Oregon Life

The past 6 weeks have flown by. We're now settled (well, there's a couple more pictures still to hang) and are already both very busy. Daniel started school on September 24th and is now in full swing. Here's a picture of him on his first day of school...somehow he never grows out of his silliness! When he's not studying or in class, he's been helping me finish getting settled, pictures hung and things organized. His schedule allows for him to treat school like any normal day job, leaving about 8:30 in the morning and coming home before dinner. I like it this way because for the most part we can enjoy our evenings together.

Our house has fit our needs perfectly! It's about 3 miles from campus and an easy commute for Daniel. We have plenty of room between a guest room, futon and pullout couch for those wanting a Northwest adventure! We live in a family friendly neighborhood and turns out the church we've been attending is the same as our neighbors...small world! From our back porch we have a beautiful view of Mary's Peak, the tallest mountain peak between the ocean and the Wilammette Valley where we live. The coast is an easy 45 minute drive due West and a great place to visit on sunny days. A few weeks ago my parents were out here delivering my car and visiting with us. We drove over to the coast for a delicious seafood lunch and saw some massive gray whales hanging out right on the shoreline! Most of the whales migrate south for the winter, but the locals informed us that about 200 of these gray whales stay throughout the winter and are so popular in the towns that many of them have been personally named. Even though the ocean is close, even the summers are still too chilly to get in the water without a wetsuit.

We have found a great church to attend while we're here. It's called Northwest Hills Community Church and is very close by. What we love most about the church is they have an awesome Young Marrieds Group who have their own Sunday School, Bible Studies and fun events. We've enjoyed hanging out with these couples who are all about the same age and pace in life. I (Erin) have also been going to a women's Bible Study on Thursday mornings and am meeting more women in the church. We're so grateful for Northwest Hills and glad to be involved so soon.

While Daniel's at school, I am staying busy with house work, new friends, and running. There is another Navy family here doing the same program as Daniel. Grady and Daniel have all their classes together and turns out his wife Christy loves to run! We hit it off immediately and are running together 3-4 times a week and training for our first full marathon in March.

Needless to say, God has been very gracious and good to us! We love married life and all that we're learning and experiencing together.