~Newly Married Group~

Last October, we started attending the Newly Married Group through our church. These last 8 months of learning, growing, sharing, and fellowshipping with these couples has been a tremendous blessing to Dustin and I both as a married couple and as individuals. We are so thankful for the Strauss's and Glos's for opening your home, your hearts, your wisdom, and experiences with us as newlywed couples. It has also been a great gift to learn from the Simcoe's about the joys, blessings, and challenges of their new marriage as well. The Lord gives us perfect instruction and direction in His word and we strive daily to look to Him as our guide.

Our group "concluded" with a retreat at Cannon Beach last weekend, which was a lot of fun. We will miss our bi-monthly get-togethers but are also very excited to continue strengthening the bonds and new friendships we have made with these other awesome couples.

Here are a few fun photos from the weekend:
*Photo by Mindy Strauss
The Glos's, The DeGroot's, The Simcoe's, The Strauss's *Photo by Mindy Strauss
A gorgeous Oregon Coast sunset - it was absolutely beautiful! *Photo by Mindy Strauss
The pebbles at Haystack Rock during a tide change *Photo by Colsey Simcoe
Colsey has a neat fisheye lense and we were able to capture Haystack Rock and the sunshine, with a glaring halo around it! Just a few shots of us throughout the weekend Do you remember Jacues Cousteau? He was my hero growing up. As a little girl who grew up in Florida, I dreamed of being a marine biologist one day. I am not sure exactly what changed my life's aspirations, but I still love to get "down and dirty" with the sea life. It was the lowest tide of May in Cannon and the awareness group was out....I went on an exploration! *Photo by Mindy Strauss
I couldn't help but end this blog post with a lovey-dovey kissing picture....JUST BECAUSE!

~Gift of a green thumb?~

**Click on image to enlarge**

The garden is already growing, which is a good sign. Now if we could get onto some warmer June weather and a bit more sunshine, I think it will do really well. We've already started using a lot of the herbs, but it may take a few more weeks/months till we can enjoy the fruits and veggies.

~My Birthday Weekend~

This post is long-overdue as my birthday was now several weeks ago. But that is neither here nor there.

What a fabulous birthday weekend it was indeed! It began the day before when my parents flew in on Thursday afternoon. It was wonderful to have them in town this year to celebrate with us. Dustin and I both took the day off on Friday (May 7, which was my actual birthday), which was so so so nice. We started the morning with breakfast at Vivace, which is becoming one of our favorite places to celebrate. Remember this? We not only wanted to enjoy some yummy delicious crepes ourselves, but we wanted to introduce this fabulous little place to my folks, too. Boy, did they love it! Dad even had vanilla ice cream with his crepes.

After a tummy-filling feast, we headed over the Forest Park in northwest Portland. This is one of the largest urban forests in the country and neither one of us had ever been hiking there. It was a beautiful day and we could have spent hours exploring there. We’ll definitely go back again soon.

After the hike, we headed home to do a little relaxing before my birthday dinner. Little did I know, my wonderful husband had a little surprise up his sleeve. I was completely convinced that we were heading to dinner, just the four of us, because I had no other reason to believe anything different. After a drive across town, I still didn’t realize his crafty little plan. As we walked into Chevy’s the hostess tried finding our reservation and then said, “Oh, you’re with the big group over there.” As I turned the corner, I think my face quickly turned 5 shades of red because I was so caught off guard by the fact that so many of our wonderful friends and family were gathered together to celebrate ME. Really, this was for me? I couldn’t believe Dustin pulled off something like that and I didn’t have a clue? I wish I had the camera out that evening to capture more pictures, but I didn’t so I can only say thank you for coming, for the wonderful fellowship, and the not-so-necessary gifts I received. And a special thank you to my mother-in-law and Dustin’s grandparents who made a 2 hour drive just for this special dinner. It was awesome!

The first 28 years of my life have been a true gift and much more than I ever could have imagined. I have been abundantly blessed by the Lord, which has far surpassed "my expectations." That's probably why we should never set our own expetations for what our life should be....God has a much, much better plan. My 29th year of life started out fabulous and I know it’s only going to get better. I know that the Lord has some great and mighty things in store for me/us this year. I can’t wait to see where He takes us!

~Happy Mother's Day~

Happy Mother's Day to the most wonderful moms we could ask for. Both Dustin and I have been so blessed with great mothers, who have had such a tremendous impact and positive influence on our lives and on so many others. We are so thankful for the love, the memories, the support, the guidance, and the special bonds that we share with these two very special women.

This year, we are excited to have the opportunity to spend mother's day with my mom while she is in from out of town. But unfortunately, Peggy won't be able to join with us. We pray it's a wonderful day for both of you. We love you both so very much!

~a few fun memories from the last few years~

Happy Birthday Erinn :)

May 7th is my awesome wife's 28th birthday...

Erinn,
I am so thankful for you in my life. You have a heart for me and more imporantly a heart for God. You are such an amazing woman and I am proud to call you my wife. Happy Birthday Hun!
D