First and Last

Last May, I was asked to preach at my church. I just noticed that the audio is online. So... here it is. Matthew 20 - Thankfully Being Treated Unfairly.

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Wow It Sure Is Quiet!!!

So....here we go. Another school year has begun, but this one is definitley different. For almost the last 10 years I have had a child at home or 2 or 3. My days were filled with playdates, trips to the park and childrens museums, driving to and from pre-schools and dealing with nap schedules. This year marks a new era in my life as my youngest has ventured off into the fun world of kindergarten. Since Doug and I were out of town the whole last week, I missed out on her first full week and this is really my first day with absolutely nothing I have to do. I got up, got the kids ready for school, walked them to school, did my morning run, got dinner in the crock pot, loaded dishes and started laundry.....now what? I think this is where I start redefining my days, start re-thinking my purpose and how to accomplish all I know that God has planned for me. It's interesting that our pastor spoke on purpose yesterday and made us think about being the salt and the light of the Earth. Definitely something for this mom of all school age children needs to be thinking about:-) As for the rest of today, I think I might sit back, read a book, take a nap and take on the world tomorrow. Enjoy your day everyone!

I loved Texas. It was awesome. 2 days till open house. 5TH GRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got off of the plane a long time ago. I will never drink bought hot chocolate again.I loved how many pics we took on our trip. Good back to school to all of you!!!*mwaa*

Adventures in Texas.....Heading Home

I still can't believe that 6 weeks have flown by so fast. We have experienced so much this summer and are so thankful for this opportunity. This last week has been full of "lasts". Our last tours of the area, last time out to eat down here (we tried to go once a week as a family date night), last time to the church we have been going to and after I write this we will have our last time at the pool.

Monday the kids and I headed out to tour the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. This was an amazing adventure back in time. The missions were built in the early 1700's by Spanish missionaries. They took in the local natives to convert them to Catholicism. We were able to see their churches, which are still active parishes, get a sense of their living quarters and imagine what it would have been like living in these little self sustaining communities. I was very impressed by how the kids took in and were interested in all the history "stuff".

The middle of the week was actually a lazy week for us. Lots of time by the pool and getting ready to start packing. I did decide to go ahead and do school clothes shopping down here to alleviate some of the stress that will come next week with trying to get settled back in before school starts. So the kids and I went shopping.....ALL DAY on Friday. It was quite an adventure, but I feel good about the clothes we got.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Natural Bridge Caverns. These are caverns about 15 minutes from where we have been staying. They were found in the 1960's and are the largest caverns in Texas. They were absolutely amazing. The pictures don't even do them justice. Saturday night we headed to the rodeo. Rebekah had been talking for the last 2 weeks about doing Mutton Bustin, so we got ready, went out there, signed her up, watched her walk into the arena and then watched her freak out. She was so upset that she didn't do it. I'm glad she tried, though.

As I write this, I am less than 15 hours away from boarding a plane with the kiddos. We have made some wonderful memories down here. I am hoping to take back with us the wonderful relationship the kids have formed together and the ideas for such great family adventures and outings. We don't need to be on vacation to explore together, we can do that right in our own area in Washington. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us. We could not have done this without you.

TLC - The (Un)Learning Channel

Sitting around watching “Outrageous Kid Parties” on TLC.


What in the world happened to TLC?


It used to be “Wedding” and “Baby” story shows and slice-of-life documentary type television. Now it completely horrible television that for some terrible reason we can’t seem to stop watching. Like a train wreck or a knocked over ant hill, you can’t look away.


Toddlers and Tiaras. Stage Moms and Dads. Kate Plus 8.


It is just outrageous people doing bad things. My patience is wearing thin and my decision to cancel cable at home is affirmed every moment that a screaming child is on my screen.


Gotta go - It's time for a three year old pageant queen to have her photo shoot.

Wrapping Up the Assignment

It’s been a little while since my last note – 11 days. This is good, because I am busy and things are getting done.

A little over a week ago I was finally given access to the web server to make content updates. Up to this point I am been working to gather information and create a process that will help HQ update their website on a regular basis. Now I can start making those updates. The technology is not the easiest to work with but it is rewarding to see the labor of the last six weeks come to fruition. The customers that are getting their pages updated are pretty happy well, which makes it that much better.

The web owners have decided to hold off on the content management system migration for few months. Right now there is a workload and manpower issue that would not help the success of the migration. I successfully created a migration package for the current website to the new server, but it came across static. The template couldn’t be edited dynamically. I am working to create a migration process that will migrate current content onto a custom template in the new CMS. It was already suggested to me that they “may” need some help in November when it comes time to actually do the migration. I quickly changed the subject.

My fun side project has been working with a separate team on a possible mobile solution for our larger enterprise. There is a company that claims to be able to do secure smart card authentication via web browser and/with third party software to a iPhone/iPad or Android. I will be participating in a conference call with the company tomorrow.

Finally, I have about one week left and I am completing my assigned tasks. Lots to do!

It has been a good trip both professionally and personally. My family and I have had a great time doing all kinds of Texas stuff – rodeo, barbeque, riverwalk, swimming in lakes and rivers. Last weekend we went to the beach or as my 5 year old called it, “The Mexican Golf Course” (instead of the Gulf of Mexico).

Adventures in Texas... Part 5

As I sit down to write this, we have officially started the countdown to coming home. One week from right now I will be in the Phoenix Airport heading to Seattle. It is so crazy how going into this the idea of spending 6 weeks seemed like such a long time. Now that it is coming to a close I wish we had more time. This whole experience has been such a blessing for our family. We have been able to spend so much quality time together and do things that we definitely wouldn't have done in Washington.

I feel like there is still so much I want to do that we haven't done and want to do again that we have done. We won't fit all of it in, but we can try:-) I still have several ideas for outings with the kids and we'll have one more fun Texas weekend this weekend. The only thing I don't think I will get to experience is a good thunderstorm. I know that sounds crazy, but I was looking forward to a good thunderstorm. The weather in WA is so mild that we never have one. Well....we have been here about 5 weeks and haven't seen a drop of rain. The temp has hit 100 every day we have been here. They are saying this is one of the hottest, driest summers ever.

As for our adventures this past week.....I took the kids up to San Marcos to enjoy a glass bottom boat tour. This was such a fun experience. Unlike WA where our lakes are fed by glaciers up in the mountains, these lakes down here are spring fed, so the water comes up from under the earth. The glass bottom boat allows you to see some of these springs as well as fish, turtles and the occasional diver.

This kids and I enjoyed our last day at Six Flags this week also. It was a very long day as we decided since it was our last day we would ride every ride they wanted to. Well.....we made it through the whole park and water park. There was however a little disappointment when we got out of the waterpark. I told the kids they could each pick out one last ride, not knowing that the park closed at 7pm that night. Well....we got out of the waterpark and all the rides were closed. The kids were a little sad, but still thankful for their fun day. I felt bad, so I surprised them with another last visit Friday morning on our way to the beach. They were so surprised but had a fun couple of hours riding their favorite rides. In total I think we went 6 times this summer. It sure was a good time.

The best adventure this week was going to Port Aransas on the Gulf of Mexico. We went down Friday and Saturday nights. It was such a great beach town and wasn't too crowded, which is probably due to the fact that all the kids down here are starting school today. We found a great small town hotel and enjoyed swimming in the ocean, laying in the sun and walking along the beach.

I am going to try to enjoy our last week of vacation while we are here. I'm already starting to think of the crazy whirwind that is going to happen when we get home. I need to do grocery shopping (there is NO food in the house), school supply shopping, school clothes shopping, pick up Doug from the airport, pick up Sage, kids open house at school.........I guess it's back to the craziness of life:-) See you all soon!