More snow fun...

The snow continues to fall...just a few more photos of all the fun we're having with this weather. This first photo is Dustin's backyard - check out how much snow has accumulated on his deck in the background of this one! It's crazy.

Still snowing...

It's STILL SNOWING out here in Portland, which is completely not normal. This is just a quick video of us driving down Dustin's street back to his house after running a few errands this morning. The snow is falling moderately hard and they say that the "storm" hasn't even hit us yet, which is crazy. Everywhere we go its white...but also very slick. We saw a number of cars spinning out and sliding around trying to get to where they were going. We're enjoying it though. Merry Christmas ya'll!!!

Merry Christmas!

This year, we get to look at two beautiful Christmas trees...one in Erinn's apartment and one at Dustin's house. Oddly enough, they are decorated pretty similarily! We are excited to have our own - ONE - Christmas tree next year in our own place!!!!!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland!!!!

Portland has been "blasted" with a winter storm since Sunday and WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! This area rarely gets snow, and when we do, it hardly ever sticks. But since Saturday night, the temps have been below freezing so any precipitation that we're getting is snow and it is definitely sticking on the ground. But that also means that Portland pretty much shuts down because we aren't prepared for weather like this. It's been great for me because work has been cancelled 2 out of 3 days this week (I am writing this at home in my PJ's which is fantastic!)...and the 3rd day was our Annual Staff Christmas Party. Dustin has had to go to work, but does get to leave early today. NIKE almost never shuts down, but they have decided to close down a little early to allow people to get home before the roads turn to more ice tonight! What a great week leading up to Christmas!

He Makes Me SMILE

It has been a while since I posted so I thought I would put up one of my new favorite pictures... with my favorite man! We have been really busy the past month or so, with a combination of work activities, wedding planning, decorating for Christmas, but we still try to find time to SMILE and laugh. We are looking forward to doing lots of this (and maybe even some relaxing!) when we spend time with both of our families over Christmas!

God Blessed Texas...

Spring (Houston), Texas was my home for almost 9 years and I absolutely LOVED growing up here. I was blessed with amazing friends, an awesome school, a great neighborhood, and of course, my family all loved being there, too - with the exception of my dad and the hot, humid weather (hints the reason they are now in Colorado!). My sister, Sara, drove down from Austin to meet me there for Becky's wedding, and we spent a few hours reminscing memories - our old house, school, church, restaurants, friends, and more. We had so much fun. This is a picture of our old house...it was awesome. I forgot how nice of a house it was and how awesome of a neighborhood we lived in. God did bless Texas!

To top off our trip, Dustin was able to score a brand new Mustang for our rental car - at no extra charge - and was in Heaven all weekend. This is his favorite car and he's been dying to find a way to drive one recently. So these are just a couple of shots of us in front of the nice Mustang... and then one of Dustin driving it! =)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Rebecca Wilson married Daniel Berezoski on Saturday, November 22 in Houston! Congratulations you guys. Becky and I have been best friends for 16 years and it was so much fun being a part of her special day. It was a gorgeous wedding and everything went so well. Not only was it fun being a part of this wedding, but it was so great to come back to my old home and reconnect with so many old friends. I saw junior high and high school teachers, teammates and friends, fellow church-goers, and more. And one of the best parts - I got to introduce my amazing fiance, Dustin, to all of these people. I hardly ever go back to Texas since my family has been in Colorado for the last 8 years, so this was awesome.

Becky, I am so excited to have you be a part of my special day in 4 months. Miss you already!

Say a little prayer....

This morning, we ask that you join us in prayer for Nick, Dustin's chemo pal, who is undergoing surgery to remove another tumor. Nick is a 12 year old boy who has been battling cancer for years. He went through his second round of treatment this summer only to find out weeks ago that there is another tumor growing in his body. He is probably in surgery right now, so we ask that you pray with us for:

1. The doctors and nurses operating on him and taking care of him.
2. Strength for his body and mind as he continues this uphill battle.
3. Peace for his family as they question the events taking place right now.
4. Courage, perserverance, and comfort for Nick as he is exhausted and tired from this LONG fight.
5. Wisdom for those around him to move forward in the right way.
6. The PEACE that passes ALL understanding...the peace that only our Lord can bring.

The wait is OVER....

...we've set our wedding date! We are so excited. Let the planning BEGIN because it's less than 4 1/2 months away. It will be a small wedding, but we are so excited to celebrate this new journey in our lives with our family and friends.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was pretty fun! We had to uphold the Pumpkin Carving Tradition even though Erinn and I went to J's football game instead of any Halloween parties. Here is a sweet pic of a sweet girl digging the pumpkin guts out!

Belos is the final product! It was worth it even if we only had it for 1 day before halloween...

And this is the Mars Blackman costume Erinn and I put together for me to wear to work...it's gotta be the shoes! Those shorts were pretty small...but I got some laughs for sure...every time I looked in the mirror!

Here is the real thing...
Love, D

Coach in Action

Here is a lilttle sneak peak of Coach Erinn in action for those of you who did not get to make it to one of her V-Ball games this year. She just finished the season last week and I know she had a good time with those girls! She is pretty cute and official huh?

Sunriver

Dustin and I took my mom and dad over to Sunriver and show them the beauty of Central Oregon. It was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and we wish we could have stayed there longer. It is always so peaceful over there, but the colors of fall were amazing - golds, ambers, oranges, reds, etc. I am ready to show the rest of my family this gorgeous part of Oregon. Mom and dad are starting to think that Oregon may actually be God's country, and not Colorado! That's a big step. Thanks so much to Dan and Evelyn (and Joseph for getting us the hook-up through his granparents) who gave us a killer deal on their vacation home over there. The 4 of us had the entire house to ourselves...I didn't get any photos of it but it is such a nice house. These are just a few of the things that we did:

1. Rode bikes around the whole community, along the Deshutes River
2. Grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and asparagus for a feasty dinner
3. Slept in king sized beds
4. Slept in and eat a great big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon
5. Went on a 7 mile hike along the Deshutes River...we were VERY tired at the end of it. There
were 2 waterfalls and a gorgeous meadow.
6. Took mom and dad to the Deshutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon.
7. Ate apple pie and icecream!!!!
8. Relaxed, relaxed, relaxed.

Sunriver - Day 2