My Sister's Visit!

Jen here. My sister Sarah decided to come visit us for a week. She got permission from my parents and paid for the tickets on her own. Wow, she loves us. :)

She split her time between Roy and me, and my brother and his wife. I was able to take a day off work (my last week of work until the fall!) so Sarah and I could be tourists. I stayed up late deciding what to do and early in the morn we headed out.

The plan: kayak Lake Union, stay clam at Ivar's, Space Needle and possibly the Underground Tour. Tourists in Seattle. :)

Roy and I kayaked through NWOC the summer before we left for Hong Kong, so I decided to rent our kayaks from the same place. We arrived at 9:30am and they opened at 10am, so we had plenty of time to get ready. :)

Our double kayak served us well. If one of us was tired, the other could paddle and keep us going. And boy, we both got tired so fast! In looking through Sarah's pictures (I didn't take my camera for fear of ruining it) it appears that I paddled most of the time and Sarah just took pictures of us. Haha...it is somewhat true.

The house boats (is that what they are called?) interested us right away. They literally are houses floating on the water. Wow. NWOC asked us to stay at least 20 feet away from the house boats so as to respect the privacy of the "house boat dwellers" (they sound kind of scary to me). It's so hard to stay 20 feet away when one wants to see the houses and also is being moved by the waves. :) Sarah kept reminding me to steer away from the boats (my kayak seat had steering pedals connected to an udder). It was fascinating how there were little neighborhoods of house boats. Similar to in a city, the houses were next to each other with space between for a boat dock (driveway) and were in rows separated by larger stretches of water (roads).

Our kayak journey began in Lake Union, a small lake in Seattle with a view of the Seattle skyline (see photo--the space needle is just to the left of Sarah's head). We paddled west through Portage Bay to Union Bay which is just off Lake Washington near to the University of Washington. We saw several sea planes take off and land, the duck boat tours go by multiple times and artists perched on the shore painting landscapes.

Sarah had a blast and took many pictures. My face got fried because I did not bring sunscreen or a hat! And both of our arms were so tired. Once we made it to Union Bay I seriously wanted to ask one of the leisure boaters if they could tow us back to NWOC. Ha! We stuck it out and paddled back. All in all we spent about 2 or 3 hours on the water. Sweet!

Blue Skies

Who said it always rains in Seattle?

Outside

Jen here. This place is gorgeous! When we decided to move here people back home kept telling us about the rain. Many people are affected by the nearly daily misting and grayness...but I am not(praise be to God!). I can't get over the amazing views of mountains and greenery I see nearly every day. Yes, nearly every day!

Today's weather was sunny and warm; Dale wanted to do a cookout spur of the moment, so we did. Hotdogs, brats, deviled eggs and corn on the cob...yum!

Yesterday was the same so Roy encouraged me to go for a walk at a park near work. I did. Beautiful!

Thank You, Jesus!

Family!

Jen here. My family came to visit!! I am so excited and have been for about a month. :)

Dad and Mom got a hotel; we invited Sarah to come stay with us at our house! They are only here for a few days. I will try to post some photos of the visit.

Here is my sister on an early morning walk. It is so beautiful here!

More to come later. :)

Almasy Fam arrives

Jen here. Roy's theory seems to be true. His theory of Familial Gravity. The more family living in a certain area, the stronger the pull is to bring more family to that area. :) Dan was the first. Then Christie. Then Roy and me. And now Dale. Yay!

Dale arrived in Seattle near the end of October. We are so glad he decided to move out here and know that God is using it for good for him. Dale is renting the house with us (and one other housemate), and it is nice to have him around. He is friendly and fun and I know Roy enjoys having family near. Dale was able to get a job working for the same company we all do and has

really taken to coaching students in Chess and helping out in the office with IT.

A few weeks after Dale arrived, Mom and Dad Almasy graciously drove Dale's packed truck from Michigan to Washington. The drove at a pretty quick pace, but were able to stay for about a week. We loved it!

We all still had work while they visited but tried to squeeze in as much as we could. And while we were at work, Mom and Dad transformed our landscaping, weeded gardens and cleaned up the garage. I was amazed at all the work they did. Thank you, Mom and Dad! :) What a blessing it was to have them...and not just for the work. :) We loved their company.

One morning, Mom, Dad and I went to the REI in Seattle. Another morning Mom and I went to Pike's Place Market in downtown Seattle. That weekend before they headed home, we went for an AMAZING hike in God's creation--at Mt. Rainier. I cannot praise God enough for His beautiful creation...especially with Mt. Rainier in front of me. Wow.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for coming to visit!!

Anniversary Surprise

Jen here. The summer was difficult. In Hong Kong we still had work, and then were a bit sad to leave new friends. Returning to the US, we spent brief time with family and then headed to Seattle to live in a new area, attend a new church and (for me) to work a new job. In all the adjustments and change, we were not without trials. Yes, we had sweet times and rejoiced in seeing friends and family again! But we were also stressed, worried, anxious and grumbly (especially me). One of my dearest friends kept telling me (as I poured out my heart to her) Roy and I are going through major life changes...of course things will be hard!

Our 3rd Anniversary is one of those heavenly sweet times between the trials. As mentioned earlier, Roy and I stayed with friends for about one month while we found and moved into our home for this year. Roy had already begun working and every so often I would go to work with him, just to be with him and get some fresh air. Roy invited me to go to work with him one August 17th and I thought nothing of it. "Sure" I said. Courtney made us pancakes to celebrate Judson's 1st birthday and then we headed to work. As we drove, Roy missed the exit to go to Chess4Life. Hmm... he must be distracted, I thought. But he didn't turn around, he just kept driving down 405 South. Something's funny. He began talking of taking the morning off...or maybe the day off. We could go to Mt. Rainier, he suggested. I love mountains, especially Mt. Rainier and I hadn't been there before. I've only seen the colossal mountain from 3 hours driving distance away...and it still looks huge.

As it turns out, Roy planned a surprise anniversary get-away, and expertly, I must say. I had no idea. We kept driving and headed into Mt. Rainier National Park. We went toward Sunrise, an area of the park with a visitor center and spectacular views and hiking trails. We chose a trail and hiked. BEAUTIFUL. AWESOME. Wildflowers everywhere (check the photo!) and God's awesome creation of mountains. Mmm... As the day went by, the depth of Roy's plans began to show. He packed some things in the trunk and every once in a while he would grab something out--maybe my tennis shoes, or hiking pants or my camera. This is more than just a day trip, I thought...but I'm going to soak it in no matter what it is. :)

Roy spoke of returning to civilization in time for Community Group and asked what I wanted to do. I made up my mind: let's spend time together instead of rushing back. We slowly drove around the park, stopping at overlooks and shooting many pictures. When we exited the park, Roy was following secret driving directions to somewhere, and it turned out to be a cabin he rented! Ah! :) How precious! He carried me in and set me on the couch while he brought in the rest of our stuff. Aww....

I could go on forever. :) The whole plan unfolded was two nights and three days in the cabin just a few miles from Mt. Rainier National Park, followed a day and night in the city. We made meals for one another, sang to the John Denver CDs, played Scrabble, built a fire, ate s'mores, soaked in the hot tub and just relaxed together. It was a wonderful time!! I cannot describe how sweet our time together was. :) Praise Jesus for that huge grace! And thanks to Roy for planning it!

"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever." -Psalm 125:1-2