A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer...

June 23 was a big day for us. Ironically, it was my cousin Blake's birthday, but that was the last thing on our minds. I had spent the day racing around, finishing shopping for the Arizona Mission Trip and taking Macie up to Salem to stay at my aunt and uncle's house while we were gone in AZ. Driving back to Corvallis from Salem (around 3:00 pm) I got a call from our mortgage broker that we were supposed to sign for our house today! So I called the title company, and they said if we could get there (Salem) before 5 pm, we could finish up the whole house-buying fiasco we'd been mired in for the past few months. I raced back to Corvallis, picked up Bryan, raced back to Salem, stopped at MaPS to get a cashier's check (which we were JUST informed that we would need) and then drove downtown to Ticor Title. By 5:45 we were house owners! Living room. apparently Macie likes to be in the pictures. I did not plan this. Kitchen/dining room/ stairs to upstairs on the right. With li...

Sometimes our lives aren't very interesting, thus the lack of blogging. Then, other times, there is just too much to share and a lack of internet connection, which also leads to blog neglect. This month, the problem has been the latter. Over the past month, we said goodbye to our host students (Lauren and Minsu), took our youth group to Arizona for our first solo (without Salem Heights) mission trip, bought a house, cleaned, moved, and said hello to the newest member of the Lute family! First off, since she's so cute....meet Kylie Marie Lute. Our friends Kyle and Kari had their second little girl yesterday (7-11-10) at 2:08 p.m. We went to see her and spent about 2 hours there with the little fam. Seven pounds, 18 inches, and not a peep of crying! She is one chill baby. It has also been blasted hot this past week. Young-i and Kyle came to stay with us for a night, and Sun and Andy came over too one day and we had a water fight to cool kyle down. Youngs had to be dragged out ...

So last night, we attended our 3rd Crescent Valley High School graduation! Three kids from our church graduated: Sun-Young Yim, Tae-Han Yeo and John Kim. Sorry there are no pictures of John - he likes to avoid the camera! Above are Sun and Tae-Han waiting to get their diplomas! They had to sit in alphabetical order....right next to each other! They definitely had a big cheering section, including Stephen and Jane, who made cool signs! Here they are, throwing hats....what a long ceramony! Afterwards, we headed to "our spot" outside and the paparazzi began! Please try to ignore Jane's intrusion behind the above photo!! Sun and Tae-Han! The whole gang!!! Sun and Me! We are so proud of this girl! Sun and her college boys....oh man we are going to have to keep tabs on this girl at school next year! The girls...

Alicia and I had an awesome time at the Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum concert last Saturday. We had great (though expensive) tickets, and spent the evening with Alicia's co-worker Sheryl and Sheryl's boyfriend, Rob. We had a great dinner in downtown Portland, rode the MAX for the first time, and I attended my first real concert! Lady Antebellum started out the night... Below is Alicia and me with Charles in the background... OK, I cheated on the photo below, using the big screen next to us...all of the rest of the pics are legit, though! It was amazing how much energy poured into that place when Tim McGraw came out! Lady A was good, and the crowd was definitely cheering, but when Tim was introduced, OHH BOY! That place got loud. Below is how he came out (the cowboy in the middle is him). And don't forget the fog... And cool lighting... The ladies love Tim... Yes, he is pointing at me.... So despite all the drunk, smooching dancers blocking our views, and despite taking the...

When most people see this symbol, they do not think of fuzzy Easter bunnies nor Peter Cottontail. Most people would shield their children's eyes from this bow tie clad fiend, lest the child ask what the rabbit stands for. Most people, therefore can understand my dilemma when I did a double-take last Sunday at church as a stroller passed by, pink playboy bunny blanket draped over the sleeping child. Of course, the parents are new to the U.S. and have no idea what the cute little rabbits represent, but should someone tell them that their Goodwill clearance rack find is NOT a baby blanket? No, I didn't tell them....how could I? But someone should. Otherwise that kid will be shocked someday when she gets teased at sleepovers about her favorite pink blankie .

Last Friday, Alicia, Kari, Isla, Minsu and I went up to Woodburn to do some tulip sniffing and outlet perusing. We managed to go on a beautiful day with and the flowers welcomed Isla's ready nose. When we first arrived, she was on sensory overload...smelling every flower she turned to. Oh how we love the cheesy, squinty Kyle-esque smile. Minsu can be helpful now and again....he told me later that he is going to miss Isla when he goes home in June. My favorite flower of the day....look for these next spring in front of our new house!! Our attempt at a posed photo. Isla was more photogenic in the candids, but Kari is beautiful! No, she didn't pick the flower, I promise! It was broken on the ground, and she held onto it the rest of the afternoon. A little B & W in a storm of color. Minsu's handiwork at the Nikon helm. Nice work getting Isla's attention! Minsu was camera shy, but I made him pick his favorite flower to take a photo by. THE END.....I used my new ...