Braswell Days

SNOW!

2011-01-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

We have already had so much fun in the snow this winter season. And it started early - the week of Thanksgiving! It is such a thrill for this Houston-grown girl to live in a place that can so easily become a winter wonderland! Here are some pics around our house and at Logan Park, which offers some great sledding hills!

The girls were excited that our friends the Fullers were at the park too. Here they are with Shelby.

My little angels! :)

Our second big snow came the week after Christmas! So we had to go back out for more sledding. Such a fun time! We also had a good family snowball fight. I think Hannah won. She got me good!

Hannah found one of her classmates at the park and they worked to make their own little snowman. They soon demolished it by sending it sledding!

Happy Holidays!

2011-01-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

Our 2010 holidays were happy, despite the busy and sometimes chaotic air about the season. We have so much for which to be thankful and Thanksgiving just gives us one more reason to celebrate and express that. We recognize that God is the giver of all good things and feel so grateful to Him for His presence in our lives as well as all the extras!

The girls made Thanksgiving pumpkins. I stole this cute idea! They wrote, or had me write in Kaitlyn's case, one thing they were thankful for on each strip,and decorated them. These served as handy decorations for Thanksgiving Day.

Hannah's thankful list: Life, Sun, Food, God, Friends, Family, Seattle,

Home, Church, Kaitlyn, Snow, Birthdays

Kailtyn's thankful list: Toys, Colors, Pictures, Our house, Candy, Blankie, God,

Hands, Hannah, Me, Family, PJs.

Fall 2010 in Snapshots

2011-01-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted much in the last few months I thought I'd cover some family highlights in photos...

Hannah spent a lot of time on her "big-girl" bike with her new-found ability to ride it. She shied away from it most of the summer, and then one day she decided to try it. I gave her a good push and off she went, as if she'd been doing it for weeks!

What Year Is It?

2011-01-07T11:11:00.005-08:00

I'm struggling with how to begin the first blog post of 2011. I honestly can't believe we are already into a new year. I know people say that all the time. But as I look back at 2010 I feel like I just blinked from one major event to the next and here we are! I've felt at times as if I was just a feather being swept along by an uncontrollable wind. Okay, maybe sometimes it was more like a nice breeze, but last year went by faster for me than any other year of my life. Yet it was full of so many wonderful things...

It was a turning-point year on a couple of different levels. First, our church, which began 2010 with the name Connect, turned a corner, we feel. The beginning of last year brought several new families who have grown and become an integral part of our ministry here. We have seen people express their commitments to Christ through changed lives, altered priorities and pursuits, as well as baptism. All types of people have stepped up to give of their time and resources to aid our ministry - volunteering, leading out, entering into small group community. And God gave us a new name! Connect became LifePoint in October. The name change represents a connection with a larger LifePoint community in other parts of the world, for the same purposes we had to begin with - to reach people with the gospel of Christ and plant new churches where they are most needed. It's been a breath-of-fresh-air-fruitful year after a couple of very trying and sometimes confusing & discouraging years. The Lord is so good and faithful through it all and we have been grateful for all that He has allowed and done in 2010.

It was a turning-point year for me personally as well. Without getting into the nitty gritty, suffice it to say that our move to the Seattle area from Nashville, TN and the process of starting a church has not been all roses for me. During this time I have experienced some of my most difficult moments to date. Yet, somewhere in 2010 I began to realize just how much I love living here and began to embrace our lives here more than I had before. And, now I continue to cling to God's promise in Philippians, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

The year was also full of some fun travel for us as well as the joy of welcoming friends and family to our home as they traveled to the NW, some for the first time! Dale and I were able to be a part of a former student's wedding, which was such a wonderful time. Right after that we revisited our youth ministry days as we were a part of a week-long camp (Super Summer) while also getting to spend time with good friends. November found Dale and me in the Nashville, TN area again as we visited LifePoint's Smyrna campus. Not only did Dale have valuable time with the staff there, but we were able to be refreshed by wonderful time with old friends...and a little time to ourselves. It was great!

Our summer was full of week after week of visitors, as well as our live-in and well-loved intern, Alanna! We gladly introduced everyone to as much of the NW as possible during the time they were here. Dale and I could probably get second jobs as tour guides... And anyone who would like to make use of this free service is welcome to come up! Just tell us at least a few weeks in advance. :) Our family took some needed vacation time while our friends the Shrums were here for a couple of weeks. We were able to do some camping during that time, which we love. The laughter and companionship the summer brought was definitely a highlight.

The fall brought the adjustment to our oldest being a full-time 1st grader. We all made it and we are so proud of the little person she is becoming! Kaitlyn progressed in her swimming and had play dates aplenty. Before we new it the holidays were upon us along with all the accompanying festivities. I am grateful for 2010. Although I do pray that I will feel a little less blown about at the end of 2011 than I do now. I know it will be fast-paced, because that is the reality of our lives. But I will seek to cling more to Christ my Rock, who is the calm, steadying force in the midst of winds of change, circumstances, busy seasons... And I am aiming to post more to the blog soon, including pictures, as well as give it some much-needed updating! :)

11 and Counting

2010-10-02T13:00:00.002-07:00

Eleven years ago today I received my all-time favorite birthday present when I married Dale Braswell. Our romance began on the campus of Dallas Baptist University in the summer of 1997. To be honest, it took me quite by surprise. Dale and I had known each other for almost 3 years and had served together in a collegiate ministry that toured the state and took an occasional international trip, leading worship, and leading Disciple Now Weekends and camps for youth. He was our drummer and the "goof-ball" of the group, always winning the hearts of the junior high girls everywhere we went. :)

It wasn't until we were paired up to teach together (for the first time in 3 years) at a camp held on the university campus, that I began to see a different side of Dale. Not that the side I had seen was bad - but I got a more complete picture of who he was - and I liked it! He was much more, and much deeper, than the comical drummer I had seen him as. We had a blast working together and playing pranks on each other during those 2 weeks. Then we went our separate ways for summer jobs. I thought about him a lot and had no idea he was thinking about me too.

When classes began in the fall we found ourselves hanging out together with groups of mutual friends - movies, bowling, study breaks... I always seemed to end up riding in his car or sitting by him. I came to find out later he had orchestrated most of these events so he could hang out with me. I had no idea. As Homecoming events approached I was excited at the thought about going with him, but didn't really think he'd ask me. He had many friends who were girls and I thought I was just one of the many.

But one day, as I was wondering about Homecoming, ironically enough, he strolls into the office of my on-campus job and nonchalantly asks me to go with him. I coolly said yes, and then when he left I did a little celebration dance in the privacy of the office. :) Then I calmed myself down, thinking, this still doesn't mean he really LIKES me.

Well, after having a great time together at Homecoming, I still was left wondering, because it took him about 3 weeks to ask me out on an official date! I loved it. When he came to pick me up, instead of bringing flowers, he brought me a 6-pack of original Dr. Pepper - made with sugar cane from the headquarters. I love Dr. Pepper and loved his originality! We headed out to the Galleria, where we had ice cream at Marble Slab - BEFORE dinner - and then went ice skating. I applaud him for this part, because I was much better than him at it and he didn't seem to mind. :) On our way to a great Mexican food restaurant in Fort Worth (my fav!), we passed a Bungee Jump place and he suggested we stop there. Maybe he was thinking he should make up for his terrible skating by showing his bravery? So, on a whim, we rode the reverse bungee ride together where you get bounced up and around while you're sitting in seats side-by-side. It was really fun! And I'm glad that came BEFORE the Mexican food!

In so many ways that first date reflects the life we've lived since... We haven't always done what was expected; Some of the places we've ended up were not on our radar initially; Life has bounced us around a bit, but we've been through it together, and it's always been an adventure! I can say that I sure am glad I gave that goofball a chance! :) He's still a goofball, but he's also passionate about the Lord and our family, a man of integrity, a man who genuinely cares about others, a man determined to live fully the life God has given him, for His glory. I still like what I see in him. In fact, I LOVE it!

More Hiking!

2010-09-28T20:56:00.011-07:00

August was a month for hiking! This time, Daddy got to go with us. We hiked the scenic Franklin Falls trail that followed a creek for a little more than a mile all the way up to a beautiful waterfall.

The area around the falls was full of pools of water, perfect for playing in.

And it was warm enough for the suits!

I took my little climber with me and we scaled up about 25 feet of rock.

A wonderfully satisfying day!

Hiking with Friends

2010-09-27T21:30:00.017-07:00

There's not much I'd rather do on a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest than go hiking. My friend Lori has been an avid hiker (and climber for that matter). So, since I aspire to be one we've been hanging out more and hiking with our kids. She's my resident expert on great family hikes! I love that my kids are having so much fun exploring the beauty of God's creation that is all around us! They have become real troopers on the trails - MOST of the time. Even Kaitlyn can handle almost a 2-mile round-trip hike on a good day.

In August we hiked to the Ice Caves in the Cascade Range. Here's the little crew.

The view as we cross a bridge over the stream.

Trail buddies!

The caves are formed as the snow & ice melt. By September these are completely gone. They are very unstable since they are constantly melting, so it's wise to keep your distance. So, we told the kids to go only as close as we let them go and definitely not to run inside the caves. Well they received an interesting lesson when we arrived at the foot of them to find adults inside the caves taking pictures. Hannah was very curious about it, and was intrigued to find out that just because an adult is doing something, doesn't mean it's wise. :) The fun effect about standing in front of the caves though was that it felt like standing in front of an open freezer. So refreshing on a warm day!

The kids had fun climbing on all the rocks.

Taking a break...

I'm not sure why Kaitlyn is upset, but I'm guessing Jacob may have tried to take some of her snack. When it comes to her food, you just don't mess with Kaitlyn. Well, right now, you just don't mess with Kaitlyn period - she's 3!

The veiws were amazing. And I especially loved the abundance of purple flowers - purple lupen I think they're called.

Another great hike we went on was the Denny Creek trail that led to pools of mountain water fed by a waterfall. It was a perfect day for splashing around. No one minded the icy water. In fact it was quite refreshing!

Summer Revelation

2010-09-22T15:42:00.002-07:00

One thing we did this summer was meet a lot of new people on mission teams who came to help out Connect Church in a variety of ways, and who brought much needed encouragement too! While visiting with one such team, one man asked me if there was anything I didn't like about living here. If he had asked me a couple of years ago, after we had only lived here a few short months, I could have given him a long list of things. But, he had me stumped for a minute. I stammered to find anything substantial to say. I could think of minor things, like having to drive 2 hours to get to a Chick-fil-a (which we've only done once) and no good Tex Mex (although we really didn't have that in TN either)... The only thing that was worth saying was the great distance we are away from our family and closest friends. I definitely don't like that part. Yet, even that group of people is scattered all over the globe, so there's no one place to go that would satisfy the desire to be closer to all of them - yet! :)

So in that moment I began to realize something quite profound - just how much I love living here. I know... that's deep! But I had such a hard time adjusting to our move here that it was a great moment for me! I love living so near the mountains that I can see them in every direction on clear days and it not take long to drive to countless great hiking spots, or snow-sledding spots. I love living near the Puget Sound and many lakes, where we can go canoeing, kayaking, sailing and where we can see beautiful sunsets on the water. I love downtown Seattle - the market, the arts, the restaurants... I love having so many places on our to-explore list that we'll probably have to live here a lifetime to do them all. I love all the amazing camping spots. I love what God has called us to do here - to plant a church in a place of great spiritual need that will plant other churches, all for the purpose of bringing people to Him, the All-Satisfying Savior. I love the people He's brought to our church. I love our community and the fact that I can walk down the street or across the street to go to dinner, a play date, a ladies' night out, a birthday party... and the fact that being outside on a nice day means many kids to play with and conversations with friends.

I'm sure I could come up with a few more things I love about this place, but you get the idea. :) In so many ways I feel like I was made to live here, and that's a gift from God that I'm so grateful for!

Went a Pickin'!

2010-09-21T15:57:00.007-07:00

Looks like I'll be playing a little catch up to finish out our summer fun, since I've gotten a little behind in my posting...

This summer the girls and I began regular play dates with a group of kids and moms in and around our neighborhood. It's been so fun! We LOVE our neighborhood and are so thankful for all the friends we've made just living here. And glad there's an abundance of kids to play with too!

One of our outings took us to Blueberry Blossom Farm in Snohomish where we picked blueberries... and ate them too! I'm amazed that we ended up with 6lbs to take home with all the munching going on! But they were just SO GOOD! And the kids had a blast!

"I'm A First Grader!"

2010-09-01T14:24:00.008-07:00

These are the words Hannah has excitedly told our neighbors and everyone who called to ask her about her day today - the first day of First Grade! It came with great anticipation. The last week has been full of accumulating school supplies and needed clothing as well as many conversations. Once she realized she would be at school all day there was a barrage of questions about lunch and how that worked. She was very concerned about knowing exactly what to expect! And the two things she has consistently voiced when asked what she has been looking forward to about being in 1st grade are: 1) having 2 recesses and 2) getting to check 2 library books out each week. :)

With Monday afternoon came the excitement of seeing which teacher she had and who would be in her class. I will say, going up to the school and looking at the postings brought back a flood of memories of doing the same thing YEARS ago and all that the start of a new year entailed. For a moment I wondered how I had arrived here with my own school-age child doing the same thing? Anyway, she was happy to see that several of her kindergarten friends would be in class with her. The sadness about those who were not in her class dissipated when I assured her that she'd see them at recess.

Yesterday, she seemed a bit apprehensive as we walked back to the classroom to meet her teacher. She became her usual shy self, as she does in new situations and with new people. But by the time we left, she was asking if she could stay and go ahead and start school!

This morning might have just as well been Christmas. She was up early, got herself dressed in the outfit she had picked out yesterday, brushed her teeth & hair AND made her bed - all before breakfast! And with no prompting from me! Usually we have devotions & prayer at the breakfast table and she prayed such a sweet prayer, asking God to help her have a wonderful day at school, to help her make the right choices and to help her obey her teacher. What a big girl she has suddenly become in my eyes!

Here are a few pictures of our morning.

She was excited to get to sit by one of her friends from kindergarten.

I had a lump in my throat all morning, but somehow I managed not to cry! She seems so grown-up, and I marvel at how quickly these 6 years have flown. I guess I need to get used to that! I am so thankful for this little girl and look forward to seeing all the ways she will grow in the year ahead.

Fun on the Water

2010-08-29T15:53:00.012-07:00

On my 35th birthday last year I made a vow to myself that this would be the year for trying new things. One of the things on my list I knew I wanted to do was kayaking. What better way to experience something new than to take some friends along! So, before the Shrums headed back to Nashville, we kayaked with Anacortes Kayak Tours, near the San Juan Islands, and we had a blast! I will definitely be doing this again!

The guide didn't know quite what to do with our rambunctious group... Can you blame her?

Here we are in action.

We spent close to 2 hours on the water and even rowed one kayak at a time into a cave. While we were out we got to see a lot of sea life. The coolest things were the 2 porpoises we watched for awhile, but we didn't get any pictures of them because as soon as they were coming out of the water, they were diving right back in.

Here's Big I with a moon jellyfish.

A giant purple starfish

A blue heron

There is a TON of kelp in the Puget Sound waters. Our guide not only showed us that it is edible (and yes I did try a bite - why not? I wouldn't make a meal of it, but it wasn't that bad actually), she showed us how it can be made into a musical instrument. Here is Kevin giving the kelp horn a good blow. He looks like he came straight out of The Lord of the Rings here!

After our kayak adventure we stopped off at Deception Pass, one of our favorite spots, to see the beautiful scenery and climb on the rocks

Another exceptionally enjoyable day!

Camping (Day 3): Pacific Coast

2010-08-25T22:26:00.015-07:00

We stayed two nights at the rain forest and then packed up on the third day. We were only 40 miles from the Pacific Coast, so we had to pay it a visit on the way home. And, no we did not skip ahead to fall. This is Rialto Beach on a late July morning!

The temp was probably in the upper 50's/low 60's that morning and it's always windy on the coast. And the wind and the water is always cold, especially when there is no sun to take off the edge.

I think these people, however, were a little confused. They had their swimsuits on and were diving & playing in the water as if they were in Destin, FL!

We were quite comfortable in our multiple layers!

The amazing amount of driftwood on the shore can easily provide hours of entertainment... Here's Hannah drumming.

The guys batted a few rocks out into the waves.

We found Fred Flinstone...

... a hair dryer...

... and a giant slingshot!

And, as is the custom on beaches up here, Hannah found a fort to play in.

In the distance is the town of LaPush, where we went to eat lunch, before making the nearly 4-hr drive home.

Here's a sign you don't see in the south! Poor little tsunami guy. It just doesn't look like he's going to make it.

Camping (Day 2): In the River & Through the Woods, Exploring We Must Go!

2010-08-24T22:24:00.019-07:00

Our camping trip was full of exploration. And, wow, did we have a lot of beautiful territory to do that in! We decided to walk a trail called the "Hall of Mosses". It should have only taken an hour, but with our 2 kids, I'm sure we at least doubled that.

Here they are climbing in the background. Hannah, especially, wanted to scale every large climbable tree we happened upon, and in a rain forest, there are a lot of those!

When we saw this tree Hannah exclaimed that it looked like a dinosaur - a pteranodon to be exact - and we all agreed.

Isaac amusing us with his moss beard.

The rain forest offered us amazingly old & huge trees of all shapes that we climbed on, over & through as well as ferns the size of people. We walked on logs over a clear pond where Hannah tried earnestly to catch a tadpole. After all that adventure we needed a break, so Kaitlyn napped and we refueled on campfire-roasted hot dogs for lunch.

After lunch we decided to explore the Hoh River, which was a short walk from our campsite. The girls had a blast playing in the icy water...

... and so did the adults. Janet & I didn't let the guys have all the fun, I just wasn't about to post pictures of us dunking our heads in! But, it was extremely refreshing!

One thing about camping - you can't be afraid to get dirty, and thankfully our girls have no problem with that! There was so much mud on Kaitlyn's pants they just came right off of her!

One great thing about our afternoon at the river was the herd of elk that was sunbathing down the bank aways. We all kept our eye on each other while we were out there! You might have to click on the picture to get a better view of them.

Camping (Day 1): Crabs, Elk & Deer Oh My!

2010-08-20T21:15:00.013-07:00

We really enjoy camping, so we were excited to share some camping adventures with the Shrums while they were here. We took a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and camped in the Olympic National Forest. Half the fun was the journey there though! We passed through the lovely town of Sequim (pronounced Squim), where there are fields and fields of lavender. You could smell their wonderful fragrance just by rolling down the windows. I wouldn't mind living here...

The drive was beautiful with the Olympic Mountains to our left and a body of water known as the Strait of Juan de Fuca to our right. It connects the Pacific Ocean with the Puget Sound and on the other side of it is Canada, which we could see in the distance. We found an out-of-the-way lunch spot right on the water overlooking Canada called 3 Crabs. The food was great, but it made us kind of crabby... I blame my dad for my corny sense of humor! Oh well, it's all I got! Had to get a picture of this sign:

Funny: "Sorry, if you're not a crab, or crabby maybe :), you can't park here." Irony: ONLY for "3 Crabs" - as if there were a lot of other reasons to go down a long dirt road in the middle of nowhere, the only destination being this restaurant. "Sorry, if you meant to go to McDonald's 50 miles in the opposite direction, you can't park here." Thanks, sign, for giving us some good laughs!

Part of our journey led us along Lake Crescent, the most sparkling crystal-blue lake I think I've ever seen. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was stunning.

I'll include this for any Twilight fans... or non-fans. Forks was the last town we went through before our turn-off to the campground. Yes, we were in "vampire" country. And, oh my, has Forks gotten in on all the hype! On one of the guys' trips out for ice they spoke to a store employee that said there are people from other countries traveling to Forks just to take their Twilight Tours. Aside from some pretty scenery, there is absolutely nothing out here! And it's not even like they're traveling to some historical setting. It's not real. Hard to believe what some people will do.

Several hours after departing from home, we finally arrived at the Hoh Rain Forest campground. It had been a fun day, but the girls especially were ready to be at our final destination! At our brief stop at the ranger station to pay our park fee we read about the danger in getting too close to the elk, which apparently were there in abundance. A distance of less than 100 feet could cause them to charge. With that in mind, before we could even begin unloading our vehicle at our campsite, Mr. Elk came sauntering up. Most of us cautiously got back in the car, while Kevin captured some great pictures, as he passed slowly through our site. It was exciting to see one this close. The girls still haven't stopped talking about the elk they got to see!

As we put up the tents and prepared for dinner, this deer joined us. Our trip had only just begun and we were excited to have already had these visitors! (I was fine as long as I didn't think about the possibility of something bigger and not-so-cuddly coming around at night!)

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There's just something about food cooked over a campfire that tastes so good! (Especially when it involves marshmallows, chocolate & graham crackers - got to be my favorite part of camping!)

And the girls haven't been quite this excited to go to "bed" in a long time! It was sweet listening in from outside the tent as they talked & giggled before falling asleep, which they did do - eventually. Good memories I hope they'll keep with them!

The Mountain

2010-08-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Seattle is surrounded by mountains - the Olympic Mountain Range to the west and the Cascades to the east. But everyone in Seattle knows which mountain is "the" mountain and that's Mt. Rainier. Standing at 14,410 feet, Mt. Rainier is the largest active volcano in the continental U.S. It's peak is covered by more glaciers than any other mountain in the U.S. as well. So, we had to take the Shrums to see it!

Check out this picnic spot!

Hannah & Kaitlyn took a quick break from our group snow-ball fight. Hannah sure was vicious with the snow!

We found access to this stream on one of the trails we hiked. It was so refreshing to stick our feet in the ice-cold water!

Hannah got a bit carried away - oh, but what fun she had!

Here we all are at Paradise Point.

Little Hop-Along with her Daddy crossing over the waterfall seen in the previous picture.

A deer almost joined us on our second picnic of the day...

... along with a silver fox!

What a fun day we had playing on the mountain!

Seattle By Air!

2010-08-13T19:29:00.002-07:00

When the Shrums were in town we had the opportunity to give them an amazing surprise - a 40-minute flight over the Seattle area in 4-seater planes. (I'm not too good with technical names!) We knew we wanted to do something special for them and had a connection with one of the pilots who is known for his generosity in taking people up. We had recently been blessed unexpectedly and we wanted to pass it on! So, up we went!

The really fun part was that they had no idea what we were doing until we arrived at the airfield.

The ladies rode in one...

... and the guys rode in the other. Except Kevin actually flew the plane! Their pilot is an instructor, so he let Kevin take it.

Maybe these 2 aren't too sure about that... Actually, he apparently did a great job and even landed the plane!

It was my first time in a plane this small, so I was a little nervous. But I loved every second of it. The views were amazing! And another really fun thing was Tara & Alanna were at a Mariners' game that night and we flew right over the stadium. They even saw one of our planes!

Completely His

2010-08-10T11:54:00.004-07:00

"The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to Him. He wants to make them strong."
2 Chronicles 16:9

During my Bible reading this morning this verse stood out to me. It comes after many accounts of God's people going into battle against enemies who are usually bigger & stronger than they. When they fight in their own strength, having turned away from God, they lose. When they depend on the Lord, trusting that He is fighting for them, they win... every time.

We have battles to fight in life and in our faith. God doesn't say that when we love Him then the battles go away. He desires to make us strong. Then, when the battles are won, we have no one else to thank and praise for that but Him. When the Israelites gained victory over armies that were twice & three times their size, they knew the Lord had fought for them and they gave Him the glory.

Giving ourselves entirely to God for His purposes allows us to see and do things that are far bigger than us. He WANTS to make us strong when we COMPLETELY surrender to Him.

His strength helps us to forsake the things that we hold dear, yet hinder us.

His strength helps us give to those in need when we feel we need that money or time for ourselves.

His strength helps us go to foreign and difficult places to spread His glory, even when it doesn't make sense to the world.

His strength helps us forgive the unforgivable.

His strength helps us endure trials and testing we never thought we could handle.

His strength helps us conquer deeply-rooted sins.

His strength helps us love sacrificially.

His strength helps us trust in His provision.

His strength makes the impossible possible.

His strength lifts up the weak, the poor, the needy and does mighty and glorious things through them...

If we will only abandon ourselves completely to Him, His strength can be ours and we can live the most exciting life there is, watching Him do great and glorious things right before our eyes!

"I Can't"

2010-08-08T19:41:00.003-07:00

I love God. I mean, I really LOVE Him. Today has been a tough day. Actually the last 8 days have been emotionally draining for a variety of reasons. Add to that a difficult season of parenting, which has been heightened this week, and you get a worn out momma.

Where does loving God come into the picture? Well, because He saw me lose it today and He lovingly and gently guided me back to some solid ground. I just love how He works! I think our interaction today might have been similar to when my 3-yr old has a melt-down and all I can do is leave her alone to have it and then once she's calm she sits in my lap and hugs me for awhile. This time I was the 3-yr old. Thanks to my husband, who is equally as worn out as me, I had some much needed quiet time to myself this evening. I knew where I needed to go - God's Word. And He didn't waste time in leading me to what I needed to hear.

1 Peter 5:6 - 11 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

At first all I thought I needed was to be reminded of the fact that He cares for me, so therefore I should cast my cares on Him. But this verse is couched in the middle of some other important stuff, and not by coincidence. First of all, humility is involved. In order to really cast our anxieties on God, we must say, "I can't." I can't carry my burdens myself. I can't work them out in my own strength. I can't dwell on them... Oops. I realized that in many ways I had been doing all of the above, not only with my own personal burdens, but also with the burdens of others.

Secondly, I don't know that I had ever really correlated casting my cares on Christ with resisting Satan. But today I saw that my lack of humility this week had left me defenseless against the enemy today. When I neglect to cast my cares upon Christ, it affects my ability to be alert to the enemy's schemes and to resist him. Now I know better.

What I love most about God is that for all of this showing me how I had blown it this week, it made me feel so much better! And that is because He's the "God of all grace" who is always seeking to "restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish" His children. Love Him.

Downtown Seatle at It's Best

2010-08-06T17:45:00.021-07:00

One of our favorite things to do with people who visit Seattle is give them a taste of our great city, so of course we had to give our most recent guests the "grand tour". Downtown has so many wonderful things to see and do. I know I've posted many pictures of downtown over the months we've been here, but I just can't resist posting more. It's just so fun... and pretty too!

You can't come to Seattle without going to Pike Place Market. So, we drove downtown, parked and walked there via Post Alley, which is famous for it's Bubblegum Wall. This picture shows only a small portion of the entire wall that has been literally decorated with peoples' gum.

Pike Place has become one of my favorite places. It is full of fresh produce from vendors who generously hand out free samples, knowing that when you've tasted the sweetest, juiciest peach you've ever had you WILL buy it! They also have all sorts of unique, hand-made gifts, beautiful fresh flowers and a variety of ethnic fare to excite your taste buds. For people who like food, like me, it's a heavenly place!

It's also the home of the first Starbucks. And there really is one on every corner in Seattle... and sometimes two.

The greater Seattle area has been widely influenced by Native Americans. In fact Seattle was the name of an Indian Chief. Some other fun city and county names we are still learning how to pronounce: Snohomish, Skykomish, Puyallup, Tacoma, Tulalip... just to name a few.

This looked like an inviting spot, so we grabbed some Russian Piroshkis and had a lovely picnic by the pole. My "little sis" & her friend, who she was touring, even found us for a bit. :)

You wouldn't know by looking at her, but Kaitlyn enjoys most anything edible.

We hiked up the hill to Westcenter Mall to ride the monorail over to Seattle Center, home of the infamous Space Needle, along with a variety of museums, Key Arena, & interesting people. Hannah & Kaitlyn, excited to be on the monorail.

Here's a glimpse of what there is to see at Seattle Center:

So much to see & do! Yet, somehow Kaitlyn managed to get in a nap. Who wouldn't find Daddy's shoulder comfy?!

We walked on to the Bainbridge Island Ferry for a fun ride across the Sound so we could capture this must-see view of the city.

Isaac approved.

This is one of our favorite spots to eat downtown and is a Seattle staple. This is where many a seagull have benefited from our left-overs!

Again, Kaitlyn eagerly awaits more food.

We called it a day, along with the moon, at Kerry Park.

We all agreed that it had been a beautifully fun day!

Times of Refreshment

2010-07-31T21:07:00.005-07:00

Philemon 1:20 "I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ." (Paul to his friend Philemon)

Although we are physically spent from a summer of non-stop going, our hearts have been deeply encouraged and our spirits revived, especially over the course of the last couple of weeks. And I thank God for that. He knows us in and out and is so good to refresh us in deeply personal ways.

This time, it came in the form of a visit from some dear friends from Nashville, Kevin, Janet & Isaac Shrum.

These are friends who we love deeply but don't get to see very often. They came with a need to be refreshed, yet their presence and friendship offered that gift to us. I think it's an amazing thing when God connects people in such a way that they can encourage one another in the Lord in very meaningful ways, building each other up to serve Him more faithfully and more passionately. It's a perfect picture of the body of Christ at work and that's what happened in & out of our home through everything from eating together & playing basketball, to taking on new adventures & laughing until it hurt, to sharing hearts & praying together. God is amazing, extravagant in His care of us, fun... I love the life He's given us and the many wonderful people He allows us to live it with, both near & far. And I'm especially grateful for this time of refreshment with the Shrums. Stay tuned for pics! :)

What Happened?

2010-07-31T21:00:00.002-07:00

So, I go on my blog today and my background is gone and the text has become invisible. Have lots I want to post in the up and coming days, but you'll have to bear with me as I figure out this thing. You may see some crazy stuff for awhile - the combination of me not being blog-design savvy and not having a lot of time to spend on it right now. If anyone wants to come to my rescue and give me some design tips, let me know! Thanks! :)

Good Times on the Road

2010-07-03T21:14:00.009-07:00

What do you get when you have non-stop 90-100 -degree heat, a view of a tractor out of your hotel window, an overnight stay in the Twilight Zone, a week spent with teenagers, and 9 days of very little sleep? If you're with the right people you get a stinking good time! And we were with the right people. :)

Dale and I recently took a little vacation. It was a vacation to us - no kids, no cooking, little responsibility, much laughter and catching up with old friends. We first flew to the grand city of Fayetteville, AR, where we really did have an awesome hotel suite despite a lovely view of a tractor from our window. Only in AR! I can say that because my dad is from AR, and I spent many summers there as a child. :) One of our former youth, Patrick, asked Dale to be one of the officiating ministers in his wedding, and we were so glad it worked out for us to be there. And this girl was pumped about spending a couple of days by the pool soaking in some sun, which is exactly what I did. That plus time with dear friends made for a very refreshing weekend!

Here we are all done up!

My good friend Janet just wants to be like me! ;) Actually everyone else just wanted to be like us. I bet there were 10 women all in black & white print at this wedding!

Sat. night after the wedding we began our roadtrip back to the Nashville, TN area with Kevin, Janet & Isaac Shrum & Alanna. The reason? Super Summer 2010! This is a youth camp we had been involved with for several years when we lived in Nashville and Dale had been asked to come back to be a part of the leadership. But, before we got there, we had to stop overnight to sleep for a few hours. Our stopping point - because it was midnight & we were exhausted - was the thriving metropolis of Loanoke, AR. They actually had a variety of inexpensive lodging options, some not too shabby. You'd think we could have gotten rooms at just about any of them. Nope. There were no rooms in the inns... except for the Economy Inn. All I'll say is that it was several steps down from EconoLodge. And, honestly, I love to camp in the woods and can sleep just about anywhere. But this place was straight out of the 1970's and the room the guys stayed in probably hadn't been used since! I tried not to touch the sheets as much as possible and prayed against bedbugs! The rest of our experience will just live in the memories of those of us who were there...

Super Summer was a blast as we got to relive our youth ministry days, spend time with former youth and great friends, and get 5 days of solid biblical teaching & awesome worship. Our cups were filled!

You just had to be there to understand why we are wearing camo togas!

The past & current youth ministers of IBC on dueling horns.

I knew these kids when they were born! My good friend Saundra drove to the camp to meet me for an afternoon of catching up. Hannah was a little jealous that I got to see her old buddies and she didn't, but I brought back this picture just for her. :)

Janet & Sarah, two of my favorite people!

Dale with our good friends at Las Maracas, an old Nashville favorite.

Goodbye Kindergarten!

2010-06-17T10:30:00.011-07:00

Last Friday Hannah had her kindergarten program at school. I first want to say that we are so proud of the little person she is becoming! She has worked well, obeyed her teacher well & befriended her classmates well. She's ready for 1st grade, whether I am or not!

The week prior to the performance, she informed us she would not be singing. Although, she has quite the personality around people she knows, she has never been one to enjoy being up in front of an audience. So, we tried to encourage her to sing, without success. Then, the day before the performance when I picked her up from school, she announced that she would be singing! I was happily surprised. And she did it! She sang and kazooed her little heart out - with eyes locked on me the entire time! I guess that was her way of blocking out the audience! We were so proud of her for overcoming her fear!

After the program we went to her classroom to enjoy refreshments,which the kids eagerly served the parents. Hannah showed us some of her projects & we watched a picture presentation Hannah's teacher had put together of the entire school year. I had managed to hold in my tears until then!

Hannah showing Kaitlyn what it was like to be "co-teacher", which she looked forward to every time it was her turn.

Hannah loves her teacher!

Miss Aweena!

2010-06-14T21:21:00.013-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have a friend living with us for the summer, and she has quickly stolen the hearts of my two little girls! Alanna is her name. Kaitlyn pronunciation: "Aweena" :) She is from Nashville, TN, and has never been to Seattle before moving here a few weeks ago. We have had a lot of fun showing her some of the sights of Seattle and just hanging out at home.

A couple of weeks ago we gave her the Downtown-in-a-Day tour. We began at Pike's Place and listened to the live entertainment outside of the first Starbucks. Check out that steel bass! They sounded really good.

For lunch we had to introduce her to Ivar's. Ivar's fish & chips is one of our favorites, and feeding the seagulls a few leftovers is a tradition that must be upheld.

We took the Bainbridge Island ferry.

The one picture I talked Alanna into posing for. :)

The skyline & cruise ship

On Bainbridge Island we headed to a bakery some friends had told us about. The girls were very pleased with their cookies. And I tried a first - a lavender sugar cookie that was surprisingly yummy.

Couldn't resist this one! Kaitlyn discovered the rings at a playground we found.

Alanna's main job this summer is intern for Connect Church. But in her free time, she loves to bake. It works out nicely, because I love to eat! :) Kaitlyn was super excited and felt like such a big girl to get to help Miss Aweena bake her famous brookies. Translation: chocolate chip cookie & brownie goodness

Enjoying the Present

2010-06-11T22:50:00.003-07:00

This time last year Hannah couldn't wait to be 5. Her birthday is in 2 weeks, so she's spent the last few months longing to be 6. It's gotten really bad. Yesterday she came home from school and began to cry because one of the boys in her class announced that he was turning 6 today. "It's not fair!" she cried. I couldn't believe how hard she was taking this news! With a summer birthday, she is one of the youngest in her class, so I guess the months of watching others turn 6 had really gotten to her. Wow!

So, I sat with my daughter and tried to explain the importance of being happy in the moment we are in, at the age we are, wherever we are. I told her if we were always wishing for something in the future, we'd miss out on all the wonderful things about the present. Such deep discussions for an almost-6-yr-old!

In light of this, I was quite surprised tonight when she asked me to rock her before going to bed. We haven't rocked since the early days of 5. :) I didn't mind. I just enjoyed the present!

Transitions

2010-05-30T20:43:00.002-07:00

Two years ago today, May 30, 2008, I stepped off a plane, moved into a new home, and became a Washington state citizen. Big transition! We were kid-free the first week, thanks to Grammy and Paw Paw, so we busily unpacked and settled in as much as we could prior to their arrival. One priority that week was to spend time in prayer dedicating our home to the Lord. We have the understanding that the stuff of this world is not really ours. Everything we have has come through God's hands and is temporarily in our possession to be used for His glory. Our home is no different. In these two years we have hosted many people for a variety of reasons - Bible studies, play dates, dinners, mission teams, neighbors, out-of-town family & friends, parties, community events... And the last several months have been particularly busy. In fact, our girls think something is wrong if there are not extra people here for dinner and no one is sleeping on a spare bed!

Little did we know that after our big move that we would end up being a transitional point for so many others. In fact, we didn't have a "guest room" for several months. It was "Auntie Tara's room" - and will probably always be to some extent. :) She moved here from the Houston area last September and just moved out last weekend. The good thing is she's just 15 minutes away and the girls are already planning sleepovers with her!

Then, just a few days later, our young collegiate friend Alanna, who is a former student of ours from Nashville, moved in to spend the summer with us. Dale and I are really excited to have her here... Hannah & Kaitlyn are SUPER DUPER excited to have her here - she's definitely been feeling the love from them this week! In the meantime, our friend Jonathan, who moved here from Nashville earlier in the year, has been staying with us for a few days while he's in between jobs.

Transitions. They're everywhere. And sometimes they're not a lot of fun. So, I'm just glad God took our prayers at the onset of the biggest transition our family had ever undergone and has allowed our home to be a resting place for so many, whether it was for a simple meal or for an extended stay.

My "Day Off"

2010-05-10T21:23:00.019-07:00

Mother's Day 2010: As the day was beginning I was greeted with smiles, hugs and hand-made items, all of which I gladly received. I don't require much. Although, Dale's special effort to get me some dark chocolate sea salt caramels didn't hurt, I'll admit! :) Hannah also sweetly informed me that since it was Mother's Day I didn't have to do anything. She was giving me the day off! Is that allowed or even possible? Not sure about that one.

But, I will say, my "day off" was one of the best days I've had in awhile. It started with a great time at church. The time of fellowship, worship and being in the Word was sweet. Afterward, we grabbed some Jersey Mike's subs and headed to Richmond Beach, a local spot to which we had not yet ventured. And God blessed us with one of the most beautiful days we've had so far this year - blue skies, bright sun, mid-60's.

As we drove with windows down, I was so excited as I imagined sinking my toes into the soft, warm sand, and not thinking about anything but playing and relaxing with my family. Compared to the Gulf Coast beaches I grew up around, these beaches have little sand. Although beautiful, the shoreline is rocky. But I was not disappointed. We found a good, soft sandy spot and camped there for several hours. We ate & played to our hearts content. I did get a few moments to sit back & let the sound of the waves lull me to a slight doze, which was so nice. And although the notion of a day "off" sounds inviting, maybe a day on a cruise ship like this...

... I was delighted to respond to Kaitlyn's "Mommy, mommy, come put your feet in the water with me!" One of her favorite spots was at the edge of the icy water with her feet in, throwing rocks or dancing and singing at the top of her lungs. She also willingly accommodated my desire to throw the Frisbee for awhile.

Hannah enjoyed playing in the sand, but spent most of her time at a driftwood "fort" with some "mean" boys whom she convinced to befriend her. I think they initially felt like she was infringing on their turf. But once they realized it would be tough to get rid of her, they let her join in, and before long were taking orders and playing right along with her ideas. She was having a great time! :)

Here are some pictures:

We stayed so long, we were hungry for dinner by the time we packed up. So we closed out our day at a random pizza place not far from the park. My artichoke, sun-dried tomato, garlic & cheese pizza hit the spot! I was one satisfied Mommy!

The Irony of Motherhood

2010-05-10T14:58:00.006-07:00

I am discovering that there is much irony within Motherhood. I have seen and talked with moms who have grieved greatly during the empty-nest transition, and understandably so. I can only imagine the kind of heart pain a woman experiences after years of pouring daily into her children, only to send them off on their own, sometimes far from home. Even though this is the natural order of things, it's a transition that is difficult for most moms, as evidenced in the amount of books I've noticed on the subject. A quiet house is a painful reflection of the emptiness felt inside... a schedule that does not revolve around the kids' activities begs the question, "What's my purpose now?"... so I'm told.

Yet, many moms with young children look forward to moments of quiet, alone time, and a kid-free schedule. I know because I am one of them. And I believe this, too, is natural, as raising young children is so time & energy intensive, especially if you are a stay-at-home mom. As frustrated and weary as I may feel at times when it comes to parenting, I don't want to rush this season with my kids. It's passing quickly enough on it's own.

So, more and more I am trying to think ahead a few years and imagine life without my kids under my feet. Then, I do with them today what I will want to remember having done then.

"Teeth. Everybody's got teeth..."

2010-04-30T16:14:00.006-07:00

Yes, Dr. Seuss, but this girl just lost one. And if you read my previous post about her wiggly teeth, you can imagine how excited she was when one actually came out. You would have thought she just won a national prize as excited she has been about it.

Here's her new toothless smile...

...which she admired for quite awhile after the event.

I've never seen Hannah quite so proud. She's told everyone she can about her lost tooth - even one of our neighbors we barely know who just ran by our house. :)

Northwest Adventures

2010-04-28T22:42:00.017-07:00

The Northwest is known for lots of things, three of which, we've been able to experience just within the last couple of weeks...

Tulips: Tara and I took the girls to the Snohomish County Tulip Festival earlier in April. Snohomish County is where we live, and only about 45 minutes north of us there are fields of tulips that bloom this time of year. I LOVE tulips and this was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen!

Although we were fortunate to have sun, the wind was cold and the girls would absolutely not take off their coats!

Tailgating at the Tulip Festival!

Salmon: Salmon here is not just a food, but an experience. Last weekend Dale took the girls to a local salmon release just 5 minutes from our house. Loads of baby salmon were brought in. Kids from the area brought their buckets, which were filled with the salmon before they carried them to a stream to release them.

Tonight we had salmon for dinner, which is becoming more of a staple for us. The girls were keenly aware that we were eating the same cute little fish they had in their buckets a few days ago. Hannah's response was, "How sad!" Kaitlyn's response to Hannah was, "But they're dead." This was a fact she enjoyed commenting on throughout our dinner. :)

Crab: Tara's job took her over to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula today. While she was walking along the water by a pier she ran into some fishermen and worked her magic on them. They offered her a couple of live dungenness crab and told her how to cook them! These are pretty expensive in restaurants. We had a pretty exciting evening getting the lively crabs into the pot of boiling water. But we had a taste when they were done and mmmm they are yummy!

Tara REALLY got into it!

Awww... So looking forward to eating you for dinner tomorrow night!

"I'm growing. Things are changing."

2010-04-27T22:41:00.002-07:00

My 5 1/2 yr-old (the 1/2 is very important to her!) has a way with words - silly and otherwise. If she only knew how profound some of the things are that come out of her mouth.

Anyway, I have been rocking her before bed almost every night for her 5+ years. Until recently. (I never thought it would last this long...) So I asked her a couple of nights ago if we were done rocking and her response was, "Yes. I'm growing. Things are changing." Wow. I felt like I had been punched. Did it have to sound so matter-of-fact? I knew the day would come. I mean, rocking is for babies, right? Kaitlyn is not much of a rocker. She could take it or leave it. But, Hannah... it was our snuggle, chat & sing-to-me time. And, apparently, it's gone.

There are other things changing. She's got two loose teeth, as of this week, that she is very excited about. The day she discovered them she squealed with delight and exclaimed, "This is the best day EVER!" She's told anyone who will listen about it. She's even yelled it out to the streets via her open bedroom window. I am sure there are visions of tooth fairies dancing in her head...

Kaitlyn is growing and changing too, of course. I'm super excited about this one. I began my own version of potty training bootcamp on Friday and already she is out of diapers except during nap & bedtime! And better yet, she now tells me when she needs to go.

Yes, they are growing and things are changing. And so it goes...

Easter

2010-04-27T17:30:00.008-07:00

I realize we're several weeks out from Easter. But it was such a great day for us I wanted to post a little about it and let you see some pics. The week before Easter was very busy. We had a mission team here that we really enjoyed getting to know. And they were such a big help to us. One thing they did was help us in our partnership with the City of Lynnwood in hosting a Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on the Thursday night before Easter.

The only really good picture I have of the event... Kaitlyn with Noell Fuller.

Here are the girls on Easter morning.

The Connect service went really well. We had about 60 people there total, our highest attendance so far. But even more importantly, the spirit was really great as we came together for worship. As I reflected on the past year the Lord was so good to remind me of all that He had done in that short time. Last year we weren't even holding Sunday services yet. And now we had a room full of people worshiping and celebrating our risen Lord!

One really special thing we did was have a band lead our worship for the first time. That was really fun!

Afterwards, several families joined us for lunch at our house. It was a great time to just relax and hang out with friends and made for a good ending to a great week!

A time for boasting

2010-04-20T15:03:00.006-07:00

2 Corinthians 12:9. "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

So, boast I will. The best way I know how to most effectively get you up to speed on what's going on with us is to use the above verse as a backdrop. It's been almost 2 years since we uprooted our family from Nashville to move to the Seattle area to start a church. That decision has brought up and magnified almost every weakness we have personally and as a family. We arrived weakened by the grief of leaving what we knew as home. We felt very intimidated by the task before us - to sustain ourselves here while starting a church from scratch, something we had never attempted before. In the past few months we have felt the depths of loneliness, financial strain, anxiety, doubt about our calling, the reality of our own sinfulness & inadequacies, frustration, rejection, disappointment, pressure.... Weakness at an intensity we had not experienced before. We have been stretched far beyond what were once many of our comfort zones. There have been many dark moments when we have thought, "If anything comes of us and of this, it will undoubtedly be the Lord's doing."

And there's the point. In the midst of it all, God has been working out His purposes. In the midst of some of my most depressing days, relationships were being established, connections were being made, ministry was happening. In the midst of doubt and feelings of inadequacy, there has been peace. In the midst of intense emotional pain, He has comforted and given strength. Ultimately a foundation was being laid that we would desperately need to build upon. An unwavering dependency on our Savior.

I can gladly boast in these weaknesses, not because they are all in the past - they are very much still present, but because of what I see God doing despite them. It honestly fills me with great joy! Our family has been sustained physically, emotionally, spiritually. We have seen God provide for our family as well as Connect again and again when the outlook seemed impossible. The vision of Connect, which begun in the heart of my husband about 4 years ago, has been transformed into a reality. We launched in September of last year and since January have witnessed steady growth, both in the amount of people attending as well as in individual spiritual depth. People who once had a disdain for anything related to church, are now faithful attenders, growing in their relationships with God.

I could write pages about God's transforming work in people's lives that we've gotten to witness first-hand, as well as the massive amount of details He has orchestrated to provide for us and to bring us where we are now. It's absolutely amazing! And it has absolutely nothing to do with us or the faithful partners in ministry God has blessed us with here. Just as we are more aware of our weaknesses than we have ever been, we are more aware that it has everything to do with God. Funny how that works.

So, we are grateful for this season of blessing and encouragement. It is a time for boasting in the Lord and praying He would keep us ever mindful of how incredibly dependent we are on Him.

Finally, if you are in a place of weakness, no matter the form, be encouraged if you are God's child. He is working to do something mighty in your midst.

Intentions

2010-04-16T16:17:00.006-07:00

Well, it happened again... Life has been moving full-speed ahead and I've taken no time out for the blog. That's not all bad, but it wasn't planned. I have fun posting and it makes me feel like our friends and family, especially the many who do not live close to us, can have a deeper look into our lives. I had every intention last fall to be more consistent, so my words here may have less impact. But, I'm going to strive to post once a week - for anyone who wants to hold me accountable to that. :-)

I think it's important. First, because there are so many who have invested in our lives - either by the fact that they are family and have helped to raise us, or who have spent countless hours in friendship, prayer, encouragement & support of us. For these people, I think it means something to see what is going on in our lives here, and to see how our family is growing and changing. At least I know that's true for me - I so enjoy seeing pictures of and knowing the significant things that are going on in the lives of friends around the world that I can't physically see on a regular basis. And, second, it's good for me on several levels. I love to write and it gives me just one more opportunity to do that. But it also gives me a platform for boasting in the Lord, which we are all called to do. And I want to be about that more. He's done so much for me and for my family - even in the worst of times He's worth boasting about. And He is in all the details of our lives - big & small.

So, I'm going to be intentional with my intentions this time to share more of those details. :-) Something I've been learning to be more of anyway - intentional. So, stay tuned...

Hand in Hand

2009-10-29T20:55:00.003-07:00

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

2009-10-20T21:48:00.014-07:00

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

2009-10-17T17:22:00.003-07:00

(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

2009-06-05T22:31:00.013-07:00

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

2009-05-29T17:30:00.021-07:00

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

2009-05-11T23:26:00.013-07:00

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

2009-05-11T22:41:00.005-07:00

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

2009-05-07T21:08:00.002-07:00

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

2009-05-01T17:28:00.004-07:00

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!

2009-01-09T13:04:00.003-08:00

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!

2008-12-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

New Connect Church Promo Video

2008-12-19T17:00:00.004-08:00

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!!

2008-12-18T21:48:00.010-08:00

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

2008-11-17T20:57:00.005-08:00

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

2008-11-17T20:33:00.006-08:00

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

2008-11-08T16:49:00.010-08:00

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.....

2008-11-08T15:14:00.006-08:00

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

2008-10-25T22:32:00.018-07:00

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

2008-10-21T10:25:00.003-07:00

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

2008-10-13T21:49:00.008-07:00

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

2008-10-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T22:44:00.003-07:00

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

2008-09-29T21:01:00.003-07:00

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

2008-09-18T10:42:00.018-07:00

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

2008-09-11T00:04:00.004-07:00

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

2008-09-03T09:26:00.007-07:00

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"

2008-08-25T21:56:00.004-07:00

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!

2008-08-21T11:28:00.004-07:00

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

2008-08-15T19:09:00.005-07:00

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

2008-08-15T19:00:00.003-07:00

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

2008-08-11T22:49:00.018-07:00

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

2008-08-10T17:06:00.011-07:00

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

2008-08-03T16:03:00.012-07:00

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

2008-07-28T15:10:00.008-07:00

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"

2008-07-12T22:46:00.002-07:00

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

2008-07-12T22:24:00.004-07:00

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

2008-07-09T21:10:00.004-07:00

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!

2008-07-06T16:58:00.010-07:00

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

2008-07-03T08:37:00.023-07:00

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!

2008-06-25T08:48:00.017-07:00

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

2008-06-19T22:35:00.003-07:00

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

2008-06-19T22:05:00.002-07:00

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

2008-06-16T20:42:00.014-07:00

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

2008-06-12T22:45:00.002-07:00

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

2008-06-11T22:09:00.008-07:00

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!!!