No Baby Yet

Since we are still awaiting the appearance of Baby Shoe, you might enjoy seeing what the expectant mother looked like at 12 hours old.

We Have a Way to Go until we can say this....

10 Signs You are from the Northwest: (thanks to Jeff Foxworthy)

1. You use the term "sun break" and know what it means.
2. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
3. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
4. In the winter you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark even though you only work 8 hour days.
5. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
6. You are not fazed by, "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain."
7. You can point to the mountains even though you can't see them through the cloud cover.
8. You are heard to say, "the mountain is out" whenever it's a clear day.
9. You buy new sunglasses every year because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
10. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter (fall), Winter, Still Raining (spring), Road Construction (summer).

Yikes! Bikes!

3 Reasons we have joined the crazy biking crowd:
1) We were getting fat and lazy and out of shape
2) Jim's PT said it would be better for his leg.
3) We are commanded to care for our bodies as temples of the Lord.

So this week we started on a new adventure- the riding is really great around here- except that we live almost at the top of a hill, so EVERYTHING is downhill until we start coming home. So for the time being we are taking short jaunts around the area (a great way to admire the beautiful gardens). Today we did about 6-7 miles on the Burke-Gilman trail that goes around Lake Washington and then into Seattle. One nice thing about it, is that it is almost flat! Ah- almost like riding back in Ripon. But it sure helps these out-of shape legs and lungs get going. Eventually we could ride all 15 miles on it into Anne and Nate's. But then we would have to get home somehow........

Your Apartment in Seattle (well-- close)

This is the "missionary" apartment in our Brier home. It has the following:

1) Queen bed
2) Dining table w/4 chairs
3) Kitchenette w/full stove & microwave
4) A full bath
5) A wonderful view of the local greenery
6) And, of course us...


If you would like to visit us and use this apartment, please call and reserve a date.

I Lift My Eyes Up To The Hills

"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and Earth." Wow! Thank you, Lord for making the Olympic Mountains. We were fortunate to be able to go over there last week when some friends came up from Modesto. Such a fun 3 days with Stan, Janet and the kids! We did the Seattle thing, and then drove over to the Olympic Peninsula for 1 night. Note to other tourists: do not stay at the Hoh Hum Guest Ranch- Luckily we had a waiter in Forks who warned us about it before we drove an extra 20 miles. All 7 of us would have had to share a bathroom with whoever else was staying there! So we stayed at the Forks Motel instead. Not exactly Embassy Suites, but perhaps a step above the Palouse Inn in Moscow!













So far we have been blessed with great weather. This morning as we drove to church, the Cascades were very clear in the distance, and them Mt Rainer was in plain view as we drove home. This afternoon, we enjoyed a Celtic concert (Golden Bough) in the park in Edmonds, within sight of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Maybe people up here put up with the winter because the summer is so nice!

Our search for a church continues, but we had a wonderful morning at the Grace Brethren Church in Mulkiteo today.
One week until grandbaby is due, so we are looking forward to a trip to Moscow and Colfax soon!