Involuntary Job Transition

God is good.......Thanks for all of the encouragement, suggestions, and feel free to laugh at the sad trombone.

http://sadtrombone.com/

Happy Valentine's Day, wanna watch some TV?

So the beginning of this season of Lost was too much to do something super romantic on this commercialized holiday. Lost is romantic though, right? Truth be told we had a sushi lunch date the next day, so don't think Adam is a jerk. We enjoyed a nice night-in with our pals from Lost. (Spoilers, don't read on Liens) Ridiculous that Sayeed is working for Benjamin Linus in the future, Hurley is hanging out with ghost-Charlie, and Kate is now "mom" to Claire's baby? Is it me, or is pregnancy a recurring occurance for EVERY woman on the show. Danielle Russo (jungle lady) had her baby on the island, Sun gets pregnant, Claire, Kate is rumored pregnant.... any living female that's not pregnant? I guess that's what happens on a deserted island. Still, we are waiting for answers to a four-toe statue, the others' obsession with little kids, who "Jacob" is, random appearances from dead people, what happened to Michael and Walt, Desmond's time warp, Penny's search party, Charlie's death escape, numbers appearing on a shark, black smoke, unknown siblings (Jack and Claire), overlapped stories between all flashbacks, polar bear and horse sightings, some "accident" and "secret" thing that happened before leaving (making them think they have to go back).

Visit from the Colorado Goulds

Man... did we have a fun time with these guys (and gal). We got to introduce them to E.J. Phair, hang out with Uncle Art together, gather as brothers (minus N.J.), and even make a trip up Mt. Diablo on a sunny day. Good times were had by all and it was amazing to see "baby" James transformed into "little boy" James. We miss you guys already!

ZipFizz

So we're the kind of people that cannot enjoy coffee black and feel guilty putting lots of sweet stuff in our caffeinated beverages, knowingly sacrificing health (not to mention lots of money to the greedy Peet's and Starbucks corporations). Instead we found a "healthy" way to get energy during the workweek and drink lots of H-2-O. The product comes in a powder form and mixes with agua into a tasty beverage that's quite thick (like gatorade, not e-mer-gen-C). The other bonus is that there is no sugar, and it doesn't have the strong, annoying artificial sweetner taste. If you look on the vitamin content it's 41,667% Vitamin B12, with other loads of greatness like zinc and vitamin C. We found this drink to boost energy and consciousness quickly without any lame side effects. Drink it up!

Spiffy Job Title

Many of you know what Adam's work situation has been like. God continues to provide. We've spent many months praying and wondering what kind of workplace would be fulfilling and my utilize capabilitites. Well.... it seems that we are experiencing an answer. I was blessed with a great job opportunity at Bank of America last month. Call or write us if you want to hear more about it.

The Sandalman

A few of you have commented on my slippers (and Raimee's matching) that are crazy comfortable looking; they're actually even more comfortable than they appear. These slippers are top notch - everyone in my family owns a pair. The company is in Southern California. If you're curious, check out the website: http://thesandalman.com/sheepskin.htm

Raimee Birthday Adventures

So Adam did his best to spoil his wifey by taking her to Livermore to visit some fun new places, where good food and beverage are served and the vino culture is valued (but without snobbery). It was a stupendous part 1 adventure, soon to be followed by some shopping and movie watching (Cloverfield A+). We now have a iron feather wall hanging, but Raimee is convinced it is a banana leaf- whatever that is. Red roses were also purchased (glad to be missing the Valentine's frenzy and trendiness).

It's 2008.

New Year's was extreme this year with 3 different gatherings with friends. We had a nice dinner at a friend's house, another round up with our Bible study group, and then we vamoosed to the annual Samuel Bedros Party. It did not disappoint with music loud enough to feel like we were at a high school party with pretty much the same kind of crowd. Good times though. Adam's brother came out and that was cool.

Christmas Tree Lighting in Clayton

Next to our lovely home are fun festivities in the cozy little town of Clayton. Many of our friends live nearby, so we frequent Main Street's Skipolinis Pizza with them. Christmas time provided the opportunity to go to Clayton's Tree Lighting where many residents gather to sing Christmas carols and watch the big foliage make the street bright while standing in the cold (not too cold though). We had a swell time and were impressed our peops came out with the kiddies. Good times.

Thanksgiving is Fun In Washington

So we had quite an adventure in Raimee's hometown of Port Angeles for the November holiday. We even had some Christmas spirit mixed in as Raimee's mom throws a big celebration since we don't get to see her in December (or our sister Tessa and our neice Shelby- sigh). We had a tremendous time with our family we love so much and our friends who feel like family as they anticipate our visit with style (tasty beverages, props to Rain Shadow Brewery!). From witnessing the creation of a "human pinata" and getting to gab it up with Grandma and Grandpa Hulse, it's simply nice to be in another place that feels like home. Our friends Marc and Liz Lawson just had their baby Sophia and it's always fun playing Catch Phrase with the Lawsons, Hares, and Kuhs over some home-made pizza (thanks Abby). Yes, it's the perfect vacation but never long enough.

A Self-Made Friend of Ours (but created by God, of course)

Andria and Adam became friends as employees at the great ol' Chili's Restaurant. It's great to keep in touch and see where life takes us. Check out her story at http://www.ocregister.com/news/norris-program-county-1929031-outreach-sufficient
God is doing some amazing things with Andria. She attends Rock Harbor and is a blessing to everyone in her life, no doubt. We're hoping to get to see her soon.

High School Reunions for the both of us

We are fully aware that people dread going to these or simply decide not to go, but luckily for us some of our current best friends are from class of '97. We came back to WA for Raimee's reunion which was a nice excuse to be back and proved a good time. Our close friends that made it worthwhile are Brian and Sarah Kuh (Raemer) and so we, for the most part, visited with them. It was also a nice time for Raimee to reconnect with old friends and Adam had a buddy even though he didn't know anyone. Just a couple of months later, we had a great time at Adam's reunion at an oceanside restaurant in Berkeley. We were among friends we regularly celebrate life with in the Bay area (Sam Bedros, Andrea and Scott Martin, Drew Case, Daran and Lizzie Fraser, Alli and Jesse Lee, Keith and Liana Dickson). Good times!

Other peoples' kids

Other peoples' kids....we love them and feel no rush to have any of our own. Don't get me wrong, we know we are old and look forward to the time that God gives the green light on having a crazy little Adam-Raimee combo in a human. We love this time of life and are patient to have a little blessing of our own at some point. We have 2 friends in the last week that have had newborn girls. The Thomases had baby Sally and the Fadellis had baby Adrianna. Newborns are always so surprisingly spectacular to see in person. We were mesmorized in both of our visits. Parenthood will be an adventure somday in the distant future. Raimee is so amazing with little ones and will be such a great mom. As for Adam, he'll read an instruction manual. He looks forward to passing on his Elvis obssession and watching many clean movies with kids someday.