My 6-Month-Old Jetsetter!

As we approached the tarmac flying in to Anchorage last night, I couldn't help but think, Wow, Ruby has been on so many trips lately! She's quite the jetsetter. My little girl is growing up so fast - perhaps too fast - as I reflect on these past six months of life. She's traveled from Alaska to Washington twice now, and in just a few weeks, we'll be back on a plane headed to Maui, to visit my family, and then relocating to Eastern Washington after that. The actual traveling part is not glamorous to me - flying with a young child, packing and unpacking lots of baby equipment, sleepless nights when said baby is off her schedule - but getting to explore new places and fellowship with friends has been a distinct blessing (and privilege) and I'm thankful that we've been able to broaden Ruby's horizons in these few short months. Also, this trip went much, much better overall than the last one (read about it here), which felt like a sort of hazing experience, if you recall.

Baby girl’s latest developments include:
- Eating rice cereal for the first time. She loves it! 

Exhibit A: 

- Chewing on anything and everything she can get her hands on (newspapers, books, napkins, water bottles, the kitchen table – you name it.) Mama and Daddy can almost never look away. 

- Saying words that sound like “Hi” and “Da-da”, along with her typical bubble-blowing, razzing, and high-pitched pterodactyl call. 

- Making music on her lap piano. She loves pressing keys and making sounds!
- Focusing her gaze on moving objects, like fans, and fixating on bright lights.
- She can almost crawl and is able to maneuver her body to reach toys and blankets that are close by.
- She sits up so well!
- She’s super sociable and is a real crowd-pleaser on airplanes and in group settings. For instance, Ruby won the hearts of the rows surrounding us on the plane yesterday. By the end of our 3+ hour flight, folks all around us were trying to play games that would grab Ruby’s attention. She's a real heart-stealer. One couple even gave us a brand-new baby teething toy, which was part of a 2-pack, that they were bringing to Anchorage for their granddaughter. I was blown-away by this random act of kindness. 

Here are some photos from our recent house-hunting trip to Eastern Washington! We surprised my cousin Kristina by showing up on her 29th birthday, and it was so much fun hanging out with her and my cousin Isaac in Spokane and in the neighboring towns. We also found a super cute 4-bedroom house with a stunning view in a small town outside of Spokane, which we're praying will become our new home! We'll see what happens, as we still need to sell our house in Anchorage to make that work. 

Details, details. 

All that to say, somehow my beautiful baby girl turned 6 months old a couple weeks ago. She helps keep me grounded in this season of transition, and I praise God for her every day. 

Hope you enjoy these snapshots of our little family trip!

Big News for Us!

Two blog posts in one day? Yes, it's that big of a deal.

<< Drumroll, please. >>

Without further ado, I'd like to announce that our little family-of-three (four, including Penny) will be moving to Eastern Washington! Yes, within the next month and a handful of days, we will be flying out from Anchorage International Airport with all of our belongings in tow (or at least the more important items) and relocating back to our previous home state.

At this point, you may be saying to yourself, "Wow, that's a big move!" And you would be spot-on in that regard.

This will be a huge change for us, as we've had the privilege of living near Ken's family and extended relatives for the past couple years here in Alaska. It was here in Alaska that Ken and I bought our first house, got our first puppy, and welcomed home our beautiful baby girl. What an adventure it's been!

"But why move?" You ask.

Well, just this past week, Ken got offered an amazing (!) job at a really great engineering company - the type of position that you hope will turn into a career, and we accepted! Ken will soon be creating power transmission protection systems for sites around the world and also be flown out to these sites, with the potential for international travel. I'm so excited for Ken, and impressed at the level of responsibility this employer will be giving him. Ken's a real catch - I knew that already, and now this company saw that, too. ;)

In sharing this news, I can't help but grieve the loss of proximity we'll have to Ken's family, along with all the great friendships we've made and the community we've built. God met us in our move to Alaska, and He's now ushering in a new season, where we'll live near my cousin Isaac and his wife, Kristina. We would love your prayers for us in this time, as we pack up our belongings and say goodbye to the place we've called home these past two years. Please pray that we are able to sell our house in Alaska quickly, and also that we find a new place to call home once we arrive in Eastern Washington.

We are so sad to leave behind our wonderful family, friends, and church community here in Anchorage, and feel extremely blessed by the people who have welcomed us into their hearts and lives in this place. We will miss you dearly.

For our friends in Seattle and Eastern Washington, we're coming back! Hope you're ready! Hehe.

Double Trouble: 30th Birthday Festivities x2

I'd like to think that I went out with a bang in leaving behind my early 20s this past week. Two separate birthday parties, lots of balloons, wild hair flair (in honor of the Roaring 20's), decadent cakes - and surrounded by loving friends and family, who really blessed me in the advent of this new season.

On my actual birthday, we enjoyed a "Fancy-Schmancy" themed birthday party (aka dinner out in fancy clothes) and then celebrated with more friends and family on Saturday, with a giant pot of crockpot chili, homemade cornbread, and an elaborate six-layer chocolate salted-caramel buttercream cake my dear friend Alisa whipped up! It was so nice spending time with Ken's relatives, including his Grandma Dorothy, who is exactly 60 years and a couple days apart from me in age. She seemed to enjoy the party. Also, in town for the party was Great Aunt Wilma, who spends part of her time living in Minnesota and the other part in Brazil. She's really cool.

I felt so loved by the oodles of birthday cards, flower bundles, gifts, and goodies! In writing this, I keep glancing over at the beautiful arrangements on our table - roses, sunflowers, carnations, orchids, and alstromeria. I've never had so many flower bouquets in my possession. Thank you so much!

Here are some pics we snapped from the parties! :)

Party #1:

Party #2