Delicious AND pretty!

Our delicious dinner – it was so pretty, I couldn’t resist a photo!

A view...not from the top!

Dustin and I have a quarter of a season ticket package to the Blazer basketball games, but we usually sit up high in the rafters. We’re not complaining, we love those seats and have fun at the games. But last Friday night, we had seats that were even better – Brandon Roy’s seats! If you don’t know who Brandon is, he is the stud on our team and is now a two-time NBA All-Star. And I like to tell people that Dustin is “related” to him! =) Let me explain: Dustin’s cousin, Justin, is married to Brandon’s cousin, Tawana. So in a way they are related through marriage, right? At any rate, Justin was able to hook us up with some of Brandon’s tickets for Friday night’s game. I was kind of star-struck trying to figure out who everyone was and how they were related to all the players. We sat next to Steve Blake’s parents, in front of us was his wife and kids, behind us was Travis Outlaw’s brother. I am sure there were others, I just didn’t get them figured out! These are just a few shots from our close seats! Thanks Justin, Tawana, and Brandon!

Seattle, WA - Pike Place Market

This is becoming one of my favorite places…I have only been to Seattle twice now, but I love going to the Pike Place Market. You can find any fresh fruit, veggie, flowers, fish, pasta, grain, jams and jellies, or even craft products! It’s amazing. On my trip last week, I bought myself some flowers and was not sure what to bring back for Dustin. Well, one of the salesmen was great at his job, and he convinced me to sample the chocolate spaghetti! It is delicious, so I bought some for Dustin. It’s actually called Dark Chocolate Linguini. It’s really good dry and uncooked, but it’s even better when you boil it, top it with a warm mashed berry sauce, and then put a big spoonful of vanilla icecream on top! It was amazing. If you’re ever in or near Seattle, be sure to visit Pike Place Market!

We have a HOME!

Dustin did an awesome job of researching and driving around to look at different potential homes for us to live in once we’re married. We’re still hoping to buy a home in the near future, but decided to go the rental path for the first 6-12 months and get our feet on the ground. We found a brand new townhome (2 bedrooms, 2 .5 bathrooms) and are so excited to call it home! I’ll be moving in about 2 weeks before the wedding. AWESOME JOB DUST!

Valentines Day 09

Originally me and 3 guys were going to be in California for the Valentine's day weekend watching the Tour of California but we had 2 people drop out at the last minute yesterday so we chose not to go. I was a little bummed because it was goign to be my first Pro Cycling Race and Lance Armstrong's first face in the US after his recent comeback. BUT then I realized that I get to spend the day with my Valentine and it was ALL good. Erinn had to work for a few hours this morning so why she did I went for my own Tour of Tigard and saw this cool sign...this is for you Erinn!!!

Just a reminder...

Acts 12:11 – “Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Hero’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.’”

Peter was in what appeared to be an awful situation – he was persecuted for being a Christian and thrown in prison for a few days until Passover was finished; at which time, Herod planned to have him killed. An angel appeared to him in prison and freed him from the chains and led him to this freedom. The entire time Peter assumed it was just a vision and it was not really happening. In fact, it wasn’t until a block away when the angel left him that he realized it had actually happened. The incident – the miracle – was already completed by the time he realized the work that that Lord had done in his life! He brought him through safely to “the other side.” And not only did the Lord bring him out safely, but this miracle defied the odds of Herod and all of the Jewish people. No one believe that this would or actually did happen.

It’s so easy to be ignorant to the work that the Lord is presently doing in our lives, until after he has already “finished” the miracle! Is it because we are so focused on ourselves or do we not trust that the Lord is actively participating in our lives on daily basis! We have so much on our plate right now – planning a wedding, finding a home, new possibilities with our jobs, starting our marriage, and so much more. We wonder, “How will we get all of this done? There is a lot to do and we are on a time-crunch.” But are we forgetting what a great God we serve – He WILL provide and take us safely to the other side, just as he did for Peter in this story! If we continue to lean on Him and let Him guide our decisions and ask for discernment, all we need to do is enjoy the ride. We will then “wake up” one day and realize – God totally brought us safely across.

Lord, thank you for this reminder today – a reminder that you are always with us and never leave our side no matter what situation we are in. We don’t need to try and solve the problem on our own, but simply trust you and then let you lead us daily. We pray for wisdom and discernment to guide us with all of our decisions we have to make in the near and far future.

My Junction City Shower

Dustin's mom, Peggy, threw me a great shower a couple of weeks ago and these are a few of the photos from it. There were close to 25 ladies there who helped "shower" me/us with gifts. And of course yummy desserts as well - it wouldn't be a DeGroot event without lots of desserts! =) Thank you very much Peggy and also to all of the ladies who gave us such great gifts...it's fun watching our collection grow. We're less than 2 months from the big wedding day now! Lots of very exciting things going on, but we are staying very, very busy as well.

Peggy made me this really neat "towel cake" and as you can tell, it has lots of towels but then fun decorations too - glasses, embellishments, lotion, etc. Thanks, Peg!
Dustin showed up afterwards to grab a few desserts (of course!) and help me load all of the gifts into the car.

One of the many games we played was that I got to pick a partner, and together we had to bake this dessert without any directions. I chose Heidi, one of Dustin's sister, so she could practice her baking skills as well - she is getting married 3 weeks after us! The clever and resourceful person that I am though found a different way of doing it! One of the ingredients we were given to use was evaporated milk and of all things, the recipe for the dessert we were making was on the inside of the label!

A display of lots of yummy treats and pretty flowers! (and Dustin's cousin's daughter, Ashlee)

Uncle Mike was on his way out the door to go serve at an event at his church, and Peggy seized the opportunity to get a shot of us both dressed up. So, I didn't really get served by men in tuxes at this shower...but this photo may have had you convinced otherwise!

Before everyone showed up, I actually spent a few hours in the kitchen helping Peggy get everything set up. I am frosting one of the desserts with Nutella...yummy!

A little bit of everything from Colorado

This post is very delayed - sorry! It includes a ton of pictures from our trip to Colorado at the end of December. We had a great time and did a ton. The pictures are from my first bridal shower (thanks mom, Sara, Kari, and Kristen!), opening gifts with my grandpa and grandma for the first time in 16 years, New Years Eve at Josh and Kari's place, and a few from our day trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. The one with the elk - this was the largest herd any of us had ever seen and they were so close to the street. It was pretty cool to see!

Aunt Erinn and Uncle Dustin!!!!!!!

That is right…Dustin and I are going to be an aunt and uncle as of August 2009! My brother and sister-in-law, Josh and Kari are expecting their first child this summer. I am so excited and can’t wait to SPOIL that child. S/He (or should I say “they” because there is a slight possibility it could be twins!) is going to be the cutest darn thing ever. Fortunately, Kari had her very first doctor appointment the day before we flew back to Portland, so I got to be one of the lucky ones and go with her – there were 6 of us, plus her doctor, all in one little patient room. Thanks for letting us come with Kari. These are pictures of the proud parents to be!

Christmas 2008

For those of you who actually check our blog, I apologize for being so delayed in posting. It seems my time and energy is elsewhere at the moment…planning a wedding takes a lot of time! =) At any rate, we had a fabulous Christmas this year and below are just a few of the pictures to prove it. Despite the snowing weather, we were still able to spend a few days in Junction City with Dustin’s family, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year and had a great time. We then flew out to visit my family for a week in Colorado and got a lot done in that short amount of time…my grandparents from Chicago and Uncle from Georgia were in town for the first few days of our trip, I had a bridal shower (thanks mom, Sara, Kari, and Kristen!) while the boys had a fun afternoon of bowling, Dustin hit the slopes with Josh and his father-in-law, Dave, we had a couples engagement party and got lots of FUN gifts (thanks Linda!), did lots of wedding planning, watched a number of movies, spent the day in Estes Park at Rocky Mountain National Park, celebrated the New Year…and then came home!