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.

Last Seattle Photos

Our last weeks in Seattle we got a lot of good time with loved ones, I'll attempt posting some of those photos from the road and as we arrive in our new home.
Here Burly and Sophie the Beagle are taking one last nap together:)

Sophie's family has been like a family to me the past decade and we are so grateful for their presence in our lives.

We'll miss the Burke-Gilman trail and water all over WA!

Even more so, we'll really miss watching our friends' kids grow up. Riese will be so much bigger the next time we see his sweet face.

Puggy would like one of these for his own:) Some day, Lord-willing.

Road Trippin'- Portland-style

I have yet to upload all our pics, but we're having an amazing time thus far on our trip. We love Portland, OR! Such a cool downtown area, and urban yuppie, good restaurants, shops, active people and dogs everywhere... Awesome. We had a great dinner at Piazza Italia (where we went for Annie/Ian's wedding rehearsal). Then we went to the best NBA game we've ever seen, TrailBlazers/Kings. We have a crush on Rudy Fernandez, the new Spaniard, he's unbelievable.

We stayed the night at the Bishop's house and got to read lots of books to two year old Julian who couldn't be cuter. Yesterday we drove down to the Bay Area (good to be back in the home state!) and are going to Wine Country today with the Flory's; stay tuned for pics. And Annie, thanks for the road trip cd's, love them!

Greater Things are Still to Come!

Well, our time in the Northwest has come to a close, we are about to pack up our car and head south, beginning our 10 day road trip to our new home in TX. We went out with a bang, attending the World Tour of Passion in Vancouver last night.

I came up with JJ and Lisa Sunday. It was special to hear how their transition to life in Canada has been. Change is always hard (I know, I am facing it imminently) but it can be life-giving and fruitful and surprising in its goodness. I stayed at their charming apartments and borrowed their car (thanks guys!) for yesterday. When I got downtown to GM Place I met lots of other volunteers, who'd flown up from California, Nashville, Texas, Minnesota and elsewhere to give back to a group that has given so much to them. It was cool to hear other people's stories that aren't too dissimilar from my own. God impacted us hugely through Passion in some way, so here we are to bless the next generation of students...

The two gals I got to know best were both divorced moms. I got to pray over them that greater things are still to come in the unfolding of God's grace in their lives, even if their stories have looked quite different than they would've imagined. There can not be a resurrection without a cross. The cross is painful, but it leads to hope and true life.
I also prayed over these unassuming students, who would fill this empty arena, that God might impact them in a powerful way, as he has us over the past decade.

It was special to see the line of students forming 3 hours prior to doors opening! An arena security guard was baffled by this, "uh, they know they can't get in yet, right?" Yep, yep they do. It was so great to have a concentrated time of prayer for Vancouver and the northwest with people from all over the place.

Staff prayer time, I love the hearts of all the people in this room who have blessed me the past decade. It was fun to serve them the last night of my decade in the northwest.

The view from our volunteer lounge, pretty special. I will carry this night with me for a long time.

Woah...

So I have a little good story. Last night I attended a princess... Of course I didn't know it at first. She was in my "special guest" section at the Passion World Tour in Vancouver. I asked her how she knew Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin, and she said she'd flown to Manilla, Philippines for another tour stop with her mom, and that Louie had wanted to meet her mom. Great, I said, why did he want to meet your mom? Oh, she's very special... Cool, what does she do? Oh, she stays at home. Hmm, not getting anywhere, I changed the subject.
Later I found out that her dad is the richest man in the world and where she grew up is the largest home in the world. Intense. And really awesome to know that all the earthly riches in the world (literally) do NOT COMPARE to the riches of Christ. Amen. The princess and her delightful posse of 10 were all about worshipping the God of grace- and the anthem of Tomlin continues to ring through my ears, as the only thing capable of bringing ultimate satisfaction, "Your grace is enough for me."

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.

Israel and Palestine

My friend Kate has had some posts about Palestine (last winter, and this week) that were illuminating about Christians and oppression in Palestine. This week she shared how Christians even boycott sponsoring World Vision children in Palestine, click here to read that sad story. Then another friend, Heidi, posted this on her Facebook status update: Heidi is saddened that the unwavering support of Israel is considered more “patriotic” than the primacy of basic human rights. Check out this link she offered, called If Americans Knew. Eye-opening to say the least.

Don't pack the dental floss!

Well, after 6 hours today, all our stuff is packed! I thought I was a complete minimalist, but it turns out we had more than we thought in this 1700 square feet of ours... We have less than most people, but will still purge some more when we see our belongings in a month... Who knew I could collect like 50 soaps (we don't even use bar soap!) from hotels everywhere in the world. I'll find a shelter in Texas, or somewhere that people need to take baths. Lots and lots of baths. It's amazing how sneaky little bath products can be as we tuck them under the counter, out of sight. They multiply faster than rabbits!

I realized what we prize, as things were put away. For example, I LOVE dental floss, and had a minor crisis when I realized it might be taken away from me. "STOP!" I cried, to the mullet-adorned packer, who promptly froze in his tracks. Phew, crisis averted... But for the most part, I'm pretty okay with living out of a suitcase/Prius for a month.

So what are the things you can't live without? I'm expecting some creative answers...

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.

Autumn Equals... Pumpkins and Soup. Why not both together?

That's what I'm talkin about!!! What does fall equal to you?

Recipe: Curry Pumpkin Soup

Makes 8 servings

Orange-Cranberry Topper

½ cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel

2 tablespoons snipped fresh Italian parsley

Soup

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

2 cans (15 ounces) each pumpkin

2 cans (14 ounces) each reduced-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup water

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. In small bowl combine 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel and 2 tablespoons snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley. Set aside.

2. In 4-quart Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, carrot and celery. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add curry powder and pumpkin-pie spice. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add pumpkin, broth and water. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

3. In food processor or blender, add one-third of the pumpkin mixture at a time, cover, and process or blend until smooth. Return mixture to the Dutch oven after each batch is processed.

4. Stir half-and-half, salt and pepper into pumpkin mixture; heat through. Sprinkle each serving with Orange-Cranberry Topper.

From Better Homes and Gardens, October 2008

"Stay at Home" Moms/Dads

5 years ago, when I was a big idiot, I asked my boss an un-thought out question. (not much has changed, unfortunately, I constantly: 1. Open mouth and 2. Insert foot) This is a chronic issue with me, this speaking before I think... In any case, his wife is one of those annoying combos of brilliant, beautiful and as gracious as can be. Lovely woman. Capable of anything, she even got straight A's I think all the way through schooling, kindergarten-college, except for one B, or something crazy like that. SO, in my stupidity, I thought, "if she is used to achieving, then clearly she would want to have a job, staying at home raising kids must be like, a temporary setback..." And I asked, "So, does she ever feel sad that she's not working?" I can remember his response as clear as day. At first I thought he was mad, but then I realized it was more an are-you-completely-clueless-Casey?! kind of response. He urged me never to voice that kind of question to a stay at home mom.

Well, I didn't. But I didn't understand why until now. Since many of our friends have begun having kids, I am watching them navigate the tricky waters of employment outside the house and paying for child care. I am realizing how most moms would give their right arm to be able to stay home with their babies during those first few formative years that they can never get back. Witnessing all of the "firsts": first smile, roll over, crawl, stand/walk, word, sentence, potty training (man, this is a big one!!), etc. It seems to rip their hearts out, to go to work, and entrust a stranger with protecting/stewarding their little ones. Our friends struggle to figure out how they can adjust their lifestyle/income so that one of them (usually the mom, though I know some awesome stay at home dads) can be home with the kid(s). Even if one can only work 1/2 time, that seems like a partial victory.

And wow, is staying at home ever work! For my friends that can stay home, the last thing I would call that is leisure, they're constantly doing stuff! Nursing and napping schedules stress me out, and I don't even have to do them! Add to that all the in-and-out of cars and stores and social dynamics with other kids, and teaching times (letters, colors, dumptrucks/race cars, toys and tantrums and laundry and snacks at home... Let alone the struggles added when parents take on adoption! Balancing structure and freedom, discipline and creativity, safety and adventure, it's enough to make me want to take a nap! AND parents don't even get to sleep as much as I do, OR have as much time to do WHATEVER I WANT ALL THE TIME.... Sacrifice. They know the meaning of sacrifice in a way that I definitely do not yet.

So I hereby repent for any of my idiotic thinking of 5 years ago, stay-at-home parents, you are amazing to me. Nothing short of an every day hero. You who invest in the character of your kids are making this world a better place one person at a time. Thank you.

Melancholy for what we leave behind...

In less than a week, our household belongings will be packed up and shipped out; we'll see them a month later. We'll be borrowing dishes/towels, etc. from a neighbor for our last 5 days and sleeping on the trusty Aerobed. It will be like camping. Except in our own house... Even with all the excitement of our imminent road trip and new home, we are feeling sad these days for what we'll leave behind. Other than the weather (which has been rough), living in WA the past 3 years has been such a gift.

We love our house, and the view of nearby mountains. To design the garden has been so life-giving for me. I am giving away pumpkins now, the last of our summer fruits. And we couldn't wish for better neighbors, they are so wonderful; we'll really miss the community here. I'm told that the street we're moving to in TX has monthly parties and great relationships too, so we're looking forward to that.

Last night we took a sentimental trip down memory lane, visiting multiple favorite places for the last time. The golden farmland of the Skagit Valley contrasted with the mountains that jut up from the sea, and the neighboring San Juan Islands makes for a breathtaking scene, especially in autumn, as the leaves begin to change to all shades of brilliance. I am a sucker for old barns (there's just something about them that I love) and as we drove down the beautiful Chuckanut Drive (a must-do if you're in these parts, car commercials are filmed on it b/c it's a cliff at the edge of the land, with shimmering sea beneath) one last time, we marveled at how gorgeous our home here is. We have islands and water (kayaking, fishing, whales) just to the west, and the North Cascade Mountain Range for awesome skiing/hiking just to the east of our fertile valley.



We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Valley, Seeds. It's named after the seed company that was in the same building for over a century. Apparently we produce the country's largest amount of seeds for vegetables and flowers. I've taken a lot of people there over the years, it is so special. It has local, sustainable (organic produce, grass-fed beef, etc.) fare and shows off all there is to love about this county's bounty. We had local beer, wine, oysters and the amazing bacon, avocado burgers for one last time. The town it's in, La Conner, is impossibly charming! Right on the river and full of cute boutique shops. What a great place.


After sleeping in today, we're now going hiking here (Sauk Mountain) for the last time in the Cascades. Such goodness all around us, we will miss this place.



I pulled all these photos off Google, but isn't this place beautiful?!

Cilantro, Rosemary and Chives- oh my!

As the growing season in the Northwest begins to wane and I get ready to give as many herbs and plants away as I can, I thought I'd give ya'll two little recipes that have made veggies more fun for us:

Rosemary Butter (for our ubiquitous squash- we put it on grilled/broiled zucchini)
3T softened butter
1T finely chopped fresh rosemary
1t lemon juice
1/2t grated lemon peel
a handful of chives (or green onions if you have them) finely chopped
1/4t cayenne pepper

Awesome Vegetable/Cracker Dip
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 jar Major Grey mango chutney
a handful of finely chopped cilantro
1/2t curry powder

Enjoy!

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.

ROAD TRIP MUSIC- what do you like?!

Let's hear it, come one, come all! Our trip from Seattle to Texas in 2 weeks is 10 days long, which means we really need some new tunes- we can't listen to John Mayer the entire time... What are you listening to these days, or what do you love for car trips?! Please give us some ideas!