Spring Break

Wow, it is hard to believe that spring and spring break are here! I spent the beginning of this week with some friends at the coast in the most beautiful weather! Paul and I got passes for the spring up at Meadows and took advantage of them this week. We stayed with some friends in Welches and skied 3 days in mix of conditions.



Besides spending about every weekend driving up to the mountain and then back down in time for church we have been spending some time working on our house. We painted and decorated one room to be like our guest room, and are in the process of redoing another room to be more of an office. Paul's sister, Mary, is getting married in just 2 weeks and we will have some family staying with us so it was good motivation to do some small projects. Next weekend we will be doing some work in the yard.

I can't believe that there is only 2 1/2 months left in this school year! Time has flown. I don't know yet what grade I will be teaching next year, but it has been so wonderful not going through the roller coaster of possibly not having a job like last year! Oh, and I am going back to school to get my masters! I am excited for this and I will get to complete the program while still working.

Well, I need to go and enjoy the beautiful weather up here at the mountain!

Good Life

Things have been going well for us. Last week Paul and I took Friday off from work and went skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Then we met up with my family at Black Butte and went skiing at Hoodoo on Saturday, and came back to reality on Sunday. :)





Our community group is going through a video set done by Focus on the Family and we have really been learning some great things about truth, who man is and sin. Two of our couples have babies on the way and we are looking forward to that new chapter for our group.

I am signed up for another half marathon happening the first of May and that beautiful weather we had was good for training!

Let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway!

Can't Wait

We are still working out the kinks, but this is where I hope to be in August! I better start practicing my Australian accent, mate!

Good News

No, we aren't pregnant, but my twin sister is! Congrats to the Fifhause family; baby #2 is on its way! Check out their blog at www.fifinator.blogspot.com

January 26th

I am not one who shares my opinions on things very freely as I do not want to offend others. However, I am feeling a bit more of a push in sharing some information about the upcoming Oregon election. I know it is easy for me to sit here and tell everyone that they should vote "yes" on Measure 66 & 67 as we do not make over $250,000 and a "yes" vote would secure my job for the next few years. But I am not going to tell you how to vote, all I am going to ask of you is that you really look at the facts of these measures before voting. Below is a link with more information on both measures and don't forget to get your ballots in on or before January 26th!

"The opposition's ad in yesterday's Oregonian claimed that Measure 66 is "a fairy tale" and Measure 67 the "wrong time, wrong tax."

But just last week, Education Week's study on education quality gave Oregon an F for college readiness, an F for teacher training and support, and a barely passing grade overall.

That's no fairy tale, and for our children, the time is now. We cannot afford to lose the $727 million Measures 66 and 67 will bring to protect Oregon schools."

http://www.stand.org/or/facts

A New Year

The last month flew by. With hosting the worship team from Willamette to an appreciation dinner, shopping for Christmas gifts, decorating the house for Christmas, baking, and getting crafts/activities/songs ready in the classroom I was ready for winter break. I was exhausted!

Paul and I wanted to have the worship team over for dinner to show our appreciation for how much time and energy they put into providing meaningful worship. We moved most of our furniture out of our living/dinning room and put in tables and chairs to fit 30 people! We ate a homemade meal, played games and chatted. It was a blast and I hope we can do it again next year!



Paul took the 23rd off so we decided to spend the day at the beach. It was a gorgeous day with no wind and lots of sun!


We were in Albany until after the Christmas Eve service, then headed up to spend Christmas with the Hynes'. All of Paul's siblings were there except for two of his brothers. We skyped with one from Germany on Christmas morning which was really nice. Paul enjoyed skiing with some friends Saturday night while I spent some time with friends before heading back for service Sunday morning.


Paul's youngest sisters, Rachel and Elizabeth, came down on Sunday and spent most of the next week with us. We watched lots of movies, painted, baked and babysat my nephew. It was a lot of fun to have them down!

For New Year's we went to Black Butte with the Hynes family and some friends. We enjoyed playing in the snow and relaxing in the hot tub! Paul got some new skies so we had to hit up the slopes too and had a great time!



We have had a roommate for almost a year now. Not the same one for a year, but a couple different people. Well, our most recent roommate has now moved out and we now have the house to ourselves. I think it is a bit too quiet!

Well off to the gym.

Catching-up

First, happy 2nd birthday Duke!


Second, we had a great Thanksgiving celebrating at my parents place in Corvallis. Both my sisters and their families were there and some of my parents friends. I worked a little bit Thursday, but we still got to enjoy lots of fun with our nephews and niece. On Friday we went to the Corvallis Christmas parade and Christmas tree lighting.

Jaden being super cute as always:


All of us at the parade:
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Bedtime stories with Grandma J:


We are having the worship team over for a holiday dinner next Saturday. We know how much time and energy they give and wanted a chance to say thanks. So, our time this weekend and probably this week will be spent getting ready for that. Yesterday we got our Christmas tree and put up the lights. So many fun events planned for the next few weeks and we can't wait to enjoy them all!