Thrice show in P-Town

As an early third anniversary celebration, AJ & I left the baby with our Poet family overnight & drove to Portland to see Thrice, a favorite band of ours.

There was a moment when Dustin was singing the song "Treading Paper" and he stepped away from the microphone but the crowd/fans kept singing the words:

If anything means anything, there must be--
something meant for us to be, a song that we were made to sing.
There must be so much more than we can see.

It was one of those moments when you HOPE the gospel's getting through.
These sort of shows aren't really my scene (I'm no mosher because I'm pretty sure my 5'3'' self would get crushed) but I really enjoyed it, especially Thrice's bit, and the whole being with my husband part. :) Even the long, late drive home was lovely.

Other items: at the venue, called the Wonder Ballroom, they had a restaurant underneath called Under Wonder and I had the best French dip I've ever had...with no napkins. Intense.


Also, before the show we made an IKEA stop to dream a little, and to pick up a birthday present for a little boy who will be one in a just a couple of weeks!

a couple of good ones

Last weekend we went on a couples retreat with our church to Bend, Oregon. Such a pretty place! On Saturday night of the retreat we dressed up & chowed down on some soul food! Jambalaya!

And on Sunday we went to the farm with our friends Andrew & Coralie & their kids. We picked apples, chose a few pumpkins, sampled apple cider & cobbler, etc.

The charming apple picker.

Comparing sizes.

after it was over

After John & Kristin's wedding ceremony, we helped clean up a little, and as we were on our way out we said goodbye to Jim, Kristin's dad. (He & his wife Cindy heroically hosted us & lots of other people at their house over the weekend, and it was lovely.)
Jim sat down at the piano and started playing something (I want to say it was a hymn) & AJ & I paused walking down the center aisle out of the church as AJ sang along. Had to bust out the camera & remember it. It was a very "Father of the Bride" and the party's over moment.

Pike's Place Public Market

Day before our friends John & Kristin tied the knot, they & we their friends traversed to Pike's Place Public Market in Seattle to get fresh flowers for the wedding. It was my first time at Pike's and I loved it! Only forty minutes or so spent there, but it was enough to whet my appetite for a longer visit. John bought a fresh sourdough baguette and the pictures below show us consuming it. SO GOOD! I also ate a Russian pastry that had dough that was a gorgeous yellow color (was there saffron in the dough?) with cinnamon and cardamom! Eating it warm on a chilly overcast Northwest morning in the crowds of Pike's Place...ah...it was a moment for me. A foodie moment. :)

Camping

This Friday we went camping with others from our church & had a blast! I'm sorry to say it was our first camping trip being married and we're approaching two years of marriage! Being the daughter of my parents who met as counselors at a camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I am appaled at myself that this didn't happen sooner. However, it was lots of fun, we slept in a tent (I love tents!), our campsite was near a river, and we were well fed. (Thank you Raineys & Thomases & Sticklers & Townsends & Werners & Fultzes!) The pictures above are us with bikes that our friends Tim & Amy let us ride on. It was so fun! Another thing I haven't done in...ahem...years... And notice my belly. Twenty five weeks along & little Ransom is moving a lot!

retreat into luxury

Also in May...I went to a ladies retreat put on my my church. It was very lovely. We stayed at Embassy Suites. We were pampered there. Breakfasts with made-to-order omelets. A catered lunch. Angel hair pasta. Angel hair pasta is my favorite. A daily snack bar with chips and salsa. I really like both of those things. Hmmm. Food seems to have been a highlight from the retreat...could I be pregnant!? ;)

We went to the Cheesecake Factory. Those of you who know me will think, "Rachel! You mean to say you entered dairy territory of your own free will? Rachel, do you realize that the word "cheesecake" begins with the word "cheese"? What were you thinking?"
I do realize the dangers that faced me in that place, and that in a moment of weakness I could have risked an allergic reaction of epic proportions, but I ordered a dairy free smoothie and shivered through the night, safe from the dairy monster.
Above is the ceiling of the Cheesecake Factory & I thought it impressive.

I didn't take so many pictures from the weekend, so here's one of the only good ones I can find of Tiffany (center), Robin (right), and me.

On a different non-food plane, during this retreat I had the opportunity to co-teach a workshop with my friend Sherri. Sherri is a spiritual mama, she loves to cook (YES!!!), she loves to pray, she loves her husband, loves her kids, loves being a grandma, and she asked me to co-teach with her at this retreat! What!? The timing of her asking me to do this was really something. I had just finished completing a spiritual gifts assessment & much to my chagrin I scored the highest in the gift of teaching. I use the word "chagrin" because of my dismay to discover this, having avoided the teaching avenue because of my desire to be different from my parents, my sisters, my aunts, who all teach. But Sherri approached me & I thought it might be a providential opportunity to exercise my so-far ill used gift. Our topic was investing in others. When the time came for me to present my piece of our subject at the retreat, I went through my notes as best as I could, but faltered. Sherri had shared before me and during her part she called out to individual women and encouraged them with something specific God had given her for them. It moved me to witness the Father's love for his daughters in this way; hearing Sherri speak encouraging things to women who soaked it up like daughters enraptured by their Daddy, hungry for His attention, really moved me & I was a potential mess when it was my turn. I think it went well, despite my croaky voice, and I spoke what God had been giving to me, so I'd say it was a good learning experience & we'll see where this teaching thing goes. I'm not going to be adverse to it anymore. (And thanks, Erin, for your pep talk about this.)

And to wrap up, here's my fun friend Anne, (another of the few pictures I took), wearing a hot pink suit I told her to put on in the middle of the store. She was buying hot pink shoes that matched, so how could I let her get by without this?

these are some things we've been doing lately

Since I've been lacking with my own words lately, here are some pictures of some things we've been doing in the last couple of weeks.

I've been reading plays like "The Miracle Worker" (about Helen Keller) while we waited for a baby to be born.

Here's the handsome family! Andrew (another one!) & Laryn with their baby girl Lyric.

Andrew getting some baby time.

I (while Andrew had a barbecue with the guys) helped my friend Coralie throw a green themed tea party the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day.

My friend John made the shamrock cake. Chocolate mint with ganache filling
and it was vegan too!

We have eaten broiled grapefruit.

We've worn green for St. Patrick's Day.

We visited IKEA.

Spent some quality time at Powell's Books in Portland with my cousin Brianna & Aunt Sue. Breezy & I are here in the cookbook section.

And enjoyed a delicious dinner on St. Patrick's Day with our visiting relatives. It was such a fun time! I'm so thankful for visiting family, and for spring breaks that make visits like this one possible.

Also been thinking about how I can encourage my man with his music. I'm attempting to be more vocal about this & to demonstrate with my actions that I can gladly make room in our lives for him to create & pursue his dream. Working on it. Last night Andrew helped his friend Josh by playing in his band for a show last night. During & after the time they were performing, two people we respect very much (yay Ray & Becki!) came up to me & said what a great bass player Andrew is, how there's something about his bass playing that stands out from other bassists. I think so too, but it's not only with his playing of the bass. It's also with his singing, his guitar playing, his songwriting, his screamo-ing, his roaring.
He was meant for this.

No Regrets: Honeymoon in the Black Hills

For no particular reason, today I remembered our honeymoon & that I loved it. Andrew & I were married in the Black Hills & spent a few nights there, then worked our way back west for the rest of the week long honeymoon. Simple, budgeted, with a couple of splurges & glorious sunny (!?!) November weather for a post wedding road trip. I'm thankful for it & can't think of a better way I'd want it to be. Here are some photos leading up to the wedding & of scenes from our honeymoon travels.

We took communion together the night before the wedding, something my mom & dad also did before they got married.
The morning of the wedding, inside the cabin where we were married.The view out the window the morning of the wedding. It snowed very briefly that morning.
Also the morning of the wedding. We had "church" with some of our friends before setting up the cabin for the wedding.

First full day of being man & wife, we stopped off Highway 395 at Pactola Lake & took some pictures.

Playing with the color settings...

On the road trip home, we spent a night here, in the McFarland room. Ironically, my maiden name is McFarland!
Hope you enjoyed my reflection down memory lane...thanks for reading!

lately in our lives

We celebrated first wedding anniversary on Monday in a London phonebooth...
in Casablanca eating pita...

in Midtown with James Herriot...

and at a British tea shop in Florence!We sound like world travelers, don't we? :) I didn't notice that before.

A favorite part...falling asleep to the sound of pounding rain on Saturday the 21st. Don't usually get such a treat. The rain is usually quieter.

We also played a little dress up on our actual anniversary day, putting on our wedding clothes again & taking a few pictures of ourselves. I'm thankful Andrew goes along with his wife who still likes to play dress up. :)

Thanksgiving we spent with our Poet family, walking a 3 mile race/run, making homemade lattes, playing Spades & Hearts, and eating delicious food. The rain came down in torrents in the afternoon, making beautiful sounds & bringing a whoosh of chill into the hot kitchen. I was so delighted, I had to take a picture, so here it is, Stonepile Farm on Thanksgiving Day:

hospitality

My prayers from about a week ago are beginning to be answered, specifically the desire for being able to show hospitality & for God to present opportunities for that. On Tuesday night we were graced with a visit from Israel, a friend who attended college with us, who since then has been on grand adventures in Germany, Costa Rica, & Nicaragua with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). He'd been living in South Dakota since these adventures & was stirred up to visit some friends in the Northwest, where we are. He's been hitchhiking part of the way & it was a surprise to hear from him, but our evening was free & we invited him into our home for dinner & to spend the night. What unfolded was a sweet time of encouragement, laughter, outbursts, prayer, tears, & faith-building stories. It was refreshing to hear from Israel, a guy who lives so on the edge as he does, and of his heart for Berlin, Germany, which is so big. (To read his blog, go to: http://translatelove.blogspot.com/). It was what I'd imagine a visit from the apostle Paul would be like, or that's what it makes me think of.
More...I'll be looking for more opportunities & hints & nudges & openings...

from coast to home

Got back Sunday afternoon from a women's retreat at the coast. It was a good opportunity for me to get to know women in my church, women that in ten months of attending I either haven't met yet, or haven't had sufficient time to get to know them. I was so glad for the chance. And it was at the coast! I've had a craving to see & hear & play at the coast, so this weekend was very timely.

Lately I've had a desperate need to be known, to be known by girls who like me & love me & see the value in me and let me do the same for them. It has been freakishly hard lately. Amongst the different introductions & explanations & chat times at the conference with women from my church, I felt this need grow in me, to be known. There were women from different churches at the conference, too, friends & I was able to have that feeling of being known satisfied. It worked beautifully; those times made me eager to discover the pre-friends & to be more present when I was with women from my church.

Two escapes to the coast by myself also restored me & drew worship out of me.

And when I saw my husband again! How wonderful it was to be hugged & held & kissed & too much information-ed by him! What a thankful wife I am with a husband who treated me to an Irish cream soy latte (one he made), time to read on my own, & cuddle time on the couch as we watched The Bourne Ultimatum! We've been foolishly smiling like giddy children ever since we've been back in each other's company.

It was good to go away so that I could come home again.

i get to sit behind a desk now

We're back, yes we're back home! Strange to call this place home, since we were gone for 3 1/2 weeks, visiting the places where we grew up, other "homes." I concluded five summers ago that people define home to me, so I suppose I have several homes to claim.

It's good to be back in a routine. Both Andrew & I are working today, bless the Lord! It is good to be behind a desk again, sorting out bills, stamping letters, printing checks, and organizing my work space! I sound very type A...

Andrew & I have another baby to meet as soon as we can: little Caleb, Cory & Bekah's new son. I'm very excited to have babies in our lives!

There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, is there?

Now that we're home, I'm excited to do some decluttering (since I brought so much stuff home with me from my home of origin...things like books, things I accumulated in Japan, treasures), reading, walking, and artistic things.

Maybe I'll post a couple of photos from the trip, soon.

Texas Surprise, etc.

This last Friday, Andrew & I rocketed away on another fun-filled adventure to surprise some family members by showing up last minute for cousin Heather's wedding. The best of the surprise was reserved for Sue, Andrew's mom. She had no clue we were coming & even was talking on the phone to cousin Jill, telling her everything in Texas was going well, except Andrew & Rachel weren't able to make it. Little did she know, a mere number of hours later we'd come in the door of Uncle Jeff & Aunt Yvonne's kitchen door behind her back, causing her to respond in shock/delight/tear-filled exclamations. It was so worth it. Such a blessing to surprise her! One of the highlights of life, I think. Jessica (my sister-in-law) and Jon (father-in-law, Sue's husband) even planned it so that Sue would get us to herself as she was working on Heather's wedding cake & the rest of the family was at the rehearsal.

Here's the glorious wedding cake Sue created for Heather's wedding. Isn't my mother-in-law gifted? I'm amazed.

Since returning to the Northwest, Andrew has developed a fever and my sister Erin is in town for a much anticipated visit. It's crazy in our little apartment. Andrew's fever, my newly acquired cough, and Erin's allergies all flared up last night...we were quite a group. I'm looking forward to health & more good time spent with Erin (so far we've walked, picked flowers, played Bananagrams). Andrew's fever was lower this morning & Erin & I have plans to go get coffee & bring our books along.

In other news, yesterday Andrew & other Burn Pattern band members received the official first copies of their newly recorded album! Since Andrew has been ill, I was his ambassador to pick up some of the CDs for us. Here I am with Cory at the tradeoff, at the appropriately titled Trader Joe's store. Ha ha. Irony I wasn't intending. Unfortunately, we're in front of the dairy section. :( Where's the soy? Anyway, Andrew was so thrilled to get the album. Hard work paying off. I'm proud.

Back from the Central Time Zone, and the Appreciation of Family

Photo of the outside of the Fallout Art Co-op on 2nd Street & 26th in Minneapolis where some of the 24-7 Gatherings were held. There are some cool paintings on the inside. A brick wall with evidence of having been plastered... very artsy looking, but significant because Dave Konkel (a leader for Campus America) tied that into a picture saying our prayers need to be free of facade (like the bare brick) instead of keeping up appearances, being showy (what was left of the plaster seemed silly).

My beloved sister Erin & I outside the Guthrie Theatre standing in front of a huge portrait of Tennessee Williams (I think). I love this picture! It's even symmetrical!

This, oh, this is a huge mural puzzle piece painting that was done Friday night of the conference. There were twenty-six huge puzzle pieces made of somthing like particle board with black lines on them & Erin & I received instructions to paint whatever we liked on ours, except to leave the black lines. With the pieces together, you get a beautiful, prophetic picture of Minneapolis & ministry going on there. The piece Erin & I did together is on the bottom right, part of the second & third houses on the right.

This picture was taken inside the Black Sheep, a coffee house in St. Paul. This is the latte Tom ordered; isn't it lovely? His face is in the background. Gotta love a brother with good taste in coffee...mmhmm.

Eating makes up some of the most important times of vacations, ever notice that? Here, Liz, Ian, Nina, Andrew & I were at Noodles & Company for lunch. Oh, the niece & nephew are so cute! After this we went to the park & Liz & I felt like paparazzi as we tried to capture AJ & Ian playing on the playground. It was such a fun day!

Family was the focus of this trip, in more ways than one. Of course there was the time with Erin & Liz, Tom, & the kids. It was so good to stay with Erin during the conference, a mere number of blocks away from North Central University where the conference was held. In a way I didn't expect, the word "community" was invalidated in describing what God desires the Church to be, and the word "family" became the way to describe it. The spirit of adoption is what God has for us & it is awesome. I saw this demonstrated at the 24-7 Gathering. It was SUCH a HUGE PRIVILEDGE to be there. This is something I've dreamed of being a part of for at least four years & it was sobering & humbling to be there. I felt so unworthy, yet GRATEFUL that God set it all up for Andrew & I to be there. I'm not perfect at having these new friendships I gained, treating them as family...to be honest, I justified my shyness there by thinking, "Oh, I'm a newlywed & there aren't as many married couples here; it's okay to mainly hang out with Andrew." (I've pulled that card too much, I think, when it comes to doing hard stuff these past months.)

I'm challenged to love this new family I've gained, and after spending a week amongst my biological family, I'm challenged to love them better, too. My family is so incredible and I'd be crazy not to love them more. It was so hard to leave Minnesota & I definately cried. Erin's right; it's harder leaving when there are kids involved because they grow so much inbetween our visits. Ian is three years old, almost four, and his age is so fun! I had a blast giggling with him & playing "I'm-a-gonna-get-you" & "pillow, pillow, pillow" (this means I'd grab him, throw him gently on the couch & cover him up with pillows...).

My sisters are amazing too. I'm so grateful to have them as my friends, glad to be stuck with them.

Thanks 24-7 Prayer Crew in Kansas City, thanks Erin, Tom, & Liz for your hospitality. Erin, for your understanding with the crazy conference schedule, the walks & the amazing restaurant picks. Tom, for the late night movies (Andrew explained the "Matrix" to me, I'm getting it) & French press. Liz for the book recommendations (I checked one of them out at the library today) & your exemplary life as a wife & mom.

I'm full of love for family.