THE BIG ONE!!!

well guys...this is it. this is the one you've been waiting for. on the off chance that my mom hasn't already called you to let you know, I GOT A JOB!

Columbia Ridge Community Church. It's in a town called Troutdale which is about 15 minutes east of Portland. we couldn't be more excited. they have already begun to love us and welcome us (i've only been hired for 24 hours) and we can't wait to really get to know our new church family.

the youth group is maybe 10-12 high schoolers and 15 or so middle schoolers which is a great foundation with which to grow. i have met several of them and obviously they are great.

honestly we can't even express how much we have been blessed in this process. the Lord has been so obviously and consistently caring for and leading us along the way that we have rarely ever felt more than a little anxious. He has provided in every way imaginable every step of the way and now He has given us a job and a church that seems to exceed all our expectations. we really feel humbled by the way He has not only provided, but given to us an abundance.

Before we moved were committed to believing Deuteronomy 7:9. today it is more clear than ever. "know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands."
Praise God!

happy birthday, malia!!!

this precious girl turns eight today...a very big day (not me, the other precious girl).

malia is a wonderful big sister and an amazing cousin, niece, daughter, granddaughter and second cousin (is that what we are?) — she has many roles.

she is also the best flower girl. she was the flower girl in both our wedding and matt & kim's. and I think she's told me before that she's been a flower girl something like 7 times. which is a lot.

well, she doesn't look very smiley here, but she does look absolutely beautiful.

malia loves to read (and to my understanding reads several books a week), draw, play with jaxon, grace and drew and run around grandmother's front yard playing croquet. oh! and she's daniel's cousin-on-his-dad's-side's daughter (in case you didn't know).

and for a little birthday embarrassment...because everyone needs a little birthday embarrassment:

happy, happy birthday malia! hope it's wonderful and we love you so very much!

and your card is late, malia, because silly me put a whole stack of cards in the mail without stamps. grrrr...frustrating.

Parents Week!!!

well settle in everyone. you are starting what will probably be our longest blog yet. just be thankful it's daniel instead of kirsten. that should save you several hours of reading.

they came and went and it was a great week! we probably did more in this one week than we have done in the month prior to their visit, but it was good. i'll jump right in to the play by play...tuesday we got the trip off with a bang by heading west to the beach. none of the six of us had ever been to the oregon coast so it made for a little getting lost but a lot of beautiful driving. by the way you can thank dad for all the great pictures.

we got our day started with a stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory. i've gotta say, if you've never seen thousands of pounds of cheese sliding around on conveyor belts it's pretty awesome. i can now say that i'm kind of a cheese snob. i'll only eat tillamook cheese from now on (unless by chance it isn't available...but then i'll wish i was eating tillamook cheese). we all ate free samples and some tillamook ice cream before we headed for the coast.

we got to hwy 101 and headed north, winding through hills and forests and saw some amazing views of the pacific.

kirsten actually got to touch the pacific ocean for the first time which was awesome...but really really cold. i mean really cold. and there were actually kids there in swimsuits like it was daytona beach or something. i guess when you live in oregon you do what you've got to do.
the beaches were beautiful and we had a great day heading up almost all the way to washington before coming back home.
wednesday the three guys went out early for our first oregon golfing experience. let's just say it's not any easier on the west coast. that afternoon we met up with the ladies who had been downtown shopping. we got some gelato, went to Powell's, and had a great dinner outside in Portland.
thursday we were right back at it. after matt got off work we headed out to the Columbia Gorge to see the same set of waterfalls kirsten and i saw on our way into portland.

this time we took the time to hike to a few others that we didn't get to see last time.
that night we had dinner at the Kennedy School (another one of our favorites).

friday we went to the International Rose Test Garden which was great, but actually a little disappointing because a lot of the roses that were in bloom a few weeks ago when kirsten and i went were gone by now. it was still great and dad the photographer got some great pictures.



after the rose garden we came home and took it easy for awhile before dinner a great italian place a short walk from matt and kim's.

saturday after a big breakfast the guys went for another golf outing while the girls spent some more money. that night we had a relaxing night full of mexican food and board games.
sunday we got up and had a delicious brunch in portland before mom and dad headed off to the airport.

it really was a great week. so all of you out there know that we are experienced entertainers now and are ready for YOU to come visit!!! just let us know when to pick you up.

busy, busy Saturday

kirsten

well, I know your monday is essentially over, but our week is really just beginning (no, I didn't just wake up at 4 in the afternoon....)...so I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

We had a super fun Saturday—we decided to just go downtown and "get lost," and to take public transportation the entire time!!! woohoo! you have no idea how much the bus system intimidates us (there's the max, which is the lightrail, the streetcar, which is like a modern trolley, and the busses. and the busses are super complex and seemingly complicated).

so we headed downtown on the max and started with lunch in north portland at a place called gravy (shan, look how super cute their logo is). They boast "southern" food, too, which it actually was more like just breakfast, and they didn't have sweet tea, so you can't really call it southern. regardless, it was super, super yummy. and packed. just packed. we had biscuits (and gravy, go figure), and then bacon and eggs. but they had a creme bruleed fruit and oatmeal thing that just seemed amazing and their hashbrowns looked so good, too. so plenty of options for next time, too!

then we walked around the area a bit, wandering around the boutiques and such, and it seemed like a really, really cool area. so that was really fun.

we went and got some coffee in the SE district, in an area we know a bit better (we've been trying to scout out apartments, just in case you know, and so that was part of our mission there...). Really nice baristas and yummy "cold pressed" coffee. plus a break from walking (you can't tell how much walking we've done from what i've said here, but trust me, a lot).

afterwards we headed west of the river and went to check out the "sun in the city" event—which was a huge sand "castle" building contest. Our favorite was the great wall of China with pretty far-off seconds of mario in the tunnel and a cucumber going down a slide (ha!) plus there's this walla walla onion. Plus, look at all those cute kids playing in the sand! and what are those things called from mario bros? koopa troopas? haha, alright, i'm getting a little carried away...

then we sat down to take a break and people watch...

before heading to a really cool park where there's a wading pool with tons of little kids falling all over themselves to get in the water...haha!

and then to the downtown REI to dream about kayaks, canoes and mountain bikes...

We ate dinner at this amazing pizza place called hot lips pizza. Their pizza is locally famous, super good, has funky-strange seasonal specials, and was so cheap! We filled up on $10!!! and i snuck a picture of these kids—just covered in pizza sauce while their dads (apparent brothers out to dinner) carried on a conversation, oblivious. (haha, are you beginning to see a theme? promise that's not intentional, nor does it carry any subtleties...just lots of cuties running around that day).

this is daniel very "sternly" telling me to put my phone away. he does this alot...he doesn't find me pulling out my phone to get pictures of things like stranger kids and pizza amusing... haha, i like how you can tell that he really is looking at me and not at the camera. that's funny...

afterwards we headed to powells to read the newest newsweek about obama's faith. pretty interesting i guess if anyone's interested. Worth reading, but maybe not worth buying. at least if you're on our budget. Nothing revolutionary.

So that was our Saturday! Sunday we went again to Imago Dei, which again was pretty fun...and then I think just rested. We had pork chops and corn on the cob last night for dinner. I know, a real dinner. and I think for under like $8, which is pretty amazing.

The Monroe seniors are flying in in a couple of hours. They'll be here all week and we have it all planned out, so be ready to enjoy plenty of pictures of this upcoming week. And they're bringing Daniel's clubs, so he's pretty excited about that (not that we have the money right now for him to play golf—haha—but soon!). The agenda includes the coast, shopping, golfing, some more of the waterfalls, a few nice dinners, and so much more! I'm sure you can't wait!!!

days 3, 4 and 5

i failed miserably. I mean, I don't even know how it went so bad. but no one seemed to notice until Amanda. Promise we'll get better at posting, ya'll.

On Wednesday night we went to an outdoor movie in a park. It was in a superfun neighborhood in Portland called Sellwood, that's in the SE district, about as far south as it goes. The park's right on the river and there were crew boats, kayaks and sailboats on the water. Plus, there was free Starbucks and popcorn. 

We had picked up some dinner at a mexican restaurant nearby and picnicked prior to the start of the movie. There was a band—and I wish ya'll could have seen these guys. 50-year-old men living out their fantasy of being in a band. Dancing around the stage and all—it was definitely entertaining. 

And then we saw Across the Universe, which is kind of like Moulin Rouge but with Beatles music. It was pretty interesting. It definitely got cold sitting on the ground, but it was super fun being there and being out and just playing. 

sorry for the creepy look, the other one has daniel's eyes closed

Really, that was the only interesting thing that we did this week. Other than that, some work, a grocery store run or two, a couple of walks, etc. 

Job stuff is going great, and we definitely feel like we're nearing the end. It's looking like we're not going to know for sure until early August though, so there's still some waiting to be done, but hang in tight—soon we'll be able to reveal all!

happy birthday to kim!

hooray kim! if you know her, you should give her a call or send an email. or call matt and have him put her on the phone.

that's kim on the left, and matt (don't he and daniel look a lot alike?)—they went whitewater rafting today, but matt wasn't dressed yet.

this is kim and matt's dog, ben. they're obsessed with him. the fluff is the insides of the squirrel he tore apart last night.

kim enjoys playing board games and eating at chili's. a sports fanatic, kim can hold her own with the boys. kim is best known in the monroe family for supporting matt while he went to school for 21 years and having her hair braided by all the younger cousins. she shops at crate and barrel and ann taylor loft (hint, hint) and appreciates a good manicure.

Happy Birthday Kim! From your {insert apples to apples adjective here} house guests!

for your listening pleasure

kirsten

there are some things that obviously change when you move. the weather, for one. radio stations, for another. today we will be letting you in on some of the stations we've found here in portland. there's nothing revolutionary, none of them are out of this world and there actually are some worth listening to, but here are the ones we've chosen.

101.9 kink fm. this one's a bit like dave (dan, we think of you), but there's no mara (daniel says thank goodness), no radio free lunch, etc. but they do have a lot of local portland music and some of the more underground stuff. and then like bagpipes on sunday nights. strange.

97.1 charlie. okay, seriously, the tagline for this station is "we play everything." not kidding. and neither are they. r kelley is followed up by the beach boys. and it can be hit or miss, but definitely provides for some entertainment.

104.1 the fish. no really. they were .6 digits off. and they're tagline is seriously "safe for the whole family." i mean, people, we're across the country, how does that happen? but we like 88.3, the other christian station, better—even though it doesn't get as good of reception (okay, we're not sure if 88.3 is right...)

99.5 wolf. this one's country. just like every other country station. but they don't play the braves games. 

that's about it. we have others in our presets (some good r&b and such) but we rarely listen to them. so now you know what we're hearing when we drive down the street. and the picture is totally unrelated—just us saying hi!

our weekend

kirsten

well happy monday for many of you! (or i guess possibly tuesday, wednesday or even august, depending...) today (sunday still for me) begins my week of blogging. there are tons (i mean tons) of people i need to call and i have a good amount of work to do this week, but i will (or we will) be committed to the blog this week, so that everyday you all have something to read.

so now, about our weekend. i won't go into too many details, but we're "feeling optimistic" i'll say about some job situations here and so we decided to reward ourselves on friday night by going out to dinner, just the two of us. we really rarely do this (okay, I don't think we have since we got here) because we'll go if matt and kim are going or, for instance, when lb was in town, but it's too much to just go on our own. so this was a big treat.

and, to boot (i just wrote that), we went to a place we've been wanting to check out for a long time. oh! and we did more than just eat. we saw a movie too!!! alright. so we went to the kennedy school. when all of you come to visit us—which we know you will—we will definitely go here. it's a portland staple, i suppose. so here's the basics: there's a "chain" here, i guess, called mcmenamins that for the most part reclaims old buildings and turns them into these restaurants. they're all over oregon and aren't just restaurants—several of them have hotels, some have movie theaters, they brew their own beer, and some have like spas or golf courses. and they all have a ton of character and are really cool.

the coolest one, people say, is in portland in the northeast (now that all of the budding cartographers—dan—know the lay of the land). the kennedy school is a historic elementary school, built in 1915 and closed in 1975. alright, so, the hotel/restaurant/movie theater is pretty inventive. all of the hotel rooms are in the old classrooms and (we didn't see any) apparently have like chalkboards and "cloakrooms" and the restaurant is in the cafeteria and the movie theater in the auditorium. they also have a few bars throughout—in honors hall and detention. and the front office is the check in for the hotel. a ton of the stuff inside—including little water fountains and such, are preserved, and there are historic pictures and information throughout. it really looks like an old school and it's super cool.

we ate dinner—they're hamburgers and pizza are yummy—and then saw a movie (baby mama, they play "second showings," movies that just left the theater, but i think they're before the dollar theater. and they cost $3, which is really nice.) the auditorium is filled with sofas—loveseats and chairs and three or four-person couches, which makes everything really comfy—and little —end and coffee and such. anyway, it was really fun. like really, really fun. we couldn't stop smiling. and unfortunately we didn't get any pictures. but when ya'll come visit, we will definitely take pictures.

right, so then saturday we went to the big portland farmers market. they have several in portland throughout the week and then a lot of the neighborhoods and the suburbs each have their own, but this is the big one and i've been wanting to go since we got here (which, by the way, is three weeks today). it was amazing—all sorts of fruits, vegetables, flowers and such and then homemade breads, cheeses, and milk and eggs and stuff. people everywhere and lots of vendors (did you know that word can also be spelled venders? who knew??). we got some lettuce, bread and green beans (we don't need much these days) and then picked up some lunch (they also have hot-food vendors, entertainment and coffee/juice bars). and sat in the shade eating. it was a blast, seriously. and sorry this is the only picture that we actually took... (and if you can't tell, daniel's eating here)