storm ravaged the Pacific Northwest and Group Astoria, leaving many facilities, housing and utilities disabled for many days. On very little notice, team members quickly identified and prioritized emergency recovery operations and were able to respond not only to Group/Air Station emergencies, but to all three of the Motor Life Boat Stations and the Tongue Point Facility. Their many man-hours were of critical importance to restoring mission capabilities to all units within the Group Astoria area of responsibility. Their efforts allowed duty and deployed personnel the peace of mind that their families were in the best of hands. Engineering Storm Recovery Team personnel cleared fallen trees, mended leaking roofs, installed emergency generators, and dewatered flooded streets. As a result of their efforts, Group Astoria was able to resume normal work routine despite having commercial power out for five days. The dedication, pride, and professionalism displayed by the members of the Group Astoria Engineering Storm Recovery Team reflect credit upon themselves, Group Astoria, and the United States Coast Guard.”
For the Commandant,
P Troedsson
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard
Commander, Group Astoria

Here are the pictures I took. Sorry they aren't the best quality. It's the best I could do on a swaying boat and Ivan on my hip trying to steal the camera from me:)

New laptop

2009-03-11T18:08:00.001-07:00

Well we finally invested in a new laptop. Let me tell you a laptop and a toddler are a dangerous combination! Let's just say laptop-0/ Ivan-winner. I'm waiting for Jason to load all our pictures onto the new laptop to finish updating the Christmas pictures. Other then that it's been pretty quiet around here. Jason's boat has been gone almost every Mon-Fri of the last two months. We really miss him when he's gone. Ivan is getting so big and starting to talk alot more. He's still small for his age but he's getting there. As for me I've become very involved in researching my genealogy. I joined ancestry.com and have found so much information. Ivan and I are just trying to stay busy so we don't get cabin fever. The other good news is we are coming home (WA) for a visit in September. I can't wait!! I've been really home sick lately and a trip home to see family and friends is just what I need.

From Nana and Uncle Brian

2009-01-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

I'm posting pics of gifts as we opened them so family can see. These are the gifts from my Nana and Uncle Brian. Ivan LOVED the gifts. Every time he wears his lion slippers he has to rawr. He has so much fun taking apart and putting back together the train set.

Jason was trying to take a picture but Ivan was to excited he had to show him the slippers

Wearing his new slippers

Our gift to eachother

2009-01-15T15:27:00.001-08:00

Well we agreed to only buy eachother one gift and we both broke the rules :) Jason got me a food proccesser ( I've always wanted one) and I got Jason a sturdy snow jacket. We got eachother other gifts but these were our big gifts.

Stocking time!

2009-01-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Reading his card from G-Gma and G-Gpa Burg

Supervising!

My stocking that I made this year. I made Jason's stocking last year.

Inside joke with my dad, still funny!

Let's be honest here............Ivan was all about the candy!!

Merry Chrismas

2009-01-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry that's it taken me so long to upload these photos. It seemed as though every time I tryed to sit down at the computer to do the post something would pull me away..........usually Ivan :) It was a quiet Christmas, not at all what we are used to. We were able to spend Christmas eve and Christmas night with friends from the boat so we weren't alone. Ivan woke us up bright and early and really got into unwrapping the gifts this year. It was a great day and the only thing that could have made it better would to have spent it with our families.

Ivan's shirt says, "If Mommy says no ask Santa"! SO CUTE!!

Our stocking, stocked full from "Santa"

Snow pictures

2008-12-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

We took these pictures the day after the storm. Thankfully we were able to borrow a snow blower or we wouldn't have been able to get the car out of the garage. Thankfully we didn't lose power but we did lose heat. When I got up in the morning it was 60 degrees in the house! So I woke up Jason so he could figure out what was going on. Long story short there was so much snow that it blocked the exsaustpipe so the heater shut off. Jason had to go out in -5 degrees weather to dig this pipe out. Jason saved the day and by the time Ivan woke up it was warm in the house again. The news said our area got about 2 1/2 feet of snow! We measured it and they were right. I can only imagine how high the snow would have been if we didn't have such high winds moving the snow.

This picture was taken right before Jason came running at me and pushed me in the snow!

The Storm

2008-12-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Here's alittle before and after :)

Before the storm

After the storm

Before the storm

After the storm

Here's a video that I took the night of the storm

More snow!

2008-12-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

We got a couple inches of snow a week before Christmas. It was preparing us for the big storm we were expecting on the 21st. As you will see in the pictures it's really cold! The snow isn't the worst part, the worst part is the wind. It really takes your breath away. Jason was the brave one who decided to go outside and check the mail.

The Breakwater Lighthouse. Rockland, Maine

2008-12-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

The boat was back and it was time to pick up Jason. This was the view from the pier. I couldn't help but get out the camera and take a couple pictures. The last picture is of Jason coming to the car.

Playing in the show

2008-12-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Poor Jason, when he's home there is no snow and when he's gone it snows. This week the boat was underway and surprise, surprise it snowed. I got Ivan all bundled up and we headed outside.

Dec 16th-Annual ornament from G-Gma and G-Gpa

2008-12-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Every year Jason's grandparents Jerry and Gail get Ivan a new ornament. It's the same tradition they had with Jason and his siblings. The first 2 years we unwrapped the gift for Ivan but this year Ivan did it. He's becoming such a big boy!

Dec. 14th-Ivan and the Santa Hat

2008-12-25T08:57:00.001-08:00

Dec. 13th-Coast Guard Chirstmas Party

2008-12-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

We actually got a babysitter (big step for us!) for Ivan so that Jason and I could have some fun. It was a catered dinner and dancing. No one really danced and the food wasn't that great but the company was awesome! The party was for the Abby Burgess (Jason's boat), the Thunderbay, the Tackle, and the Station. Everyone had a raffle gift and the Abby did an ugly sweater contest. It was alot of fun and I'm really glad we went.

Dec. 12th-Jason's finally home!

2008-12-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

After almost 2 weeks in CA Jason was finally home. Sadly for Jason the day before he came home all the snow melted away. He was really looking forward to playing in the snow. We know there would be more snow so we weren't to worried.

In the years past we have always had a fake tree. This year Jason really wanted a real tree so off to Lowe's we went. We waited until after Ivan went to sleep to decorate the tree. Ivan is still at that stage where he wants to touch everything. It just seemed easier to get it done while he was sleeping. The plan was for the next morning to have Ivan come downstairs and see this wonderfully decorated tree. As you will see in the video he was unimpressed. UPDATE-The computer is having issues loading the video so I will put it in a new post later. What the video shows is Ivan coming down the stairs, looking at the tree and walking the other direction.

Dec. 6- First snow and flying Santa

2008-12-25T07:54:00.001-08:00

To my surprise the weatherman finally got it right. There really was snow coming. This is what Ivan and I woke up to. Jason was still in San Diego so I wasn't very excited to drive in the snow. Thankfully they take really good care of the roads here. I've seen more snow plows in the last month then I think I have in my whole life! This day I took Ivan to see the flying Santa. It's put on by the Coast Guard for CG families. Ivan was unsure about the snow at first but then he loved it. He couldn't get enough! He was determined to get all the snow off of all the rocks.He took such a great nap when we got home.

Ivan's first time playing in snow

HE LOVED IT!

Here comes Santa

Ivan getting a present from Santa

Dec. 1st-Ivan playing

2008-12-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

Ivan is finally getting to that stage where he's using his imagination. He's so smart and creative. These are just some pictures I took while he was in the playroom.

The lobster trap tree and my first lobster!

2008-12-25T07:41:00.001-08:00

Would you expect any other type of tree in Maine?

MY FIRST LOBSTER!!!!

Ivan enjoyed chewing on the claw :)

2008-12-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

I will be adding more posts in the next few days. I've got a crabby little boy who doesn't want to go to bed on my lap, so it's time to sign off.

Ivan meeting Santa

2008-12-21T15:53:00.001-08:00

On November 29 we took Ivan to meet Santa. The only other Santa that Ivan has met was DR.Harvy (he was Santa) in NICU. Ivan did so well. I was half expecting him to freak out and start crying but he just looked at him. My baby is growing up!

Ivan waiting to see Santa

My attempt at a family picture

Well hello Santa

SO CUTE!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

Jason had duty on Thanksgiving so Ivan and I went to the boat for dinner. It was great, I didn't have to cook or do dishes. Does it get any better then that!?! I don't think so! The only bummer I realised later that night............no leftovers :(

Jason cooking (I know shocking!)

Jason and Ivan eating

Family shot :)

Finally an update

2008-12-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long between updates. With the ever changing weather, Jason being gone, trying to finish Christmas presents and taking care of Ivan by myself I haven't been on the computer much. So get ready for a blog overload. Lets start with why you never leave a 2 year old in a room by themselves.

YAY IVAN!!!

2008-12-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

I'm sure Jason and I are the only one's excited about this but I just had to post about it. IVAN POOPED IN THE POTTY!!!!!! He handled it very well and didn't get freaked out. Let's just hope this is a sign to come. I can't wait until we are done with diapers!

Where did Ivan go?

2008-11-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

Ivan's new thing is hiding. He likes to hide in the closet. It scared me at first but the second I call his name he starts giggling and I know right where he is. It's so cute! I can't believe what a big boy his is becoming. I took these pictures the other day. I'll give you a hint to find Ivan, he's got red socks on :)

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. This year Ivan was a lion....rawr :) In a town close to us named Camden they close off a few streets to cars so we decided to go there for trick or treating. We went with some other families and Ivan had a blast. It was cold but seeing the excitement in his face made it all worth it. He still isn't talking much so he didn't say "trick or treat" but let me tell you he figured out the candy part really fast. After trick or treating we went back to our friends house and put all the kids to bed. It was really nice to spend time with our friends without having to get a babysitter. Now we have more candy then we know what to do with and it's time to take down the Halloween decorations. Before we know it it's going to be time for Christmas decorations.

He wouldn't sit still so his little wiskers were all over the place.

He didn't want me to pick him up. All he wanted was his candy :)

2008-11-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

We were invited to a Halloween party so I decided to make something. I ended up making Halloweenies and Wizard Hats. It took awhile but it was alot of fun and they turned out great! Ivan had a great time playing in the flour and running around the house with an oven mitt on.

Bowling New England style

2008-11-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ivan learning to bowl

Good form :)

Mommy and Ivan keepins score

Mommy helping Ivan

Jason's boat had a morale day so we all went bowling. We were quite surprised when we got there because they don't bowl like we do back home. Here they call it candlestick bowling and it's only done in the New England area. The pins look like candlesticks, the ball has no holes and fits in the palm of your hand. Ivan had alot of fun because he could actually pick up and hold the ball. A few of the balls he threw even knocked over a few pins. We all had alot of fun and can't wait to do it again.

2008-09-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated the blog. It's been a crazy 2 months. After 7 days we finally arrived in Rockland on July 20th. Sadly on July 22 my step-dad Dave passed away unexpectedly and the next day Ivan and I were on a plane heading home. Jason had to stay because he had to check into his new boat. We spent 9 days at home and then flew back to Maine. Jason been really busy at his boat and going to different schools so I've been busy trying to get us situated in our new house. The house is really nice and alot bigger then our duplex in Astoria. Ivan turned 2 on September 8th and it turning into quite a little man. My mom and DJ are flying out on the 25th to spend a week with us and we are VERY excited. I really miss my family and friends. We have taken lots of pictures while we have been here so I will try and post some.

Ivan keeping himself busy

2008-07-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ivan has been such a trooper in the car. Out of no where Ivan started dancing in the car and thankfully Jason got it on video. Make sure you turn up the volume.

Ivan's first time in a swimming pool

2008-07-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

He was so excited!

He would only stay in as long as I was holding him
About to go into full meltdown
He started chewing on the life jacket. It seemed to calm him down.
Here is a video of us in the pool. Make sure you turn up the volume.

2008-07-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Visiting the bears!

2008-07-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Visiting my great grandparents (on my dad's side)
Doing family research
My families origional homestead. Sadly it's all desert again.
Jason took these great sunset pictures. These were taken in Idaho.

2008-07-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Pics from when we were in Idaho

At the Paddock Valley Res.

Cross Country trip

2008-07-17T20:03:00.001-07:00

Multnamah Falls

The Bonneville Dam

Ivan update

2008-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

With Ivan's febrile seizures they have done alot of tests. Thankfully so far everything has come back normal. We can now add and MRI and an EEG to his long list of procedures. Ivan had the EEG on Thursday and he was such a trooper. Thankfully my mom came with me and he was quite mad in the beginning. So for now it's a waiting game, they aren't going to order anymore tests unless he has another seizure. Jason and I just hope this is all behind him (currently knocking on wood). Here are some pics from the EEG.

Maine here we come!!!

2008-07-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our old house :(

I've noticed lately that my email updates and pics are becoming few and far between. Hopefully this blog will help keep everyone updated. As most of you know the Coast Guard is transfering us to Rockland, Maine. Jason will be the new DC2 on the Coast Guard Cutter Abby Burgess ( a 175ft buey tender). We will really miss the hopefully life long friends that we have made will stationed in Astoria over these last 2 years. Right now we are homeless as we officially checked out of housing today. Thankfully we have a house (4 bedrooms, WOOHOO!!) waiting for us in Maine. We are staying with my dad right now and will start our crosscountry drive on Sunday. They are giving us 14 days to get there so we are going to take our time and do some sight seeing. I will try and updates this as often as I can.