Ramping Up

In little over a week I will be boarding a plane for the long trip to Liberia, and all of a sudden I have a sudden rush of concern, "Am I ready?" Have I thought through everything I need for this trip? Heck no! Course being how this is my first real experience doing a trip like this I am not sure there is a way to truly prepare for an adventure like this, no matter how much you talk through it with others.

Am I excited? Definitely. But part of me wonders what am I doing going on a trip like this. Traveling thousands of miles to a very remote jungle to rebuild a library in a country I know nothing about (other than it was founded by freed American slaves.) Wondering how am I going to solve the IT issues for this building, since I am not an IT guy.

But then I realize how this whole process has been an incredible blessing. How six months ago Heidi's grandpa first brought up the idea of raising the money for rebuilding a library for the college in honor of Heidi's grandma. How all the funds came in, and then some, in the midst of a worldwide economic collapse. How originally I wasn't going to be able to go because of timing, and now I am. It has helped reinforce in me that God is truly sovereign, and He allows us to be part of the process for our own transformation. I just pray I can be open to being the vessel of change God wants me to be, as well as be sensitive to the change he is doing in me.

I also pray I don't forget something important when I pack this week.

Sunset on San Juan Island

San Juan Island at Sunset (2009)

Here's another finished photo from my Washington trip last week. We had such wonderful sunset weather the whole time we were there as you can see. I was actually a little disappointed we didn't experience any weather at all. There is still about two to three more photos I'd like to finish from this trip so keep posted. Just not sure if I am going to be able to finish them before I leave for Liberia.

Heidi at Sunset

Heidi at Sunset (2009)

After a full weekend of painting our old study to become a baby's room, and making the social rounds I finally got some time to work on my photos from Washington last weekend. Here's the first one. I was hoping to finish some more but my photoshop is acting squirrelly. So going to have to wait a little longer before I can post some more.

The photo itself was taken at Bald Eagle viewing park near Lynden. I just happened to be setting up my camera when Heidi walked into frame. It looked so good I thought it would make a great picture.

Returning from Lynden

This past weekend Heidi and I embarked on our final trip without the worry of kids. We went up to Lynden, WA to visit Heidi's brother and sister-in-law who just moved up there. For those of you not familiar Lynden is about a 30 minute drive from Canada.

It was quite stunning up there, and we had wonderful weather. While everyone down in Southern California was waterlogged we had sunny skies. We got to enjoy a nice trip to the San Juan Islands, where the above picture was taken. We also soaked in the sights near Bellingham and Lynden. These are the first batch of photos before I have really cleaned them up. There are many more to come.

We ran across about six bald eagles on San Juan Island, this is a close up of one of them. Such beautiful animals.

Looking down David and Rachel's street.

This is the view just outside David and Rachel's apartment.

Wasn't sure if this was the work of a huge comic book fan in Bellingham, a gorilla marketing campaign by Warner Brothers, or a political statement, but I got a chuckle out of this.

Timber, David and Rachel's dog styling in an Angels Beanie.

Trip Starting to Take Shape

Well, things are starting to fall into place for our Liberia trip. Above is a picture of the team going to Liberia. They are from left to right: James Domingo, husband of Heidi's cousin Joy; Judy Hammer, my mother-in-law; me; Verl Lindley, Heidi's grandpa; Brad Fielder, family friend of the Lindleys; Doug Hammer, my father-in-law. We have plane tickets, and we're about to send off our visa applications. This trip is slowly becoming more tangible. I also found out a couple of weeks ago I might be the resident IT when I am there. Which should be interesting since I am primarily a design guy who works on Macs. I am sure I'll be able to set it what they need but it might be messy for awhile. Thank goodness I'll have internet access over there.

The Perfect Cake to Celebrate a Baby Girl

How can you not mark the birth of your new daughter without Darth Vader? Yeah I thought so too. I am sure I'd have no problem convincing Heidi this is the perfect cake for our baby girl.