It's Official: We're Moving to Washington!

The picture above is not a painting. It's a wobbly photo that I (Noel) took with my cell phone last Saturday in Oak Harbor, WA. I had a great weekend up there at First Reformed Church, although I wished Heidi, Jude, and Hazel could have come with me. It went so well, though, that last night they extended a call for me to become their new associate pastor, and I accepted. So next month we are moving to Washington! The position is called "Minister of Worship and Discipleship," and as the title implies my responsibilities will be primarily in the areas of worship and music and adult discipleship.

Obviously, there's going to be lots to do between now and mid-August. In addition to packing, getting the babies ready to move, and saying goodbye to friends and neighbors, there will be the "minor" matter of my examination and ordination by the presbytery. And then, of course, all of the other loose ends as far as my employment and education are concerned. Please pray for us as we embark on this next phase of our journey!

Happy Boy

Jude welcomes a new day with a half-dazed smile (he just woke up):

Hazel crawling?

Uh oh, look out! Hazel is starting to pull herself forward with her arms, which makes her much more mobile. She's going to be all over the place any day now. The physical therapist thought it would be another couple months before she crawls, but I don't know. She looks to me like she's getting close. Check it out:

More pictures

"Hi!" They are both very happy because Jude is officially done with one of his lung medications. Yay! He should be done with the other one in 2 weeks.

Our little prodigy?

The physical therapist that works with the kids brings a piano like this every week. Ever since the beginning, Hazel has loved it. We were hesitant to buy one because we want it to be special when the therapist comes, but it really helps her with her sitting/balancing and I thought it'd be good to use on a daily basis. I hope I didn't spoil it for our therapist!

Morning Fun

Orange and white stripe day

It didn't start out as an orange and white stripe day, but it ended as one as Hazel is in outfit number 5 and Jude in outfit number 3. I think we need a bigger cloth diaper size because these kids are suddenly soaking everything! Calling Dy-dee Diaper Service was on my list of things to do last week, but it didn't get done. Too bad. I didn't realize we were so close to growing out of the old ones. Anyway, they ended up looking cute! And all the laundry they dirtied was done by Aunt Hillary. Thank goodness!

So cute holding hands! Hazel was quite insistent on chewing on Jude's hand. We've got some serious teething going on here. Jude was not a fan, but he tolerated it alright. He's a pretty easy going guy.

We sure are going to miss Aunt Hillary, but we are eager for Noel to get home!

Party in the park

Aunt Hillary, Hazel, Jude, and I went to celebrate our friend, Katie's, graduation today at a park. This was one of our first "big gathering" outings. We've had a few, but not many. We're glad to be able to get out more even though we still have to be very cautious.

Jude was quite the party animal.

Congrats Katie! We're so proud of you and are glad we were able to celebrate with you!