Good Weekend

As summer nears we have started doing more outside activities. I love it. This last weekend we saw the fireworks that were apart of the rose festival. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. We were standing on the Morrison Bridge - front and center of where the fireworks were going off. Saturday we went hiking at Saddle Mountain with some good friends (Noah and Jessica) Who sadly are moving back to Alaska at the end of the month. Here are some pictures:

I was really pleased with the way this picture turned out. Can you see the forest through tress?

It was foggy, which made for some cool pictures

Josh and I on a bridge.

Can you count the rings?

Yea! Noah, Jessica, Josh and I made it to the top! There is supposed to be a beautiful view, but we couldn't see it.

The Year in Review

I meant to post this on January 1st, but we have been very busy sharing our exciting news with others. BTW no exact date set, just sometime in August (maybe the 9th)

2007

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on New Years? Josh - on the check because I was very sick

2. Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year? To be the best I could be. (sounds like the army)

3. Does it snow where you live? Sometimes

4. Do you like hot chocolate? Yep, Land Of Lakes is my favorite .

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? Nope, but I'd like to do it once just for the experience.

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine? Josh. We went and saw Snow Patrol (a Christmas gift)

2. When you were little did you buy Valentines for the whole class? Yeah. One year I even made them. Or rather Mom made them!

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Yes

4. What did you receive for Valentines Day? Well Snow Patrol tickets were a Christmas gift . . .so maybe dinner?

5. Are you a leap year baby? No

MARCH

1. Are you Irish? Yes. And English, French, German, Swedish and Italian. What a mutt!

2.Do you like corned beef and cabbage? No way

3. What did you do for St. Patty’s Day in 2007? I don't think anything.

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? Sad that snowboarding season is over, but very happy to see the sun!

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain? Not really. Maybe I'm living in the wrong city. .

2. Did you play an April fool’s joke on anyone this year? No

3. Do you get tons of candy for Easter? No.

4. Do you love the month of April? Its alright.

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower? Sunflower?

2. Finish the phrase “April showers…”:Bring may flowers. Duh.

3. Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day? Never heard of it.

4. Is May anything special to you? For now its around the time when Spring Semester ends

JUNE

1. What year did/will you graduate from high school? 2001.

2. Did you do anything fun during this Month? It's my birthday

3. Have a favorite baseball team? Not a big baseball fan

JULY

1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Went camping. Got eaten my millions of mosquitoes. There were immune to the bug spray - crazy!

2. Did you go to the fireworks? No

3. Did you blast the A/C all day? No I swam in the freezing river.

4. Is somebody's birthday this month? Oh, not that I can think of off the bat.

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer? Moved!

2. What was your favorite summer memory of ‘07'? Just hanging out with friends and family.

3. Did you have a sunburn?Yeah, I always do. But not as bad as Josh.

4. Did you go to the pool a lot? I took up swimming laps in my apartment pool. Very therapeutic.
SEPTEMBER

1. Will you be attending college/school? Yep, still working on the MFT degree.

2. Do you like fall better than summer? No.

OCTOBER

1. What was your last Halloween costume? This year I dressed up like a road.

2. What is your favorite candy?Skittles

3. What was your favorite thing(s) about this month? Going to the Roloff farm.

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? Josh's parents

2. What are you thankful for?My friends and family. Good health, God and all the many blessings in my life

3. Do you love stuffing? Only Stovetop

4. Do you go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? No way!

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Of course!

2. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? Not that I recall.

3. Get anything special last year? Can't really remember

4. What do you get this year? A ring! A new computer and a tent! I made out like a bandit

5. What do you love most about December? Spending time with friends and family and Christmas music

A love letter to Andrew and Aimee

I like love letters. They can convey so much. Writing can be easier than speaking feelings and emotions. I want to write several love letters, but my first is to my dear friends - headed to Africa.

Andrew and Aimee,

It's funny how you don't realize how much people mean to you until they are gone, or almost gone. I have been so blessed to know you over the past six (or so) years. You are honest and real with everyone. You welcome all into you lives and treat them like family. You share your family and yourselves freely. You are not scared to show your true self; be it silly, sad, tired, overwhelmed, happy, ext.

I have loved all the experiences we have had. Long days at PUMP, frustrating days at PSP, working at the dollar store with you Andrew. I remember our evenings with Brenda, Billy and Hershel talking about everything and nothing, watching the news or playing games or reminiscing after lifegroup.

It has been a blessing to walk alongside you over the past years. To talk about struggles, fears, wants and wishes. To pray with you and sit with you. I have seen you grow so much. I have seen God bless you, stretch and grow you. It is amazing to look back and see how God prepared you to be parents and to be missionaries. Each small task, struggle, and success preparing you to handle and do more.

As you have prepared to leave I have been able to see how many other lives you have touched. How hard it was for everyone (not just me) to say goodbye. I am so excited about the work you will do. I have no doubt in my mind that you will bless, strengthen and encourage so many people. I pray for those who will be saved by your lives testimony. I am eager to see Anaiah grow, learn and blossom. God is good and will continue to provide so much for you and those around you.

Andrew and Aimee, as you travel today I ask for special providence over you. Safe travels, extra measures of patience and energy. I ask that He keeps you in good health, protects Anaiah's little body, and gives you smooth traveling. In arriving may you settle easily and may the Cashs' help to make Uganda feel like home as quickly as possible. May God lift homesickness, fears and weariness. God provides what we need when we need it, may you remember that.

I love you guys, am proud of you and praying for you.

The webs we weave

For the past week I have had a spider living in the left corner of my shower. Before I tell you about this spider you need to understand the context of me and spiders.

I really don't like spiders. Actually I'm very afraid of them. When I first moved out on my own I was so scared of them that I could not even get close enough to them to squish them. So I would put a cup over them and wait for a friend to come over and kill it. Or I would get the vacuum wand and vacuum them up. (Although I would often fear that the spider would lay eggs in the vacuum bag and thousands of tiny spiders would come crawling out of the vacuum wand)

Being 25, I have decided that I need to grow up and evolve and be able to rid an unwanted spider from my house. I still freak out but I am able to (sometimes) grab a tissue and flush the little arachnid down the toilet.

Okay, so the spider in my shower. This spider is pretty little - not the smallest of the smallest - but not too big either. When I first saw him my first reaction was to kill it. But I didn't want to spray it because, I don't know if you have ever sprayed the ceiling in your shower, but it does not work out so well. So I made a mental note to get tissue after the shower and flush him. The next morning he was still there and I remembered what I had forgotten . . . but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I made another mental note to have Josh kill it next time he was over. Well, I keep loosing my mental notes. So the spider has been there a week. Mostly he stays in that corner, where I can see him, but every now and again he moves over closer to my head - and you better believe that I'm extra attentive and ready to spray - when he does that.

But I have become comfortable with this spider. Every morning for about 12 minutes we share a shower and co-exist. I forget about him almost as soon as my shower is over, but every morning I am happy to see him still there. Now, I'm not personifying him by giving him a name or talking to him, but it is comforting to see him each morning. This may be crazy but I enjoy the company in the morning. I also know that I am being very self-disclosing, but it's the kind of mood I'm in.

*I was going to put a picture that resembled my spider but it creeped me out looking for a picture*

More stars and the missing battery charger

A couple of days ago Josh and I met Brandon Roy
of the Portland Trail Blazers. He was greeting and meeting downtown. There were not very many people there when we were so we got to chat with him for awhile, shake his hand several times and get several ardicograhps. He was laid back and cool.


Unfortunatly I cannot post a picture because my camera is dead and due to the move I cannot find the battery charger. So, frustrating!


But here is a picture of our carved pumpkins.

Josh's, Mine, and our friends - Kyle's and Nicole's (in that order)

Pumpkins

Yes, we went to the Roloff Farm! Don't know what it is? It's the Little People Big World Farm!




It was sort of disappointing at first because the pumpkins weren't that great, there weren't very many of them and there were TONS of people . . . but then look who we met!

It's Amy! The mom.

We also saw Molly, the daughter.








Here are some other pictures!

Aren't we cute?!

"This one's mine- get your own!"

The Girls. The boys were too shy to have their picture taken.

Update

School started back today. It came sooner than I wanted it too. Here is what I have been up to the last several weeks.

Josh's Grandma passed away earlier this month, so we spent some time in Idaho. I didn't know her well but she was an amazing and beautiful woman of God. Her and her husband pastored for over thirty years and while in Idaho I was blessed to hear many wonderful stories from people whose lives were touched by Darleen and John Kell. John passed away several years ago and I never had the chance to meet him. A picture of Grandma Kell is below. She is bottom row in the middle.

Also while there I had an epiphany. I was speaking to a friend of Darleen's and he mentioned that many of his friends had been passing, as he was at that age. At first it was sad to me but then I thought about how neat it was how we go through life with others. God brings us to others that are going through the same things. Currently I am in the marriage and baby phase. Many around me are getting married and having babies. I see others who are raising their school aged children together. My parents and their friends are all going though the empty next phase. It reminds me of this verse (one of my favorites!):

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Also I moved. Most of my house is still in boxes, but this new place will be such a blessing. Thank you to: Randy Rice, Sarah Howsen, Danny Stift, David Rude, Shawn Garrett, Alyssa Miller, Naomi Hunsaker, neighbor #14 in new apartment and neighbor #23 of old apartment, plus BIG thanks to Josh and my mom.

And I finished Harry Potter book 7 - not my favorite one, but still glad I read it.

Come one, come all . . .

To help me move!

The time has come for me to move! This saturday I am going to try to get the bigger stuff over to my new place. If you can help - load or unload that would be great! The rest of the week I will be moving stuff as well. Any help is much appreciated.


Go ahead and call to let me know if you can come anytime. Times are unsure at this time, and I don't know where I will be when - so give me a ring! Old place is out toward Gresham and new place is in Tigard