So its been awhile

Scout in front of the new house

I feel like every time I write a new entry, it starts with an excuse or apology as to why its been so long since I've written. Here we go again I guess.

This post is going to be a few highlights of our last 12-14 months and then I will do more posts about specific things.

1- We bought a house. We had been sick and tired of community living in the condo (or apartment in Philadelphia) for some time. We were fortunate enough to keep the condo and rent it out and to buy our first home in Snohomish. We were looking for some peace, quiet and land, and found just that. The house was built in 2004 on a 5 acre plot. We did a few things before moving in (painting, appliances, crawl space) and continue to do little things here and there as needed and to make it more "our home," and not just a house. One of the best things we did was have a backyard fence put it. This has been fantastic for the dogs.

2- Two of my friends from college came out for a visit to Seattle. Shannon came before we moved to the house and Laura came afterwards. I always enjoy having visitors and acting like a tour guide to show them around our cool city.

3- Justin's mom came to stay for a few days at Thanksgiving.

4- We got a puppy, Ellie Bean, at the end of December 2011. She is a yellow lab and the complete opposite of Scout. She stayed pretty small and is such a cuddler!

5- We got a lot of snow in January. Power was out for about 3.5 days and it got COLD. The poor puppy couldn't stay warm and wasn't too sure what to think about the deep, cold snow.  I typically get up for work at 4:45 but was getting up at 4:00 that week to get the chains on my car, drive to 522, get the chains off, drive to the park and ride, get on the bus to Seattle and then enjoy a hot shower once I got to work. Justin set up a little outdoor cooking station with our camp stove and we survived. It also re-ignited our interest in jigsaw puzzles because it gave us something fun to do when it was light enough.

6- My parents came to stay for almost 2 weeks in April for Easter. We also had our housewarming party while they were here.

7- We had a young man live with us a for a few months while he worked at getting back on his feet.

8- We went on a few hikes and trips to the cabin for outdoor fun and relaxation.

9- We went to San Diego to visit Justin's Grandpa Jay and have a little vacation.

10- We worked with the launch team of a church plant from Northshore Baptist Church called Imprint Church located in Woodinville. I am on the Children's Ministry team, R.E.A.L Kids, and am one of the infants/toddlers teachers. We have been remodeling the space to accommodate more children but should be in our new classrooms by the middle of February. In the meantime, my co-teacher and I have been hanging out with 2-3 babies in the back of the worship center during service. Having our own room will do a lot for containment :)

11- I resigned from Harborview Medical Center at the beginning of January and have started a position with the Home Health division of Evergreen Healthcare. I was pretty burnt out with my early mornings and the long commute. It was hard to leave a place with so many friends and fine colleagues, but I look forward to this new journey in home health. And I am really excited to be able to help patients in their own homes, addressing their specific goals, instead of just what I think they need to do to get out of a hospital.

I am sure there are other things to highlight and talk about, but that seems to be all I can think of now.  Hope that gives you a good idea of what we've been up to.