Foster Parenting - To Do or Not To Do.

We are thinking about becoming foster parents and we need your help. We will be attending an all day class on foster parenting through the County Welfare office here in Bend on November 3rd and we could really use your prayers to help us decide whether this is something we can do. If you have any words of wisdom or encouragement, please e-mail us as we are both feeling led to make this step, but we also have a lot of fears we need to work through first. We have only committed to attending the meeting and we will decide from there whether we want to proceed through the training process or not. This is a big decision and we can not go into it without considering all of the consequences thoroughly. Thank you for your prayers and please don't hesitate to e-mail us your thoughts as we really need a lot of counsel to make this decision. All our love - The Benningtons

GO BEAVERS!!!!!

Christmas Card Photo????

Trying to stay warm (it was raining - of course, its Oregon)

My Dad wanted to get a picture of us all in our Beaver paraphernalia!

Well we made the trek across the mountains last weekend to welcome my cousin Mike to Corvallis, Oregon from Honolulu, Hawaii. Mike is a freshman at Oregon State University (my alma mater). To welcome him to Oregon it seemed only fitting to take him to an Oregon State football game. The Beavers played the UCLA Bruins on a cold, wet day in Corvallis and sadly the Bruins kicked the Beavs butts. As sad as the game was, we still were able to have a wonderful time and it was great to see Mike. Incredibly enough Mike lives in the same dormitory that I spent my freshman year. Much to our amazement we discovered that Mike did not own an umbrella or a rain coat. So Sunday after the game Holly and I spent several hours driving Mike around doing some much needed shopping. A rain coat, hiking boots, umbrella, Gatorade, gloves, and several warm socks later we were done. Hopefully that will keep our young Hawaiian cousin from wishing he picked a dryer, warmer school. Good luck with school Mike and GO BEAVERS!!!!! - Robert

Our 2nd Anniversary

The Cannery Pier Hotel

The Lobby of CPH


View from our balcony


Astoria - the mini San Fransisco

Looking down from the Astoria Tower

View of the Columbia River

Mr. and Mrs. Bennington

Last weekend my wonderful husband surprised me with a romantic weekend getaway along the coast to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We left Saturday morning and drove up to Astoria, (in the very NW corner of Oregon), which I absolutely loved as it reminded me of a small, cozy version of San Fransisco. We stayed at an architectually stunning hotel on the Columbia River - The Cannery Pier Hotel - and had a room right on the river so we could watch the boats, seals, and freighters passing by. We drove up a very hilly street to the Astoria Tower which we climbed (146 steps up!) and had a breathtaking view. Looking down was a bit scary, but the view was well-worth it!

The next night we stayed at an adorable little bungalow in Long Beach, Washington. We took Kai for some long strolls along the beach, and curled up to a few episodes of 24 (we're addicted). On our way home we stopped at Cannon Beach (West of Portland), a very cute beach town reminiscent of Laguna Beach. Robert played fetch with Kai in the frigid waters while I observed from the sand and was stalked by a rabid pincher bug - how in the world did it end up at the beach?!

And tonight - 4 days later - is Robert's 29th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETIE!

Teaching at Central Oregon Community College

Well, it has finally happened: Central Oregon Community College has offered me a teaching position for Fall 2007. After a year of waiting and yearning to be in the classroom, I finally get to teach again! I will be teaching two Spanish 201 courses (Tuesdays/Thursdays) and one Spanish 203 course (Mondays/Wednesdays). Staff meetings begin this Wednesday, September 5th, and classes start September 17th. I have already been given an office, phone/fax #, and a Staff web page which you can see at: http://hbennington.cocc.edu/

Although I am very excited about the opportunity to teach college Spanish again, I can't help feeling sad that I won't be working with Robert everyday. But since I will only be teaching Monday - Thursday, I am still going to spend my Fridays in the office at Bennington Properties, and will have weekends off to relax.

Please pray for us as we make this big adjustment!

Ben and Mary Come to Bend!

A view of Bend from Pilot Butte

Mary on Wild Goose Lane

Happy friends:)

Aren't they cute?

Cuddling with Misha

Ben and Mary travelled all the way up to Bend, Oregon to visit us last week, and we had such an amazing time. They arrived Saturday afternoon which we spent catching up, eating Yum bowls, and sampling beers at the 4th annual Bend Brew Fest. The evening was finished off with an intensive game of Trivial Pursuit. The Benningtons fought hard, but were no match for the current graduate students. We were going to spend Monday outdoors fishing and canoeing, but rain came out of nowhere, so we took a nice drive through the mountains and walked around Elk Lake - it was a very brief, very wet walk. Tuesday brought better weather; the boys finally had their chance to fish and canoe and Mary and I spent the day shopping and chatting over Ruby Ales at McMenamins.

4 days is never enough with great friends, but it sure was fun... Thank you Ben and Mary!