Hand in Hand

A reminder that God put people on this earth because we need each other. Thankful for all the people who have "held my hand" along the way...

Celebrations

October 2, 2009: The day I celebrated 35 years of living and 10 years of marriage. It's only fitting that I take a moment to brag on my husband. He's a pretty amazing guy! He's an awesome husband who I truly respect and love and the best Daddy to Hannah & Kaitlyn. They're pretty taken with him too!

For whatever reason, I've decided this is going to be a year of trying new things. I started out strong by spending 8 hours at a local spa. They give you free access to their facilities all day on your birthday. How great is that?! Never have I spent that much time at a spa, nor at one quite like this one.

After my incredibly relaxing day at the spa, Dale took me out to dinner. We went to Preservation Kitchen, which is a beautifully restored historic home in Bothell. The food and the atmosphere were great!













The next day Dale surprised me by taking me to dinner at McGrath's, a local seafood restaurant, where there were a few of our friends waiting to eat with us. It was fun getting to visit with everyone and eat more great food! The picture I don't have is the one the restaurant took of me wearing a big fish hat on my head while everyone sang "Happy Birthday!" There's another first!

























For our anniversary we stayed at a lodge at Warm Beach, about an hour north of us, for a couple of nights, thanks to Tara who gladly stayed with the girls for us. :) They had a blast having Auntie Tara all to themselves! One fun thing we got to do was eat at the only Chick-fil-a in the state. It is located at Western WA Univ in Bellingham, which was about another hour north of Warm Beach. It was so worth the trip! Oh, how we miss Chick-fil-a!

Here is the view from our lodge.













The amazing sunset the first night.













We spent a day just driving around looking at scenery and stopping wherever we wanted along the way. We drove a road called Chuckanut Drive which runs along the Puget Sound. It provides spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains, as well as some antique shopping and good eating.

























Chuckanut Drive ends in the quaint little town of Fairhaven. We found a really cool place to get fish & chips. The restaurant was an old bus with seating out on a deck. Really cute and the weather was perfect for it.

























We found some great hiking along the way too.













We hiked to a shining mountain lake...













saw some HUGE trees...













found our way to a bluff overlooking the Sound...













and saw another amazing sunset!

Change of Season

(To the masses who read my blog - all 5 of you ;)- I am attempting, yet again, to write more. I don't know what that will look like yet. All I know is I really miss posting. I really enjoy writing and letting friends & family who don't live near us, especially, have a look into our lives and hearts. So here ya go...)

Fall is here! It seems like just when I am ready for a change in the weather & scenery, it's time for a new season. Although, I admit, Seattle summers are a bit harder to let go of than the summers I was accustomed to in the south! Yet, I am enjoying the briskness in the air, the rainy days (for now anyway - ask me again a month from now!), the warmth of candles and comfort food, and - one of my favorites - the amazing colors. Nature's palette is rich with reds, oranges, and yellows that seem to pop against the background of evergreens. So beautiful!

I don't know what it is about fall, but without fail it brings along with it doses of nostalgia. Just the feel in the air takes me back to high school football games, times with old friends, college all-nighters, youth lock-ins and retreats from our student ministry days... So, I've been reflecting back over different seasons in my life as I feel I'm entering a new season in many ways. Although I love nature's change of season, I tend to buck against personal changes of season. Even the "good" changes bring some level of discomfort at first. I'm such a creature of habit! I'm the mom that sheds a few tears every time I have to box up my babies' outgrown clothes! But, just as I appreciate fall anew each year because I've just gone through 3 months of summer, I'm learning that a change in my personal season allows me to appreciate all of life so much more. If the trees never lost their leaves, we would never experience the joy of seeing the fresh green of spring.

So, what is changing for me personally? Several things.

1) I just turned 35. I've never really been bothered by my age as I've gotten older and still am not bothered much. But 35 sounds older to me than any other age has ever sounded. Of course, I'm older than I've ever been, but do you know what I mean? I'm now in a new age bracket. And my new past time is plucking out gray hairs. They've suddenly multiplied! Scary.

2) Dale and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Yeah us! :) But, wow, 10 years! How did that happen? I think of all we've crammed into the past 10 years and I'm amazed I don't have more gray hairs! Let's see... we moved 7 times and have lived in 4 different states; have gone through deaths of loved ones; had 2 kids; I've had 6 different jobs, not counting my current job as Mommy; and we are currently starting a new church. Talk about changes! Yet, we've happily made it to a milestone year and the horizon speaks of a new season of us.

3) Connect Church. We just officially launched last month and what an exciting time it is to see the beginning of something placed on our hearts almost 3 years ago. Yet, this is completely new. I am continually stretched in new ways. I don't know what to expect, except that change is inevitable as we grow.

4) Acceptance. I might expound on this more later. But, in short, I am entering a season of accepting where I am and who I am a little more than before. Not that I have it down. But my tendency to buck change is calming a bit. I am coming into a place of contentment that has nothing to do with my circumstances or with myself. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ. Why? Because as I reflect on the different seasons of my life, He is my constant. He is the same yesterday, today & forever, has faithfully walked with me and has promised to continue to do so. He has been abundantly good to me, whether I've liked the season I've been in or not. He is my comfort when the season is sad. He is my strength when the season is wearisome. He is my companion when the season is lonely. He is my firm foundation when the season is calm. He is my delight when the season is happy. And He gives joy and peace uncomprehendable through them all.

So, on the doorstep of a new season I can walk into the unknown accompanied by a little more trust and confidence than I've ever had before. I accept what I have been given, as well as what I have not, because He's just that good. A lot is changing for me, and that is a good thing. It's kind of like spring. I wouldn't think this new season nearly as wonderful if I hadn't lost some leaves along the way.

Sister Moments

Hannah and Kaitlyn have developed such a fun sister relationship. There are definitely moments... Some of Kaitlyn's favorite phrases right now include, "Mine!" and "Stop Hannah!" But most of the time they love playing with each other and having each other around. Hannah has recently begun to call Kaitlyn, "my best friend who lives with me". And most of the time Kaitlyn wants to do whatever Hannah is doing. Below are a few sister moments captured over the last few months...

Some are playful...











































































Some are silly...






































And some are really sweet...

Spring Highlights: Travels

VANCOUVER, WA/PORTLAND, OR
Back in February Dale and I attended a seminar in Vancouver, WA, thanks to our sweet friends the Fullers who kept the girls for 2 days! Vancouver is just across the river from Portland, OR. So, we spent part of an afternoon exploring this beautiful city.













We found an awesome park on top of a hill that we explored. This is one of the roads inside the park.














This is a picture (not a very good one) of Mt. St. Helens, which we could see on our way back from Vancouver.













NASHVILLE
Thanks to some generous and thoughtful friends the girls and I had an opportunity to travel back to Nashville at the end of February to spend a week with our Nashville "family" - some of our very best friends. It was so refreshing and we had the best time! I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked. Too busy having fun I guess! But here are a few highlights:

We stayed w/ the Shrums - Here we are w/ Kevin, Janet & Big I. :) We sure love this family!


























On Saturday, Janet, the girls and I took a road trip to Louisville, KY to spend the day with Sarah (Janet's daughter) and Keith (Sarah's husband). Sarah and Keith were high school seniors the first year of Dale's stint as youth minister at Inglewood. Well, they grew up, worked under Dale one summer as interns and got married almost a year ago! Hannah was upset at first as she had told Sarah when they were dating that she was going to steal her boyfriend. :) She's always been especially fond of Keith. But, she got over it! We all had a great time spending the day with them!

Aren't they a cute couple!



















































The Three Musketeers! These are 2 of Hannah's best buds, Ethan and Naomi. They've all known each other since birth. She was so excited to get to have a couple of days of play time with them. And I was excited to get to catch up with their mom, my dear friend Saundra - who forbid me to show the pictures we took of us. :)


























Another family we love and got to see are the Wallers. Here's the girls and Janet w/ Beth at Chili's. I had to have a meal there while I could. Oh, what we are missing up here w/out a Chili's!!













Here we are w/ Beth, David & Josh at Baskin Robins.












We saw countless other friends and enjoyed making more memories with them before heading home to Seattle.

SEASIDE, OR
Two weeks ago Dale and I got to go to a pastor & wives retreat in Seaside, OR. The girls got to stay home and have Grammy time. (Thanks Mom!!)

Here we are at Cannon Beach, just a few miles south of Seaside, with the Pacific Ocean behind us.













This is Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. Beautiful!













At the retreat we ate some great food, experienced really great worship, and got to connect with some other church planting couples. It was refreshing and we are so thankful we were able to go. On the drive home we took the scenic route up the WA coast. Here's some of what we saw.


















































Our trip home brought us up the opposite side of the Puget Sound from where we live, so we took the Kingston Ferry over. It was a beautiful day for a ferry ride!

Spring Highlights: Birthdays

DALE
Dale's birthday was in February and I actually don't have pictures of this event. But I surprised him with tickets to a Silvertips Hockey game, a local team. He didn't even know where we were going until the stadium was in sight. It was so fun! We got to sit 2 rows behind the Plexiglas - is that what that stuff is? Anyway, whatever it is, I'm sure glad it's sturdy b/c there were a lot of guys slamming into it along with the puck. It was so exciting and full of non-stop action. We even got to see a couple of fights, which Dale especially enjoyed.

KAITLYN


Kaitlyn turned 2 on March 14! She has become such an enjoyable little girl - very sing songy and funny, with her own brand of humor. She LOVES books, dancing to music, riding her "bikcycle" as she calls the tricycle we have, throwing balls, and staring at people. Seriously, she's an observer, especially when she doesn't know someone. She just stares. And I think it makes some a little uneasy. Her favorite song, which she asks me to sing EVERY night at bedtime is "Jesus Loves Me" and she sings it quite well herself. I often try singing other songs, but it never works. This is her one request. She also loves her big sister and wants to do everything Hannah does - good or bad! They play hide & seek together, read stories together, steal candy together... play house together - one day she may not appreciate that Hannah sometimes has her playing the dog. :)


Kaitlyn loves Elmo, so she was very excited to have an Elmo-themed party. Although you really can't tell in this picture. :) We had a very cool Elmo cupcake cake, until someone began to eat a cupcake with the black icing, which left them with black teeth and lips, for quite awhile.... not so sure about that black icing!

























Hannah's two little buddies, Jacob & Nickolas, and their families, joined us for the festivities and had a fun time helping Kaitlyn break in her new toys. Here she is riding Rocket (from Little Einsteins) with the help of Nickolas. Then she and "Jabeb", as she calls him, are checking out the books and puzzles.



























And kids of all ages love blocks. I think Dale and Mark were having a tower-building contest.


























We were glad that Dale's mom got to come in for a visit just a few days after. The girls always enjoy having Grandma in town!


























GRAMMY
My mom's birthday is just 2 days prior to Kaitlyn's, so while they were here visiting we got to celebrate with her too! We took Mom out to Anthony's Diner, a great seafood restaurant overlooking the Sound. Then we came back for some chocolate cake!

Moms

Being a mom is the best, but probably one of the hardest jobs in the world - or so I think. We want to hold on to our children, yet we're constantly faced with letting them go in one way or another. After all, the ultimate goal of parenting is to raise a self-sufficient person who can go out from us and make their own mark on the world - and hopefully a positive mark.

Dale did an excellent job Sunday of teaching from 1 Samuel 1. This passage is about a woman named Hannah, who could not have children and so desperately wanted a son. She vowed that if God gave her a son, she'd give him back to the Lord. So, God did bless her with a baby boy. And after raising him for about 3 years she handed him over to the temple to be raised by Eli the priest. She wanted him to be raised in the house of the Lord so his life would be service to God. But the temple was far away from her home and she'd only see him once a year after she left him. In our culture, this seems so bizarre to do something like this. But the point Dale made was that she was only able to do this because her purpose in life did not depend on her son. Her joy and satisfaction was found in God, not her child, even though she prayed and waited so long to have him. We are only able to let go of those things in which we don't look to for ultimate fulfillment. That spoke a huge message to me. When most every part of my world revolves around my children, it's easy to make them the center of it. They are a huge priority and I treasure them as amazing gifts from God. But, I cannot find my purpose in them. My purpose & fulfillment in life comes from the Lord. Right now, part of that purpose includes molding 2 little lives, but one day they will be on their own. And at that point I don't cease to have purpose, and certainly don't cease to have joy and satisfaction - as long as I'm finding those things in God, who has promised to never leave me. So, it's a great message and one I'm sure I'll continually have to remind myself of... especially the day I have to let Hannah go to her first day of kindergarten.

Here's my two sweeties on Mother's Day.













And here's my mom & dad.













My mom is a great mother who I'm more grateful for the older my kids get. She put up with a lot from me - more than I even know I'm sure! Yet, she didn't give up. She continued to do what she thought was right in disciplining and training me so that I could grow up and go out on my own. I know that hasn't been easy, but she's been a trooper and has continually shown unconditional love and support in all phases of my life. And for that, I'm very grateful.

Kindergarten Orientation

Tonight we took Hannah to her future elementary school for Kindergarten Orientation. It was really nice. They fed us dinner and we mingled with the other families. Then the kids gathered for some songs. Although Hannah was still checking things out and sat back quietly to observe. We've learned, even in a fun environment, if it's new, she has to warm up to it first. She stuck to me like glue until we got to the kindergarten classrooms. She was pretty intrigued by the "Word Wall" up on the board and wanted to do it right then. Then she noticed the reading corner and hunted down some books that she also has. When it came time to go back to the gym for a story time she didn't want to leave. I guess that's a good sign! But being in the classroom increased her comfort level enough that she was right on the front row and involved during the interactive story time. Before we left we asked her if she wanted to meet the principal. We walked up, Hannah stuck out her hand and said, "Hello, my name is Hannah." like such a big girl!

I didn't have a single emotional moment until we got home. Dale was getting the girls ready for bed upstairs and I was looking through the bag of material the school gave us. And then it hit. Once again, I'm thinking how did we get here? All of the sudden she's about to be in school 5 days a week! At least I've got until Sept. to get myself really geared up for this. Will I be ready?

"Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise." Psalm 90:12

After an unintentional and lengthy break from my blog, I'm returning. Or at least I'm going to attempt it. I've really missed it, and apparently some of you have too. I've gotten more than several hints! :) So, here I am finally!

The quick pace of life has made me realize just how short our lives really are. And what we do with our limited time is crucial. I'd like to say that because I haven't spent endless hours on a computer blogging that I've been making the most of my time. Hopefully, that is mostly true. But, inevitably, at the end of the day, I feel like things are left undone, words are left unspoken, and I've probably missed or forgotten something. One lesson learned is that I cannot do everything - especially everything I think I should be doing! But, lately I've found myself feeling like so much has happened in the blink of an eye. As if I've just awoken from what I thought was a brief nap to find that weeks have passed. When did my baby become a 2-yr old with the ability to carry on a conversation with me? Have we really been in Seattle almost a year? And those pictures STILL have not been hung? I could go on.....

Time is certainly flying! And it is of the utmost importance to be diligent and intentional with what time I am given. So, in all that I do, whether work or play, I am striving to be wise with my time, tending to the most important, which is not always the most immediate or the most obvious. Anything left undone after that... well, I just have to be okay with it.

Loving It!

I love.......

1) that Hannah and Kaitlyn banter "I love yous" back and forth almost every day. "I love you Kaitlyn!", "I wub oo Hannah!", and so on. It's the best!

2) that Hannah is so excited to teach Kaitlyn how to pray. She offers examples of what she could say and then Kaitlyn folds her hands, bows her head and says, "Dear God.." (mumble, mumble, mumble ) "Amen."

3) all the funny and sweet things that come out of Hannah's mouth. Here's just a couple.... 1) When I told her she was growing up too fast and asked her if she was going to keep growing up, she said, "Yes, but I'll always be your favorite Hannah." And this is true!.... 2) Almost every time she's finished picking up her toys in the play room she expresses concern that her friends will come over and just mess it all up. (As if she doesn't mess it up every day all on her own!) She's even said to me before, "When they come over, can you tell them not to mess everything up." To that I say, "well isn't that what it's all there for?"

4) the mischievous looks that are becoming more frequent on Kaitlyn's face. Her eyes say, "I'm up to something you have no idea about!"

5) that Kaitlyn carries her blanket around like Linus, and must love our fabric softener, because she does nothing but hold it up to her face and sniff.

6) that Kaitlyn could play peek-a-boo and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" all day long.

7) that when Kaitlyn gets an owie, she comes running to me to kiss it and as soon as I do, it's magically better and she's off running again.

Wishing You a Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

New Connect Church Promo Video

Here is a new promo video Dale recently filmed and created for our church. Enjoy the Seattle snowstorm that occurred while filming.

Let it Snow!!

We have had so much snow this week! Sat. night it began snowing so that we awoke to a beautiful Sunday morning. It's been so cold that Tue. we still had plenty of snow to play in. I believe this was Kaitlyn's first experience with snow she could actually play in. She liked crunching in it with her boots.














Hannah liked pegging us with snowballs!














Then yesterday it began snowing again. It snowed and it snowed and today it snowed and snowed some more. This is the view from the back of our house....














...and here's the front.














We had a lot of fun playing with some of our neighbor friends today. I only wish the pictures were a little better. We have a new camera and I've not gotten accustomed to the settings yet. Hannah and Elissa had fun making snow angels.




























Kaitlyn and her little buddy Jacob, who we get to play with every week. I think this is how it went down.... J: Would you like to go sledding with me? K: Well, I don't know. I've never been sledding. J: It's okay. I'll sit in front and protect you from the cold wind.














K: Oh, this is fun! Faster, faster!!














Hannah had a blast too. Our friend Ben really got a work-out pulling all the kids around the park! He was so sweet.

A Visit from Friends

Our friends, Tricia and Brenda, came to visit the first weekend in November. Actually they really just came to see our girls, but that's okay! :) They are two of the many wonderful people in Nashville that loved on our girls and provided hours of free babysitting! We sure had it good! It was an encouragement to us to have them here and to be able to let them see our lives here up close.

Saturday, the girls and I gave them a good tour of Seattle. We ate at Ivar's Fish Bar on the Sound, fed the seagulls, walked through Pike's Place Market and made a stop at a park on Queen Anne Hill overlooking the city.














Kaitlyn gave us some good camera action....










































However, this is what Hannah thought about having her picture taken. No amount of coaxing was going to get her to take a good picture on this day!














We love you Brenda and Tricia!!

Halloween Block Party

Here it is almost Thanksgiving and I'm just now updating about our big Halloween event. Well such is life for me right now - running a bit behind. Connect Church sponsored a block party at our house Halloween night and we had fairly constant crowds for about 2.5 hrs. It was definitely a success! And I imagine, based on the response of our neighbors, if we don't deliver something similar next year, everyone will be disappointed! We are so grateful for all the help we received to put on this event and for the outcome of the night!

We all had a great time...... Dale and I especially enjoyed meeting more of our neighbors and getting to visit with them while the kids played. In fact we were so busy having fun I didn't capture much of it on camera I'm afraid to say! But here are a few pics.....

Hannah as Aerial, along with some of the other Connect Kids, taking a break from trying out the jumping castle before the neighbors arrived.














Our little Care Bear with Daddy.














Our garage was decked out in Halloween decor and stocked with popcorn, coffee, hot chocolate and crafts for the kids.





























Some neighborhood kids playing a game under the tent.

October Fun

I'm a little behind on my updating. So here's a little glimpse of all the fun we had as a family in Oct....

Here's the girls w/ Grammy and Paw Paw. Kaitlyn and Paw Paw really bonded on their recent trip here. She couldn't get enough of him!




























Here they are "heading" upstairs for bed.














Hannah was a frog on "Dress Like an Animal Day" at Preschool.














Thanks to one of my neighbors, we got free tickets to see "The Green Sheep" at the Seattle Children's Theater and had a blast. Unfortunately, my battery ran out so I didn't get any shots of the stage where we were placed in the "sheep pen" while we helped the actors look for the green sheep. It was so cute and tons of fun! But I did get a sweet sister moment just before going in.














Happy Kaitlyn...














Hannah and I went to a local pumpkin patch with her preschool class. Here she is having fun w/ one of her favorite preschool friends.

Kids Say the Darndest Things.....

Here are a few of our latest favorite sayings from the girls....

Hannah:
"Mommy, I like you. I think we'll keep you." (Maybe she thought she could trade me in? I'm glad, after 4 years, that she's given me a satisfactory evaluation!)

After a discussion about heaven. Hannah asked if our house would be in heaven. I told her that Jesus is preparing a special house for us to live in there. To that she responded, "Can God paint? Because I want Him to paint my room pink."

"Daddy, you're special."

"Mommy, you're the best mom in the whole wide world that I've ever had!" (One day I'm going to think to video this to play back in about 10 years as a reminder!)


Kaitlyn:
"I want cookie." (This is her favorite thing to say.)
"Happy, happy, happy!"
"Hold me." (With arms extended.... who can resist?)
"Boo!" (She loves playing peek-a-boo.)
She's just way too cute for her own good at this point.

Victoria

In honor of our anniversary, Dale and I had the amazing opportunity to spend 3 days in Victoria, Canada a little over a week ago, thanks to my parents who came up to stay with the girls and gave us a generous anniversary gift! We traveled by way of the Victoria Clipper, which sped along at a steady 30 miles per hour or so, getting us there from Seattle in about 2.5 hours.














These next 2 pics were taken from the balcony of our room on the 11th floor of The Executive House.




























We were told that High Tea at The Empress Hotel was a must-do. So, we did, to Dale's chagrin. Actually, he was a pretty good sport and we had fun. But, it's quite a dainty and upscale affair. One we'll probably only do once! This is the Empress.... We were told that there is actually a hotel within this hotel that is very exclusive - only for those who can afford it, such as the Queen of England, who stays there on her visits to Victoria.














The tea and "crumpets" were wonderful! What are crumpets anyway?














Gratefully, this was our only scheduled event.... We enjoyed wandering around Victoria on foot, exploring streets full of shops and restaurants. Some of what we saw on foot....

1) Parliament - Victoria is the capital of British Columbia














2) Craigdaroch Castle - We took the very interesting tour and learned a lot about the Craigdaroch family and their rise from poverty to immense wealth by way of the coal industry. Interestingly enough, the wood used in the elaborate woodwork all throughout the castle is white oak from Arkansas!














A view of the city from the castle tower room.














3) Seals! - 3 seals had made their way to the pier by some houseboats and restaurants and a woman was feeding them fresh fish.














We also took a "harbour hop" on a Harbour Ferry, to the relief of our exhausted feet that had been walking all over the city for 3 days!














While on it, we spotted this boat, which was used in WWII for something (now I don't remember for what), and on which Winston Churchill has traveled.














After our tea experience we rented bikes for a couple of hours, which boosted Dale's sense of manliness a bit I think. This is my favorite picture from our ride.














I must add, that on our ride back from Victoria to Seattle, we met a woman from TX. There are Texans EVERYWHERE! :) Ironically, her name was Tina.

Our Little Trouble Maker

We had just finished our core group meeting Sunday night when Laurel, one of our childcare helpers, brings me her cell phone and says, "It's a 911 operator and she wants to talk to you. Kaitlyn dialed 911 and hung up." At first I think it's a joke. But the minute I get on the phone I know it's not. I was immediately and sternly asked for my address. I quickly apologized and explained that my 19-month old accidentally dialed 911 and there was no emergency. She had to follow protocol and put me through to the sheriff's office, where I had to verify what had happened. The interesting thing is that the cell phone had it's key lock on. So, not only did Kaitlyn push just the right combination to unlock the phone, but she dialed just those emergency digits and stopped pressing buttons long enough for the call to actually go through. What are the odds of that?!

And just earlier that same evening she decided to take her diaper off and walk around mooning everyone. Hmmm.... Should we be worried?

My Birthday

So, a week and a half ago I turned 34. I don't mind saying it because my age has never really bothered me. Maybe it will one day, but right now I'm just thankful to be alive and healthy. It does sound weird to me though - 34. It sounds older than I feel - at least most days! Does that make sense to anyone else but me?

Anyway, this year I got a really great gift. One of my oldest and best friends - not in age, but in number of years I've known her - came to see me!

Tara....














Having lived in Seattle less than 5 months, it was a true gift to spend time with someone I have a history with. And what a history we have! We grew up living 2 blocks from each other and have done so much together over the years.... walked to school, rode bikes all over our neighborhood, went to church, had sleepovers, watched a lot of Alfred Hitchcock, old musicals, and shared a crush on Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables for awhile :) .... We've been in each others' weddings and walked through the ups and downs of life together, despite the many miles that have been between us for the past 15 years.

And now we can say we've decorated a house in Seattle together! Tara has always had a gift for making things beautiful and is now a very talented decorator. When I told her we'd be moving to Seattle, one of the first things she said was, "I want to come up and help you put your house together." And that she did in such an extraordinary way. I felt like I was on one of those home makeover shows. Although she had never been to Seattle before, instead of seeing the sights, we spent 3 days unpacking more boxes, pulling out my own stuff to use in fun ways I wouldn't have thought about, doing some shopping, painting, organizing, hanging curtains..... And in the process my lifeless house was turned into a warm and inviting home that I enjoy living in, with little expense, which is the best part! (I'll show some house pics in another post for you curious ones!) And that was my b-day gift - one of the best ever!

We did take some time out to go out on the town to celebrate too. Dale found an awesome restaurant, called Pasta Freska in downtown Seattle on Lake Union. Here's the fam....



















This is one of the most unique and fun restaurants I've ever been to. The owner/master chef greets you when you arrive as if you've just come over to his house for dinner. He walks around constantly interacting with the guests, including having fun w/ the kids. Here he is with Hannah.














There are no menus. He simply asks you if there is anything you don't like or can't eat and then the culinary adventure begins! Throughout the evening cooks come out of the kitchen to deliver a variety of food. We had an assortment of fried eggplant w/ cheese, the best spaghetti and meatballs I've ever tasted, chicken marsala, stuffed chicken, salmon, prawn.... It sounds like a lot, but they were small portions just handed out here and there, so you got a good taste of everything. It was amazing! And the price is not what you'd think it would be!

And then there's dessert. A large plate of 4 different types of dessert was set in front of us and each of us sampled it all. The funniest part of the whole night was Kaitlyn's reaction. She reached for the plate with both hands shouting "happy, happy, happy!" As if the essence of "happy" was on that plate! :)

9 years

Dale and I were married 9 years ago today. On that day we were surrounded by such wonderful people - our family, more complete then than it is now as some have gone on to be with the Lord; some incredible, lifelong friends that stood by us; minsters that had an eternal impact on each of us; others in the crowd - friends, parents of friends, teachers, coaches.... all people who had given something of themselves to us and in doing so, had helped to shape us on some level. It was a great day and one I enjoyed and remember vividly, despite being told it would all be a blur.

I am so thankful for that day and all it represented. As we stood before God and friends, vowing to love each other for life, we felt blessed beyond words. We chose to end the ceremony by walking out to Stephen Curtis Chapman's song "Speechless". We had to have SCC there in some form in honor of Dale's admiration for him and his music (mine too, but his bordered on man-crush at the time). And he was busy that day, so he just sent us a recording. ;) Here's the lyrics to the chorus:

And I am Speechless
I'm astonished and amazed
I am silenced by your wondrous grace.
You have saved me
You have raised me from the grave.
And I am Speechless
In your presence now.
I'm astounded as I consider how
You have shown us a love that leaves us speechless.

At the time, it was appropriate as we had each experienced God's amazing love and grace in our lives and were so thankful for His salvation. And yet, He would do even more for us and give us each other. And I am so glad He gave me Dale for a husband! He loves me, balances me, makes me laugh, challenges me, serves me, inspires me, is the best Dad to our girls, is my best friend, makes me proud......

And I am still amazed by God's love and grace towards us. Together we've packed a lot into these years. It's been a never-ending adventure as we've lived in 4 states, with Tennessee getting the most attention. Although, we have left family and friends scattered in each of them. We left Texas - the true homeland :) - just 3 months after marrying, and passed through Alabama for our seminary years. Nashville quickly became our first real home together as we settled in, bought our first house, and began having children. Hannah and Kaitlyn have changed us forever, as only 2 sweet little girls can. And now we find ourselves starting again in Washington - a new home, new ministry, new friends.... and a new phase in our marriage as we learn even more about each other while trusting the same God who has been with us from the beginning. We have shared great joys and accomplishments as well as intense losses and disappointments.

And now we stand together in a place that holds a lot of uncertainty. But, what I am certain about is that I wouldn't want to be in this place with anyone else.

Connect Church on the Web

Connect Church has a new website, thanks to the generosity and skills of a friend in TX! Visit us at www.connect-church.com. It is a work in progress still, so be sure and continue to check it out as it is developed!

Transforming Worship

This post won't be about what you think.... Today I had to laugh when I heard my 4-yr old little girl singing a combination of the Transformers theme and "Shout to the Lord". Only in our house!

Camping

This past weekend we were able to get away for a few days and go camping. It was great! Just us, a tent and the great outdoors.... very refreshing! Especially because the weather was perfect. I did feel bad that we were enjoying the weather so much while family and friends in Houston were busy escaping the weather...

We went to Kayak Point, a park our friends, the Corbins, recommended to us. It's right on a bay of the Puget Sound and all the campground trails lead to the beach. So, every day we'd hike down and spend a few hours playing in the water, which was super clear and ice cold... so most of our playing was in the sand and on the many logs that were down there. I'm warning you, I was quite camera happy and there were SO many good pictures, it was hard to decide what to post. Here are a few of my favorites........




























Hannah called this "the fort" and had to play on it every day.














They also like to play IN it...














One of Kaitlyn's favorite things to do was gathering rocks in her pail and dumping them out. The water was so clear that when we looked down in it from the pier we could see fish swimming and crabs crawling on the bay floor.




























Hiking...






































































You can't go camping without S'mores.....














...and Hannah agreed!




























The park had a large and very unique playground that we all had fun playing on, as you can see!














Our goofy Hannah! Or is it Erkle?

Hannah's Big Week

Hannah has had a week of firsts here. Monday she went to her first gymnastics class. She's been asking about getting to do gymnastics for months now. We told her we'd look into it once we moved to Seattle, and boy, she didn't let us forget about that! She LOVED her class and I had so much fun watching her. I was so proud of how well she listened and followed the coaches' instructions.














Unfortunately I was not in a good place to get many good action shots and between keeping Kaitlyn occupied and watching Hannah this was the best I got! It's kind of dark, but she said one of her favorite things about the day was swinging on the rope and jumping into the foam pit. She also really liked the trampoline, pretending to be different kinds of animals as they walked like those animals across the gym floor, and swinging on the bar while using her legs to climb up the wall. This pretty much covers most of what they did in the class and they were all her "favorite", so I'd say she likes it!














Then Tuesday she went to her first day of preschool. The morning started out with smiles.....














....but unfortunately it ended in tears, for both of us.... This program is a lot different from Parkway's Kingdom Kids. And apparently the differences at preschool stirred up all the emotion of how different everything is here for her. She didn't want me to leave and would not interact with any of the other kids, which is unlike our social bug. I stayed for the first 30 minutes of class (there were still parents there when I left, so apparently they're pretty lenient about that the first day), and finally she was okay enough to tell me goodbye. We have not had a bout of homesickness for Nashville since early July until this week. And it's hit her hard. Fortunately, this preschool program is only 2 days a week. So, we try it again tomorrow. It may take a little time, but I think she'll like it if she's willing to give it a chance. At least tomorrow we've given her something special to look forward to. Once we pick her up from preschool we're heading out on a 3-day camping trip, and we're ALL excited about that!

Birth of a Church

The last day of August marked significance for our infant church. This past Sunday night all of our starting core group members gathered under one roof for the very first time! It was surreal for us, after spending months and months planning. In getting here, each of these families has faced their share of obstacles. I wish I could share their stories here because they're amazing. Their faith has been tested in tremendous ways. But the assurance of God's calling for them has pushed them forward into the unknown, allowing them to persevere through doubts, fears and unanswered questions. And this has encouraged us beyond words. When Dale and I first began talking about the possibility of starting a church in the Seattle area, in Jan. 2007, we could not have dreamed that He would put together such a team of people to join us. But He has done just that - we certainly had nothing to do with it! And we are thankful.

Look closely....... these are the faces of Connect Church. Our prayer is that there will be many more to come.

God's Phone Message and "Go Go"

I have entertaining stories about each of the girls:

First - Hannah has a way of saying things that come out of nowhere that are completely hilarious. And today she did it again. The background to this little story is that she absolutely loves to ride her bike. And she is getting quite good. But rain has been in the forecast lately. So when she asks to ride her bike, I have been answering with, "Yes, if it's not raining." Today I came home from buying groceries, thankfully all by myself! I left Dale working on church stuff with Kaitlyn napping and Hannah entertaining herself, which she does quite well. When I arrive Dale tells me that Hannah got a special phone call today. Then she pipes in, "Yes, God left me a message that He was going to stop the rain so I could ride my bike. He left a message because I was too busy to answer my phone." All of this said very matter-of-factly. And in fact, we had a beautiful couple of hours today when she did get to ride her bike!

Second - (Beth will enjoy this one!) Our friends the Wallers have a cute and very big boxer named JoJo. When we stayed with them on our recent trip back to Nashville the girls really bonded with her, especially Kaitlyn. She started calling her "GoGo". The funny thing is that now every dog is "GoGo". A few days ago she brought me a page from the newspaper saying, "GoGo" over and over again. I told her that wasn't a dog, it was the newspaper. She kept persisting. I took the paper and noticed that it was the classifieds with several pictures of dogs that were for sale! I asked her if she wanted a dog? She immediately said, "uh huh". She knew what she was doing all along!

Our Team is Arriving!

This past weekend The Andersons arrived in Seattle after driving 3 days from Irving, TX. We had the joy of feeding them and giving them shelter until they were able to get into the condo they are renting. Here we are at dinner Mon. night getting to use our new table! Jennifer, Joshua and Brady Anderson are on the left with Chuck and Angila at the end.













The Fullers will arrive in part on Sunday. Greg and his moving help will be here then, with Shelly and the kids following on Thursday. This is the last family that will be joining us - at least as far as we know at this point - if there's anyone else out there feeling a Holy Spirit nudge this way, come on! I could start naming names, but that would be more of a word from Tina rather than the Holy Spirit.... Anyway, we are encouraged by and excited about these families who are forsaking the comforts of "home", and stepping out in tremendous faith in order to join us in spreading the gospel in the NW.

Day at the Lake

Today we went back to the park at Silver Lake. This time we took swimsuits, beach toys and Daddy. We are all so glad he's back home! It was a hot 90 degree day here, so it felt great to be in the water. The girls went swimming and dug in the sand. The pictures are of us on a paddle boat.

Blue Boogers

Recently I found our "climber" walking around the play room with a couple of markers in hand. She had moved a climbable toy next to the shelf so she could reach the markers that were on top! This was the result. And yes, her nostrils were blue for a couple of days! I'm no match for a toddler with climbing skills AND ingenuity! The markers are now high and hidden. If she finds them this time we're in trouble!

We Went Exploring

Late last night I decided that today would be a day of exploration. We have stayed pretty close to home for the last week or so and I've been focused on house chores and errands mostly. Needless to say, we were all a little stir crazy, especially with Dale being out of town. So this morning, not knowing entirely what the day would have in store, I packed everything I could think of we might possibly need, loaded the girls and off we went. I had seen a park a few weeks ago from a distance as I was driving around and was hoping to find it and check it out. I was first proud that I found it and really glad because we had a great time. It was an awesome day with a high in the 70's, sunny, pretty blue skies.... I had to rub it in since Dale was in TX today in 100 degree weather!

This park is in Silver Lake. The first thing we had fun doing was playing on the huge playground. (You don't get the full effect of Hannah's expression until you double-click the picture to zoom in.) :)










Then we ran and picked up some lunch and came back to have a picnic on the beach! The park is on a lake with a staffed beach front. You can rent canoes and kayaks and swim.














One thing I did not pack was swim suits. But, I did have extra clothes for the girls, so in they went. Hannah was begging to get in the water and had a fun time splashing around.















Kaitlyn spent most of her time going back and forth between building in the sand...














...and running back to the water.










Here ironically, Hannah was working on a hill with 3 crosses "like where Jesus died", she said, when Kaitlyn tried to "help". Hannah didn't want her help and wasn't very nice about it. I actually went to take the picture at a sweet sisters-working-together-moment and caught this instead.














Kaitlyn's sandy face - the result of the altercation with big sis.














After playing at the beach for awhile, we decided to end our time at the playground. We cleaned up and were off to the swings.




























Although we all had a blast at the park, one of my favorite parts of the day was letting the kids fall asleep in the car while I drove for a couple of hours taking in the scenery to the tunes of Andrew Peterson. It was the therapy I needed. And this picture isn't even half as beautiful as what I saw.

The Braswell Household

Recent random happenings in the Braswell house......

1) Kaitlyn has become a climber. And since Hannah was not, this is new for us. I've found her standing on top of our kitchen table multiple times, grinning from ear to ear. I feel like every time I leave the room I'm going to have to take the chairs with me! She's trying to climb out of her crib. And last night, she was scaling the bathtub wall. She'd grab a hold of a bar that is a few inches above the soap ledge and pull herself up onto the ledge. Then laugh as she slid back down into the tub! I see ER in our future. I don't have any pictures of this yet since I've been too busy getting her down from these places. But maybe one day I'll have my camera close by....

2) Hannah enjoys helping me around the house, so I'm trying to milk it as much as possible right now. Here she is cleaning her bathroom mirror, and boy was it spotless after all the wiping she did!














3) Kaitlyn eating, but mostly playing, with cottage cheese.














4) We recently got a new dining room table and this was some of the packaging. The girls had tons of fun playing with all this styrofoam. I thought is would be fun to leave it out for a couple of days. So, I put it in one room where it could be manageable. And it was fun - they got their tools and had fun digging and building - but it wasn't manageable. The bulk of the styrofoam is gone now, but I'm still finding those teeny tiny pieces everywhere.














5) We've had an empty dining room since moving in and finally were able to get a table to fill it! We've had this one all our married life.......














... and it's held up well. We've never had room for anything larger before. It fits well in our kitchen, but with all the entertaining we will be doing we've been praying that we'd be able to get a larger table with which to do that. And sooner rather than later since by the end of this month our entire church planting team, which consists of 8 adults and 7 kids, will all be here permanently, so we'll be having everyone over for team meetings once a week. Finally, last week we found just what I had been looking for, and for a super great deal!














6) Kaitlyn is growing up way too fast! One thing she loves doing now is brushing her own teeth. Of course, I do assist.














7)Hannah also enjoys helping me cook whenever possible. Grandma even gave us a pair of "Mommy and Me" aprons at Christmas. Here she is getting ready to help me make bananas foster pancakes tonight for dinner. Yum!! And of course Kaitlyn didn't want to be left out. She had her own bowl of imaginary pancake mix to stir.

Friends in Town

The Lord has blessed us in an amazing way by providing 3 other families who are relocating their lives to Seattle to help us plant Connect Church. The Fullers, one of those families, stayed with us last week while they were in town making arrangements for housing and trying to find a job for Greg. Greg and Shelly have 4 awesome kids. Only two, Shelby, their oldest at 6, and Eden who is 7 months, joined them on this trip. But the whole family, including Nash, who is 4 and Noelle who is 2, will be here permanently at the end of the month. We're so excited about that!

The week was really fun, especially for the kids. Shelby and Hannah, although almost 3 years apart get along wonderfully. By the end of the week, they were almost acting like sisters. Here are some pictures of the older kids playing at one of the local parks.






































































The kids gave us a few "concerts". I didn't get a picture of Shelby, but she's probably on the drum set accompanying the piano duo.














Kaitlyn LOVED having Eden around. By the end of the week the first word out of her mouth each morning was "baby". She was so sweet to her. She loved patting her head - gently I might add - and giving her toys to play with. One day she brought Eden one of her baby food jars and spoon. So, Shelly helped Kaitlyn feed Eden, which she got a big kick out of.




























If you are reading this take a moment to pray for the Fullers as they prepare to move - that God would provide for every detail and comfort them during this time of change and adjustment.

Nashville Trip

July 19 two of our former students and now close friends, Keith and Sarah, got married, thus giving us a great excuse to fly back to Nashville! It was one of the most beautiful and meaningful weddings I've ever been involved in. What a great time we had helping and visiting with friends. My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures! Really, I'm very sad about it because who knows when we'll be back in Nashville. But, what I am thankful for is all the great memories we made during the week we were there. We definitely made the most of our time! We saw as many people and got as little sleep as possible I think!

And, we received an answer to prayer. Prior to our trip Hannah's homesickness increasingly got worse. Daily, she'd say things like, "I don't like this house. I want my old house.", etc. Well, since we still own our house in Nashville we decided to take her in and let her say goodbye to it. Her first response was "It really is empty". Our visit there went very well and she now says that she likes both her old and her new houses. And we haven't had a bout of homesickness yet since being back in Seattle. Maybe this was the reason we had not sold our house. So, now that that's done, let's get on with it!

Here are some of the few pictures I did take........

Alanna, Cagney (maid of honor), Sarah (bride), me, Esther & Janet (Mother of the bride) arriving at the rehearsal.














Hannah had such a good time playing with her old buddies, Ethan and Naomi. The two girls were so cute together at the wedding. They were spotted dancing together by the punch table. So cute!














What a great couple!














Who's that handsome man in a tux?!

Another "Reader"

Hannah is known for her love of books. One of her favorite things to do is sit with a pile of books and go through them, one by one, either remembering the real story of the book or making one up on her own to go with the pictures. Well, Kaitlyn seems to be following in her footsteps. Except Brown Bear, Brown Bear just won't cut it anymore......

Baby Art

It's happened. Hannah has gotten to the stage where she is becoming quite inventive when it comes to reaching things she shouldn't. She moves chairs, tips toy boxes over and climbs up, etc. Thankfully, the things she has gotten into have not been harmful. For instance, I keep her craft box up high in the play room closet so I can monitor the use of scissors, markers, glue, etc. Well yesterday I check on the girls who were playing in the playroom to find Kaitlyn walking around with markers in her hands and a colorful face. And Hannah is just laughing. Luckily, the markers they got into were dry erase and they wiped off easily. Sorry I don't have a picture of this one. I was too busy scolding Hannah and cleaning Kaitlyn!

Hannah's Birthday Interview

I stole this idea from a couple of different friends I've seen do something similar with their kids. Last year we interviewed Hannah on her birthday and did it again this year. I'm going to keep track of the interviews so we can see how she changes from year to year. We videoed the interview too and it was pretty entertaining. At one point I had to stop b/c she was flashing us and the camera. I thought you might enjoy seeing what she said:

1. How old are you today? 4

2. How does it feel being 4? big

3. Where do you live? Seattle

4. What is your favorite color? pink & purple

5. What are your favorite things to do? ride my brand new bike; play with Kaitlyn - I love Kaitlyn; listen to music; jump on my bed; read books

6. What is your favorite food? broccoli (She does like broccoli, but I was surprised this made it on her favorites above ice cream and other such foods....) and rice and beans (this is probably due to the fact that she's been exposed to lots of mexican food starting from the time she was in my womb!)

7. Who do you like to play with? Naomi, Ethan, Veronica, Abby (all Nashville friends) and Rylie and Madison (Seattle friends)

8. What is your favorite song? Yankee Doodle (And so it has been - I'm ready for her to start singing a different favorite song all through the day!)

9. What do you like to do with your family? play at the playground; play music

10. What places do you like to go? Chuck E. Cheese, "Old" McDonald's, Red Robin

11. What has been the best thing about turning 4 so far? having a Princess cake

Baseball & Fireworks!

We've started July with a bang - literally! This past Wed. we got to go to a Mariner's game, compliments of the Puget Sound Baptist Association Church Planter's Network. It was great just to go see some baseball - the Mariner's won! And also to meet some other church planters here in the North West as well as catch up with friends we had met during our training week.

Hannah was very excited her new friend Addie was there!














Chuck and Angila were able to join us.




























We had a great 4th of July! Some of the families in our subdivision, called Highland Court, came together to organize a block party, which was held at the Highland Court playground. Several of us brought our grills and everyone brought food pot-luck style. It was so good for us because we were able to meet more of our neighbors and discovered that there are a few other families with smaller children here. In fact, there are 2 little girls around Hannah's age. No one yet for Kaitlyn to play with, but there are many more homes yet to be filled here. Since the party we've already had a couple of kids over to play and have arranged a play date at another home for tomorrow. Not to mention everyone we meet up with at the playground and as Hannah is enjoying her new bike!

The kids had fun with some fireworks early in the evening. Hannah really liked throwing the snaps. Dale even helped Kaitlyn throw down a few. There was a really cool firework that dropped a ton of little parachutes that the kids all ran after. Then around 9:30, we had a big fireworks display. On a side note, we have discovered that everyone REALLY gets into the fireworks here around 4th of July. It started over a week before the 4th. We'd hear fireworks off and on throughout the day and night, increasing in intensity up until the 4th. The fireworks that went off in our neighborhood and those surrounding us were just as good as any professional show I've seen. And it sounded like a war zone up through midnight! It was crazy! But that's just how it is around here apparently. Then July 5th - nothing.

Here are some of the pics from our block party...

Another Day on the Town

Last Friday we took Dale's mom sightseeing in downtown Seattle. There is so much to do here we filled our day with completely different things than when we took my parents downtown a week prior. Let me forewarn you, I went a little crazy with the pictures in this post. There are many!

First we took a Duck Tour. It was quite interesting and fun. This is a Duck out of water.....















and this is a duck in the water... It was a 90 minute tour of downtown Seattle and one of Seattle's bodies of water. It was a great way to see Seattle and learn about its history and uniqueness.















Hannah had a blast on this. Our tour captain, who was dressed as a pirate and called himself "Captain Stew Pendous" (yeah, a little cheesy) made it interesting and especially fun for the kids.















This is a picture of Lake Union with the Cascade Mountain Range behind it taken from the tallest over-water bridge in North America. By the way, in case you don't already know you can double-click on any photo and it will zoom in.















One of the biggest yachts docked in Seattle. Our captain told us that there are 5 of these docked in Seattle, one of which belongs to Bill Gates. We cruised around awhile looking for The Northwestern. For those of you who are Deadliest Catch fans, like Dale, you know what I'm talking about. Our tour captain was a crab fisherman at one point and knows the brothers who own The Northwestern, and said it was docked somewhere in Seattle for repairs. We never did find it, to Dale's disappointment.















After our tour we went to the Space Needle.






























Mt. Rainier and the Seattle skyline















The Olympic Mountain Range across the Sound.















After leaving the Space Needle we decided to take a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. It was about a 30 minute ride. We ate dinner on the Island and then returned.






























Kaitlyn grabbed her snack and plopped down right on the deck to eat.















Hannah had a blast taking pictures with her new camera (b-day gift from Grandma). She can take real pictures with it and actually did a pretty good job. I'll have to download a few later.















Here are a couple taken from the ferry at sunset. Can you believe it was about 9:30 p.m. when these were taken?!

Hannah's Big Day!

Today is Hannah's 4th birthday and she has been so excited to turn 4! She told me this morning she thinks she's a little bigger today. We started the day with some chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries for breakfast. Originally I had planned for us to spend the day together just as a family doing lots of fun things with Hannah, since we've just moved and don't yet know many people. Also, with all that's been on our plate after a big move, that just sounded easier. But during the last week I decided to switch gears because Hannah has been pretty sad off and on missing her friends in Nashville. So, I decided to invite the few kids we do know at the last minute for a party at the park. I thought if 1 or 2 show up that will be great. Everyone I invited came plus a couple of extras! It was awesome and Hannah had a blast! And it was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside.

Here's a good sister pic.














Of course she had to have a Princess cake!














Here's all the kids that helped make Hannah's day so special!














How many girls can you fit on a tire swing?!














Kaitlyn doesn't need company to have a great time.














This park is awesome. The girls are at the foot of a big hill about to go exploring on some trails through the woods.














Kaitlyn found a new favorite - the slide. She finally worked up the nerve to slide by herself and after landing I'd pick her up and she'd point to the top and say "again". So I'd sit her at the top and off she'd go.














After leaving the park we joined our new friend Addison and her brothers at Subway for lunch. I think these two will get along just fine!














After Subway Hannah got to go on a Toys 'r Us shopping spree, thanks to Grandma. She came out with quite a loot! Here are Grandma and Hannah with 2 of her favorites - Belle and Cinderella!














Hannah's been wanting to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for awhile, so we took her there for dinner. Kaitlyn could hardly sit still in her high chair in the concert room. She literally danced through dinner!














And finally, we gave Hannah her first bicycle. She was very excited to get it and was riding it fairly well down the street this evening.














We are so very thankful for Hannah and the joy she brings to us. And after only being here a little more than 3 weeks we were amazed at how things came together for Hannah to be able to play with so many new friends. God knows just what she needs and has shown us today that He's providing for her too. She even met a new friend at Chuck E. Cheese's tonight. They were inseparable, so of course I had to exchange phone numbers with her mom so the girls can play again. Thanks to our sociable daughter, we are getting to meet people pretty quickly! We are all exhausted, but it's been a very good day!

Birthday Surprise

Hannah was surprised yesterday by an early birthday delivery. Eddie & Brenda and Kevin & Tricia, her former IBC Sunday school teachers and good friends sent her a cookie bouquet. The delivery guy called us before arriving, so we let her answer the door. She felt so special to receive her very own personal delivery! The funny thing was she couldn't quite understand how our friends got the cookies here all the way from Nashville! They were good to send them early. It's going to take her at least a week to eat these cookies - maybe less with a little help. :)

Exciting Discoveries

I've discovered 2 things this week that really excite me......

1) Chevy's Fresh Mex - We had Father's Day dinner here and I must admit that I was delightfully surprised. I never dreamed this Texan would like a NW Mexican food restaurant this much. But it was the most like Tex-mex I've ever tasted, not being in TX. I mean, it ranks up there with Papasitos, people! Not quite, but almost. And that's good enough for me. The best part is, it's not even 10 minutes from our house! :)

2) Fred Meyer's Playplace - Fred Meyer is kind of like Wal-Mart, except all of them include groceries. I've been twice this week. The first time, I get into the store and realize I left my lengthy grocery list at the house. So, I'm having to shop by memory, I don't know where anything is and I have Hannah who is asking a question a second and Kaitlyn who doesn't want to sit still. I end up having to cut my trip short b/c Kaitlyn gets too upset to continue. So, today I went back to finish shopping. I had less than 10 items so I'm thinking, "We can do this." Since I still don't know how this store is set up, I'm walking back and forth looking for my 8 or so items, mostly with Kaitlyn in my arms as I'm pushing the cart. She kept standing up in it and refused to sit. Then Hannah says she needs to go potty. I only had a couple more things to buy, but I definitely didn't want an accident to add to the fun. I finally found the restrooms at the front of the store. As we were making our way there we passed the "Playplace". It's basically a staffed play area where you can drop off your children, ages 2-5, while you shop! They do have a time limit of 1 hour, but who wants to be in a grocery store for longer than that anyway? They had me read and sign a list of rules, show my ID, sign Hannah in and out and they gave us matching bracelets, so I felt comfortable leaving her there while I finished shopping. It's genius. I can't believe this idea hasn't caught on in more places. I will definitely choose to shop there over other grocery stores - especially when Kaitlyn reaches 2! I had to laugh though after my 2 experiences this week - that I didn't even realize it was there until we were almost done today!

Mt. Rainier

This past Friday we visited Mt. Rainier and it was some of the most beautiful creation I have ever seen personally. It is about 75 miles south of Seattle and towers in the city's skyline on a clear day. It is a part of the Cascade Mountain Range.














The girls' favorite part of the trip was getting to play in the snow. Hannah loved having snow ball fights and Kaitlyn loved eating it. Snow ball fights in June - never would have thought we'd do that!




























The scenic pictures don't do it justice, but at least they give you an idea of our experience.
























































The following are pictures of Mt. Rainier's peak.

Change

Change. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's not. For me it's almost always a challenge either way. Here are a few interesting changes, for better or for worse, we are having to get used to in a new place....

1. Wearing jeans and sweatshirts in JUNE. Yes, the weather has been quite chilly even during the day. People are telling us that this is unusual for June. I'd say. I do feel bad complaining too much though since our friends in Nashville and TX are sweating in the 90-degree heat! We do have a nice gas fire place that comes alive at the flip of a switch. That's pretty cool.

2. Living in a 2-story house. I know I'm out of shape when I'm feeling a little sore simply from living in a 2-story for 2 weeks!

3. Having a microwave that is smarter than I am. For instance, if you want to reheat pizza. You push "reheat". Then it gives you a choice of several food options, pizza being one of them, so you push "pizza". Then it gives you the option of choosing "thin crust" or "thick crust". Once you've made that choice, then it asks how many slices you are reheating. Once you've inputed all the appropriate information, it automatically sets itself and the pizza is heated to perfection. Amazing. Some of you may think this is no big deal. But, up until now, we've had a hand-me-down microwave that was probably one of the first ones out on the market.

4. Living in a brand new house - no remodeling necessary. Hallelujah!

5. No Blue Bell Ice Cream - This one's a tough one. We finally got it in Nashville a couple of years ago, then we left. Shame on us!

6. Seeing snow-capped mountains in the distance as we drive around town. This is very nice.... very, very nice. In fact we are about an hour away from the nearest ski slopes. Can't wait for ski season!!

7. No Sonic or Chick-fil-a. In fact, while there are a variety of fast food restaurants here, they are not on every corner as we are used to. No Taco Bell either. Although there is "Taco Time", which we haven't ventured into yet.....

8. Seeing the sun come up around 5:30 a.m. and not go back down completely until almost 10 p.m. It's definitely got Hannah confused about bed time!

Downtown Seattle

After a week and a half of mostly unpacking, painting and settling in, we went sight seeing today downtown with my parents. It was a nice June day with a high of 59! No rain though.

Our first stop was lunch at Ivar's right on the Puget Sound. We ate fish 'n chips and then fed our left-overs to the seagulls. They were eager and Hannah got a kick out of it!














Then we headed to the famous Pike Place Market. Wow! We'll have to go back to experience it fully - 3 levels of cool restaurants and vendors selling fresh farm produce, flowers and many other items. This picture is taken right in front of the fish market. We even saw them throw a few.














Here's the group (decked out in jackets) just after seeing the very first Starbuck's. It's really not much to see. Just a coffee shop - and a small one at that.














After Pike Place we visited the Seattle Aquarium located right on the Sound as well. Kaitlyn's favorite part was posing in this octopus. Really. We could hardly get her to leave this spot. She also really liked looking at all the colorful fish and pointing at them.














Here's Hannah being "attacked" by a huge octopus! It's a good thing she escaped b/c she had a blast going through the aquarium.














These last pictures are of us at Kinnear Park on Queen Anne Hill overlooking the city and the Sound. It's really a beautiful place. If it was a clear day you could see Mt. Ranier just to the right of the skyline. Kaitlyn missed out since she was sound asleep and we dared not wake her.










































Being in the NW has made us all a little crazy!!!

Hannah's "Pre-Birthday" and Other Pictures

Today we celebrated what we called Hannah's Pre-Birthday. She will turn 4 on June 25. But since Grammie and Pawpaw are in town, we celebrated with them today. The theme, of course, was Princesses. We had chocolate cake and banana splits.














Here's the big gift - a sandbox! It's one thing we can actually fit in our back yard. It was a big hit as you can see. Thanks Grammie & Pawpaw.














Kaitlyn thought the sand looked tasty. The little dab on her chin is the left overs.














Here's Hannah going to town on the drums. Dale is so excited that we finally have some space for them. We have a great little music room stocked with his drums, guitar and our piano. It's already made for some great conversation starters with delivery and installation people who have been in our home.














We decided to have an indoor "beach party" today since it's too cold to have a real one. It's been in the 50's and 60's during the day here!! Is it really June? I need some summertime weather!!

Airport Adventure

Janet didn't know what she was getting herself into when she offered to take the girls and me to the airport last Tuesday for our flight to Houston. But I sure don't know what I would have done without her!

First, we park. Then we begin unloading the car. As I am attempting to get Kaitlyn out I notice some stuff on her arm and then the stench hits me. My first thought is, "Surely, this isn't happening NOW!" As I explore, my fears are confirmed. Yes, poop has exploded out of Kaitlyn's diaper and it's all over her and the car seat. Since I am exhausted, overwhelmed and emotional BEFORE this incident, the next few moments consist of exclamations of panic.

If someone had videoed the next several minutes I'm sure we could get some money from it. The Shrum vehicle happened to be stocked with a bath towel and a comforter. So, I take Kaitlyn out of her seat and wipe her down as much as possible with the towel. By then Janet has laid the comforter on the parking garage floor. So, I lay Kaitlyn on the comforter, strip her down and use most of my wipes trying to clean her lower half. All the while, Hannah is yelling from inside the suburban, "I want to get out! I want to get out!" Thankfully Janet had me laughing about all of this or I might have had a major breakdown. So, I pull a new outfit from the suitcase, restock my wipes and Kaitlyn is good to go. In the meantime Janet is trying to clean the car seat as best as possible with some baby shampoo. It helps a little. We put one of my t-shirts in the car seat as a buffer between it and Kaitlyn and back in she goes. We calm Hannah down and convince her to roll her own suitcase and between the 3 of us somehow get all of our stuff into the airport.

Once in the airport the action never stops.... check the luggage, get through security with 2 small children, grab something quick to eat for dinner at the gate... By the time we get to the gate we have about 10 minutes before we begin to board. We say our goodbyes to Janet and I am left to get the 3 of us successfully on the plane, which was a bit of a chore.

We finally get settled in at our seats and I am just beginning to catch my breath when Hannah says, "I need to go potty." "Of course you do!" I think to myself. Janet and I both tried to get her to go potty before we got to the gate and she adamantly refused. By now everyone on the plane is seated. Not wanting another accident, I flag a stewardess to see if we have time for a potty break before we start taxiing down the runway. We do. So, with Kaitlyn in one arm and Hannah in front of me we make our way to the very tiny airplane restroom. The 3 of us squeeze in as I assist Hannah with getting onto the seat and then washing her hands, all while holding Kaitlyn. Thankfully she's so laid back she could have cared less where she was at that moment.

The rest of the trip was comparatively uneventful. Although about mid-way through I began to smell Kaitlyn's car seat. I just prayed the people around us couldn't!

Insights Gained: 1) Always arrive at the airport really early when traveling with small children. You never know what might happen. 2) In such an event, it's helpful to have a friend along who happens to keep random household items in her car, can help you see the humor in it, and will still talk to you later. 3) Baby shampoo doesn't mask a poop explosion for long. 4) Without children I wouldn't have nearly as many interesting stories.......

Pictures

Here are some long awaited photos....

Hannah and Kaitlyn trying to stow away in a box as we're packing in Nashville.














The boys took lots of pictures of their road trip. Here's a few:
St. Louis, MO - the first big city they went through on the trip.














Kansas City, MO














The grand state of Iowa. Dale said this is what the whole state looks like.














The guys tried to see Mt. Rushmore but it was too overcast to see it. They were pretty bummed about that! But seeing the famous sculpture of a bull's head in South Dakota brought their spirits up....... What in the world?!














Here's our moving truck towing our Saturn in Wyoming.














Some beautiful Montana mountains.














The Columbia River in Idaho.














And here they are at our house in Seattle! They look pretty good after a 3 1/2 day road trip!

Seattle Residents

We are finally in Seattle! At least Dale and I are. The girls will arrive next Saturday after a week w/ Grammie and Pawpaw in Houston. Dale, Kevin and Caleb arrived in Seattle safely with all of our stuff intact Thursday. They had quite a journey. My week has consisted of flying the girls from Nashville to Houston Tuesday night, having quick, but meaningful visits with my sister and old friends while there, and flying to Seattle yesterday. I've been here less than 24 hours and I've already been treated to two meals by different people, attended a wedding amidst the tallest evergreens I've ever seen by a lake on an absolutely beautiful day (This would be Chuck & Angila's, two of our church planting team members), and been to Lowe's twice to make major purchases for our house. And as I'm standing at Lowe's looking through an idea book for kid's rooms I hear "Well, hello there new neighbor!" I turn and it's Jeannette, who works with a lot of the church planters here. She happens to live close by. This may sound silly, but I was so pumped about actually running into someone we know already! What are the chances of that?

So, it's been a whirlwind and quite an emotional one at that. We miss our friends in Nashville terribly. But God is good. He's reminded me of all that I have to be thankful for, which is a lot: a new adventure, friends that will remain true despite the great distance between us, a husband that loves the Lord so much he's willing to obey no matter what, Hannah and Kaitlyn - enough said, a family that supports us, a God that is providing what we need every day.... We couldn't ask for more.

Well, Dale and I are taking this opportunity to go see a move - Prince Caspian! I'll post some pictures and a funny story later.

Work and Play

Well, we have less things in our closets and on our shelves and more in boxes. The question I've been pondering as I've been packing is, "Why do we need all of this?" Some has found it's way to the trash and to the give-away pile. But I wonder if we'll ever be completely freed from being masters of accumulation!

Despite all the preparations to move, we've made time for play. Since I haven't posted many pictures in awhile, here are a few of the girls....

Check out Hannah with her new kite. She and Daddy had lots of fun flying it on a recent windy day.














Kaitlyn has found a new joy.... pulling out all my pots and pans.














A moment of sharing between sisters, and I actually captured it on camera!














When Hannah walked in dressed like this I asked her if she was going on a trip. She said very matter-of-factly, "No, I'm going to college."



















Kaitlyn playing outside in her playhouse wondering "What can I get into next?"














Hannah running from the camera.