Wedding + Roadtrip

What a wonderful past weekend! God again proves Himself to be One Who answers prayers. We're thankful for such a beautiful wedding for Stephen and Jen and can see that they're also great event planners. Bethany now has a wonderful aunt! Woohoo! :)

While it was a time of celebration, we packed in (pun not intended) the last of our move from Bellevue. The movers finally got everything loaded up into the truck by 1:30-2 am Sunday morning. We left early for the airport so that Mom could get back to Portland in time to pick up food for the love feast. It was an uneventful flight back to Houston. It was a bit of an odd feeling that we went from "home" back to "home." I suppose as long as we're "home" in the Lord, we're simply travelers on this earth anyway!

After resting up a bit, we decided to take advantage of our time before Caleb starts work. We drove to Galveston and visited the Moody Gardens Aquarium and then walked the historic downtown district on the Strand for a daytrip. Seeing some pictures of what Hurricane Ike did back in 2009 was incredible. We had some BlueBell ice cream (yum!!) and bought a bottle of award-winning raspberry chipotle sauce. I haven't had time to try it yet, but I'll let y'all know.

Driving into Galveston, which is basically an island, though connected by land a little further south. Notice the dark clouds overhead!

A bit smudgy here, but it was one of the largest rainfalls we'd ever been in, or drove through as we saw the Gulf of Mexico.

After visiting the aquarium for about 2 hours, everything cleared up. The tourist attractions here at Moody Gardens are built as these glass pyramid buildings. It was fun and I'd recommend it!

Our prayers are now with Stephen and Jen as they make their way from Seattle/Portland down to Corpus Christi by car. May the Lord keep them safe and grant them an enjoyable trip!

Apartment living

It was truly Providence that we were able to drive by the new house on a Sunday evening during Labor Day weekend. We saw for ourselves what the neighborhood actually looks like during an evening and got to take a look at the likes of our new neighbors. That's when we realized that it was not the place for us. Not only did we have a very unsettled feeling, but a lack of peace and security when we drove through Merganser Drive. While it was very disappointing, we're thankful that we found this out before it was too late.

Back to square one.

We hoped to still purchase a house in a better neighborhood and every night at dinner we'd ask elderly Brother & Sister Wei and Stephen about different areas in Houston. We learned a lot about the demographics, school districts, freeways and traffics. Good to know now rather than later.

After looking around at our price range in Sugar Land and realizing that we really couldn't afford something even on the side of small and new, it would be best to rent first. We would be more certain about our whereabouts once residency is secured as well. That way we won't be tied into real estate fluctuations either.

So we looked into renting an apartment that would be suitable. And long story short, we're now about 1-2 blocks away from Reliant Stadium, in a complex with mostly medical students & staff, close to quite a few brothers & sisters from church, and at a newer, fully upgraded facility. Our new place is on the first floor (yay, less stairs for me to climb!), accepts pets, AND has a shuttle that's door to door for Caleb that's only a 20 minute ride to his work.

Thank the Lord that despite a setback, He's still prepared what is best for us.

Welcomed correction: we're now going to be located in 2-3 weeks on El Mundo Road. :)

Baby Bethany

Bethany is at 25 weeks now, so that means about 15 more weeks to go! She has been moving around/shifting her weight for the last month or so, and it felt more like a change in pressure for me. Then about 2 days ago I was surprised to wake up to odd bumps and blips in my belly. It was a little startling to figure out that she was kicking and stretching her feet. I told her dad, and being still half-asleep said in his quiet and stern voice, "Bethany, don't kick Mommy." It took a second before he realized that, oh! She's actually moving her appendages now! We had been waiting for that since week 16. :)

The crazy citrus/acidic cravings have just about passed now, though I still do enjoy the sour stuff.

I'm not terribly keen on some of the unattractive side-effects of pregnancy, causing some discomfort and ... unattractive effects. Oh well, comes with the territory.
I'm also starting to look for good OB docs here, which really isn't too hard, given that there's a huge medical community here in Houston. It's been recommended to stay close to our new home, so I'll likely be heading to Women's Hospital of Texas at the medical center.

In other side news, one of Bethany's uncles is getting married in 2 weeks! We're excited!

House on Merganser Drive

We arrived in Houston Saturday 8/28. We started looking for a house after church on Sunday the 29th. We began to pray that the Lord would prepare us the right place - both for His use and for our family to live and grow.
The specifics:
*3 bedrooms - so we can accommodate family when they come to stay with us.
*Nice kitchen (preferably with an island)
*One story so Steph wouldn't have too much space to clean
*Space for a grand piano
*Long hallway for Polo to run
*Grass in the backyard for Polo's relief
*Separate toilet-room for uninterrupted reading and relief
*Good neighborhood that is close to church, work and other brothers & sisters
*Reasonably priced so we wouldn't stress about monthly payments
*New house so we wouldn't have to worry too much about repairs

After praying through these specifics and searching the area for 2.5 days, we signed the contract for this exact house on Tuesday 8/31 - the last day of August (our offer was accepted while filling out some paperwork right there and then!). The sales agent is also a Christian and when she asked us how we found them, she responded by saying, "Amen!" when we told her it was the Holy Spirit. :) Our rate was locked in yesterday at an all-time historic low after we met with the loan officer. If all goes well, God-willing, we'll close by the end of September and be able to move in!

What can I say? God is absolutely amazing. It was a family effort, with the in-laws on both sides contributing so much to make this possible. Thank you and thank you so much!

Throughout this whole process, I can only bow my head and give all worship and gratitude to my Heavenly Father. In all that He has done for us, may our lives, no matter how big or small the details be lived for Him.

While He indeed provides for us, we're remembering that we're simply aliens and travelers on this earth, just a'passing through.
Selah.

High-yield August 2010

August seems to be a very eventful month in our lives! While I can most certainly write an essay on all the details of what has happened to us, I'll break it down for easy & quick reading. Though let me just say from the get-go that we praise and thank God for being absolutely amazing and awesome in every single step of the way. We wouldn't be where we are if it weren't for Him.

7/23: Caleb received a job offer (post-doc research position) at MD Anderson Cancer Research Center in Houston, TX. We're moving!
8/2: Learned that we are now expecting Bethany

8/8: 1 year anniversary
8/19: last day of work for Steph
8/20-23: Crazy-busy packing & cleaning in workable temperatures, praise God!

Trip
8/23 pm: Caleb, Steph & Polo departed from Bellevue, WA, drove to Portland, Oregon
8/24: Caleb, Steph, Polo & Steph's Dad departed from Portland, OR, drove to Twin Falls, Idaho
8/25: Departed from Twin Falls, Idaho, (saw the actual Twin Falls) drove to Green River, Utah
8/26: Departed from Green River, visited Arches National Park, stopped briefly at the Four Corners (the point where 4 states come together at 1 spot - Arizona, Utah, New Mexico & Colorado) drove to Santa Rosa, New Mexico
8/27: Departed from Santa Rosa, New Mexico, drove to Corsicana, Texas
8/28: Departed from Corsicana and made it safe and sound to Houston!

*We thank the Lord that we never back-tracked on any of the routes, didn't get lost and made good progress each day.
*We thank the Lord for giving Dad the strength to make the 5 day trek with us... couldn't have done it without him!
*We thank the Lord for keeping us safe, we stopped once to add engine oil, and the cars made it safely. The smaller `98 Honda Accord arrived in Houston just in time for brake work, v-tech replacement and oil change.
*We thank the Lord for Mom's cookin' that kept us going for most of the trip.
*Since Dad's background is in geophysics, we had a tour guide who was able to explain all the interesting geography and landscapes which made everything that much more interesting.

*Polo is now staying with Ryan & Jill in Katy, TX. The little furry guy is sad, but we're thankful that he has such a wonderful and caring couple to stay with for these few weeks of transition.
*We're very thankful for the Wei's as they're letting us stay with them, and it's a mutually beneficial stay. We're happy to assist them in their daily needs, and we get to enjoy of their hospitality and fellowship.

I have lots of pics to upload... just found my cable to upload all the shots we took during the road trip. WIll post soon!

Here it is:
Texas Road Trip