Guess What!!

GRAHAM GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!!!

Yep, it's true. Many of you may not have even known he applied because this sort of just happened over the past few weeks. We'd been doing a lot of talking about where our lives are heading, future plans etc and we both just felt that Graham was being called to apply to school yet again. So he got in contact with SPU in hopes that their application deadline had not yet come. Sure enough, applications were due August 1st to begin school Sept 28th--as in 2 months from now. WHAT???!! When he applied to SU and the UW, applications were due months before classes even started so we thought there was no way he could still start school this fall... Well, it seems that God has been leading us step-by-step down this new path, opening (actually more like flinging) doors, all the while instructing us to keep following.

How do we know he's in since the application deadline hasn't even come yet? Well, he went for his interview yesterday and when it was all said and done, the professor interviewing him said "Now, usually I don't tell people this, but you're in!" WHAT?!! I could hardly believe it when Graham called only an hour after the interview was supposed to start to tell me he'd been accepted. Were his letters of recommendation even in yet? Who knows!!? Who cares!!?

As I think back on the disappoints over the past year and a half when he didn't get into SU and then didn't get into the U, I remember wondering where God was in it all. Now, I can see God's hand at work. We are so thankful that His timing is perfect and that He knows what He's doing. Yes, we realize that becoming new parents and then starting grad school is not going to be a walk in the park, but we are so excited and trust that God will continue to be faithful in providing for us and guiding us.

July

This morning I awoke to a Starbucks card on the kitchen counter and a note instructing me to head to downtown Kirkland to RELAX, read and blog. What a sweet husband I have! He knows that blogging is my form of relaxation and my lack of posts lately indicates I haven't been doing much of that. So here I am, in an air-conditioned Starbucks, FINALLY posting an update on our lives.


We have had a very exciting month although I'm realizing we haven't done a very good job of documenting our fun through pictures. Of course, I did remember to document the enormous and delicious breakfast I enjoyed at The Brown Bag Cafe in Kirkland on the 4th of July. My family came down and we had a late Father's Day celebration followed by a fun day in Issaquah with my mom's side of the family.


On July 5th, I had my very first baby shower, hosted by my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law (Graham's aunt). They threw a double shower for Graham's cousins' wife Hannah and myself (she's due 3 days after me!!) It was great because we showed up dressed alike (unintentionally). Even our moms had matching outfits which was quite ironic. Anyway, apparently the guests were all under the same assumption as Graham and I--that we're having a boy--because a lot of people bought me boy clothes and Hannah girl clothes (she doesn't know what she's having either. But, when my mother-in-law had both of us draw a stuffed elephant out of a gift bag, I got the pink elephant and Hannah got the blue one--I guess we'll never know! Anyway, the shower was so fabulous and I felt completely spoiled by the generousity of everyone.


We camped over the following 2 weekends (yes I camped while 7 months pregnant!) The first trip was to Lake Easton with my dad's side of the family. We had a great time, until we awoke to discover that an ice chest thief had been sneaking around the camp while we slept. A lot of us (including me) lost our ice chests. I was so upset because among other things, I'd packed fresh pineapple and cherries from the farmers market, delicious chicken sausages and sparkling lemonade. We figured some teenage hooligans in search of beer were the suspects. Thankfully, after doing some searching in the bushes, we found my ice chest and all my food!! Moral of the story: have a dietitian pack your ice chest--no one will ever want its contents. :o)


The next weekend we headed to Chelan (actually Alta Lake) to camp with Graham's extended family. Five of his cousins competed in the Chelan Man Triathalon so we got to cheer them on. A very small part of me wonders if I could ever get into the racing scene. I wouldn't want to compete really but more have the satisfaction of training for something and then finishing it. My mom and I have talked about training for a post-baby 1/2 marathon to help get rid of baby weight (whether that means walking or running, I don't know yet) so we'll see. Anyway, on the way home from camping, we stopped at the lake house of some Crozier family friends. The boys went water skiing and jet skiing and I enjoyed the dock and a giant floating island.



Between the two camping trips, we celebrated the birthday of this guy.
I made him a turkey dinner the night before his birthday (per his request) and he is now the proud owner of a blu-ray player to go along with his new TV. Unfortunately, we had a birthing class to attend on his actually birthday (I guess that's a fitting way to celebrate) but we did manage to go to one of our favorite happy hours at the Fish Cafe in Kirkland.


Last weekend, my cousin Shauna and her mom threw me another fabulous shower. They went all out with the decor (green and brown) and put together an incredible brunch (my favorite meal of the day). They had a table set up for guests to cut out pictures from old children's books to modge-podge onto little wooden blocks--LOVE it! Again, I was overwhelmed with how giving and creative everyone was. I know understand why they call these things baby showers!!

Long time no blog

So I realize it's been almost a MONTH since I blogged last....holy cow how time is flying! I promise a real post is on it's way shortly. We've been super busy and July has simply flown by.

A couple guilty confessions from this week:

-Yesterday I drove Graham's Jetta to work. I hopped in and turned on the car and you won't believe what station he had the radio set to: COUNTRY!!! I almost died! I called him immediately to confirm that yes indeed he had been enjoying country music on his way home from work the night before. I think maybe a tiny, itsy bit of my music taste is finally starting to rub off on the boy. I thought he'd never give in!!

-Two nights ago, Graham asked me to pray for us as we were lying in bed. I prayed for a couple minutes and next thing I knew, I AWOKE to hear Graham laughing and saying "Amen." Apparently I'd fallen asleep mid-sentence during my prayer--now that takes some real skill! Needless to say, I think I've been running a bit on overdrive, hence the lack of time spent on my beloved blog. :o)

I have a baby shower, friends visiting from out of town (with a baby for me to hold), sunshine and my hubby's bday celebration to look forward to this weekend....should be a great one!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my hubby today! I love you very much and look forward to celebrating this special day with you.