Josheeeee!

This weekend I got to spend just shy of 24 hours with Joshua! Okay, after subtracting off sleep time, it was more like 12 or so hours together, but we had a great time.

Josh got a ride over to watch the annual WSU game that is played on the west side of the mountains, in Century Link field in Seattle.  His girlfriend Rebecca and I met up with him at my brother's on Saturday morning. Looks like beautiful weather for a football game, right?

We didn't let a little bit of rain dampen our spirits though!

Unfortunately the game wasn't much better than the weather. We left third quarter when it was 3-31, and it eventually ended at 17-55.  We drowned our sorrows in delicious cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory instead! We were pretty tired and silly by this time, which made the evening all that more fun.

It was a quick visit, but a pick-me-up for everyone's spirits.  Now just two more weeks until a visit from Dad. Speaking of Dad, big news coming up in a week for him....

Forever Summer....

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is being celebrated around the world today, and there is an incredibly beautiful moon outside tonight, that can only mean one thing: Summer is over!  Mike and I have had an amazing summer of travel and family time. When we were in Kauai this summer we heard this song on the radio for the first time, and we both fell in love with it. We downloaded it from iTunes and it has been on our playlists ever since. We wake up to it every morning on our alarm clock; how can you not wake up in a good mood when the second you wake up you are taken right back to the beauty of Hawaii and memories of Hawaii?  Though Fall is in just a few days, it will be Forever Summer for us....


The end of summer is also signaled by the arrival of football! Josh sent us a photo of him at his first game cheering on the Cougars (and they actually won!). He may be traveling to Seattle in a couple weeks to watch them play, and if he does, we hope to be able to meet up with him. Can't believe it has been over a month since he left! Hoping it works out to meet up.

Planning Ahead....

This morning I had the pleasure of briefly sharing about our 2013 work in Chaoyang, as well as plugging the 2014 trip to my church body.  Along with the slideshow and meaningful lyrics, I focused on the perspective of a first timer on the trip...

Signups for the June 25-July 6 trip are already taking place. You may do so and/or learn more at the Visiting Orphans website.  The team is comprised of not just members from my church, but from various Christian denominations across the United States that come together for one purpose, to fulfill the mandate of James 1:27 to "visit orphans and widows in their distress." Feel free to message or post any questions you may have.  It may be one of the most meaningful things you ever take....

With Honors...

Yesterday was Joshua's birthday.  I mailed him a box full of cereal, mac-n-cheese, brownies, etc. earlier in the week. We  Skyped with him while he opened his presents, but it wasn't the same for either of us.  Josh pretty much whispered the entire time, as his room mate was sleeping. Turns out his roomie actually sleeps often, after staying up late playing video games.  From the sound of things Josh isn't too thrilled about the overall situation. But I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, Josh opened his gifts while we watched him open them.  He then was off to church followed by a wonderful celebration dinner at Panda Express with new friends! So I guess I shouldn't worry about him being too lonely!

On Saturday I erroneously opened his mail when sorting through my junk mail. Here is what I found...

We already knew his results, as he received college credit for four classes. But it was a timely reminder of how proud I am of him, and reassuring that he will be successful where he is.

Down to Two...

We are down to just two "first days" of school this year, well, that is if you don't count Mike and I, because we will forever have first days of school! Here they were their first morning...

After two days, both are singing high praises of their teachers, and Kaia even responded that Math was her favorite subject so far. Wow, that's a turnaround from last year! Let's just hope the entire year stays this positive!

And yes, technically both boys had/have "first days" of school this year, but for some reason they don't like the first day photos anymore.  Josh has finished three weeks of college so far, and from the little correspondence I get from him on school, he says things are going well. Club wrestling has started for him, and we are hoping he will wrestle close enough this season so that we can go cheer him on once again. We haven't seen a schedule yet, but maybe he will be in a gym near you. Kellen has another week before his school begins. My nocturnal child is still working on switching his body clock around to daytime hours.  Good thing he doesn't have any a.m. classes scheduled!

Birthday Blues...

My boys have birthdays just ten days apart. When they were little, since they shared most of the same group of friends, we got away with just one birthday party between the two dates. At 22 and 19, those days are long gone!  For the first time ever, both boys are/will be away from us on their special day.  Kellen had vacation last week, so he went down to visit with family that he hadn't seen in quite some time. When he got home on Saturday we had a belated celebration, but it's not quite the same thing.

As you can see, Kellen was super excited about the gift his sisters gave him. A few months back he found they had ruined his most favorite ever music CD, Space Jam, and he was not pleased. Well they not only replaced it, but updated his much viewed VHS of the same name to a DVD. Welcome to 2013 Kellen!

The next day Jaelyn's Islander team took the Burlington U11 Labor Day soccer tournament by taking first place. It was an amazingly beautiful weekend; a much needed change from the previous two tournaments she has played in so far.

So now Josh's birthday is just three days away, and like Kellen, he will be spending it away from us. Only I had to send him his gifts, as it will be awhile before we see him. Sniff, sniff...