Thursday, May 31, 2007

May Adventures

Well, it's almost the end of May and we thought it was time to post again. This month has been filled with fun adventures. We started out with a fire and ended with a fire. If you haven't checked out the pictures of the house burning yet, we would highly recommend it for entertainment purposes (especially for you pyros out there). Today we were enjoying dinner, and we noticed things were getting a little hazy outside. Later, as Scott was setting up the fan to help us survive the heat when he noticed that a lot of people were starting to gather outside and the haze was getting darker. We both went outside and saw a jeep with flames bursting out of it!!! The hood was engulfed in flames (right under a tree) and there were no firefighters in sight! Our neighbors were just getting off the phone with 911 and they were told the fire department was trying to get someone over here. We were afraid the engine might blow, and we did hear a loud "POP". Fortunately, it was only a tire. Soon the fire department did arrive, and it turned out the jeep belonged to our former manger's daughter who just moved home. Well the car is totaled. The firefighters wrenched the hood off, smashed in the driver side window, sprayed water inside, and ripped apart the dashboard. One of the more interesting pieces, was that the back was full of her stuff since she's in transition, and we got to watch the firefighters unload the back of the jeep for her, which included bags of clothes, dresses, a CD player, Abercrombie and Fitch bags, and the like. We don't envy the hassles and inconveniences she'll be going through now, but it did provide a nice diversion from life.
In other news, Heather celebrated her 24th birthday this month, and we were able to enjoy a fun family dinner at the Olive Garden. Scott was interviewing for a teaching position in Gresham, which made the dinner possible. For her birthday Heather received some fun new rhythm instruments, "Captivating" on CD, Cities and Knights of Catan, and a beautiful 5 pane canvas as an early birthday present her sister painted for her. Here are some pictures of the dinner plus some more pictures.
Also this month we helped our friends Jeremy and Claudette Stevenson move to Wilsonville. It was sad to see them move from McMinnville, but we are excited for the next stage of life God has in store for them. This past week we have been house sitting for them since they are out of town.
We are so excited that we get to see our Niece and Nephew, Andrea and Gavin this weekend. They are up from Arizona for a few weeks, and we haven't seen them since last August when Beth and Thomas got married in Mexico.
Other than that we are very excited for summer. Scott finishes work June 20th, and Heather finishes her internship July 13th. Please pray for Scott as he continues to look for a job. So far he has had 4 interviews and no job offers yet. Also pray for perseverance as the end of the year is especially hard as far as student behavior goes and motivation for teachers. Pray for Heather as she comes closer to the end of her internship and the board exams she will need to take to become board certified in Music Therapy. Pray for safety as she continues the arduous drive to and from Portland, and that gas prices will go down because it leaves quite a dent in our bank account.
That's all the news from our home front. Please feel free to comment we'd love to hear who's reading this and how you're doing. We did change some things so you don't have to have a blogger account to leave a comment. Have a great June!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Passions define...

So, what are we passionate about? Us: Worshipping God the Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ (we desire to grow more in this) Summer vacation (Scott-finishing teaching 6-20-07 and Heather-finishing internship 7-13-07) Playing games together and with friends Camping Scott: Heather Teaching Running Ultimate Frisbee Heather: Scott Card making and Candy making (visit Taste and See blog) Homemaking Music These are just a few of the things that we are passionate about at this time. How about you? What are you passionate about?

Monday, May 07, 2007

Wow, this past weekend has been really busy and full of exciting events!!! We've broken down the three events in three posts.
  1. Brian and Abby Boatman's Wedding
  2. Soren and Sarah Overby's Graduation from Corban
  3. A house burning right out our back patio.

Check these out posts and the pictures that go along with them.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

The Boatman Wedding Friday, May 4th. We were honored to attend the wedding of Abby Langbecker and Brian Boatman at McMenamin's Edgefield. Heather has known Abby and Brian for many years and it was such a joyous occasion to see them married. It was also fun for Heather to see some great friends from her years at the Church on the Mountain. The wedding was in Blackberry Hall and was an absolutely gorgeous event. Click here to view pictures.
Soren and Sarah Overby's Graduation from Corban College Saturday, May 5th. Soren and Sarah Overby graduated from Corban College both with their degrees in Education. They are the first two Overbys to graduate from Corban. For those of you who know the Overbys you might be saying, wait a minute, didn't Sjana (pronounced Shawna) go to Corban. The answer to that is, sorta kinda. She went to and Graduated from Western Baptist, which is now Corban College. So, the same school, but new names. Plus, when she graduated from "Western Baptist" she was no longer an Overby but a MacSwan. So both the college and Sjana have had a name change to make the statement technically true that Soren and Sarah were the first Overbys to graduate from Corban College. And technically Sarah walked first so she graduated before Soren did. Side note: Soren and Sarah will not be the last Overbys there, Seth is planning on attending Corban this fall. After the graduation the whole Overby and Roach clan (Sarah's maiden name was Roach) went to the "Best Little Roadhouse" in Salem. And let us tell you, it is a very good little Roadhouse. We enjoyed Onion Straws (like onion rings but smaller) and yummy honey bread, and by the time our meal came we could only eat a little of it. Don't worry, we enjoyed it for lunch the next day. With a group of 20 (yes there were that many of us) we got to eat outside on the heated patio and enjoy a fun time of fellowship with our family. After the food, Soren, Sarah and the two of us went over to Northern Lights Theater to catch a movie. Unfortunately nothing good was showing (it's $3 a movie at Northern Lights) so we went to Blockbuster to rent a movie and watched it at Soren and Sarah's place. We rented "Man of the Year" with Robin Williams and we loved the plot and some of the jokes. By some we mean about 15%. Otherwise it was just raunchy humor. Scott and Soren got to play some Halo on Soren's Xbox, which Scott really enjoyed. The day was fun and filled, and we send our congratulations out to Soren and Sarah again and to all those of you graduating from High School or College this year. To those who are close, keep hanging in there, you can do it!!! Here are some more pictures from the graduation.
Fire Day: Sunday, May 6th. About 3 weeks ago we had an influx of firefighters congregating at the house across from our back patio. We found out that some people bought the place and were going to burn it down to subdivide it for townhouses or houses. The date for the big burn was May 6th. Between then and Sunday firefighters occassionally showed up to cut holes in the roof, cut out walls, do some smoke drills or other firefighter-esk things. May 6th finally arrived and boy was it a show!!! There were probably 5-6 firetrucks and lots of firefighters. They started with small burns, and they would go in and put the flames out. Then it was time for the big show. I know we have lots of pictures, but it's the best way to explain the excitement. The smoke went really high, the flames were HUGE. We could feel the heat from our apartment which is about 75meters from the house. Since the burn they've completely hauled away all the rubble (concrete and all) and they will start preparing the land soon for more houses!!! Just what we need. To fill you in about this house (it was no ordinary home). It seems to have once been some sort of recreation center because there are two stories on one side of the building which both seem to just be large open rooms. In the other side of the building was an old run down swimming pool! Yes an indoor swimming pool that even had a side bathroom/changing room/kitchen. But, it's all gone now. Enjoy the show.
Before: More Pics
During: More Pics
After: More Pics