David is on Winter Break

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David has finished school for this year and has three weeks off. He did very well in his marketing and buisiness classes. He will be restarting in January. This is great timing because of the upcoming move. We are really looking forward to being in a new house that we can paint and landscape the way we want. We should also be able to fit more guests at one time than our current apartment allows.

Packing...and More Packing

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OK, so we've been really busy packing. The latest is that we have given our notice for moving out of the apartments, but there are delays on getting the house. There are so many details to this whole thing. I hope we get it all straightened out. I just want to be able to enjoy Christmas. I guess if all else fails, we'll throw all our stuff into storage and move in with my mom for a couple weeks. The downside of that would be having to move twice. We will do what we have to do.

David will be done with his second class on Saturday, after which he will have 3 weeks off for Winter Break. It is really good timing IF we are able to move during those 3 weeks. I guess we'll see. There is nothing we can do but just let the process happen.

Oh and here is my new haircut! I wanted something new, and I wanted to go closer to my natural hair color. My hair gets really light in the sun but naturally it is quite dark. Dave likes it too.

David is starting to enjoy cooking. Saturday night he made a wonderful dish that he found in a magazine at work. Pork chops marinated in a honey-raspberry beer, garlic and olive oil. After grilling it, it was topped with fresh green onions, crumbled bacon and feta cheese. It was delicious. He even changed the recipe from the original, substituting feta cheese for the blue cheese because he knows I don't like blue cheese.

Shopping

I decorated for Christmas on Friday. I did some shopping at Big Lots, they have cheap and pretty candles and glass ornaments. I decorated for Christmas even though I wasn't going to because of moving and packing. When I told Dave he was so disappointed that I decided to decorate after all. I am glad I did. Our house is so warm and Cheery with the Christmas decorations. It put me in a great mood for the weekend. Friday night Dave and Holly O brought over their new board games. We played two rounds of DVD Clue. It was a lot of fun.

We spent Saturday in Eugene with Dave and Holly O. It was Holly's birthday and we went to BJ's for lunch--they have great salads! I know it's a pizza place, but they have so much more than that. They gave Holly a free cookie ala mode for her birthday. We love shopping in Eugene because they have a lot of stores we don't have like Old Navy, Trader Joe's, World Market and Costco. We didn't get to go to Costco, but that might be for the best. We are supposed to be getting one here, but it's been in the works for years and we aren't holding our breath.

David and I still had a $50 GAP card we got from MyPoints, so we stopped there. I honestly didn't find a lot that I liked there but I found a cute overpriced sweater and Dave found a nice pair of jeans. The sales-guy tried to talk him into "slim" fit jeans, but the ones he got were already "slimmer" than he usually gets. The other salesguy at the counter was all "Emo-ed" out. I just don't get it. It doesn't look right. I know I'm sounding really OLD right now but I just don't think it is flattering for guys to dress in skin-tight jeans. I am glad David doesn't dress like that.

We also found some Christmas treats and coffee at World Market and some clothes at Old Navy. We didn't really do Christmas shopping because we already got stuff for most people. We did more Christmas shopping Sunday in town. It rained all day, but it wasn't really gloomy because of all the Christmas decorations.

I love this time of year.

Thanksgiving Take 2

So, in retrospect, we could have all had one Thanksgiving together, but it turned out we had two. On Thursday, at my mom's house we shared it with our friends from out of town, then Saturday we shared it with family on David's side from Medford and friends' family from out of town. There were over 20 people--I lost track. It was fun, though. Grandma Voyla and Aaron shared pictures and video from their trip to China. We all cooked together in the Raynors' kitchen. We met Stephanie's parents for the first time since her and Ken got married. We were happy that Kelly and Brandon were able to come down to share it with us.

Happy Thanksgiving

Holidays are great! Especially when everyone is off work. We were so blessed that everyone was able to spend this time together. Thanksgiving morning started out with watching the Packers play the Lions.. and WIN! Woooohoooo! We were able to watch most of the game on Rich's big-screen TV at my mom's house. Immediately following the game, we hooked up the PS2 to the big screen and we (mostly Dave and Nathan) played Guitar Hero until more people started showing up. My mom had some family friends there from California, Julio and Diana, who are like family to us. They brought the "turdunkin". Their daughter, Laura, goes to college an hour north of us so it works out to have everyone together. Rich and Julia were there as well as Marie and her children. Grandma Voyla and Grandpa Hal were also there. Everyone pitched in with the food. We were actually able to all fit in the dining room, which I didn't even know was possible.

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Busy Weekend

This last weekend just flew by. We had a great time visiting with our friend Tiffany and her children, from out of town. We got to show the house to some friends and take some measurements for furniture and such. Dave and Dave O went up into the attic to check that the wiring was up-to-date. We ran all the faucets to check water pressure. I forgot to take my camera for more pictures, but I'm sure I'll get another chance. The inspection is today. I hope it goes well.

Yesterday Dave and I decided to check out some of the antique and used furniture places. We found some end tables that we both really liked. They have some interesting angles, kind of retro. I can't wait to put them in our living room. I hope we don't find anything too big because I don't know where we'll store it until we move. We saw some beautiful desks and vanities, but none that we could afford right now. It is a gradual process but it is fun to look for just the right piece.

We Are Moving

We have been blessed to have my mom buy a house for us to live in. It was a deal we couldn't pass up and Dave and I were not ready to buy yet. For now we will be renting it from my mom and helping to remodel it.

We look forward to moving in about a month. We have lots of packing to do! It is 2.5 bedrooms (the third bedroom is very small), large kitchen and bathroom, laundry area, car port, living/dining area with high ceilings. There is no back yard, but David looks forward to fencing in the front yard so we can get a dog. It has a lot of potential.

Thanks to Rich for calling us when he saw this place on the market!

Here are some pictures I took in a rush the first night we went to see it, I will get better pictures up when I get a chance.


The House


Kitchen


Living Room

This is not the best picture. There is a huge window behind me and two south-facing windows to the left.


Master Bedroom


Bathroom
It is bigger than it looks in this picture. There is room for a piece of furniture to the right on the inside and shelves just in front of the door. It is kind of L-shaped.

EDIT: 12/3/2007 Move-in date has been pushed back to the end of December/first of January. So we'll be moving after Christmas.

Play-Dough and Coloring

Well, we got to spend some time with our nieces and nephew today, since Marie had to finish a school paper. We brought coloring books and Play-Dough to their house to keep them busy for a while. Ian noticed right away that we had some colorful stuff with us. He asked us "that?" (as in, what is that). We told him it was stuff so we could play with him and Cara. He liked that idea. First we got out the coloring books and the washable crayons. We got a Bob the Builder coloring book for Ian and Cinderella for Cara. We talked about the colors and the pictures, we traded crayon colors. We drew some pictures. Ian told David to draw a dolphin, and then he told him that his drawing was good. Then he told him to draw a whale, a sea star and some fish. Cara doesn't talk much yet, but she would scribble a little bit and then throw her arms up and yell "daaaa" and start laughing. We just played along and yelled "ta-daa" with her every time, but later Marie said that was her word for "star". Oh, well, we had fun with them. They colored for about 45 minutes before Cara was rubbing her eyes, the hint that she was ready for a nap. I was surprised she lasted that long.

Then Ian said "other?" meaning that he wanted to play with the other thing we brought. I told him "why don't you show Uncle David your cars, then we will play with the other thing we brought?". It gave me some time to clean up the coloring stuff. Well after about 2 minutes, if that, he said he was done with the cars and he was ready to do "other". So we got to introduce Ian to Play-Dough for the first time. He thought it was the best stuff ever. We got a kit that had cookie cutters of animal shapes and geometric shapes. It came with a spaghetti maker, which Ian liked because it made "worms". I made him a spider by attaching 8 worms to a ball of dough. David taught him how to use the roller and cutters and they made lots of sharks and "sea stars". I made him a frog and I asked Ian if he and Dave could make a lily pad for it. He got really tired by the end (about an hour later) but didn't want to stop playing when it was time for his "quiet time". We told him that we would bring it again another time. Dave put him down for a nap.

They are such bright children. Marie thanked us for sitting with them and giving them some individual attention. We had as much fun as they did.

October 31st

I was really sick and had to come home from work on Halloween day, but David was able to get it off too so he could stay with me. It wasn't too exciting but at least we were together. Last weekend we carved pumpkins with Dave and Holly O. We aren't much into this holiday, but there is something definitely fun about the messiness of carving pumpkins. It also brought out our artistic sides. These are our creations.

Doing Atkins

Three weeks ago we decided we were going to "do Atkins". For those who don't know, it is a controlled carbohydrate diet. Instead of counting calories, you count carbs. It is not a no-carb diet, you do get at least 3 cups of vegetables per day. You start off in an Induction Phase for 2 weeks you eat only 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, then you go into the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase where you increase your carbohydrate intake by 5 grams weekly until you reach the point that you are no longer losing weight. If you have more to lose, you cut back some and continue until you get to your ideal weight. The Lifetime Maintenance Phase includes many wholesome foods, even whole grains, fruit and legumes, but in controlled amounts. You determine through the process what your ideal carbohydrate intake is for maintenance of your ideal weight. As long as you don't exceed that amount, you will maintain your weight. That is our goal.

So 3 weeks ago we cut out all forms of sugar and grains. In the meantime I read the Atkins book and figured out what we had to do for Induction. We started Induction on the second week and after two weeks of that we have both lost about 6 lbs. I think this diet gets bad attention because it is really easy for people who cannot control their portions to go overboard, but if you do it correctly it has a lot of positive effects on your health. After doing it for 6 weeks I am going to have my blood tested again. My triglicerides were high last time, meaning I was eating too many carbohydrates, so I am hoping this will make that problem go away.

We have also been going to the gym. I love our gym. It is so big and clean. They provide towels and our membership came with 5 sessions with a personal trainer. Since we joined, we've had some friends join and so has my mom. It is great to see all these people make healthy choices.

David Started School

It's official, Dave has started school. It consists of a series of 5-week classes, taken one at a time. They are pretty intense. He should be done in about 1 year, so about next October. He read his first assignement on Satruday and has a paper due every Saturday night. It is an exciting new change that should bring us more opportunities in the future.

Change of Season

Well, it appears to be fall now. The temperature has gone way down and we find ourselves hanging out indoors more. We're staying active by going to the gym. When you live in a wet area, like the Pacific Northwest, it is really nice to have a gym to go to.

If all goes according to plan, David will be starting school in a week. It is really exciting. It looks like he will be able to finish his Associates degree by next summer. That means by this time next year he might have an IT job somewhere. How cool is that!

He also talked to his boss and they are letting him go home at 10:30pm until they hire someone new. That means I get more sleep. YAY! It will make a big difference for the time-being. Now we will be just hoping he gets on a day shift.

Trying to be Patient

We have received a lot of positive feedback about David going back to school. He is working on getting all of his paperwork in before classes start in early October. We are excited about the new opportunities that it will lead us into.

We are also really tired of him working swing shift right now. The evenings apart are really hard on us. We have lived this way for the last 3 years (except for that one month that he switched shifts before his co-worker quit). There is a person who has potentially been hired from the soon-to-be closing BHU (Behavioral Health Unit at Mercy) but she can't start until they close over there, which is not until the end of October. I say potentially hired because I know that all those people have put in a lot of applications for jobs and I'm sure if she gets a better one, she won't take this one.

I'm not being pessimistic, it is just how things have been going lately and I want to be prepared. I just don't want to get my hopes up. I really miss David in the evenings and I can only imagine how hard it is for him to go in every day, not wanting to be there. I am so appreciative of his dedication. He is looking for other opportunities, and we are trying to be patient.

David is Going Back to School

David and I have made the decision that he will be going back to school. The real estate market is in a major slump right now and it doesn't look to be picking up any time soon. We have been praying and talking about this for a while now, and we have decided that we cannot wait for the real estate market to (maybe) pick up in the next year. David really wants to find a career that will allow him to support our future family. David has also realized that he prefers the stability of a regular paycheck and set hours so he knows when work ends and homelife begins. This means that he is going to give up real estate for now so he can focus on school.

David only has 35 credits left to finish his Associates Degree in computer science at UCC, but since his work schedule is not predictable right now he cannot enroll in classes. We have looked at online schools and he has been accepted at AIU, the American Intercontinental University. They have some campuses in the US and all over the world, but they also have an online degree program for IT. He will be going for his AA in Buisiness Administration with a Concentration in Information Systems and continue with a BA in Network Administration once he has completed the first degree. An associate's degree is all that is required for a lot of Information Systems entry jobs around here so he would probably be able to get a job quite easily. The Bachelor's degree will eventually allow him to take a supervisory position.

We both feel very peaceful about this decision. We cannot afford for David not to work, so an online program offers him the ability to work full time and (possibly soon) get a day-shift position while still attending school and completing his degree. David is really excited about going back into computers.

I am just so thankful that we have found an online program that will work for our needs. I am thankful that we were able to make a decision about this. It makes me happy to see him so motivated and inspired.

AIU Online

First Anniversary Trip

For our first anniversary, we took a trip to Newport in the middle of the week. We stayed at a unique bed and breakfast. The Newport Belle is a paddle boat replica built to be a B&B. It was romantic and relaxing to stay on the water. The hosts are friendly and welcoming. The breakfasts were amazing, especially the shrimp quiche.

We were glad we stayed two nights so we could enjoy Newport for a full day and not have to rush anywhere. We visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium and toured the Rogue Brewery. We ate fresh local seafood at Giorgies the first night and Local Ocean on the second night. Both restaurants came highly reccommended by locals, and we have to agree that they were wonderful.

Enjoy some of our pictures below.

First Anniversary

Today we celebrate our first anniversary. Looking back, we have grown a lot in the last year. We have grown in love and appreciation for each other. We are so thankful for the time we have together.

This week we both took a much needed vacation. With Dave back on swing shift, it has been hard to find time to rest and to be together. We are really looking forward to getting out of town for a few days.

Today was fun and relaxing. Happy Labor Day to everyone! It is convenient for us to have a long weekend for our anniversary. We got some things done around the house in preparation for leaving. We went out to dinner to Rodeo Steakhouse--one of our favorites!

Weekend in Portland

Saturday morning we left, with Ken and Stephanie, to go visit Kelly and Brandon in Portland. We played two rounds of "Rubberneckers" on the way up. It is a card game for road trips. You score points by spotting what is on the cards or getting people in other cars to acknowlede you.

We got there just in time for lunch and we went to eat Dim Sum in Chinatown. Only David, Brandon and I had ever experienced that unique culinary experience and everyone had a great time. When you sit down, you don't order from a menu. They come around with carts of warm dishes of dumplings, rolls, potstickers, vegetables, steamed rolls and rice. You point to what you want and they give you however many servings you want and mark it on your ticket. We got to try lots of different foods because we ordered enough of each so we could all try everything.

We had several tickets to the LPGA golf tournament because Safeway gives them away when you shop there. We walked around for a bit, but it got really hot when the sun came out and most of us were overdressed. We ended up going to a movie at the St.John's Theater. It was called "Stardust" and we hadn't heard of it before, none of us had seen the previews, but it ended up being very good. It is a fantasy adventure. Well-made and not too cheesy. We ordered take out at this hole-in-the-wall mexican food place that came highly reccommended. It was in the back of a mexican market, very unassuming. It was delicious food. It tasted home-made, very authentic. We took it back to Brandon and Kelly's house and hung out for the rest of the evening.

In the morning I made breakfast and we headed out to the LPGA again because we had missed all the freebies the day before. Safeway has this huge tent with free samples for everyone who comes to the LPGA. We also walked around more and watched the golfers for a couple of hours. It is more interesting to watch live.

We had such a great time.

Keb Mo and Robert Clay

It is the one Half-Shell Concert that we decided we would go to this year. David got up before dawn to go put a blanket out at the park to reserve our spot. He was glad he got there at 4am because he got a great spot, just to the right of center, 20 feet from the stage. David took vacation time and left work early so he could go.

Robert Clay started out with his band and Keb Mo playing rhythm guitar, then Keb Mo played with his band in the second half. It was a great concert. We were so happy just to be able to go together. It was the last concert of the year and people even started getting up and dancing. The security guards tried to get people to sit, but after a while there were too many people dancing and Keb Mo was encouraging it. They played an encore with Robert Clay and said they wanted to play more but didn't want to get run off the stage. That is what happened last time when Keb Mo was here and I didn't want that to happen again.

We had a great time, but I can't believe that summer is almost over. We'll be celebrating our first anniversary in just over a week. We both took vacation time for the first week of September and I'm really looking forward to it.

Douglas County Fair

So we actually went to the fair this year. Dave's dad is running for County Commissioner and had a booth there. David and I agreed to work at the booth Saturday morning and we met a lot of people. I met one of the other commissioners as well. It is a different experience to be at the fair when you are a part of someone's booth. There is much more interaction with people that you normally would never meet. It was a great experience.

Last week my mom asked me to help her bring her art to the fair and she inspired me to enter some of my own art. I entered an 18"x24" cross stitch sampler and 3 photos from our honeymoon last year. My cross stitch and one of my photos won first prizes and another photo won third. The photo that won first was of a lionfish from the UC San Diego aquarium and the one that got third was of the sunset on the pier our first night in California during our honeymoon. There is some disagreement as to who actually took this picture. Dave and I are both sure we composed the shot. That's what happens when you share a camera. However, we are both sure I took the one of the lionfish. It doesn't really matter. So here they are. I'll post a picture of the cross stitch piece as soon as I am able to.


1st Place Amateur Photography, Marine category
copyright Sara Raynor


3rd Place Amateur Photography, Sunrise/Sunset Category
copyright Sara & David Raynor

Dave is back on evenings...

So Dave is back on evening shift, temporarily. It really is a downer! It will end as soon as they hire someone for that shift. In the meantime we will cope, like we did for the last 3 years. The weird thing is that it doesn't feel normal even though we've spent most of our time together coping with it, it feels like it shouldn't be this way. I think sometimes that is God's way of telling you He is opening up a door elsewhere, and soon he will show you where. Hopefully Dave will get to go back to school either in Fall or Winter terms at UCC to finish his computer science degree. We'll see if that is where the Lord takes us.

In the meantime we're exploring an entirely different venture. I don't want to go into too much detail until we know more, but we feel that we should start our own buisiness or take one over. One has come to our attention recently but we are not sure yet if it is meant to be, though I would LOVE to be able to do it full time. We are keeping our options open and trying to listen to God's plan for us. Please pray for us that He may make the path clear for us.

11 Days in a Row

Today is Dave's last of 11 days in a row that he had to work to cover vacations. He's getting a 3 day weekend. We were going to go camping, but it didn't work out. It is for the best, though, so he can rest his knees and back. Soon he will have to cover his old shift (evenings) until they train a new person. It will be OK, though, because we know it isn't permanent. We don't like it much, though. We're really hoping he gets the days 7-3:30 shift soon.

Looking forward to 3 days off together. Friday is a planned vegging out day. We'll be more productive Saturday and Sunday.

We had some great news lately, I'm not anemic anymore. I've started a new diet this year that has helped my digestion and improved my mineral absorption, so I have conquered anemia without iron supplements. I am thrilled at this. I thank God every day for the blessings that I have in my life and the direction He has led me in.

Welcome Baby Caitlinn

We are now Uncle and Auntie of a new little girl. Marie had Caitlinn the other day (6lbs. 6oz.) and we went to visit them in the hospital. They are both doing great. She is a redhead just like her sister and grandpa Rich. Her hair is a darker golden red, while Cara's is a copper red, but at least they will both get a lot of attention.

Weekend

We had the priviledge of helping our friends paint and fix up their new house. I primered while Dave sanded things. His arm was numb and tingly when he was done. It is fun to be a part of the coming together of someone's dream. It is great that they can do all these things before they even move in.

In the evening we went to see the latest "Die Hard". It was a fun movie with a lot of action. You do start feeling sorry for the guy, though. The four of us felt very movie savvy when we all noticed that one of the henchmen was a actor and parkour stuntman from the movie "District B13". We all watched it a few months ago. David and I found it on Netflicks and it is amazing. The actors did all their own stunts and if you don't know what parkour is, it is basically urban gymnastics. It is a "sport" popular in Eourope, like I guess skateboarding is here. They jump off buildings and through windows, basically making abandoned buildings their playground. These people are real athletes. You can find out more about the movie and the sport at District B 13.com

House for the Oltmans

This week we are celebrating a new house for our friends. They finally closed on their new home and we are so happy that God has blessed them with this. We are so happy for them and hope that God will continue to bless them as they set up and fix up their new place the way that they want it.

Nathan's Birthday

For Nathan's birthday we went to see Transformers. It was the best action movie I've ever seen, we all agreed on that. Michael Moore sure knows his action. The special effects were amazing. I still remember the TV show and my brother and guy friends having transformer toys when I was little. To see them moving and talking and trasforming in mid-air while speeding down the freeway and fighting each other is just absolutely amazing.

After the movie Nathan, Kayla, Dave and I joined my mom for dinner at Los Dos. I never get tired of mexican food. Happy Birthday Nathan!

Independence Day

David and I were fortunate to both be off on the 4th of july. Due to the beautiful weather we decided to take a drive out Diamond Lake Blvd. We drove out to Millpond Park. It was where we originally wanted to have our wedding, but they were rebuilding the pavillion when we were supposed to get married. The new one looks great. We are thinking we'll probably have a big family get-together there sometime. It is a really pretty spot. There is a group camping ground across the street that we were considering too.

After walking around there for a bit we drove down to the fish hatchery. The little kid in me likes to stop there and feed the fish. It's fun to see them flip almost out of the water trying to get to the food pellets first. We met my mom for lunch and took it easy for the rest of the day.

Nathan and Kayla had some fireworks so we picked some up too and headed over to an empty parking lot. Other people had the same idea. It's not the 4th of July if you don't get to set something on fire. Next year we might get together with more people. Nobody had any real plans this year, but that's ok. It all worked out.

Air Show with Ian

David and I took Ian to the air show. We had so much fun taking him around to all the big "planes" and "copters". Ian got to sit in the back seat of the Coast Guard copter. He said he was "ready" meaning "ready to go". I don't know where he thought he was going, but he didn't take it too badly when he had to get out. He liked watching the big "copter" take off. There were a few fly-bys that were kind of loud, but he didn't seem to mind much.

Coos Bay and Bandon for the Day

David and I just needed to get away this weekend. So Sunday we risked bad weather and drove over to the coast. We were pleasantly surprised when the rain clouds cleared up for some sun by mid morning. Apparently it was better weather than they had at home.

Shore Acres is one of our favorite places to go. We took some pictures of flowers and birds at the gardens. We also staked out some camping spots along the coast for future trips. We had seafood at a local diner and headed over to Old Town Bandon. It was sad to see that the Bandon Cheese Factory was closed for good. It was always a tradition to go there. No more cheese curds! =( We did walk around and window shopped the antiques, collectibles and books.

We couldn't leave the coast without walking on the beach so we went to one of the beaches in Bandon and just walked breathing in the ocean spray. David was disappointed because we had mosly high tide all day and he wanted to look at the tide pools. We found out that low tide was in the middle of the night these days. We got a tide book so we can see them when we come next time. I went barefoot and got my feet wet in the frigid water. It is very grounding to walk in the sand with bare feet. We stopped occasionally to admire the different colored rocks that collected on the shore. David found a small jellyfish (about the size of a dime) that had washed up. Eventually the wave came back and reclaimed it to the sea. Overall, it was what we both needed to recover from the last few weeks. It was a great ending to a wonderful day and a fun weekend.

Italian Lesson 2

Only Dave and Holly O made it to Italian class with us. We reviewed greetings and basic conversation, then we started the lesson on ordering at a restaurant. With our limited vocabulary list we practiced conjugations and pretended we were ordering from the menu.

Dave's Birthday Party

We had a barbeque at the Raynors' Ranch. It was combined with Father's day. Friends and family gathered for a fun afternoon. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with the sunny weather. Everyone helped out and brought food. The best hamburgers are those cooked on the grill.

Dave's Birthday

My mom took us out to Red Robin for Dave's Birthday.

Italian Lessons

David and Holly O, and Ken and Stephanie S started studying Italian with us. Sara's mom is teaching us and we're going through lessons together. For our first lesson we learned greetings. We got a vocabulary list and learned pronunciations.

We have evenings!

Friday night was the last night David is working until midnight. He has switched to the 2-7pm shift in the same department, so now we will have evenings together. It has been almost 3 years that we have been working opposite shifts. We are really looking forward to having more time together. This is what we have been specifically working towards during the last eight months and it means a lot to us.

David has also applied for a part time job in the IT (Information Technology, i.e. computers) department. He has his second interview tomorrow. It would mean a significant raise and an opportunity for advancement. Please pray for us.

Mother's Day

Mother's day is usually around my birthday so the weekend tends to be pretty packed. On top of this we decided to have lunch with his mom on Saturday and brunch with my mom on Sunday (I cooked both), not to mention my mom planned a birthday dinner for me Saturday too. It was a crazy weekend. By Sunday afternoon we were exhausted. Menal note: next year do ONE Mother's day brunch for both! I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I just wanted both to be special. I think it will be special no matter what.

Birthday

I had a great birthday. Some plans fell through last minute, but my mom came to the rescue. She took us out to a Japanese restaurant. Nathan and Kayla came too. We had a great time and I was so happy that David had the night off. We could really get used to this.

I used all the birthday money I got to help us buy a new computer. We got an iMac. We have been saving up for a while and we decided on a Mac because we didn't want to deal with Windows Vista. We've been looking at computers for a while now because my laptop died a year ago. We now can also play WoW together.

Evening With Friends

David and I had such a great time last night. He had the evening off, so we had a barbecue. Nathan, Kayla, Ken and Stephanie came over and we enjoyed hanging out and eating burgers off the grill. It was a beautiful evening following a gorgeous day. One of the wonderful spring days that I look forward to after a cold winter. It is a treat for us to see each other in the evening so we made a party out of it.

Let's play! WoW or Travian

Join us on World of Warcraft, Stonemaul server, Alliance side. Message Ortheas or Lumynara in game, don't forget to tell us who you are. Email one of us for a 10-day free trial. Visit Defenders of the Code to learn more about the guild we belong to. We have a lot of family and friends who play.

Or join us on Travian, look up TheDave or Adelleah. We just started playing this game that runs on your internet browser. We are part of a large alliance and have many IRL friends who play. We can give you tips and we can all help each other out. Try it out! Its free!

Portland Trip

David and I took a trip up to Portland this last weekend. It was great to get away for a couple of days. We got to see Kelly and Brandon for a bit. Brandon's graduation was this weekend. We didn't get to see them a whole lot because his grandparents were in town for his graduation, but we'll see them this week because they are coming down to visit us. David is taking Tuesday evening and Wednesday off this week.

David and I had a wonderful time shopping with our Old Navy gift cards we got from MyPoints. We had fun spending those plus some birthday money I got. We haven't bought clothes in a while and I've recently shrunk out of a lot of my clothes, so we really enjoyed it. We also had dinner at the Kennedy School McMinamins. We give it 10/10 for atmosphere. The food was great too. We wanted to see a movie there, but their internet schedule was not accurate so we missed the movie we wanted to see. It was so relaxing to have dinner out in the courtyard. The weather was perfect. We sat on cast-iron chairs at a lovely bistro table amidst many overgrown plants that cover what used to be a courtyard playground. There is a tile-covered fireplace in the center and lots of random art pieces throughout the premises. What a lovely place to spend an evening! We are definitely going back.

Sunday we had a great brunch at the John's Street Cafe. The guy who seated us was kind of rude, but the waitress was nice and the food was delicious. We ended up spending the afternoon looking (for the Apple store and looking) at iMacs. We had reserved tickets to see Spiderman 3 at the Imax theater in Tigard, so we left Portland to get there a little early. That was good because we had trouble finding the theater and Dave thought it started at 4:30, but it actually started at 4. The show was sold out and we got in line at just the right time. We got great seats and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The drive home seemed really short and we were both wound-up from the exciting weekend.

It was great to get away for a couple days. We had so much fun together!

Ken & Stephanie's Wedding Photos

Yes, we threw a wedding for our friends. It evolved from a courthouse ceremony to an elegant outdoor wedding catered by yours truly. Holly, Julia and Stephanie did the decorations, Rich and Julia let us use their home, I did the flowers (I'm quite proud of the bride's bouquet) and lasagna, Elena brought the salad, Nathan was the photographer, and Kelly made the cheesecake. The Daves helped move heavy stuff. Somehow it all came together. We couldn't have asked for better weather!

April 2007

Looking ahead we are hopeful of achieving our goals. David and I are really tired of working opposite schedules. Our biggest goal right now is getting him on a new schedule, preferably 2-7pm at the hospital so he can focus more on real estate in the mornings. It has been over 2 years that we have worked this schedule and we are tired of it. We want to be able to see each other in the evenings and enjoy some quiet time together at the end of the working day. It is especially hard on Dave because he is essentially trying to work 2 full-time jobs, and he is exhausted by the end of the week. I really just miss him during the week. We have worked it out by seeing each other on our lunch breaks, but that is getting old too. Please keep us in your prayers.

We recently had some excitement, planning a wedding for our friends with one-week's notice. It was fun and tiring at the same time. David and I had the honor of being the attendants at this very small ceremony. All our friends came together to create a beautiful reception. We wish Ken and Stephanie the very best. May their lives together be filled with many blessings.