Sunday, July 31, 2005

swimming in a mountain lake

We went to Black mountain yesterday with some friends. We made it to the top ate lunch and then decided to go for a dip in Cabin Lake. It felt really good.

Today we made pasta and chicken salad for dinner with our canadian grandma.

This is the first week of Tara being off of her CPE program and it looks like our friend Dusty is going to come up from Memphis to visit.

I am glad that we will be able to hang with Dusty as I haven't seen him for over a year. I am sure he will love Vancouver and it will be hard for him to go back to Memphrica.

School is just around the corner and it is hard to believe that we will be moving in a month.

Friday, July 29, 2005

The Holden's


Here is a picture of our great family friends, the Holden's. They have always been there for my family from baby sitting us when we were small to going to our all of our graduations and weddings.

Thanks for being great friends!

My Cousin Doug's new video

Here is my cousin Doug's new video he is entering in a film festival.

Lighthouse at the end of the CPE


Tara graduated from her chaplaincy program today. We got to celebrate with all her class mates on top of St. Paul's hospital overlooking downtown Vancouver. It was great to finally put all the names with a face. I was so excited to be able to meet the people she has spent the last 11 weeks with.

To celebrate we went with our friends Julio and Lisa to lighthouse park in West Vancouver. It was another BEAUTIFUL DAY and we are glad to have finished an emotional chapter of our lives by Tara finishing the CPE program.

Tomorrow we hope to hike black mountain in North Vancouver.

Monday, July 25, 2005

Hanging with Orcas

Wow! Woodsong was fantastic! Tara and I decided that we liked it so much that we would like to travel to it no matter where we end up. It was refreshing to see and hear the gospel in a new way. We got to meet a lot of cool people and get a picture of what heaven may look like. Camping, "climbing" Mt. Constitution(The highest point in the San Juan Islands and arguably the best view in Puget Sound.), hearing Orcas talk to each other, free pancakes and waffles for breakfast, sweet music, etc.

This is a great song: check it out "Kickin' this stone"

It was great. Today I was back at the ropes course. Also Tara had her last day with her friends at Langara hospital. She will be finished with CPE this Friday... Wow...

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Woodsong on Orcas island



It is almost the weekend. Tara is slaving away at her final CPE papers. She will be finished in a week! She wants to get most of her work done tonight so that we will have a free weekend to hang out on Orcas island. The Woodsong festival is going on and they have DISC GOLF!!!

Today I made our Nana's world famous Chicken salad. Borrowed Julio and Lisa's crock pot to cook the free range chicken all day. The chicken still had its neck on it and kinda suprised me. Anyway the chicken salad turned out awesome.

We shall see what the weekend brings...

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Vote for Kansas University

Espn is doing a poll to see the most popular sports team for each state. Be sure and vote for the Jayhawks.

Jen and Greg


Here is a picture of some awesome people we know! Looks like they will be moving to KC. We hope to live close to them in the near future as they are BFF.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies

I just made some really good chocolate chip cookies. Tara needed some chocolate because she has a lot of papers due next week. Today was an audio class day. Listened to J.I. Packer explain the different terminology used in systematic theology.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Boyz on the hood

Here is a picture of my brother and me from our backpacking trip on Mt. hood.

I got a second e-mail from my brother. He and his wife Diana are currently in Australia. He is in Renmark, Australia and she is in another part of the country. They will not see each other for four weeks! I was wondering what he would do with the group of college students he is leading. He told me that, “We mostly feed the animals at a small personally owned zoo here in Renmark Australia (300 km East of Adelaide). It's beautiful here even though it is what they call winter.”

BC peaches blueberries and Cider

My wife and I are enjoying some local British Columbia peaches and blueberries. We also tried a new Okanagan cider. It is a great ending to a summer day. It is probably the coolest summer Tara and I have ever experienced. In a typical Kansas summer we would often have weather warm enough to fry eggs on the pavement. We often don't know what the weather is because everything is in metric, but we are trying to learn. The last few days have probably reached a high around the upper 70's.

I spent a few hours today talking with United airlines. The last time we flew to Kansas City we had a lot of trouble with them. Therefore, we are trying to give them another opportunity to keep our business. At one point today the lady with United airlines said, "Your business is not worth giving you vouchers to fly with us." That was the general tone of the conversation and sent me back to what seems to be the beginning by having to write another letter. We will have to see what happens.

Monday, July 18, 2005

A sunny and gloomy day

Today was the type of day that makes you forget about the other 304 and a 1/2 rainy days we have had this year in Vancouver.

I worked at the ropes course today and had an interesting group of kids from Delta, BC. Eventually they learned how to work together in order to make the day a lot more fun for everyone. I really enjoy seeing the excitement of a person when they do something they don't think they can and succeed. I get to see this a lot on the ropes course.

Although it was a sunny day outside for many it seemed very gloomy. When I got home from the ropes course, I found out that many people and animals had been pushed into eternity. Specifically, my wife saw a patient she knew pass away for the first time today. Also a friendly Beluga whale passed away today at the Vancouver Aquarium. I got the opportunity to see this whale a couple weeks ago when I went to the Aquarium with a couple of 7 year olds named Nick and Andrew. Also I found out that my friend Matt, a student at the University of Arkansas, lost a fraternity brother in a car accident yesterday. Finally a tragedy occurred in a town close to our parents. Two toddlers drowned in a backyard pool. Please pray for the families and friends who will be mourning the loss of their loved ones.

When people you know and love pass away it is difficult to go back and do things the way you did the day before. I don't know how I could handle the loss of people without the hope that this earth is not the end of our journey. I do know that is still hurts beyond expression to lose people you love.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

My first blog

My wife, Tara, declared today to be the most beautiful day we have had since moving to Vancouver. On this beautiful day Tara and I heard Darrell Johnson speak about "The Great I am." D.J. helped us to have a new understanding of Charles Wesley's hymn, "And Can it Be". After which we went down to Jerico beach and tried to hear some of the music going on at the Folk festival. We rode our bikes all over Vancouver and were rewarded with an awesome dinner that our friends Katie and Rachel made.

My brother and his wife are in Australia for four weeks and will be heading the peace corps when they get back...