Our Mountain Top!

Hey all,

Well, I write this blog with joy, excitement and great peace... I am honored to be able to tell you that Nate proposed to me on the side of Mt. Hood in Oregon and I said yes! It was a wonderful week in Oregon, and truly, a huge blessing to promise our lives to each other that day! I'm sure you want some details, so here you go...

We flew to Portland, Oregon on the 6th to attend some work meetings with Nate's company. We spent Friday all day and Saturday part day in meetings, learning more about responding to disasters, what God is doing, and much more... in the evenings, we would hang out with friends or go on little trips into the city. I was able to relax some, which was good. I'm still fighting off this parasite problem and resting was good for me!

On Saturday afternoon, we rented a car to drive to Salem to visit my grandparents. We took the scenic route through silver falls and enjoyed the drive down. Seeing my grandparents and introducing him to Nate was such a gift. They loved him! And for those of you who may not remember... the last time I visited them, was when Galen called me about this amazing ministry I'm part of now, so their home holds significance in my life...

We spent time Saturday night catching up with Grandma and Grandpa and my cousin Stephen who also lives in Salem. What a joy!

Sunday, we woke up, shared breakfast with my grandparents, then went to the coast for some sightseeing! It was a clowdy day, which made for some great wave shows on the rocky beaches! It was a day where you literally couldn't help but praise God for His majesty and power.

Monday morning, when we woke up, I wasn't sure if we could go to Mt. Hood to ski since I have been sick and was feeling very weak from it... We prayed for wisdom, and for God to make it clear if we should ski or not. Nate told me that even if we didn't ski, we could still drive to the mountain and see what we thought when we got there. They had gotten 40 feet of snow there and it was beautiful driving along snow covered old-growth pines, I loved it! We got to the Timberline Lodge in the afternoon, rented skis, got lift tickets and hit the slopes! It was a beautiful day!!!

After a short run and chairlift ride, Nate asked if I wanted to sit down for a minute, since I was weak from being sick... We climbed over a drift, overlooking the Cascade Mountains, and carved out a love seat in the snow... He talked to me for a while, as I sat there thinking, "wow, I think this is really happening", and "just remember to breathe...". He shared that the mountain was symbolic to him of God's strength and foundation in our lives and shared that he, too, wanted to be a solid rock for me, someone I could turn to, and lean on... I wish I could remember everything he said! And if you're wondering, I teared up a couple times, but didn't cry hard, amazing! He asked me if I would marry him and I immediately said "YES!" and then we had our first kiss and he gave me the most beautiful ring I've ever seen...

Afterwards, we skied back down to the lodge, I went in, and Nate skied one more run, then we called our families and toured the lodge, which was beautiful. When we stepped outside, we were shocked to see the most beautiful sunset! Nate remarked it was as if God was saying, "I'm happy about this!!!"

We are so excited! We thank God for this beautiful gift!!! We'll keep you posted on details...

Thank you for praying for us and for being part of this journey and adventure we're on... God is so GOOD! His creation is magnificent in the scenery he paints for us, and most definitely in the man I get to call my husband...

PS - more pictures on my web albums...