Let It Snow...

I do really enjoy the snow, although I’m thankful that it doesn’t snow every year here like it has been snowing off and on the past week. It’s unfortunate that this area doesn’t know how to manage the snow a little better; otherwise it would be delightful to have around. However, the unpaved, unsalted and unsanded roads are beginning to be a nuisance for many I think. The other day there was a brief let up from the snow and I ventured out to take some pictures around Kirkland. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous down by the lake and it was just nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Along with my snow covered berries by the post office below are a couple photos from my walk around Kirkland. The close-up of the duck was not a zoomed in shot…that duck almost jumped into my lap he was so friendly. The picture of the sailboats with a Seattle sunset in the background is probably my favorite.

Ducks resting on the water.

My new little friend.

Sailboats at rest for the winter.

Gorgeous Seattle sunset.

Sun lit and snow covered tree.

Happy Birthday To A Dear Friend

Today is a dear friend's birthday. Happy Birthday to one of the most amazing women I know. How great it is to be your friend where I can laugh with you, cry with you, and just be silly together. You are simply the best and I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I love you Molly.

Fun in the Snow

We had a "snow day" on Thursday and all our neighbors in our complex took the day off. The following are pics of us walking up to Starbucks and spending some time together. We had a great morning "catch-up" with Danny and Becky, Trevor and Kjierstin, and Rachel (not pictured).

Bittersweet Moment

I have four days left. Only four days left with 18 of the cutest and most amazing little second graders in the world. Without question they have touched my life more than I could have ever imagined. As I sit and reflect upon my student teaching experience it amazes me how quickly the time has gone by and how I only wish I could spend the remainder of the school year with "my" class. I made a decision to venture down the "teaching" trail when others told me (and I finally realized) that I have the patience, passion, determination and satisfaction in touching the lives of kids. I do want to be an educator that does make that difference in a child's life, but in doing so I have never really thought about how much they would make a difference in my own life. I've enjoyed the laughs, the challenges, the many misspelled words, their creativity, their carefree spirtis, their desire to always "impress" their teacher, their eagerness to try and learn new things, their sutbborness, their messes, their sticky fingers, their muddy shoes after every recess, their chattyness, their storytelling, their humming and singing, the constant questioning, their shout outs (at the wrong times), but most of all their love for their teacher--me. As I part with them this Friday, it will be a bittersweet feeling, knowing that it will be difficult not only for me, but also for them, and that I will be stepping into a new stage of my life. I'm so thankful for the student teaching experience that I have had and I look forward to what lies ahead. I wish only the best for my 18 kids as they will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was quite different from other Thanksgivings that Chad and I have shared together. Our original plan was to spend the holiday in Eugene at Teagan and Kurt's house; however our plans changed slightly when my very hard working and diligent husband won a competitive bid on a huge project at work. (I'm so proud of him.) Yesterday, Chad spent the holiday at work and I spent a nice, quiet and peaceful day to myself at home. That evening we went to dinner at the Yarrow Point Grill and had a great time together.

Who was I kidding? Of course we couldn't get by without having the traditional Thanksgiving meal. So, yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from Teagan saying that her and Kurt were bringing Thanksgiving to us. Teagan got the weekend off from her nursing responsibilities and Kurt was able to get Friday afternoon off. Therefore, Chad and I didn't miss out on Thanksgiving, we merely have post-poned the festivities until tomorrow. Thanks Teagan and Kurt for being so understanding...Chad and I are definitely thankful for you.

Here are things I am thankful for this year:

1. God
2. My amazing husband.
2. Family (I miss them.)
3. Friends
4. Good health
5. My career direction...working towards my Masters in Education.
6. My 18 second graders who have helped me get through my student teaching.
7. Staff at Peter Kirk who have inspired me to become a better teacher.
8. Wonderful neighbors.
9. Mackenzie, Aidan, & Delia
10. A new niece that is due April 10th.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fall Weekends With the Fam

Last weekend Chad's parents came into town and although I did not take any photos for proof of the fun we had, what a great time it was. It felt like a nice relaxing weekend of go-cart racing, rummy playing, Belltown pizza eating, football watching and wine drinking. I can only hope for many more fun weekends shared with Bob and Sonja.

Our second weekend of family fun was with my family and an exchange student from France, Claire. I absolutely love the "touristy" areas of Seattle. By far my favorite is the Pike's Place Market where I could spend hours upon hours sitting and watching people as I sip on a Starbuck's coffee in hand. The highlight of the weekend was not only sharing Seattle with a lovely new friend from France, but also enjoying the most spectacular 360 degree view of my favorite city from the top of the Space Needle. It was extremely enjoyable, and a moment I will not forget, as I was able to share the moment with my youngest brother, Justin. How much I miss him and take for granted every moment that I get to spend with him. He is a kind-hearted, young man...he is so grown up. I love him.

How I enjoyed the weekends with my family!

Knits and Purls

One of my favorite hobbies is knitting and although my skills of knitting are very basic, I enjoy it very much. I find myself knitting more frequently throughout the fall and winter months where the weather is cold and I can stay inside, cozy up with my favorite ragtime quilt, put in a movie and knit away. It's a very relaxing activity and I have a great feeling of accomplishment whenever I finish a project. I originally taught myself to knit by looking at pictures online and after weeks of struggling through the steps I finally figured it out. I have numerous projects that are in the "work in process" stage" that way at any given time, depending what I'm in the mood for, I pick one and go for it. I highly recommend knitting to all those looking for a new hobby, needing a stress reducer, and desiring a little relaxation.

Our recent weekend getaway allowed for me to spend some time knitting outside in the fall air. I owe a thanks to my dear friend Molly for taking these pictures of me knitting.

Cama Beach

Last weekend a group of us got away for our annual "couples retreat". This year we spent a couple days out at Cama Beach on Camano Island. It was a great little get away and a chance for all of us to catch up, relax and enjoy one another's company. We we ate and drank a plentiful amount, explored the waterfront, boathouse, and harvest festival, and spent hours and hours playing board games. The following are a few photos (of the 100+ that were taken) from our weekend getaway.

This is a picture of our cute, little and cozy cabin that we stayed in.

Bundled up for a midnight hike around Cama Beach.

An amazing group of friends...sad to leave our cabin at Cama Beach.

Aah...the girls on the last day.

The boys hanging out on the last day.

Five Years

The last month my time has been taken over by 18 little second graders; therefore, posting entries in my blog has not been my top priority. Although, this evening I have found a few minutes to set aside my plan book.

On September 6th, Chad and I celebrated our fifth anniversary and we honestly can't believe how quickly the time has flown by. A couple weekends after our anniversary we took a day trip up to Fairhaven and Bellingham. We walked along the boardwalk, shopped, and enjoyed breakfast together in Fairhaven. Then we drove up to Bellingham and went to the rose garden at Western. We also drove through the main part of town where we stopped at the farmer's market. Across the street from the farmer's market was a brewery where we each enjoyed a couple of pints and worked on the Saturday crossword from the Seattle Times (a favorite activity of ours to do together). On our way home we took a more scenic route down Chuckanut Drive that wound alongside a beautiful lake. The day spent together was absolutely perfect!

I'm very thankful for an amazing, cute, kind, patient, humble, funny, loving, helpful, determined...(as you can see I could go on and on)....husband. Thank you to the greatest man in my world. I love you.

Marry Poppins?....

...no, it's not marry poppins. it's the first day of school...or rather teaching, i should say. my student teaching experience officially began two weeks ago (10 days of class thus far). i was overly excited, nervous, anxious and scared for the first day, but i still had to get my "first day of school" photo. for as long as i can remember, on the first day of school my brothers and i would have to stand on the front porch steps so mom could take our picture. i thought i was over that, but chad was all eager to take my "first day of school" photo too. he had a similar tradition growing up so there wasnt' the slightest chance of me sneaking out the door without my picture getting taken. so there i am, not marry poppins--although my attire for the day somewhat resembles her (all i need is the umbrella), super excited for the first day of school!

student teaching is not what i expected; although i'm not exactly sure what i had in mind. i think i had this image of what i perceived my teacher to be when i was in the second grade; what she did, how she talked to us, the work we did, her expectations...but everything seemed so easy. it's not! there's no question. i'm emotionally and physically exhausted at the end of every day. then i think about what i did for the day and i probably shouldn't be tired; however, my 18 little, happy-go-lucky, nose-picking, glue everwhere, spilled milk, tangly hair, missing two front teeth, rowdy boy, princess girl, adding, abc-ing, tattling, singing, untied muddy shoelace, 7 year olds (second graders) have sucked all the life out of me. i absolutely love every minute of it...and i am in love with all 18 of my kids. even the nose-picker.

more to come on my student teaching experiences later!

The Crab Pot

My family came into town and in honor of Eric turning 50, Chad and I took my family out to dinner. We ventured down to the Crab Pot, which was an experience within itself. We were highly fashionable with our bibs, sticky fingers and crab parts flying all over the place. The food was great and the atmosphere was fun. I highly recommend this restaurant, but put your name in early and expect to wait for 45-60 minutes....a great way to experience the piers and waterfront.

Justin was having fun with our eating adventures too!

Mom and Eric toasting to good times and a happy 50th to Eric.

Hike to Twin Falls

A couple weekends ago my family came into town and we hiked up to Twin Falls near North Bend, Washington. This is a pic of Chad and I near the falls. It was a great day for a hike.

Fall Has Arrived And It Is Wonderful!

I'm beginning to realize that this blog I created for Chad and I is quickly becoming "my" blog and not "our" blog. Honestly, I don't even know if Chad has looked at "our" blog except for the times that I have shown him something. Although, do we even create blogs for ourselves or is it for others to read, laugh, cry, and poke fun at? With that being said....

Fall is "my" second favorite season, my first being summer. If the seasons could be split down the middle year round between fall and summer I would be delighted. Summer is definitely gone and fall has arrived. My favorite things about the fall are the following (in absolutely no particular order)...

• The cool crisp air that is refreshing in the morning to wake up to.
• Peaches, nectarines, plums, and grapefruits available at the farmer's markets.
• Cozying up on the couch with my ragtime quilt that my mother-in-law made for me and watching a movie with Chad.
• Knitting, knitting, and more knitting...A favorite hobby of mine that I only partake in during the colder months of the year.
• A tasteful treat of pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks.
• The changing colors of the trees.
• Survivor starts up again and with that brings pizza, beer and great friend gatherings.
• The kids skipping, running and chasing each other down the street as they walk to school. I absolutely love hearing their playful voices outside!
• Knee-high socks...I'm a sock fanatic and enjoy wearing "fun" socks.
• Our anniversary is in the fall.
• Couples camping trip...this year we're off to Camano Island.
• Football!
• School starts back up...I'm excited to see my kids at school after summer goes by.
• White Russians...mmm tasty.
• Halloween...I love dressing up for Halloween. I think I have dressed up every year since I was little except for the year I was in Ecuador.
• Cooking and baking with Chad...it's cozy in the colder months to bake and cook together.
• Girl Scouts starts up again...I can't wait to see my 5 little brownies in a couple of weeks!
• Catching up on scrabooking...another hobby of mine that is neglected throughout the summer months.
• The smells in the air...especially when I walk past the French bakery on my way to work in the morning.
• Idaho football games...we try to make it to at least one game a year.
• Chess...the chess board reappears and Chad and I battle it out at least once a week.

...I'm sure I have a few more, but right now I can't think of anything else. I added a pic from one of our adventures last fall on Orcas Island.

Happy fall my fellow blog readers/writers!

Argosy Harbor Cruise

For Christmas Chad's parents gave us tickets for the Argosy Harbor Cruise so this past Saturday we put them to use. It was a gorgeous day for a boat ride...the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze and we were able to spend the afternoon together on the water. The cruise was about an hour long and the highlight of our ride was seeing four 300-plus pound sea lions soaking up the sun on a buoy near Alki. I also enjoyed the many views we had of Seattle. A huge thanks for Chad's parents for giving us the Harbor Cruise tickets....we had a great day!

Chad does not like this picture, but I love it. I think he is soooo good looking. I love him.

On the boat with the Seattle skyline in the background.

On the boat with Seattle in the background.

Backpacking/Camping on Third Beach in the O.P.

We spent this last weekend with our neighbors, Danny and Becky, backpacking down to Third Beach on the Olympic Penninsula. We lucked out with no rain and a prime camping spot on the beach. I think the prime spot on the beach was due to the overcast weather we had all weekend. There was very few people camping on the beach.

Our second day there we took a day hike up and over the mountain (really it felt like that) and along the coast line. We dropped down into another small bay and then headed back to our campsite. Throughout the weekend we saw a little bit of wildlife...a bald eagle, many brightly colored sea anenomes and seastars, a family of skunks, a mama deer and her baby, and a dead sea pup that washed up on the shore at high tide. It was a great little weekend getaway with our neighbors.

You must be thinking, backpacking on the beach? We thought the same thing the entire weekend. It seemed so wierd to have all of our backpacking equipment while on the beach. Nonetheless it was a lot of fun!

Beautiful sunset.














The sun glowing off the rock formations to the east.

This is our second night on the beach. It was relatively cold outside as I am wearing a wool sweater and a wool hat. We had an amazing bonfire to keep us warm.

Every time we travel somewhere Chad has to have a photo with "his pose". I couldn't believe that he was doing this on the side of the cliff. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this is a very steep section of the trail. Look closely and you will see ropes tied to trees above to help hold you on the trail.

A quick rest before we head back to our campsite.

On our way back down through one of the many steep sections of the trail.

Here we are enjoying the last few minutes of our time on the beach.

Final shot before making the trek back to the car. What a great weekend we had!

Rolan, Kira, Jade and Raiden's Visit to Seattle

I'm a little behind on my postings...My brother, Rolan, and his family, Kira, Jade and Raiden, came for a visit a couple of week's ago. While they were here we tried to do and see as much as we could. We spent some time walking around Kirkland, going to a Mariner game, a trip to the ZOO, Pike's market, the carousel on the pier and a bbq with friends.

I really miss my brother and his family. I wish that we got to see them more than we do because whenever we spend time together we always have the best of times. Enjoy the pics below!

I miss him and love him so much. We were wrestling on the floor.

The fisherman at Pike's Market tossed Jade a real fish. She screamed, but gladly smiled for the camera.

Number one Mariner fans excited for the game! Not to mention a very excited aunt eager to share a baseball game with her niece and nephew!

A pic opportunity in front of a lion. Raiden was very entertained to be sitting on a "lion".

A Content Heart

it's unlike me to post more than once in a week and especially unlike me to post without any photos. however, the past hour or so i have spent my time reading friends' blogs and enjoying the "realness" of who they are. i find it interesting that when written on paper (or now days, typed in blogs), it often seems so much easier to share an abundance of information and pour one's heart out. thus, i've decided to do the same and particularly because today i have a small sense of sadness, yet an overwhelming feeling of peace in my heart.

i've realized that in the last year and a half i'm the type of person that pushes feelings of pain and sadness deep into the walls of my heart. then when those feelings of pain and sadness try to escape (because it's healthy and normal) i try even harder to keep them in. today, with a sad yet peaceful heart, i share the depth of my heart.

almost a year and a half ago, chad and i lost a baby. i had just passed the 3 month "scare" and the word had already spread quickly that we were going to have a baby. i can't even begin to describe the pain i felt and the hate i had for god. with every ounce of my being, i tried to figure out why god would allow for something so horrible to happen. i continued to question god, his love for me, and my faith. with the support of amazing friends at my church and others who have had a miscarriage, i felt comforted. i was still so very angry and as time went by i continued to be angry, but i didn't know at what or who. after reading books about miscarriages, talking to other women about it, and pouring all my emotions to my close friends and small group, i slowly began to let go of my anger and accept that i can not fully understand why god has had me walk down the path that he has taken me. without any question, my heart is sad, yet definitely at peace about the loss of our first child.

well, god has a sick sense of humor. almost exactly one year later from the first miscarriage (about 4 months ago), we lost our second baby. when i first found out i was pregnant i was terrified, but i was also angry at myself for allowing myself to get pregnant again. i just didn't feel like i was emotionally and physically ready. in every way possible i tried to stay as emotionally detached from my baby as i could. there was no way that i would be able to go through another loss of a child; therefore, it seemed easier for me to not get attached and have that strong feeling of "love" towards my baby. just as i began to warm up to the idea, everything took a turn for the worse. i ended up in the er and hospital overnight do to excessive bleeding. I knew instantly what was going on and i was pissed at myself for getting attached. then i was angry at myself for ever thinking that i didn't want the baby. i continued to question myself over and over, what kind of mom would not want their own child? do i really deserve to be a mom? through much heartache, shared conversations with two amazing women (julie and molls), and shared tears with a good friend, michelle, the pain in my heart got easier to deal with.

today, i let it go. i let all the pain, sadness and doubt leave me. i know that god loves me. he is an amazing god. for unknown reasons, he has had me take the steps that i have taken. one day i will know why, but until then i will continue to think up my own story. my story is that when our first baby went to heaven god loved that baby's presence so much that he wanted another one just like it. he also wanted our first baby to have a sibling to play with. i now can smile through tears of joy and a content heart that i have two babies sitting next to an amazing god in heaven.

thank you to all my friends and family for being supportive. my heart is filled with happiness and thankfulness for my close friends who have helped me through this. i am definitely blessed.

Good Times at the Cabin in Idaho

The past couple of weeks I spent time in Idaho and on the weekends Chad came to visit and have fun with his family at the cabin. Chad absolutely loves spending time there. While there we spent most of our time down at the water playing cards or other games, swimming, fishing, jet skiing, boating, and peanut cruising. The following pics are brief captures of the moments shared at the cabin. Hopefully we'll be able to take another trip that way this summer.

This is Chad's youngest sister, Teagan, and her fiance, Kurt. It had been a few week's since they had seen each other because Kurt has already moved down to Eugene, where they will be relocating after they get married. Kurt suprised Teags this weekend and showed up at the cabin early one morning. It was great to see how excited they both were to see one another and it was fun having Kurt around the cabin.