holy spirit come

3 weeks from today. Where has the last 9 months gone? It's crazy. I preached twice today. Pentecost. Holy Spirit. Love it. Here's part of my sermon. Not verbatim, but close. I thought it'd be worth sharing.I've been learning a lot about the Spirit lately, and I'll admit, it makes me feel a little helpless to thin that the Spirit is in such control of my life. I guess it's because I'd like to take credit for some of the good change happening in my life...As I was sitting at my desk last night finishing up this sermon, I Had a kairos moment. As I was trying to write out or explain my struggle with understanding the Spirit, I just had a moment where I broke down. I'm sitting all alone in the office, tears are welling in my eyes, a huge lump has formed in my throat, and I just had this sense that God was saying to me, "Amber, you finally get it. It's not about you. You're a strong woman, I made you that way. Your strength comes from me. I get the credit for it. I made a covenant with you, and plan to be in relationship with you."

I guess I can't say God doesn't speak to me. I heard this one loud and clear. Like little whispers of wind through a field of wheat. I knew it was God speaking, because that wasn't something I'd ever think to say to myself.

I preached at the 8:00 service and had a bunch of moments in my sermon where I wanted people to respond out loud and it was like pulling teeth. At the 7:00 service, they had all had their sugar and were shouting random things out all sermon long. It was wild. Rowdy. All the high schoolers were there. They like to shake their head no when it should be yes just to throw me off. Dana even "shushed" me during my sermon when I had the people play a game. I resisted my urge to let her have it. Pet peeve #1. Thanks Dana! :) I wore my "arms are for hugging" shirt tonight along with my colorful rocket dogs in honor of Hannah. Only, the "for hugging" part is written in light pink. As people left, they said, "I was staring at your chest the whole time trying to figure out what your shirt said!" Great! Lesson for the day: don't wear shirts with words while preaching.

It was a fun day to be spirit filled here in California, but my heart was really in Minnesota with my love. Today First Lutheran (Kevin's church) and Ascension Lutheran merged to become Spirit of Christ Community Lutheran Church. A huge day for the community of St. Louis Park. They hazed ten new members this morning, and packed the place full with excitement and people. I wish I could've been there to see it happen. I'm so proud of Kevin for all the Spirit has helped him accomplish in just two years of ministry!

june gloom

Apparently there's a season in California I didn't know about. It's called June gloom. Today was a prime example of that. Of course it came on a morning where I had a photo shoot. Light drizzle filled the air. Made for an interesting shoot. Drying off the camera, keeping the kids under trees to keep them dry. Dang, it was overcast and everything. Just REALLY wet. We managed to get some great shots and watched an outdoor wedding get set up in the garden area. What are the odds? That songs, "It never rains in California" needs to be pulled form the radio. It's a lie.

It was an awesome treat today to have lunch with Mollie (friend from Seminary) & her friend Katie. Mollie is out here staying in San Diego, so the two of them drove up and we ate at In-n-Out (their first time). I told them the secret menu, and they LOVED it. So much so, we walked through a hedge maze in order to take our picture by the sign. The two of them left after a brief tour of my neck of the woods. If I would've done this sermon during the week like I was supposed to, I could've gone with them for an adventure. Grr.

So here I am. Finally finishing up. Ready for bed. Bring on Pentecost. I'm praying the presence of the Spirit will be as alive as ever tomorrow working through the hearts of the people who come to worship, and for those who her this message.

hot yoga

Today is the second day in a row of overcast skies. I get giddy inside when the clouds roll over. Why? Not because I'm opposed to the sun. But because pictures are sooo much better when there is no sun to compete with. I got lots of work done in the office both yesterday and today, so I spent the rest of my day off taking pictures of friends. Stephanie, Melissa, Elise, & Amy all played model for me while I had a ball shooting. There were so many good ones of each of them. I put a bunch up on my website, so check out the "senior" category there if you want to see more of them. Here are a few if you're too lazy to see the rest! :)Ever since having supper at Mark & Sue Wiedenmann's house a few weeks ago, I've been waiting to get back from Seattle so I could go to Bikram Yoga with Sue. I had never done yoga before. The difference between this and regular toga (yes, I mean for it to say yoga, but the typo was too funny to change) is that Bikram Yoga is done in a 105 degree room and lasts 90 minutes. I had a towel on the top of my yoga mat and it was completely drenched by the time I finished. The purpose is to detoxify by profuse sweating. Well, we certainly accomplished that. It was awesome. I sat and stood in ways I never imagined I could, probably lost 5 pounds in that hour and a half and was able to really relax for the first time in a long while. Which is surprising considering I have to preach twice on Sunday and I haven't started my sermon yet. Oops. For $30 I signed up for as many yoga sessions as I can fit in 10 days. A new student special. Otherwise it's $20/class. I would've brought my camera along to take a picture of it, but the intense heat in the building would've ruined the mechanisms in my camera. Hannah informed me that there is Bikram Yoga in St. Paul. I may have to keep up with this once I get back home! Ok, enough procrastinating, time to get to work on this sermon.

pomp & circumstance

It's over. Thank goodness. What a day! Up at 7:15. I had to be at Amy's by 8:30 to curl her hair for her graduation today in Long Beach. It was curly! So curly in fact, I think she was freaking out when I left. With a promise that the heat would calm it down, I dashed out the door and ran to church to teach Jacob's Well. Before I started teaching, I asked the folks to think about something new they've learned in the last few weeks or a kairos moment they've had. I'm boggled by the fact that so few people actually share what I ask them to. I'm not sure if they're afraid others will think what they learned during this series should've been common knowledge, so they fear seeming dumb. Soooo not the case. It's hard to get others to be bold and share with others. Maybe they all learned the same thing. Let's talk about it! It seems sad to me that after six weeks of kingdom and covenant, nobody has learned anything worth sharing with the group. I'm starting to understand how different teachers in my life may have felt when they asked a question and nobody would raise their hand and participate. For anytime I may have added to the silence, I'm sorry.

After being gone the last 5 days, I convinced myself that I should skip the graduation and just go to Amy's party later in the day so more work could be completed. The more I thought about it, the sillier it seemed. I've never been to an outdoor graduation. Pack it up. I ran home, curled my hair, ate a fast lunch, changed clothes, and headed for California State University, Long Beach. Well, I headed down the wrong road. 45 minutes later, I arrived at the ceremony. Fortunately, I hadn't missed anything. We waited another 2 hours until Amy's name was called, but what an exciting 3 seconds it was! Graduations are so fun. Watching the proud parents wait patiently for their child's name to be called. Leaping to their feet and screaming loudly as their son waves from the stage. Wiping a tear or two before realizing what a spectacle they made of themselves when they blew the air horn. Sitting down. Amy was the cutest graduate there. Decked out in her gown and stole, orchid lei, curly hair (which had calmed down--promise kept), and a great big grin on her face. About 10 of us gathered to support her on the big day!

Chet & Theresa hosted the graduation celebration at their house. Yummy food, presents, conversations with friends, and a cake with Amy's picture on it completed the day on a good note. The first time one of my photos has made it on a cake. Exciting! It's crazy to think this time next year I'll be graduating from Luther Seminary. May 30, 2010. Kelly said she'd deliver a lei for my graduation! I'm gonna hold her to that!

dead

I made it home safe today. Flew stand-by on an earlier flight and got home 5 hours early. What a blessing. Maybe. As soon as I got home, I gave Kevin a call, was on the phone no more than 5 minutes when I heard screeching tires and the sound of something getting hit outside my window. Immediately, I could hear kids screaming and crying. So, I got off the phone, called for Jane's help and ran outside to see what had happened. Without going into too many details, the little boy across the street had accidentally let the dog out of the house, it ran into the street, got hit by a car speeding by (which did not stop after hitting the dog), and then the dog ran into the house where it collapsed in the entryway and died. The mother of the children was in the house on her knees by the dog and upon seeing me enter her home began asking me if the dog was dead. As if I had a clue. Its eyes were open, and there was no movement, so I said I thought it was and asked who I could call, or how I could help.

The kids were [understandably] hysterical, so I yelled for Jane to come help me with them while I tended to the mother who was on her knees trying to help the dog. An instance where some pastoral care came in handy. Being thrown into a crisis situation and having to act fast. With the help of neighbors, we removed the dog from the house and helped the kids. The little boy kept gagging and eventually threw up a few times. He said repeatedly to Jane, "I want to die." So, she came into the house and very matter-of-factly asked the mother to tend to her children rather than the dog. They live right across the street and I don't even know them. The mother shook my hand, thanked me and said, "this is a heck of a way to meet, huh?" It seems true in our neighborhood that nobody really knows their neighbors. I should've done something about this sooner during my internship and spent time meeting people nearby. I'll follow up with them before I leave. An hour later, we heard a knock on our door and a frantic woman asked if the black and white cat was ours, because it had just bit her cat. It's a stray one in the neighborhood, so we set out to help her find it as well.

All this animal action worries me. It usually means some kind of disaster is about to happen. Dogs and cats can feel the waves in the earth before humans can. I think it's time to get out of California before a big earthquake hits.

Mount noRAINhere

Our last day in Tacoma. Where has this weekend gone? There hasn't been a cloud in sight or even a drop of rain since we got here. Not at all what we expected! Rather than spending the whole day in the car driving around, we decided to lay low and enjoy some time of rest. We've been on more walks through the PLU campus these last few days than I have been on all year elsewhere. All the students have been moving out, so the dumpsters and hallways have been getting more and more full of left over stuff. Bags, hats, bottles, couches, rugs, you name it, you can find it in the dumpster. We found a few treasures. Kevin, Anna, and I took a trip to the Goodwill. This was by far the greatest one I had ever been to. I bought a cool laptop lap rest thingy that keeps the computer cool. It'll be perfect for the ride home. Then I found a 2 inch ratchet and 20 feet of webbing ($8) for future slack-line fun! Both were a steal. Not sure how I'm going to get it all home at this point! My suitcase was already 49 pounds on the way out. Eventually we went out to Silk Thai for a delicious supper with Hal & Anna, followed by a trip to the Frisko Freeze for swirled ice cream cones and shakes! Apparently, it's a hot spot in Tacoma. Another one checked off the list. We've done a lot this weekend!

The water was calling us back so we made a trip down to the same waterfront area we went to for Hal's party and walked the beach. Anna and I climbed into the jungle/forest up a steep hill to give our hiking sandals some us. I love going up, but don't like coming down, so Anna guided me down the steep slope until we safely reached the bottom. We washed our feet in the water, and enjoyed a stunning view of Mount Rainier. We ended up packing our suitcases and are crashing early. Lots of travel tomorrow. Goodnight!

i love seattle!

This weekend of sunshine has been a blast! Kevin and I slept in as long as we could, and checked out of our hotel at 11:00 on the dot. He said he finally has a sense of how tired I am after a wedding. 12 hours of being on my feet, running around, and herding people into place is a hard job. But, we decided not to let our tiredness ruin our adventure for the day, so Seattle, here we come!

First stop: Pikes Place Market. Of all the things I wanted to see in Seattle, this was at the top of the list. And it did not disappoint. The smell of fresh fish covered every square inch of the market air. Fresh produce vendors offered samples of fruits, nuts, and noodles. Local artists jam packed booths with their finest work. Flower growers created bunch after bunch of gorgeous bouquets. We saw the first Starbucks, and shared lunch at Three Girls Bakery. The people around here are very unique. Such a blend. Most of the people working in the Market were young adults, artist-like, lots of tattoos and piercings. The artists were mostly middle aged people, working on their crafts as people browsed through their work. Then there were lots of REI model-like folks walking around. Chacos, Tevas, and Northface filled the streets. My rainbows are a little out of place up here. Looks like people are ready for an adventure at any moment. For all these years I had imagined the Marketplace to be something completely different. I only saw one fish get thrown, and really, very few fish vendors. It's funny how our imaginations arrange a scene to look a certain way with no knowledge of it to begin with. Kevin made sure I got my picture taken with some of the fishy smelling men there to complete the experience.

Another highlight of the day was the 38th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle Center by the Space Needle. Thousands of people filled the sidewalks, grass areas, and stages to listen to music, watch dancing, and learn crafts. I could've thrown on the most random, uncoordinated outfit in my suitcase and would've fit right in here. Nobody matched. How liberating! Kevin and I stopped and spent a few minutes hula-hooping with monster hula hoops. We listened to a few bands, watched some henna tattoos get drawn, danced as we walked around, sampled goodies, and saw the mega fountain in the middle of the park with hundreds of people lining it and running through it! We were tempted as it was sunny and hot, but just watched instead. Boring, I know. It's so nice to have a few days without and agenda. Once we got back to our car, we decided to do some more exploring and wound our way around to the other side of the waterfront where we got an incredible view of the city. Boats, kayaks, cruise ships sailed by as we watched. Each day we had a tradition of getting a tasty treat: today, cookies and McFlurry's. Kevin's iphone has come in mighty handy as we navigated our way through the streets of Seattle.

On our way home we saw an incredible view of Mount Rainier, took some pictures outside of PLU, shared a delicious pizza supper with Hal & Anna, went for a walk around campus with Riley and got my feet/bad knees problem checked out by Dr. Anna. She helped us figure out what shoes we'll need for the marathon. My knees hurt so badly when I finish running even a few miles, so I'm open to all the help I can get as I hope to finish the race!

here comes the bride

Chris + Kari + a wedding= one sore camera holding hand. What a day! Photographing a wedding is like herding cattle. Really, it's the greatest job on the planet for a bossy person. Not sure if I am one or not, but to get to tell people what to do, where to go, how to stand, and when to smile is pretty fun. Kevin helped me get the kids to smile by acting like a monkey. It worked. He was referred to as the 'monkey man' for the rest of the day! Every wedding I go to there are always the usual characters, and this wedding was no different. There's the person (not the bride or groom) who thinks they should be in every picture, the man who wants to talk my ear off while I'm trying to do my job, the couple who dance a little too dirty at the reception, the happy couple who cannot muster a real smile anymore because their cheeks hurt so badly, and the mom who cannot say thank you enough. No wedding would be complete and my photographs would be far less entertaining without them! :)

The ceremony was lovely. We took the time in between events to head down to the beach and take photos by the water. A weekend in Seattle, the most overcast area in the country, a photographers dream come true was ruined by the sunshine. All weekend long in fact it was sunny. Oh well. The reception was in Edmonds, WA. A lovely set up complete with animal crackers on the tables. Sweet! This was the first wedding I've done where I set up a computer at the reception and played a slide show of a few pictures from the day. People loved it. Kevin sat over by the door with it to make sure no one walked off with it and got to hear people comment on the photos. He relayed very positive feedback for me. Affirming words help at the end of a long day!

We even got a chance to do a little Lindy-Hop during the dance after my work was done. After 9 months, we still remember the steps! By 10:00, 1,725 pictures later, we were exhausted, so we headed out and crashed for the night!

tattle tail state

Washington is the biggest tattle tail state on the planet. As you drive down the highway there are signs that say "Report litterers by calling this number," or "Report car pool violators." C'mon now! Kevin and I made the trip up through Seattle to Shoreline, WA. We spent the afternoon searching for cool photo locations for the wedding (tons to choose from with all the surrounding mountains), checked into our hotel early, went to the rehearsal to research the space and meet the families, and then were invited to join everyone at the rehearsal dinner. As extroverts, Kevin and I love these kinds of situations. Put us in a room with 50 strangers, and we're in heaven. We had a blast meeting all the wedding guests, toasting with empty water glasses, and watching each speech giver well up with tears as they spoke of the couple. Lucky to be celebrating with a much loved couple!

mountains of glass

Today officially marks one month left of internship. June 21, I'll be preaching 4 sermons, singing 4 songs, and using 4 boxes of kleenex. It's coming fast! Since Kevin and I missed our anniversary last weekend, we celebrated last night and exchanged gifts. Books. He made me an incredible book with all my blog entries and pictures in it, and got me a ratchet for slacklining. No, it is not comparable to a blender. I actually LOVE IT! I'll be flipping on the slackline in no time! By far the most thoughtful presents anyone has gotten me. I'm finally a published author! I also made him a book filled with pictures from the last year and a half. Try narrowing down over 1,000 pictures into 40. Not an easy job for a photo freak, but it turned out nice as well.

To distract myself from the fact, Hal (the most amazing tour guide and random fact genius in the Pacific Northwest) guided us around Tacoma for our first day of adventure. A walking tour of PLU in the morning through all the major buildings, and a spectacular view of Mount Rainier behind the PLU sign! Gorgeous! A trip to the top (climbing on ice) costs close to a thousand dollars. Not to mention all the gear you'd have to buy just to ice pick your way up the slippery mound. Someday. We grabbed some sandwiches and chips on our way out of the commons and headed into the city for a day of exploration.

The Museum of Glass in downtown Tacoma was a handful of eye candy for me and my new camera. Colors, textures, water, light, amazing. A walk across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass made for a few cool photo ops as well. Seeing incredible art like this makes me want to open up my own art shop with photographs, pottery, and jewelry. Downtown is so charming. The old buildings, glass art everywhere in public view, and the second cupcake shop I've been to in a week. hello, cupcake. There was a beautiful pink bike out front complete with a basket to fill with cupcakes. 4 special treats, and we were on our way. We sat down by the waterfront facing the sailboats and shared lunch in the warm Tacoma sun. Yes, it has been sunny since we got here--apparently not normal for this area. We'll see if it holds up. More driving around landed us near a beautiful view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which collapsed due to gale force winds (and was caught on film) in 1940. I found a link to the video on youtube if you'd like to watch it. Pretty incredible to think it swayed like a playground swing for an hour before collapsing. Everywhere you look, there are mountains, islands, bursting colorful flowers, ferries, and water. The perfect place for a pair of chacos. We shared supper tonight with Hal and his friends at Katie Down's on the waterfront to celebrate his 30th birthday. Lots of transplants from the midwest living out here. Hm...maybe this is where I should go for first call! :)

What a blessing to be able to come and enjoy a weekend away. Almost an entire week of vacation. We're really excited for Chris & Kari's wedding in Shoreline, exploring Seattle, more time with Hal & Anna, many more views of the incredible Mount Rainier, and lots of memories! I'm so thankful tonight for airplanes, yorkies, bing cherries, Kevin, a daybed, good friends, and a camera to help remember it all.

sleepless in Seattle

After a morning with Alex and some final packing, vacation had arrived. I flew out of Long Beach Airport today and got to ride on the sweetest plane ever--my props to Jet Blue for the on flight American Idol Finale! We got free treats, and could watch about 30 channels on our personal televisions in the seat backs. So much for getting any work done on the plane ride. We arrived in Seattle early, and Kevin was waiting at the gate for me. No wait, that was me dreaming again, where on earth was Kevin? He was supposed to be there. His phone wasn't working, and he was no where in sight. Finally, I saw him all the way down the terminal hall, so I hid from him (he had no idea which flight I was on, but found me). Lots of hugs, a few pictures with my cool new fish eye attachment, and we were ready for our weekend away! We rented a car, grabbed a delicious McDonald's feast, and headed down to Hal & Anna's at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. We were greeted by Riley (their adorable yorkie), and by the two nicest people in the Pacific Northwest! This is going to be an awesome weekend, I can feel it! So great to be here; my first time in Washington!

guiding after shocks

Alex Absalom is in town, and the earth won't stop shaking. Correlation? He's a cluster genius from England/Oklahoma. Same thing. He blessed the learning cluster last night with his teaching, and spent the whole day today leading the staff. We retreated with him today at Ascension Lutheran up in Palos Verdes. Rough location. A view of the entire city. The mountains, the ocean, the skyscrapers. It was a lovely place, and a very productive day! As we were sitting and meeting, the tables started rumbling. Another earthquake. This time it was a 4.1 and was very brief. It startled me again, but not as bad as Sunday night. I'm ready to leave the area for a few days. Tomorrow really cannot come quick enough.

Reflecting. It was hard evaluating the progress of the last 9 months. It just hasn't been enough time to feel as though I accomplished much. I guess I'll be able to gauge the success of my efforts later on when the groups I've been leading and equipping either flourish or plummet. I pray for the first.

We enjoyed a lovely supper at Macaroni Grill and then went down to the beach to spend some time listening for God. I seem to have more visions and interaction with God there, so I'm always thankful when I'm forced down there for some kind of staff time. God reminded me of the song, "Children Go where I send thee." I sang that back in high school and college. A spiritual. I had my camera draped around my neck, so as I sat there facing the ocean, I recreated what I thought that looked like in a photo. As a settler, it's easy for me to get stuck in one place on the road of life. To become a permanent resident of one place. I come from a family of settlers, so it's no surprise I struggle with this. Seeing California as a temporary stop along the way is hard because I do love it here. I felt that word from God to be a real encouragement to me that I am to go where God sends me, not where I feel comfortable. So many people I know enter ministry with restrictions on God's plan for their lives. I want to be open to go where I am needed. We are all sent to do something beyond ourselves. When we all own it, and begin to do something about it, imagine what could happen to this world. C'mon people! Join me! The ocean reminds me at times of that unknown and often scary place we're being lead to. The size, complexity, and creatures in it are unknown in parts, but that doesn't mean we ignore those parts. My prayer tonight is this: God, I know you will never leave me. Wherever you are leading me, even into uncharted territory, please help me to be brave and trust your guidance for my life. Amen.

tipping and shaking

I sang a song in church today called "I'm Letting Go" by Francesca Battistelli. The first line of the song goes 'My heart beats, I'm standing on the edge. But my feet have finally left the ledge.' It talks all about letting go of the life I planned for myself. Interesting thing for a control freak to be singing. I was reminded (prompted by the Spirit if you ask me) that I wasn't just singing it, but needed to hear it for myself. As I was walking to go up and pray, I got to the place on the platform where I know I can close my eyes and still find my mark. So, I closed them, was barefoot at the time thanks to Moses and an experiential element in the service, and walked to the edge of the step. I lost my balance and tipped off the ledge. Luckily, the congregation was in prayer mode and hopefully had their eyes closed. Got it, God. Thanks. Time to let go a little.

I dropped mom and Paul off at the airport this afternoon, and I tell you what, it was just in time because tonight I experienced my first felt earthquake in LA. Wow, was it scary. I had just gotten home from church and was standing in my room when it sounded like someone was running loudly down the stairs. Then the walls started shaking. I could hear a few things fall to the ground. Of course, being the courageous person I am, I let out a scream and ran into the living room. Jane had run down from upstairs and was standing with me in the doorway. I guess that's where you go in an earthquake. When Jane is scared, I know it's ok to be scared. She and Bill said that was the biggest one they had felt in a long time. 5.0, lasted about 15 seconds and the center of it was just a few miles from us...so it was no wonder it was so big. Last year in Guatemala I was in my first earthquake. It was a 6.3, and we were in the upstairs of a restaurant. At the time I can remember saying, "this is cool!" Someone else reminded me that it wasn't something to joke about in that we could really get hurt. I was more worried about the volcanoes erupting than earthquakes, so I figured it wasn't worth freaking out over. So, given that one was a bigger shake, I couldn't believe how freaked out I was tonight. There were a few aftershocks. I learned they can happen days after the big one, so I can't wait to see how many more rumbles we get this week. It was enough to get my heart rate up and scare the crap out of me. I think it's time to go home before the predicted 'big one' hits.

armed forces/anniversary day!

Honestly, never before did I pay attention to the day on the calendar labeled 'Armed Forces Day.' I know I'll look at it differently for the rest of my life thanks to today. Torrance hosts the largest Armed Forces Day parade in the United States. People filled both sides of Torrance Blvd. in anticipation for the bands, soldiers, tanks, and fly-bys. It was awesome. Helicopters flew at tree top level over the parade goers. We just about peed our pants. Then a huge jet (passenger airplane size) did the same thing. Low to the ground. It felt like we were under attack. We even watched about 50 new soldiers take the oath right in front of us. Such courage! What a blessing to sit with the Luhmann clan. A family who celebrates this day each year. Shouts of "Thank you!" to the soldiers, lots of clapping, waving, and standing for each and every American flag that passed. God blessed us all with a beautifully sunny day, and a curb full of family and friends to celebrate with!

Following the parade, we were invited to go up to Chet & Theresa's house for a BBQ, and for swimming. Kelly, Amy, and I practiced our synchronized dives, jumps, and cheerleader moves off the board and side of the pool. We're really good. Olympic trials are coming up. Everyone got in the water at some point. Even Paul joined in the fun of the diving board competition. Tough judges in the jacuzzi, but quality moves for sure!

Bob, Pam, and Bobby joined us later for hot dogs, burgers, and treats. We ended the night with some player piano fun, line dancing, singing, and concluded the trip with my mom's favorite part: a chance to drive Chet's black Lexus. It's a sweet ride. She was thrilled to take it for a spin, and acted like a giggly little kid behind the wheel! We're ready for bed. Church in the morning, then back to the airport. Man, this trip has flown!

As nice as it is to have family here right now, it's a little sad to not have Kevin here for such a special day in our relationship. Today we celebrate two years of dating bliss. To think it all started back in the spring of 2007, with a "date" (in his mind) to go see Martin Sexton. Here's a picture of us from our first night out, and a chance to meet Martin himself. Kevin has gone from the good looking hyper kid (who bugged me a little) to the love of my life. I'm certainly ready to celebrate with Kev next week in Seattle. I can't wait. Love love love!