April SNOW showers bring...Tulips?

We've heard a lot of talk about the tulip fields north of Seattle. They seem to be some sort of rite to Spring out here in the Northwest. So, with the well-wishes and advice of many coworkers, we decided to drive up to Mt. Vernon aka "Tulip-Land" today. It all started out beautiful-- partly sunny skies, no rain. And then, out of nowhere...SNOW. I've been assured by many locals that snow only occurs once or twice during a Seattle winter, yet there we were, driving in 2 inches of snow on the interstate! It was strange...kind of felt like we were back home in PA! :) Apparently, there is a"convergence zone" north of Seattle that encourages rebel weather like this...I'm glad we decided not to live in that zone! Fortunately, once we left that area, the snow ceased and we were left with a gorgeous day for tulip-looking...

The tulips were beautiful..fields and fields of bright colors waving around in the wind. I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland. :)

On the way home, we once again had the "privilege" of driving through the snow again! And this time, it really looked like a good old "Nor'easter!" It was a little surreal to go from Spring tulips to Winter Wonderland in a matter of minutes...
this definitely takes the cake for our weirdest Seattle weather yet. :)

Plenty of Sunshine Heading My Way

Although the weather has dropped back to the 50's this week, last Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, warm day at the beach, with temp's in the high 70's! More proof that the sun does, occasionally, make an appearance out here. We had a very relaxing afternoon at the beach -- we had plans of getting some reading done, but you'll see below that the "reading through absorption" method soon took over. ;) It was a very welcome time to rest, relax, and enjoy God's beautiful creation (as you can see in the photo above, the Olympic Mtns were out as well. I can't seem to get enough of them!).

In his defense, he did get some reading done :)

We were at the beach during a very low tide--
it only does this a few times a year, and it was really
fun to wade out 500 feet and only get our feet wet!
This picture was taken about 400 feet out,
but it looks like he's right at the shoreline!

These pictures give a little better perspective of
how far out into the water we could walk (without getting soaked,
which would've been bad since that water was freezing cold!).

Wish you were here! :)

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!