Going Away Party

We took one last ferry on a gorgeous morning.

At our going away party we got to be with our wedding party all together (except for those of you out of state that we saw elsewhere this summer!) That was a special night as we marveled how amazing/sweet/fast the past 3 years have been.




We'll miss such good friends.

Wedding Vows

Last night we went to a very sweet wedding of Kendall and Andy. We planned our move to TX around this event, and they have been dating 6.5 years (the same amount of time I've known Los), so we have been anticipating this union for a long time. I love Kendall; she adds the spark of life and joy wherever she goes, a unique trait. She is a graphic designer, and the best taste ever, so everything was done stylishly.

But as we drove home, it was the vows that I was thinking a lot about. There is something so beautiful about traditional wedding vows.
"I _____, take you ______, to be my wedded wife/husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness."

We have no idea what we're promising when we say them, usually. The proverbial rubber has yet to meet the road. But when it does, those vows have power to shape how we respond to our spouses. I was thinking about this because the pastor who married them said something like, "Do you accept this person, with all that they are and all that they bring to you?" Of course the proper response is yes; but the cynic in me was sitting there thinking how often is that not true! Most people I know (myself included) wish their spouse was a little more this way, or did a little less of that, or would be perfect "if only..." and what we want to shape them into, is more of our own likeness. This thought was humbling, because the vows say I will embrace our differences, celebrate and encourage them... fostering growth for our partner's best, whatever that might look like; and HOWEVER different that may look than bending to my agenda or my desires. Can any of you relate, or is this just me?

So I was grateful for the call to remember my vows last night, and that is my prayer for you who are married as well. To stand in solidarity with Kendall and Andy as they continue the journey they've been on a long time, yet enter a new commitment to one another was really special. As we journey along our own paths, I hope we all might have that kind of community to walk with, so that our intention to uphold our vows can be supported and lived out, even and especially when the rubber meets the road.

Git Er Done… (our last week in WA!)

Well, it is finally down to the wire! T minus 6 days until the epic drive across our fair country begins. We have been conquering the longest TO-DO list in the history of my life (save for the pre-wedding TO-DO list, but that was full of inconsequential things like: borrow flower vase for gladiolas).

Can I just say AMEN for awesome customer service at Patagonia, REI, Super Jock n’ Jill, Williams-Sonoma and Nordstrom. We have made about $700 returning things we didn’t want/like/use without a hitch! Love that. We even MADE money returning 12 mugs we never use to Williams-Sonoma, and this is WITHOUT a receipt. They’ve gone up in price since our wedding 3 years ago, to $21/mug, pricy! So that’s awesome that we were able to continue paring down. We also sold the kitchen table and 6 chairs we got for free for $175, which is fun. On top of that, I brought back Saucony running shoes that are hurting my left arch (but have been used for a year!) and they exchanged them out for brand new shoes at no cost. YES!

So we are feeling good about what we have remaining. I’ve blogged before about Rob Bell’s challenge to his church during the God is Green sermon series. He said, “If you were to move tomorrow, what would you sell, donate, give away, recycle, throw away. Well why not do that today?” That mantra has been something we’ve tried to live by the past year and a half, simplify, simplify!!!

And so our day has actually come, we ARE moving tomorrow, and we no longer have piles of stuff we don’t want or need. Movers come tomorrow morning at 8:15, giddy up! We’ll be living out of suitcases for the next month, as we galavant around the country, taking our time to enjoy different people and places en route to our new home.

Though our TO-DO list is long enough to make any sane person dizzy, we have also been taking time to enjoy our last week in WA. We’ve been getting quality time with everyone we love, and are looking forward to having dinner at Canlis (Seattle’s best restaurant) with Erik and Monica on Friday night, after seeing Erika and Jodi for a last time. I also get to see JJ and Lisa, since I’m going up to the Couv on Sunday night, which will be fun.

We used our last free movie tickets (thank you Boeing!) and saw EagleEye, which was a fun action flick with Shia LeBeouf (I love saying his name) and Michelle Monaghan (I may have a girl crush on her). Yesterday we took our last ferry ride, on a beautiful morning. Then we had lunch in downtown Seattle with Erik at Palomino and shopped for grooming necessities at Aveda/Nordstrom, and visited the newest H+M. We went to Green Lake one last time, for our and Burly’s sakes. He goes crazy at that place, with all the other dogs/stimulation. Last night we had dinner at the fabulous local/organic Tilth restaurant, that I think every Seattleite should try, it is so amazing.

On Kiesha’s recommendation to “EAT AS MUCH FISH AS POSSIBLE BEFORE LEAVING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST!!!!” I had a pistachio-encrusted Cod for lunch that was fantastic. Then at dinner with Jonathan and Lynnea (love them, will miss them, we’re trying to talk them into coming to S. Africa with us for World Cup 2010), we had all kinds of awesomeness. The world’s best Halibut, pork belly, chicken, faro, quinoa, a cheese plate straight from heaven, and heirloom melon with mint, feta and anise hyssop, unbelievable. So creative, who thinks of that kind of stuff! Three hours and two bottles of Northwest wine later, we were quite happy campers.

I’ll miss that place, and everywhere that we have fabulous memories in Seattle, which will remain in my heart as one of the most awesome cities in our country, even if we never live close by it again. So if you’re wondering where I am this next week, it’s either checking off our gargantuan TO-DO list or being sentimental about this place I love so much and am sad to leave.

It's a Bird, It's Plane, nope, it's just my husband...

As if training for a marathon and doing his first triathlon this month wasn't enough, this weekend Los took on the Seattle Oyster Race, which is the "ultimate urban adventure race." He and his two best friends did it as a last hurrah of sorts before we move. They biked, ran, climbed, paddled, rollerbladed, and maybe some other stuff. It took them 7 HOURS to finish!!! Disgusting amount of exercise. Because Los had never rollerbladed before, and kept falling, he opted to run 8 extra miles instead (the rollerblading leg), so all in all he ran 17 miles (on top of cycling 25, etc.) Disgusting, I tell you; who does this for fun? Only strange people:) I say all this in jest because I am truly in awe of him! I'm pretty sure he's ready to do his first marathon, even if he's only trained 2 weeks for it.

So I am taking the big step and registering us for San Antonio's Rock and Roll (marathon and 1/2, respectively) RIGHT NOW! Pray for me:) You could pray for Los too, but let's be honest, does he need it? No. I do. He's a machine.

What am I going to do with myself?

As of LAST NIGHT, I am OFFICIALLY DONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH SCHOOL!!!! (unless we go the Ph.D route in a few years)

I almost don't know what to do with myself. For the past 25 years of my life (read: QUARTER OF A CENTURY) I have been a student. No longer. I wrote 30 pages this week. I have massive carpal-tunnel and tendonitis in my left wrist and elbow. But I am done! Unbelievable. I have a list of like 30 things I want to do that I've been putting off, so I suppose I'll start chipping away at them until our move date in a few weeks. But so far, since I've been free, I have:

*Had an amazing (Jamie Oliver recipes I have to copy) dinner with friends Joey and Matt, who knew I could like beets so much?! They just moved to our neighborhood for Matt to be a yacht designer in Anacortes, and we like all the same games (Settlers and cards) and music and food; I am BUMMED they came right in time for us to leave!

*Gone to the world's best dog park: Magnuson in Seattle. I had never been there before and it is huge! We walked maybe a 1/2 mile or mile to the beach, where lots of dogs were swimming. Burly played around in the water with other dogs, but still isn't fired up to swim... we'll keep working on it. Afterwards, I took him to the expensive pet store to pick out some treats. I'm totally that kind of dog mom. It's funny, I can picture what I'll go through as a mom of children: as Burly was in the park, I wanted him to play nice, and make friends, and not be shy, and all this stuff... I can only imagine what anxiety or hopes I'll have when our kids go to pre-school and kindergarten!

*Now I'm at Starbucks in University Village, while Los is cycling for a few hours with some buddies. I LOVE people watching here. There are two sweet ladies in their 70s right across from me. I hope my friends and I do that when we're their age. There's lots of cute families crawling all over the place here too. It's fall here, the leaves are beautiful, and I'm enjoying wearing a down coat, knowing I won't be able to do so in TX. I'll miss cold weather clothes a lot! I love seasons, and I can feel myself starting to miss everything that I have loved about the northwest the past decade. I watched the Motorcycle Diaries for the first time this week (good movie)(Flory's, thought of you!!) and the main character said a quote I wish I could remember verbatim. They were on a boat between Argentina and Chile and he said something about having simultaneous melancholy for what he was leaving behind, and anticipation of what he was heading toward. That pretty much sums up how I feel. Seattle is such a gorgeous place (Corpus is so ugly in comparison) and I will miss all the wonderful people here. Yet I am excited for the new season of life right around the corner. I am excited to live on the golf course (LOW MAINTENANCE!) and go to the beach a lot, and wear tank tops whenever I want, and to work, and to have a baby eventually... Lots of stuff will be great in this new season.

But first, I'm just going to soak in the feeling of accomplishment that 5 years of graduate work is done. I love Jesus more, and have grown so much in this process. I am truly grateful.

ASAP

THIS is why we can't WAIT to move asap. Unbelievable.

Seattle Graduation Dinner Party

We had a fun, private meal on Lake Union, a good ending to a good day:)

My crab-stuffed Mahi Mahi in a mango sauce- so good...

Girl's and Boy's sides segregated:) (unintentionally, it just evolved that way)


Playing around with colors

Can I Get an Amen?!

Celebrating 100 years of God’s faithfulness
It is hard to put into words what our experience last night was like. University Presbyterian Church of Seattle had it’s Centennial Celebration, it’s 100th birthday party, and it was grand. 400 volunteers and 2,000 people had an all-church picnic on Saturday. Then yesterday, the whole church was decorated with a timeline of photos and events in Seattle and the church, chronicling the past century. Larson Hall (gym) had a huge feast and lots of fun things for kids and adults.

It was an amazing party, and though we will leave this year and perhaps never come back, the past decade here has been so rich, and I feel so grateful to have been here for such a time as this. Remembering God’s faithfulness to people in the past (a la Hebrews 11 and in our own church family) helps propel us forward trusting God with the future.

The music team put together a medley using the song Amazing Grace, but singing different tunes from an array of genres in the past century (big band jazz, blues, Elvis-esque rock and roll, the Police, etc.) It was so fun. And while we sang songs like: In Christ Alone, How Great is Our God and Great is Thy Faithfulness, I felt like a blanket of prayers of the saints of old was laying on top of us. I am not a very charismatic person, but this felt like palpable blessing.

It made me grateful for everyone who has prayed for me and contributed toward my growth, and it made me excited to do the same for others. Earl preached on the beginning of Hebrews 12 (what I like to call a home run passage- how can you not do well with that?!) and talked about how just as people were faithful to their callings in the past, we are to be in our generation as well. Some things we have control over in our lives, and some things we don’t; and we can use both (what we perceive as) advantages and disadvantages to better ourselves and the kingdom of God.

A story he told weeks ago, that has stuck with me, comes from Einstein’s new biography. He shared that when Einstein graduated from college, full of brilliance and ideas, he couldn’t get a job in research with any scientists. A friend of his offered him a post as a 3rd-grade junior assistant in a mailroom in Bern, Switzerland. It was there, in the midst of his disadvantageous situation, that he had the time, and wrote his theorems, for which he is now famous. Likewise, in our lives, things we may perceive as setbacks, disappointments, or irrelevant to our goals, may in fact be the best thing that could ever happen to us.

100 years ago, on the edge of a then small university campus, some people from another church believed God could make something from nothing, and paid it forward in faith. 5000 members today (and countless others that have been sent out around the nation and world) are the harvest of what those few planted. I pray that we in turn, will steward our lives in such a way that will bless the generations yet to come. Can I get an amen?!

Summarize Your Life in a Paragraph

I hate when people tell me to do this, I am way too verbose... But alas, this one is for the graduation brochure, so I'll do anything for that! Since most of you can't come to my Seattle or LA graduations, here's my lil snippet.

During my 5 (long) years at Fuller, I: lived in 3 corners of the country, went abroad 4 times, married my best friend Carlos, bought a house and the world's best dog, Burly. Needless to say, it has been a full, rich, stimulating time in life. I have been inspired, challenged, blessed and formed by so many professors, classes and readings. I am grateful. When I entered seminary, I had only a vague idea of what the future held for me. I heard God very clearly, while doing an assignment for a FNW class, and now I know and anticipate my vocation as a Presbyterian minister. Thank you all for your passion, wisdom, humor and grace.

p.s. If you DO want to come, LET me know, I'll get you tickets. And we'll have a party both places, yet TBD. It's so amazing to reflect on everything that's happened in 5 years! I grew up so much and am so stoked for the future now...

Beautiful Morning for a Run!

Los just ran his 5th 1/2 Marathon... It was cold and sunny, a great morning and Los' fam and the Zentler fam cheered the guys on. Now we're gonna see if he can train for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon or the NYC Marathon... But he had a fun time running with Erik, who was doing his first 1/2.



Didn't know how to turn this up, but isn't little Jackson becoming such a cute boy! He turns two this week:)


And I had to capture the morning sun on the EMP (Experience Music Project- cool museum of music at the Seattle Center) and the Space Needle, a Seattle icon for those of you who've yet to visit.