spring brings changes

As many of you may know, we are in the midst of transition these days. Don has moved to Oakland and started work. I am back in Oregon working and wrapping some things up. We're planning on moving our stuff down mid April. So for right now Donovan is staying with a nice coworker named Vince and his family and I'm in our apartment. Eventually we will have a couple of weeks in late April to settle into our new place. And then I will need to fly back for one of my baby showers in May. In addition, Don is graduating with his Master's degree and we will be in LA for the ceremonies the second weekend in May. I'm so excited to visit our friends in LA! We will be all around the west coast on our adventures but hopefully by late May we will be settled in our new apartment in Oakland and ready for baby Chandler to arrive.

I will miss Portland. I love the spring; Romney's mom says we have the Disneyland of springs in the northwest. I like that phrase. The people have their quirks and although it's not always perfect I think just understanding and knowing Portlanders fairly well helps me empathize with them. We will never be a part of the Voo Doo Doughnut punk crowd, we will probably never wear sandwhich boards or lay down on the bridges and block traffic for a cause, and the fact that we saw our gay mayor and his new boyfriend at our favorite cafe is still a culture shock for us. But I love this place, the weird people, and the sometimes frustrating weather. I remember going to OMSI with my parents when it was first built and when I drive to work in the morning and see Mt Hood I have 1,000 memories to draw from about our adventures there as a family. So many men around Portland have bald heads and big bellies and wear IZOD and work boots, and I can't help but think it's my dad sometimes; it's sad but it's also a comfort in some way. My sister and brother in law live close by, I'll miss driving over to their place to play games and hang out.

The good news is we hear great things about Oakland. Oakland has a soul. Oakland has some deep history. It seems the people in Oakland are as obsessed and connected to the heart of the city as I am to Portland. I am hoping to learn about Oakland and be open to finding out what it is that makes people so in love with this place. Because to be honest, if you look at the exterior, Oakland doesn't seem too magical, if you know what I mean.

We will keep you updated as we continue the new adventure!

happenings

So, Don's birthday was really fun. I made two cakes one lemon and one chocolate and invited my great aunt Molly and great uncle Al over to share in the festivities. We ended up putting some candles on the lemon cake and singing for Molly too because her birthday was later that week. My mom told me it was her 72, but it was actually her 82nd, which made for some really good laughs. Molly couldn't believe we all thought that she was really 72. She is such a gem.

Work is monotonous. Sometimes I want to go live in a jungle and not shower for a few weeks, just to get outside of the norm. Oh, how sweet it is that I have Thurs and Fri off for Thanksgiving :) Yea!

Amy (Don's sis) and David will be here today from San Diego. They will stay for several days. Today Donovan is picking them up and taking them to Voo Doo Doughnuts, I may try to go too and make it my early lunch break :)

This weekend will be great! We will go to my sister Steph's house for Thanksgiving day and then to Don's aunt's that evening to see family including Amy and David, and our little cousin Kev who always wants to play play play (my way of getting out of playing on the trampoline for hours is to wear a dress every time I come over, lol). Then we are off to the beach for Fri-Sat or Sun, depending on who drives Amy and David to the airport. This is the BIG family gathering on Donovan's mom's side where we eat endlessly, play cards (and gramma kicks my butt), and we are forced every year to do a talent show, yikes! I still don't know what our talent will be this year.

I hope you are all as excited for a long weekend and Thanksgiving as I am. Nothing beats a holiday meant for family and food! :)

halloween

Don and I had fun playing house on Halloween and hosting trick-or-treaters coming by. We loved seeing the little ones. One forgot his line and said "Happy Halloween!" another one waddled because he was so little and had on such a big firefighter outfit, cuteness!

We made really cute pumpkins kissing each other and ate some candy while watching the U of O game on TV. Wow, we STOMPED USC. It was great.

Dimen doesn't love Halloween, but it's ok.

Tonight is another celebration, Don's bday! I will post more later after our celebrations :)

gratefulness

One of my favorite things about working at my job is being inspired by the clients I work with. They do really hard work every day of the week. I was more aware of this when I first started working there, but I am reminding myself that the little lessons we teach our clients are lessons we can benefit from too. So in light of that I will add a list of things to be grateful for in my life just because... (and one friend did this on her blog this week and it was a good reminder!).

I'm grateful for:
1. beautiful trees on my drive to work. I love to see the change over time! Right now it's a rainbow of colors on each tree.
2. My husband! He is becoming a better cook and has been working really hard to keep me fed and happy lately :)
3. Dimen. She is my mom's dog and she is a sweetheart. I love how her whole body wags when she sees me coming home.
4. My family. My mom has been so helpful this last season and we are grateful for the time we have had with her.
5. being able to continue in my field of work and be employed at a place with a great staff and to be paid ... all in this really rough economy!
6. 6 months of free supervision that my previous supervisor offered me, he's awesome!
7. health!

What are you grateful for?

life update

Don and I are living with my mom right now saving money. Our first plan was to buy a house before 11/30 when the tax credit runs out. Turns out we don't have enough employment right now (I just got my job at De Paul and Donovan is looking) and Portland has a tough job market. So we are so grateful to my mom, and so anxious to see how this step leads to other things that God is doing that we seem to not always be aware of :)

We are planning on moving back into the same community we lived in before. Same complex, new building. We will have a 1 bedroom this time, and with the economy being bad right now they have a huge sale, so we feel super blessed that this happened at just the right time. So we're excited, truly, to have our apartment community back, glad to not be underemployed and over stretched financially and so excited to move in (free cable, sauna, hot tub, pretty walking trails, and a convenience to work, friends/family, and fun places on the west side that we grew accustomed to within the last year).

I felt before that "permanency" in our mid twenties (Don's 26th is in two weeks!) was impossible without owning a home. But my mind has shifted and I really feel like our apartment will be our home in every way and the house thing was just my plans, not God's. In the meantime our 10 week stay with mom so far (we will move in the first week of Nov) has saved money in so many ways and I have enjoyed some communal living, some reminders of childhood, and some things we can't get when we are out on our own (puppy kisses, for one!).

So our address will be a bit different than it was last year (different number and apartment letter, but same street and city)... we will update you more via email as the time gets closer. I'm looking forward to this transition.

death

Death seemed so mysterious, so impossible to me for so long. Maybe that's the part of being a child and a young adult, thinking that the world is yours to create with and nothing will ever end.

Since my father died I have found myself from time to time watching the world pass by in slow motion, often when I'm driving, I'll see people on the sidewalk, people in their cars, people I can observe without others knowing I see them and I realize, we will all die.

It's not sad, it's just true. We all die. And the Bible says our life is a breath in comparison to eternity. I like thinking about that, about my dad having a very wonderful and healthy breath with God and then suddenly my mother will show up in heaven, and in another breath so will I, my sisters, my brother in laws, and my husband.

I saw a man when I was thinking about these things sitting under the fall trees one morning on my commute to downtown just looking around and enjoying things. I realized how short life is, how very seriously I take my life and create stress when it doesn't need to be there, and how it might serve a much better purpose for me to live life in light of these things instead of marching along without a stillness and a peace that comes from this realization.

stories

I recently read Donald Miller's new book. It was very inspiring. Basically (without ruining it for you) it simultaneously discusses what stories are and why they are important inspiration, criticizes the American status quo, and makes you want to just straight up do something with your life. After reading the book I was pleasantly (is this possible?) shocked and appaled when reading this article on Miller's blog. Needless to say, I have a lot of growing to do in my life.

But where to get started? Work in the therapy realm can be exhausting stuff. Often unappreciated hard work. Is being drained and doing something great for the less fortunate God's calling for us? I'm not sure. I do know that therapists who have rich friendships and support networks, who are constantly learning (about leaves and trees and their beauty as much as recent research and how it applies) are those that are excellent - not just good - at their jobs.

Today we spent some time in Forest Park. We were pleased to find a quiet and fun road on the way up, to find leaves that had started turning already, and to find dry ground under the forest roof although it rained this morning. I think God calls us to be with Him, and I think I experience that in the most deep way when I am hiking in the trees far removed from anything to do with the city.

I'm compiling my list now of things that really make me engage, things that are difficult but will make for a good story in my life (rather than just staring at the TV, which I admit, I do too much of now!). Somehow, in some context, being in Uganda and supporting my brothers and sisters there is a part of my story. So is working as a therapist, even when I don't fully understand that. I'm just not sure what else at this point...