Over Hood River and Thru the Woods...

Last weekend, we made what has become a "short little trip" to Hood River, OR to spend some time with David's family. 4 hours may not seem so short, but when compared with the 20+ hours it would take for us drive to his brother's house, Hood River suddenly seems a lot closer! :) James (David's brother) and our sis-in-law Kimiko, were up from LA to visit David's parents, so we made the rainy drive down to see them (we have yet to drive down with sunshine). It was a short, but sweet visit, and we were very thankful for the chance to see everyone.

We're still here...just enjoying the view.

(Olympic Mtns)

I realized today that it has been over a month since I last posted. Sorry. We're still here. Things have been a little busy (and in my opinion, most of it too mundane to write about). David was off running with his new job--the church hosted a huge conference last month with about 1200 attendees, so he has been busy. (Yes, that's a lot of water bottles, coffee cups, and paper towels!)
He is enjoying the position, and God is definitely growing & stretching him though it. And since he is now working at the Ballard campus, we have switched church campuses (from West Seattle to Ballard). This was a big adjustment for me, but God has used it to remind me that my identity is not in friends or comfort, but in Him. I've started volunteering at the Info Desk during one service, and I am really enjoying it.
Other than that, things have been relatively quiet--my job is going well, and I'm really enjoying my walks to work...springtime has started, and it's gorgeous. The 2 pictures below are taken from the building where I work...those nuns have a nice view, don't they? ;)

(Cascade Mtns)

Fun in the California Sun

2 weeks ago, we flew down to LA for one big, warm, crazy family reunion. The reason? To be a part of Kimberly (David's younger sister) and Aaron's Wedding Day! It was a wonderful weekend, FULL of family, laughter, and sunshine!! As you can see from the picture above, it was a beautiful weekend, with weather in the mid-70's...I was outside as much as possible, trying to soak up enough sun to last another 2 months (at least that's when I think the sun will return to Seattle ;) We all had a great weekend--we were blessed so much by Kim & Aaron's church family, who provided housing for us (and the rest of the family) and did most of the wedding details, so we were able to really enjoy everything! The wedding was beautiful, and Kimberly made a gorgeous bride! Unfortunately, I don't have very many good pictures of the couple (I was in the wedding and David was videotaping), but hopefully these few will quench your curiosity!

Kim & Aaron rehearsing...can you tell she's excited? :)

One very crazy bridal party.

One of Kim's friends did the flowers--they were beautiful!!

The cutest nephew ever! :)

The kids did great through the wedding, but you'll notice
Faith didn't quite make it through pictures. ;)

James (David's brother) and Kimiko.

The Pichura Bunch.

A very large family breakfast!

Faith turned 5!!

We spent Friday morning with some long-time friends of the Parker family (who own the lovely pool in the first picture!)

Another large family picture...and 1/2 the family is missing! :)

David & his brother Andrew...partners in crime :)

Out with the Old, In with the New!

We're not usually a fan of big New Year's Eve parties, (our annual tradition is usually to play a game of monopoly), but we decided to spend our first New Year's Eve in Seattle in style by going to Mars Hill's Annual Red Hot Bash. "Red Hot" was the theme of the night, and they did a great job of dressing up the main campus...we really enjoyed ringing in the new year in our new city. :)

A Parker-Filled Christmas

Although it's been almost a month since Christmas (hard to believe!), I'm going to post these anyways--pictures of Christmas fun are never too late in my book. :) We made the short drive down to David's parents' house in Hood River, Oregon for 5 crazy days with the Parker-Pichura clan. It was great to see everyone--it has been about 5 months since we saw most of them, so it was a welcome reunion! All of the family made it up except James & Kimiko, so we had a very full house! We had a great time catching up, and playing with the kids, who are cuter every time we see them. God has blessed us with an amazing family (both near and far),
and we are so thankful for all the blessings He has given us this Christmas.

After about 10 tries, we finally got a keeper! :)

The annual Gingerbread decorating contest in full swing!

The 2nd and 1st place winners.

The very proud 3rd place winners--a 4 way tie!

Titus "the firefighter" showing off his creating with Kristin.

Grace & I opening presents.

Kim & Aaron...enjoying their first Christmas together!

We had very good intentions of sending out Christmas cards with the above picture on them (I tried, I really did), however, they did not arrive in time, so consider this our Christmas card picture to you! (to make me feel better, you could even print it and stick in on your fridge with the rest of the holiday cards, to make it look like I sent it ;)

After a very busy day, we are finally packing for our long-awaited trip to Hood River. We are really looking forward to spending Christmas with the Parker & Pichura families! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas remembering and celebrating what Jesus has done for us! We love and miss all of you!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Today being December 1st, I'm trying to make the transition into the Christmas season, despite the green grass and lingering leaves on our trees. I've been taxing my creativity trying to think of great present ideas, I've started listening to Christmas music, and I even managed to find the moving box packed with the nativity set. But I will admit, without typical Northeastern weather, it has felt a little less like Christmas...until this afternoon...when we got SNOW! Real, fluffy, cold snow! It is amazing how beautiful and exciting snow can be when you anticipate a snow-less Christmas season. And it was the perfect snow too--the heavy, wet kind that sticks to all the trees. So, we enjoyed an evening of snow-seeing, and it was the perfect way to begin this Christmas season--with a little taste of "home," and even more, a reminder of God's beauty, grace, and love.