"So, Are You Settled In?"

Grab a cup of tea...this is a long one! :)

"So, are you settled in?" This seems to be the second most asked question lately, squished closely behind,' How are you?'

We're as settled as we can be, we generally know how to get around, and our apartment is a nice space. I still feel strange living in an apartment that isn't our own, But it has been a blessing living as close as we do to the Emry's and the church.

We're well into our second month here and it's been a journey. From being sick with one thing or another, a small flood in our apartment, and just the general adjustment of life in Yamhill, you'd think we've been here for years. :) I don't handle a lot of change gracefully and I've been sick with something nearly the entire two months.  I'm hoping that since our schedule is becoming more predictable that I will continue to get healthy.

As for that small flood I mentioned...The apartment we're living in is a newly built space on the back of the Emry's (Duane is the main preaching pastor at Yamhill Christian Church) garage. It was originally built for Duane's dad, but he decided he wasn't ready to move yet. So, we get the blessing of breaking it in and finding anything that may need to be repaired. There really hasn't been that many problems, but last week the washer had it's moment.

I was sitting at the computer waiting for the laundry to be done, when I hear water running. I didn't think much of it at first, cause I had put in a load not long before. But I thought I should get up and check it out after about a minute, it just sounded a little different. Then *slosh* my feet were pretty well soaked. I couldn't reach the water valves behind the washer/dryer unit, so I called Luke, "You need to be home, like NOW."

He was able to shut it off and brought out our wonderful Rainbow vacuum cleaner to suck up the water. Turns out the hose on the back of the washer was cracked. Got a new hose and no problem. Only some clothes got wet and had to air dry our living room rug, but for the most part, things were pretty safe.

Beyond home life, youth group is going well. We meet Wednesday and Sunday evenings. If you could keep us in your prayers those days, we would be so grateful. They can be some of the most difficult days. (Did I mention the flood from the washer was on a Wednesday? An that I usually get sick just before Sundays?)

I'd go into more detail about youth group and our ministry here, but I'll save that for my next blog. I've kept you long enough. :)

We're Moving!

Well, it's decided. Luke and I will be moving to Yamhill, OR

We've been praying over a position Luke was offered at Yamhill Christian Church for about a month now, and last week we decided that God is leading us in that direction. We're in the beginning process of moving, and it's a bit sad to leave everything that we started with nearly three years ago: our apartment, neighborhood, jobs, friends, family, etc. But we feel confident that this is the right choice for us.

About two months ago Luke stepped down from Cornerstone's youth ministry team. He wanted to be able to grow in his ministry abilities as well as provide for his family, and Cornerstone was not in God's plan. It has been a very difficult transition, leaving Cornerstone and searching for not only a church, but a place that we can call home, for us as a family. We continue to pray that that will happen in Yamhill and have hope that it will.

In about three weeks we will be out of our apartment and on to the next chapter in our lives. Please pray for smooth transitions, we go through a lot of ups and downs emotionally, but we are excited for what God has in store.

What it's like to turn 27...

Yesterday was my birthday. How did I spend it? well, the first half of my day was spent at the doctor's office. Not my ideal way to enjoy the day of my birth, but I guess it's a bit ironic...right? :) (You know...cause that's the first thing I ever saw, the hospital and doctors...)

I had a 10:00am appointment, got there about 9:30, was brought into the exam room about 9:45, but didn't get to see the doctor until about 10:30. I really enjoy squandering my hours lounging in a that lovely hospital gown for 45min without seeing anyone. But, it was sort of worth it. See, I've been having numbness/tingling in my right leg for a while now, and it just seemed to get worse, so I got a referral to a physical therapist. (Oh, and I finally got an inhaler for my asthma, always forgot to bring that up on doctor's visits)

The rest of my birthday went far better. I spent the afternoon with my friend Katelyn and her son Holden (16 months). Such a blast being able to hang out with friends and feeling somewhat useful. :) I even got a new pair of shoes!

Luke got home close to 7pm and we were able to enjoy a lovely steak dinner out at 4th Street Brewing Company in downtown Gresham, OR. Super yummy! We had a nice leisurely dinner, talking, and sharing stories.

We arrived at home around 9:30 (yeah, that's right 2.5 hours at 4th Street) I got to blow out the candles on my cupcakes and open a few gifts from Luke.


It turned out to be a really special birthday.

One final note: What does it feel like to turn 27? Like I'm really getting old. I got to go to the physical therapists today and found that it wasn't just my sciatic nerve, no, no, I have a bulging disc. If you think of me/us please pray that my back will heal quickly, and that both Luke and I will find work. Luke is currently working two part time jobs, but would really enjoy a full time youth ministry job. For me, I'd really like to have a part time job that I enjoy, possibly in baking or helping clean houses/babysit for moms when they need a break.

Birdie!

I had my first taste of golf yesterday; Luke took me out to McMenamins Edgefield where we played the East Course (12 par 3's). I think I'm hooked. It was a really nice afternoon, not many people around so I was able to mess around with strokes and learned am a HUGE fan of Mulligan's. :)

I've been playing golf on the xbox for over a year, and know most of the golf vocabulary, but was not thrilled about embarrassing myself out on a course. Luke was super patient and an excellent teacher. And even though I never once got par, I did get one Birdie. I can't wait to go again! (by the way, Luke pulled out 3 Birdies for the day)

It's been a long time since Luke and I have been able to go out and enjoy time together without feeling rushed to get back for either a youth group event, school, track, work, or some other responsibility. I'm a fan of dates with my husband.

Reactions

The other night I was browsing my facebook page and a friend of mine (Alisha Cotner) had posted, 'The President is about to make an announcement.' The last time I heard anything similar, that caused concern, I was a senior in high school, waking up to a radio broadcast saying, "All Federal buildings have been evacuated.." That same concerned and sick feeling flooded over me. Was there another attack? What's wrong?

Luke and I turned on the news and a few moments later we found out Osama Bin Laden was dead. I was a little surprised at my reaction. I began to cry. Even though I know, with such an evil person, it was necessary to take him out, I couldn't help but be sad that there was no hope for him to be redeemed and reconciled with Jesus.

I wondered if back in Jesus' time, the zealots and rebels were looking for someone more like Bin Laden, someone to push back at the Romans with tactics so harsh and fierce to cause fear and submission to anyone who would even think to mess with Israel. But Jesus came instead.

Another friend of mine (Karen Wagner) posted, "...after hearing a lot of news and comments today I can really only think of one death that I know of that really brought peace and hope and "made things right"------ and that was Jesus'"

I kind of feel that that sums it all up right there. Is it weird that that's where my mind and heart were as I watched the news on 5/1/11?

Blasts from the Past

Recently I've had random memories from the past pop into my head; from food and recipes to videos and TV shows that I used to watch as a kid. It's been great being able to search for them on internet and share them with Luke.

One of the recipes that I've been wanting to make, but can't find the recipe, is Breakfast Volcanoes, at least that's what I remember calling them. The closest I can find is Eggs Benedict. It was one of my favorite, special Saturday morning, meals; English muffins with scrambled eggs and a special sauce covering both.... YUM! I guess I'll have to dig through my mom's old cook books to find it. :)

The TV shows and movies began with talking about some of our favorite shows growing up, like ZOOM. Then I started thinking about all the movies I loved watching, here's a sampling of a few of them:

1. Psalty Kids Praise 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNSvyb4Q0Ds)
2. Friendship's Field (Feature Films for Families)
3. Davey and Goliath: Easter Special (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBEXxiol_RU)
4. Toymaker's Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbNMhV7v7QI&NR=1)
5. Rigoletto (Feature Films for Families)
6. On Our Own (Feature Films for Families)
7. Split Infinity (Feature Films for Families)

Some of them make me laugh as soon as they begin, it's very obvious what year they were made in, and even though I still have an appreciation for them, sometimes it's a little painful to sit through the acting. :P

More Ramblings

After I posted my "wonderings" there have been a few things going on in our lives that I thought I'd share.

First, we sold our Subaru!! We had been trying to sell it for several months with little to no interest in it through craigslist. Well, we finally did sell it and we are SO happy to have that off our list. It was a nice little car to have when my Toyota died, but after the purchase of our Neon in November we've had little use for it and it turned into a weight we just had to carry around.

Track season has begun. It's been fun getting back into it. This will be my 4th official year coaching at Madison, 5th if you count the half season I helped with when the previous pole vault coach left. Anyway, I have been enjoying spending the afternoons getting these kids to jump and see that they are capable of more than they think they are. I have 8 consistent vaulters and I'm hoping for great things this season.

This last weekend my older brother surprised us with a visit. It was so nice to spend time talking, hiking, and catching up. We went up the Columbia River Gorge and enjoyed a short hike up to Latourell Falls. Luke and I had some of our engagement pictures taken there but had never hiked the entire trail. It was a nice little hike, even with the mud and rain.

Finally, I don't know if you've noticed the rumblings and flashes, but we had a brief thunder and lightning storm today. :) Happy times. Never will you know the difference between partly cloudy, showers, rain, etc. until you live in the North West.

Adorned in Grace

Over the past few months some ladies I know have been putting together a fashion show for Adorned in Grace. I know only a little about what this ministry is about, but, since Luke and I are interested in caring for teens, we decided we should attend this event.

From what I've gathered, Adorned in Grace is a ministry that takes donated formal wear, sells it, and donates all the proceeds to helping young girls get out of sex trafficking here in the northwest.

Want more information? They have a facebook profile and a web address http://adornedingrace.blogspot.com/

If you would like to come to this event, follow the link above. We'd love to see you there.

Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet

Last night Luke and I went out to our usual browsing spot, Borders, to find a book to read together. We've been reading stories to each other, as often as we've had a book to read, since we've been married. As we wondered through the Classics section we discovered that nearly every shelf had at least one spin-off book from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. It started out a little frustrating, like "Really, who wants to read about Miss Darcy and Miss De Burg setting up Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy?" But then it turned into a kind of eye-spy game.

Just now, I went to Border's website and searched for Mr. Darcy. Seventy-seven, yes, you read that correctly, 77 different titles with that character! Did Jane Austen know her created character would one day become the ideal man, or at least one idolized by many?

What about the name Miss Elizabeth Bennet? Let's take a look shall we? Zero results. There are a few spin-off books about her sisters and then a similar number of books that are under the name Mrs. Darcy. But, as you can see, Mr. Darcy has grown in popularity far above the Bennet's.

Anyway, after all that, we ended up buying 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Peter Pan.' Hopefully these books will keep us going for a little while, as we finished 'The Princess Bride' in a matter of a couple weeks.

Any suggested reading you would like to share?

Random Thoughts

There are times that I think 'This would be something to post as my status on Facebook.' Other times, I just want to share a random thought with someone, so I thought I'd share a few of them here.

Enjoy the randomness:

1. I love seeing the little hand-prints on my windows after I babysit kids.
2. I wonder why, after I've completely scrubbed down the bathroom and kitchen, I now have sugar ants everywhere, when I didn't have them before.
3. I smile when I hear 'Paper Planes' and 'I Got a Brand New Girlfriend' remembering girl times with Chelly Keller and Shelia Maia.
4. I'm curious to know how couponing works out if I don't get the newspaper and I don't want to spend a fortune on printer ink.
5. I wonder what will happen June 13th, the Monday after Luke's last day working for Cornerstone Church.
6. One of my favorite things in the world is when little kids run up to me, give me a big hug, exclaim excitedly 'Rachel!', and then eagerly show me everything they've colored, made, or just something that is special to them.
7. I wonder why I love chips so much and could down an entire bag if I'm not paying attention.
8. I wonder if this is the track season that my pole vault record will come down at Madison H.S.
9. I wonder why people think Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber are so great.
   
10. I wonder if we'll ever sell the '91 Subaru Legacy.
11. I wonder what my life will be like in 5 years.
    

A Birthday, an Adventure, and an Anniversary

This last weekend was a full one! Beginning with Luke's 27th birthday and ending with our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Trying to think of something to help celebrate Luke's birthday, besides letting him play halo all day, was a bit of a challenge, as it's January and really really wet outside. But we were able to do more than I thought possible.

We began with some hot apple cider and biscuits for breakfast and then he opened his gift from me. A Chicago Cubs hat. If you know anything about Luke, buying him a hat is a big deal, they last forever and he wears it all the time. So, I picked one I didn't mind seeing everyday. :P

For the rest of the day, we went downtown to tour OMSI and see an IMAX movie. When we got there though it seemed everyone else had the same idea. So we thought we'd try finding the Portland Art Museum and, with a little help from my mom, we were able to find it, but no parking. We then wondered over to 23rd to have some hot cocoa at Moonstruck. After all that we decided to give OMSI one more try and we were able to find parking right away. We wondered through most of the exhibits and the 'Hubble' IMAX was great. Getting home a little later than planned we enjoyed some steak for dinner, which Luke barbecued and then the finally of some red velvet cake I had made previously.

Sunday we decided to begin celebrating our anniversary by staying up to the mountain cabin for the night and eating out at Calamity Jane's. Since it had been raining so hard the last few days the creek level was way high. I was a little stressed out and Luke thought it was the best thing ever, taking pictures and videos... a little lesson on the differences between us. :)

If you've made it this far, congratulations, we're nearly done. :)

Our anniversary was really great. We enjoyed some crescents and orange juice for breakfast while sitting by the fire up at the cabin.

After packing up we headed back home to get ready for our evening date out at the Newport Seafood Grill. (yay for gift cards!) It was a nice simple evening to enjoy together, just talking and looking out at the city view.

I am looking forward to the next several years with Luke. These last two have been some of the best, however sometimes challenging, years of my life.

Christmas 2010 - New Year 2011

This Christmas was far more enjoyable than I had anticipated, I tend to be a bit of a grump around the holidays, but this year was far more relaxing than last year. :)

Part of what made this season better is that we're learning the value of the word "no." It is a difficult one to say sometimes, especially when you want to see family, or splurge on that dinner or movie. Even though we weren't able to go to all the family gatherings this year, we had a better time all around because we weren't over-extended and exhausted the entire holiday season. And I think our family benefited from that. :)

Picking out our tree was rather entertaining. We went out, just the two of us, and decided that we would have to pack the tree inside our car as we didn't have extra rope lying around.


Don't worry, it fit. We were even able to close the trunk!

We had an enjoyable time decorating the tree with our childhood ornaments, plus a few that we've begun to gather as a couple.

As 2010 drew to a close I began to think about how much we've been through...

-Luke turned 26

-We celebrated our first anniversary together
-Spent time with Dan & Julane and the Meierlings in Walla Walla
-Spent A LOT of time with the Cornerstone Youth Group (retreats, special events, hangout nights, etc.)
-Coached track at Madison High School
-Went to Slovenia to teach at an English Camp
-Celebrated my 26th birthday
-Luke ran in the Hood to Coast Relay
-Enjoyed trying out tons of new recipes. If you know anything about Luke, he's a picky eater, but he has been great "loving me the eating way" ~ Mr. Rogers' song 'There are Many Ways'
-Began babysitting some great kids
-Had several family Christmas gatherings
-Enjoyed New Years Eve with Paul & Karyn (along with their kids) and Luke's friend Chad

There are so many things that happened this year. A lot of struggles and ups and downs. But it's all brought Luke and I closer together and stronger as a family.

I thank God for all that He's done for us in 2010 and I'm looking forward to 2011.