Quick Week

We spent Father's Day over at my parents house. It was a fun, low key day. We decided to just do a low key dinner for my dad (spaghetti) & then we had some amazing strawberry shortcake that Sara & I made. WOW, it was good. You know it's summer time when the strawberries are oh so sweet, yet tangy at the same time. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you have never had fresh strawberries.

Here are my 3 of my 4 nephews (From left to right: Ashton, Kaenan, & Sam). They were hot so they took off their shirts & went running through the yard. They thought they were pretty tough & looked cool. Oh to be a kid again, eh?

My Dad & I were just relaxing inside while everyone ate outside. I think he really enjoyed his Father's Day & we are all so blessed to have him still with us. He gave us quite a scare 3 years ago with the worst cancer there is, Pancreatic Cancer. However, my Dad is a fighter! He never gave up & as of last month he is cancer free & considered cured! We were just kicking back & relaxing while we enjoyed an outstanding U.S. Open that ended as dramatic as any major golf tournament could.


Here is my moms thumb now. She has had such a crazy week with this infection that really sprung up from no where. They concluded it was staff infection & possibly some other things, but staff was the main culprit. She has gone through a lot of pain lately & is still in quite a bit as her top layer of skin on her finger is gone & she still has an open gash in her finger. After surgery they think they have fixed the problem, but only time will tell.

This weekend we are headed to Sunriver for 4 days & then we are staying with our Aunt & Uncle for a few days. It should be a fun time with friends & then family. Sara & I feel so blessed to have the freedom to take trips during the summer & to manage our time as we wish. It's the beauty of being self employed & both of us working for schools as well. It means summer's are free but you still get paid. You can't beat that!

BLESSING

Sara & I have been talking about our car situation since we rarely use my 1994 Ford Explorer & it is running harder & harder by the day. We were talking about potentially selling it since I will be at Western almost always during the days so I wouldn't need a car. We have been racking our brain, talking about it, praying about it, etc but have not come to a decisive decision.

On our way home from Sara's parents 2 weekends ago, we talked the entire way about the car situation. The pro's & cons of what to do, but we never came to a decision we really felt good about since transporting Promise is still in issue in the car.

Well unknown to us, Sara's phone had died & she had a missed call. When we got home & she plugged it in, she noticed the missed call & voicemail. It was from her Aunt, so she gave her a call back. To make a long story short, her Aunt shares with us that they had bought a more gas efficient car due to the amount of driving they do so they were discussing what to do with their minivan. As they prayed about it, they felt God was telling them to give it to us. No not sell....I said GIVE!

Sara & I were completely blown away by this & were honestly humbled beyond compare. God has provided for us over & over this past year & as we sneak up to our one year anniversary (June 30) he has astounded us once again. There have been months where we were worried about money or how we were going to buy gifts for birthdays, but every time we have made it. He astounds us that as we follow after him & honor him in our actions, time, & life he blesses us beyond our wildest dreams. We could have never conceived this situation. We could have easily come up with a smart & economic decision on our own, but his plans our so much higher then our own. Who would have thought that the whole time Sara & I were talking about the car situation all the way home, that God had already taken care of it & it was waiting in our voicemail. What a blessing!

So in a few weeks we will be the proud owner of a Maroon, 1996 Minivan. God is good...that's all I can say!

Short Days

A renown political & news figure, Tim Russert, died this morning. Such a sad incident to have occurred. He was a man that I loved watching. Whether you liked his programs, his character, his political stance, or him as a person; you have to feel sorry for his family. He had just come back from a vacation with his family less then 24 hours before his tragic death at work. He will surely be missed & NBC won't be the same without him! My heart goes out to his family & all of his friends. He had touched many lives & I'm sure many people are as shocked as I am today. I was in awe as I read the news thinking how young he was. I watched "Meet the Press" often & it won't be the same without him.

It makes you think of how short our days can be. Live in the moment & live each every day as if it's your last. Never let regret hold you down or hold you back!

Green....er.....Purple Thumb

My mom got a bad infection in her left thumb over the weekend & has escalated to the point where she is in the hospital this evening for observation. The have sliced her thumb up numerous times now to try to find the infection & have yet to find it, but are hopeful that a heavy dose of antibiotics tonight will help it. Here are a couple of pictures I took on my phone this afternoon when I stopped by their house (before the hospital trip)...

This Weekend

We went to Lebanon this weekend to Sara's parent's. We had a great time & it was very relaxing! Sometimes it is nice to get away, turn off the phones, & just relax somewhere else. The Strawberry Festival was fun! It was the first time I had been to it & it was definetely not what I expected, but fun all the same. Here is a video of the parade...



Here is a video of our dog running free in their backyard. She absolutely loves to run in the grass; she even regretfully loves eating it as well. Also, there's some video my mother in law's yard at the end, with her growing garden. Their yard is looking so good. They have put a TON of work into it over the past couple years and are building a big shop in the back this summer!

Restful weekend

We are heading down to Lebanon to stay with my in-laws for the weekend to go to their Strawberry Festival. Sara & I are really excited to go & have a fun relaxing weekend.

Before we head out, I thought I would leave you with 2 videos that are ALWAYS funny & NEVER gets old!

Birthday Weekend

I had my 23rd birthday on Friday, May 30th. It was a fun week of birthday festivities! Last Sunday, we went to Red Robin & then to see Prince Caspian with some friends. It was a good time & I liked the movie.

On Friday we celebrated my birthday with my family. Here's a picture of me opening gifts.

Here is my beautiful wife hanging out with me on my parents swing after the birthday BBQ.


Even though it was my birthday, I HAD to show the boys how to really hit a whiffle ball. =)


This is my adorable niece Juniper. She was quite the smiley girl & did very well considering everyone wanted to hold her. What a good girl she is! My sister Karli & Landon are doing a wonderful job raising their children.


On Saturday we had a BBQ with some friends from church for my b-day. Afterwards we went to Cosmic Blowing here in McMinnville. We had a blast! It had been a while since I went bowling & it took the first game to get me warmed up....I only bowled a 107 the first game. The second however, I found my nitch. I was frustrated as I missed numerous opportunities for strikes or spares (I was robbed of a couple) I bowled a 189. I had a great time & all in all a good birthday. I've found that the older you get, the less "exciting" birthday's are. When you are young, birthdays are a huge event! As you get older however, it is more of an accomplishment then a event. No I don't mean an accomplishment of surviving, but more of an accomplishment of looking a what you have done over the past year.

Sara & I talked about what we have done over the past year. It is amazing! Since my 22nd birthday, I have sold a store, switched jobs now twice, gotten married, went on a honeymoon, went on a cruise, switched churches, & many many MANY other small things. It is incredible to see how much Sara & I have changed & to see what we hae accomplished. God is faithful & it has been one of the best years of my life!

On a side note, I found out that we get to paint our new apartment at Western. We are very excited about that so we can make our place more homey! So we have been looking at paint swatches & trying to decide what we want to do. The moving day is coming up quick: July 27th.

I am a little sore today as I had to ref 3 summer league basketball games last night by myself. We are headed over to some friends tonight for dinner & games. Should be exactly what the doctor ordered!