It’s official we’re moving upstairs in the place we’ve been living in since we moved out here. We actually started moving some of the big stuff up this evening - dining room table, entertainment center etc. It’s a very exciting change for us. We’ll now have 3 bedrooms (or 1 bedroom, an office, and a nursery?) and 2 baths up there, a deck and an absolutely amazing view.
Just kidding no nursery, yet, but I had you for a second didn’t I?
The timing also worked out perfectly for the new teacher our church just called from Texas to move in where we currently are, so hopefully it will be as much of a blessing for her as it was for us when we first moved out here.
Once we get settled in. I’ll try to post some pictures of the place. In the meantime here’s a panoramic picture I took a year or two ago from the deck up there.
I came across a pretty entertaining blog on foxsports.com today that I thought was worthy of sharing with everyone - especially since we’re now less than 45 days from kickoff to the Husker football season.
Planning trips be it vacation, work-related or otherwise has to be one of my least favorite parts of travel. I LOVE to travel and I actually do like planning it out to an extent (I think it’s the anticipation factor), but when it comes to the actual nitty gritty details and finding the best deals or ensuring everything is in place I get frustrated quickly.
That probably has at least a little something to do with my being cheap and spending hours upon hours being obsessive-compulsive to ensure I have the absolute best deal possible.
I have quite a bit of travel on the horizon though and trying to figure it all out has been a nightmare. I think I’ve finally just about managed to figure most of it out though. It dawned on me the other day that I will actually be in all 4 corners of the country along with being back in Nebraska during the second half of this year.
We live in Seattle and I am heading to New York with my dad and sister to see a final game at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium before they tear them down. Then it’s off to Bald Head Island, NC to be in the wedding of Sara, my best friend from college, followed by a trip to LA to see my Aunt and Uncle and cousins and go to Disneyland (this will also be chance for Lauri and I to actually take a trip together since she can’t make the other two), and finally home for Christmas.
Whew! I’m tired already just from typing about it and this doesn’t even include any potential work-related training trips, but at the same time I’m looking forward to it. It should be a fun summer and fall of travel.
not sure where to start, this has definetely been a summer of contants, constant change and events. i’m pretty sure i wont be able to write out everything but i’ll summarize..so far this summer i found out i will be teaching 5th and 6th grade ( i will have taught 1st grade twice, 2nd, and 3rd grade and then 4th and 5th in my 5 years of teaching), moving classrooms and we may possibly be moving to the upstairs of the place we are renting, which are all exciting moves but require much sorting, packing and planning.
i am teaching summer school which is definetly busy with lessons and field trips, not to mention the class snake that is on the loose….(not my pet snake)
there has also been tragedy, a man who lives a block from school was pushed down during an argument at a roundabout while watering his plants died from the injuries, which brought on newspaper interviews at school. …and most recently the news of a 5 year old boy from our school who drowned in Oregon over the weekend while on a fishing trip with his father, with our pastor and administrator out of town my prayer is as teachers and staff we will be able to minister in the ways possible and necessary to this family, starting with our prayers. God is so faithful and all of these events minor and life changing our reminders of how in control of our lives He truly is and how wonderful it is to serve him and the children in our school and church’s care. The following our words from the Introduction of a book I’ve been reading and relating to this summer, “Just Enough Light for the Step I am On” by Stomie Omartian
“More and more God is teaching me to trust Him for every step I take. He constantly calls me to stretch beyond what is comfortable. To walk through new territory when I would rather stay with the familiar. To face difficult physical, mental, and emotional challenges. To do things I know I can’t achieve without His power. Each time something is required of me that I’m certain I am unable to accomplish on my own strength, I see a picture of just one or two steps being illuminated, while those before and after are engulfed in darkness and cannot be seen. This describes my walk with God. I trust Him for each day of life, grateful for every breath, determined to look for the blessing in the moment, no matter the circumstances. I follow his lead-even when I cannot see where I am going, even when it scares me to do so-because deep within my spirit I know that these simple steps of faith are preparing me for eternity.”
I’ve been playing with some summer pics using picnik which i read about on andrea’s blog, its been fun…easier for me to understand than photoshop so far…more like electronic scrapbooking.
so i have really been looking forward to blogging but just hadn’t gotten it all set up with mike until now, so here i am. i have been enjoying my summer vacation this month and summer school will start july 7th so we have been enjoying seattle and the surrounding areas- taking in baseball games, northwest trek, WHALE WATCHing and a short trip to Oregon to hike 8.7 miles and see 10 waterfalls! i’ve also been able to do some reading for fun and watching movies that are not for teaching part of a lesson….as i speak of teaching i will be at school tomorrow to find out more about next year and my 5th year of teaching…..
We’ll be back in Lincoln this coming weekend. Lauri’s younger brother Matt graduates from Lincoln Lutheran on Sunday. We’re leaving Saturday morning and taking a late flight back Tuesday.
I’m not sure that we’ll get to see everyone since it’s a short trip and a lot going on, but I know we’re both looking forward to seeing family.
I haven’t had much of a chance to add new posts lately, but I wanted to take a minute to come up for air, and to ask our friends and family to pray for those affected by the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China.
World Vision has been responding to both of these disasters since the beginning as we already had local staff who have been working in both of these countries for decades.
In China the death toll is over 22,000 but feared as high as 50,000 with 198,000 more injured and nearly 3 million homes collapsed.
In Myanmar, the UN has estimated that up to 2.5 million are severely affected by Cyclone Nargis and the death toll could be as high as 128,000.
We often pause for a brief moment when we hear about terrible disasters such as these half a world away on the news, and then just as quickly go back on about our lives - or worse we become so calloused to the disease, disaster, and famine around the world that we don’t even bother to pause for that brief moment.
For those affected though there is no quickly going back to their lives. Our news sound bite is their reality now 24/7. So I want to ask each of you to join me in praying for those in Myanmar and China and remember them in your prayers each day.
We’ve been so blessed to have such a fantasic place to live since we moved out here to Seattle. It’s only a few blocks from Lauri’s school and our church, and a nice reverse commute for me. Maynard and Barbie our landlords who live upstairs have been great to us as well, really treating us like family. Bringing us the occassional roasted chicken just because and even offering to help us find a foreclosed property when we’re ready to buy a house which would save us 25% or more in our crazy real estate market out here.
We recently found out that Barbie is moving to an assisted living place and Maynard may move to a nearby lake house they own, which is a little sad considering how much like family they’ve become. We are definitely praying for them though as they deal with this transition.
The one silver lining for us is that we may have the opportunity to move upstairs from where we currently are if Maynard does move to the lakehouse. The move would mean an extra bedroom, a deck and an even more amazing view than we already have. It would likely be more money, but Maynard says it would still be below market.
If you haven't heard by now the NBA owners have approved the relocation of the Supersonics to Oklahoma City pending the outcome of several lawsuits. Everything about how this has gone down was sleazy and shady and David Stern is one of the most corrupt sports league commissioners ever. I've only lived in Seattle a few years and don't have a full appreciation for the 41 years of history here, but if the lawsuits fail and this team moves to OKC, I will turn my back on the NBA. Not because it happened, but because of how it happened.
Aside from the land of dirt and cattle cheap shots this video says it all:
