My turn to be surprised!

On Thursday, around 4:30 pm, I received an email with this picture...

which just happens to be Chris's truck parked in front of my office building!!!

I immediately picked up the phone and called Chris, who casually said "I don't know what you're talking about?". I ran downstairs to find him standing along the side of my building!!! I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a big kiss... still in disbelief that he was standing in front of me!!! I had a feeling he was coming down that weekend, but never imagined that he would come down on Thursday!!! I was SO excited to see him!!! And I had just told him a few days earlier that I would love for him to come down on a Thursday sometime so he could see what I do with the 1-on-1 program!! I wanted him to meet all my kids!! He said he had to hold back the laughter on that one, since his surprise was already in the works at that point!

So he chilled with me at work while I finished things up, and then we headed to Mt. Olivet for 1-on-1. He's a brave soul... he had to endure the squeals and numerous questions from all the girls in my van. And then we both had the spotlight on us when Omar made me introduce the guy that was going to be taking me away from the program! Nice. After the program, we went downtown to meet up with Ana and her boyfriend, Paul at Henry's for a drink. It was the first time either of us had met Paul, so that was cool!

I still had to work on Friday, so he spent the morning with Ana & Alexis and then met me for lunch around 12:30pm. After we ate, he went down to the Apple store to drool over the new laptops, then headed back to chill at the office with me. That evening we went to one of the McMennamin's to catch a movie, wandered through Ikea and Best Buy, then finished up with a late dinner at Stanford's. Ana and Paul were headed to the house to watch a movie, so we joined in and I just crashed in Jayden's bed for the night.

Saturday morning we got up early and grabbed some coffee in my neighborhood, and Ana, Paul and the girls met up with us for brunch at Screen Door. Chicken and Waffles... sweet tea... pure bliss!!! I LOVE that place!!! After brunch we went downtown for some miniature golf and then headed up to Washington Park for a walk through the rose garden... even though there were no roses yet! LOL!! By the time we finished our walk, it was about time for him to head home, so we headed to my house to heat up some leftovers and he was off!!!

It was a great weekend! And we did quite a bit in the short time that we had! Now there's only 2.5 weeks before our KS trip!!! 17 days to be exact... not that I'm counting!! :-)

Paul, Lexi, Ana, Me, Jayden & Chris @ Screen Door

The Motions

It's funny... for so many years, I've struggled with being content in my season of singleness, and now that I have the man of my dreams, I'm STILL struggling with being content. It’s just in a new way this time. The more time I spend up in Port Angeles with Chris, the less I feel at home here in Portland. I'm obviously attached to Chris, but I'm also enjoying the relationships that I'm building with his friends, the kids in his youth group and even the connection that's growing with the rest of his church family! I'm getting anxious to start this new chapter of my life!

This past weekend I stayed in Portland, and after being up in PA for the past 2 weekends... it was rough. I have to admit, it was nice not spending 8 hrs. in the car, and I did need the extra sleep... but I was in a funk all weekend long. Partly because I was spoiled after seeing him 2 weekends in a row, but I was also sad knowing that although I survived 1 week, I still had 3.5 weeks to go before I would see him again... and that SUCKS! I ended up throwing myself a little pity party on Saturday evening. I'm so anxious to start this new "season" in Port Angeles with Chris, that I feel like I'm just wasting time here when I could be up there starting my new life!! I want to be able to see Chris daily, I want to start going to their youth group meetings on Wednesdays and get more involved... did I mention see Chris daily? It's like God is dangling my future in front of me... I can see it, and it looks awesome... but I can't quite reach it!!! But I know that's not what God is doing... I truly believe He is giving me this amazing gift, piece by piece... according to His time. And I just need to enjoy the process as it all unfolds. I'm blessed beyond a doubt, and I know that!! I just feel like a kid the night before Christmas!!

So time and time again, God gently taps me, and reminds me that my time is not up yet in Portland, and I still have some work to do. As much as I want to be up in PA with Chris, I also want to finish out the year with Elema in Literacy Club. And I don’t want to leave Children’s church high and dry without a teacher. I’ve really enjoyed my class so far, and I want to finish the school year out. Even if I'm only in Portland through June or July... that’s 4-5 mos. and it’s going to go quick! I need to take advantage of the time that I have left... spending it with friends, especially Violet & her fam, and Ana & her girls and just enjoying what Portland has to offer. Because even though I’m going to be happy in Port Angeles with Chris, I know I’m going to miss a lot of stuff... watching Mia, Cannon, Jayden & Lexi grow up, Alex, my friends at Dr. Martens, all my Literacy Club kids, my church family at Mt. Olivet, and just the basics of city life... not to mention TARGET! I need to be happy with the time I have now. I don’t want to live the next couple of months thinking solely of the future and miss out on the present. I know all of this... and it’s been my prayer request for months... I just need to do it!

And just like He normally does, the Spirit started poking me during the sermon on Saturday. Pastor Gregg was talking about our time to shine. I sat there and was feeling pretty good about myself because I have done SO much “serving” since I’ve moved here. Sometimes, it felt like serving was all I ever did! I’m in my 9th year of Literacy Club and have been involved in Children’s church since Jan ’01. I’ve got the “serving” thing covered (pat, pat)! But then Pastor said that not only will we be judged on if we served or not... but also the QUALITY of our service. Hmm. Conviction.

I can think back to many times in my life over the last 9 yrs. that the quality of my service was not so good, whether it was personal struggles with leadership, or I was burned out, or my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. Many times I struggled with if I was just working with kids because it was within my comfort zone... dealing with kids is much easier than adults. But through all the struggles, and all the times I wanted to give up... God had His hands on me, and wouldn’t let me budge. I might have stepped down for a season to rest, but I was always back in the mix. Kids are my passion, it’s the call God has on my life... and there’s no walking away from that.

Matthew West has a new song called “The Motions” and between the words of this song, and Pastor’s comments last Saturday... I can tell a fire is being lit under me. Here’s the chorus...

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

I don’t want to go through the motions. I don’t want to serve just to serve, because working with kids is what I do... I want to make a difference in the kingdom. I don’t want to just be friends with these kids... I want my relationships to have a purpose. I might not see the harvest... but I want to plant seeds of God’s truth.

God has given me 9 wonderful years in Portland... and now it’s crunch time. I only have a couple more months to make a difference in some of these kids’ lives… and in some of my friends’ lives. Have I made any difference… or has it been in vain? I know I have planted some seeds… but how many opportunities did I miss? How many times did I not stand up with boldness to friends… or missed an opportunity to pray? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not beating myself up, or fishing for words of encouragement… I know I’ve done some good… but I also know there were times when my heart wasn’t in it. There were times when my motives weren’t true.

I don’t want to go through the motions. I don’t want to just wait until the end of June because that’s the right thing to do… I want to take full advantage of the time I have left and let God use me mightily. And more than anything, when I meet my Savior face to face, I want to hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant”. I don’t want Him to say “Well done, you were a good worker” meaning I was just doing busy work to pass the time. I want to hear him say SERVANT. I want to see people through His eyes, to serve them out of love for Him, and make a difference for His kingdom.

Point is... there will be no more sitting at home, throwing myself pity parties... there's people out there that need fellowship, encouragement, and to see God's love through me. I need to make the most of today, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

God's canvas

The amazing beauty of this part of the country is never-ending!!! Usually, I'm not a fan of the "scenery" shots... but I was desperately trying to capture some of the beauty I was witnessing to share with you guys!! Unfortunately, my pics don't do God's artistic work any justice, but hopefully it's enough of a teaser that you can not only appreciate the beauty, but also plan your trip to come visit!! LOL!!!

Sunday after church, Chris and I feasted on Bistro leftovers and then headed out on a mission to show me the ocean! We started at Salt Creek and did a quick hike down to "The Cove" which was a breath-taking view! It's probably my favorite spot so far!! The hike was good, minus the quick heart failure that I experienced after hearing a tree "creak". Who knew they could do that? Chris found it pretty humorous when he looked back to see the sheer terror on my face, because I was just SURE it was a bear or cougar growling at us. Altho, he did admit that it caught him off guard, too, but only for a second... whereas, my fright kept me still for quite some time! Anyway... I could have stayed at the Cove forever, just soaking up the beauty... but Chris and Gracie were ready to keep movin'... simply gorgeous!!

The view of "The Cove" from the top of the cliff

This is after the cougar got my arm... so Chris says!

Sorry for the blurriness... Gracie LOVES going on hikes and it's almost impossible to get her to stop moving!!!

"The Cove"

This is the cliff we were up on... ya know, where the cougar got me. HA!

Have I mentioned how much he LOVES my self-portraits? :-)

After our little hike, we went to another spot at Salt Creek so I could see more water! It's a cute little campground, and I guess this is where the church has their annual picnic! It's also a historical site, with old WWII bunkers that were built "just in case". We were able to walk through one that was hidden off the trail, and then one was HUGE and we were able to drive through it. It was very cool!!!!! But of course, I don't have a picture of any of that... I was too mesmerized by the water! (Remember, I'm from KS, we don't have water there!!!)

You can see Canada across the water!

After Salt Creek, we headed down the way to Crescent Beach... yet another gorgeous spot!! We walked out on the beach for a bit, but didn't stay long. I could have stayed there for hours... but again, Chris and Gracie had more to do and see!! :-) We got back to the car and as we were cleaning... wait, make that Chris was cleaning Gracie... I looked up and saw 2 huge birds coasting through the air. As they got closer, they appeared to be bald eagles, and when Chris confirmed my assumption, I was SO excited!!! I couldn't get my camera out and zoomed in quick enough before they landed in the tree... but it was exciting nonetheless!! I don't really know why I'm so awestruck with these creatures... but I am!


After Crescent Beach, we headed up an old logging road to check out the view from one of the peaks. I was already a little nervous by the one-lane road, but when we hit snow... I was more than a little freaked! His truck does great, and I totally trust Chris and his driving skills... but I'm still my mother's child and I was pretty tense the whole way up. The beauty of the view was doing nothing for me, because I was too worried about slipping off the edge and tumbling down the mountain. Thankfully, we came to an open spot and Chris turned around for me and headed down another, less frightening road! We ended up stopping along the way, to catch a great view of Lake Sutherland, which is where their family cabin is! And while we were stopped, we saw a small plane flying upside down and doing tricks above the lake. I admit, it was pretty cool... but I think it was Chris's highlight of the day!! He's going to fit in so perfectly with my brothers and dad!! LOL!!!


We made one more quick stop at the Elwha Dam and Chris took me to the spot where they rock climb... something I will never participate in. This rock wall went straight up in front of me... and then the cliff went straight down behind me. It made my stomach queasy just being there. For the first time that day, I was perfectly happy to "keep moving"!! At that point, the sun was setting and we headed home to clean up real quick and we headed to his Young Life planning meeting. One of the other leaders, Michelle, hosts the meetings at her house and hooks the guys up with dinner, so it was cool to join in on that! After the meeting, we headed to a French restaurant where Chris used to work. The owners, Michelle and Norbert, donated some dressing for the Bistro on Saturday, so he wanted to go out and thank them, and introduce me. We hung out there for awhile and enjoyed some chocolate mousse and Cognac! Michelle is a sweetheart, and Norbert... well, he's a crude, but entertaining French man. It was fun chatting with them, and it was a nice end to the day!

And finally on Monday, Chris took me to this outdoor art museum, which was pretty cool! It's true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because some of the "art" looked like a pile of junk! But I had to laugh when I saw this... this is for my Kansas folks! Apparently we have some competition to our "Biggest Ball of Twine" in Downs, KS! The NW version has a different twist, tho... with smashed computers, old skis and random street signs included!! LOL!!!

Baptist Bistro

The kids of FBC (First Baptist Church) are headed up to Mt. Ranier in March for their winter retreat, so they put on their 2nd annual Baptist Bistro to help raise funds for their trip. It was a long day, but a lot of fun! I was glad to be a part of it!! Chris's friend Laura is from Italy and is a stellar cook, so she helped out again this year! And then we fit in wherever we could help!! Chris and I spent an hour Saturday morning cleaning and setting up tables, then went back at 2pm to meet Laura and some of the kids to start preparing for the evening! The kids worked really hard... whether it was serving, washing dishes or preparing the plates... they did awesome!! The night was a success and we heard nothing but compliments from our guests!!!

I handed my camera over to one of the kids and asked him to takes pics for me, so here's the night through the eyes of Thomas...

Sierra is the wonderful young lady to the right...
she's the one that schemed up the Valentine's surprise for Chris!!

Laura (the chef) & I

You know I had to steal the camera back for atleast 1 self-portrait! LOL!

Pastor Tim
(I stay with Tim and his wife Stacy when I visit!)

I'm really enjoying my weekends up there visiting Chris, obviously, but I'm also happy for the opportunity to get to know his church family and start building relationships with the kids in the youth group! I was able to go up and help with their Christmas program back in December, and now the Bistro! I'm anxious to get up there & be involved on a permanent basis!!

After we finished cleaning up, we took one of the kids home and then he surprised me with a stop at Baskin Robbin's for some ice cream!! I love this boy!! We headed back to his house and crashed on the couch with a movie. After 7.5 hrs. in the kitchen, it was nice to finally throw our feet up and relax!! It was definitely a long day, but I enjoyed every minute of my first Valentine's Day with Chris! Valentine's Day has a whole new meaning nowadays!! :-)