Pumpkin Patch

October is the month for our annual Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch trip with the Smith's and the Lee's. It was a beautiful weather! Probably one of the last warm days of the season. However that meant everyone was there that day. It took us a good 45 minutes to get on the island and another 45 minutes waiting in line to get off. We had fun racing through the corn maze with our traditional boys vs. girls teams, except for baby Addison who went along with the guys. The girls won this year. Davin and I always buy a pumpkin here to make homemade pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Life's been so busy lately, I don't know if we'll have time this year or not. We'll see.

Manager of Married Student Housing

As of November 1st, my new title will be Manager of Married Student Housing. We will not have an Office Manager hired yet to fill my current job, so I will probably have a foot in each job for a little while. Hopefully the transition won't be too long or too stressful. Davin and I will be moving sometime in December once they get the house cleaned up and ready to go. We're really excited about this opportunity... and we're excited about saving a bundle on gas for our car! For now, our life is centered around these two blocks of Portland; we'll be able to walk to work, school, and church. We also look forward to hosting more parties and not having to worry about where everyone is going to sit. I will really enjoy the change of pace in my job. It will still be super busy at times, but I won't be tied to a desk, I can do laundry while I'm working, and I won't have to be on top of where all 12 people in Student Services are and what they're doing at any given time.

New Job?

So, I've officially applied for a new job. It's still at Multnomah in the Student Services department, but it's for the Manager of Married Student Housing position. Liz and her husband are moving to North Dakota by mid-November so the job starts November 1st. Davin and I are really excited about it because we'd get to live in a 3 bedroom house on campus for free. This would provide a way for Davin to go to the seminary full time, and we could still start a family because I would be working from home. We'd rent out our condo so we could continue building equity. Anyway, it's pretty exciting. We'll keep you posted!

Yellow Belts

We finally got some picturess of us in our cool Tae Soo Do uniforms. (Click on a photo to see it bigger.) We've been orange belts since June and tested for our yellow belts last night at the club. It was quite a sense of accomplishment. Here is Melissa breaking a board with a front kick. For our last test we had to punch a board. Kicking is easier. Our friend Dave got to show off his skills by practicing on Davin. Notice the new yellow belt? We're hoping to test for green in January.

Do-si-do

Davin and I have been taking Tae Soo Do with Dr. Kutz for the last few months. The class meets Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 am in Multnomah's gym... it's probably the only thing that would get Davin out of bed that early. It's really a good workout, and it seems that after every class I have a new sore muscle. Today it's my abs. I could hardly sit up to get out of bed this morning. We are currently orange belts, and we're testing for yellow on Wednesday. I think we're ready. Our friend Dave got us involved in Tae Soo Do. He's a brown belt going for red next week. We're always trying to recruit people to join us. We commute to work with Aaron on most days and he may start coming in with us when we go to class. He thinks he's just going to go lift weights or something, but we've got plans to assimilate him! His wife calls it our Do-si-do class. This is different from your average dance. You get to use weapons!

LOST in the Lunchroom

We've been counting down to the LOST premier for a few months. Last night we had a party at our house and watched it with a projector to get the full effect. Every Thursday during lunch we get together with other devoted LOSTies at Multnomah to discuss the previous night's show. Davin and I noticed a while back that the tables in the new cafeteria are octagons... just like the Dharma logo! So, we decided we should make an official tablecloth for our group. With Davin's technical prowess, my crafty sewing abilities, and our combined obsession for perfection, we joined forces to create a perfect replica of the first Dharma logo. It took many hours of measuring, tracing, cutting, thinking, and sewing, but we were quite pleased with the end result. Davin told me (and everyone else seems to agree) that this makes me an official nerd. It was fun to whip out the tablecloth today and surprise everyone with it. We were getting quite a few stares in the crowded lunchroom, but we were having so much fun, we didn't really care. If you, too, love to theorize about the mysteries and interwoven plot of LOST, come to Multnomah for lunch on Thursdays and look for the swan.

Babies

Quite a bit has been happening the last few weeks, but I will take a moment now to share the most exciting one. Our good friends Gina and LeRoy just had a beautiful baby girl born on September 25th. Addison Joy was 8lbs 8.5oz and 20in long, and she has curly black hair. I'm always amazed when babies are born with hair because my brothers and I were all bald as could be. As Davin can tell you, I simply adore babies and can't wait to have one of my own. I joke with him that EVERYONE'S pregnant, and he teases me about kidnapping friends' babies since I always want to hold them. Here I am holding Addison... I gave her back. Children are such a wonderful gift from God!