Leaving my babies...

Tomorrow I'll leave Andrew & Ieva and fly to Orlando, Florida to participate in the NASPA/ACPA Joint Conference. These two organizations are the largest professional Student Development organizations in North America & every 10 years, they host a combined national conference. This year they are expecting 9,000 people in attendence & I'll be one of them! I'm very excited as it will be my first secular professional conference and first of this magnitude by far! Al Gore will be one of the keynote speakers, as well as many other authors & educators. Aside from the professional development that I'll get to soak up, I'll also be working on recruiting for the Student Life Division at LCC. I'm looking forward to connecting with a number of Christian colleagues that I've met through the professional organization that I've been a member of for the past 10 years: the Association of Christians in Student Development. Some of my old colleagues & friends from George Fox will also be there, so we'll have a mini-Fox reunion! After the conference ends on Wednesday, I'll spend a few days connecting with family & friends in the local area and hopefully get some time in the sun!

Despite how much I'm looking forward to the trip, I'm a bit anxious about leaving both of my babies here for the week. Since Ieva's birth, I've never spent a night away from her. I know Andrew will do a great job playing Mr. Mom, but I know I'll miss them both like crazy!

Please pray for safe travels and a strong heart for me, and for Andrew as he flies solo with Ieva for the next week. We covet your prayers for us!

Sunshiny Days

Ieva has LOVED the beautiful weather we've had this past week! Her favorite place to hang out is on our balcony in the sunshine! Now if it would only last until summer...

That's Mr. Athletic Director to you!

After serving LCC for the past 5 years with the longest job title known to man: "Orientation, Athletics & Recreation Activities Coordinator", Andrew recieved a promotion yesterday! As of the coming 2007-2008 academic year, he will now be the Athletic Director/Orientation Coordinator. It's not a significantly shorter title, but the responsibilities are far greater (and we wish we could say the pay increase was substantial)! In his new position, he will join me on the Student Life Management Team, and will supervise the entire athletic program. He will continue organizing & orchestrating the first year student orientation program as well.

Please pray for Andrew as he takes on these additional responsibilities within our department! Ieva & I are confident he'll pull it all off fantastically!

Our Spring Break Trip to Vilnius

For Spring Break, we joined our friends Casey, Rebecca & Pisey and took Hannah and Rebecca's sister Sarah (who was also visiting from the States) to see almost every major tourist site in the eastern half of Lithuania! We...















...spent a day wandering around downtown Vilnius















...celebrated our 7th Anniversary with a wonderful dinner at Sue's Indian Raja (which, incidentally, is owned by the husband of the doctor who delivered Ieva!)




















...spent a day in the spa town of Druskininki
seeing the sites, playing in an indoor water park & having mud baths!










...walked through the outdoor museum 'Gruto Park' looking at all the Soviet Statues that used to be scattered throughout Lithuania














...crossed the bridge to the island and walked around the beautiful Trakai Castle












...visited the 9th Fort memorial to the Jews & others killed during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania during WWII.















...and finally came home & unpacked!

A blog from Ieva...

Hi! This is Ieva, and my Mommy helped me write this blog to tell you about how my Auntie Hannah (who I call "Nana") is here visiting me!! It's so fun to have her here 'cause she hangs out with me a lot and loves to tickle my toes! You can see how much fun I'm having with her in this picture - she's great! We're taking a trip to Vilnius tomorrow. Mom & Dad say it's the place where I was born & we're going to show it to Auntie Hannah. My other friends Beka, Pisey & Casey (and Beka's sister, Sarah, who I haven't met yet, but who Mommy & Daddy know from when they lived in Oregon) are going to meet us there. Since they are some of my other favorite people, I'm excited to hang out with them in Vilnius, too. When my Uncle Matt (Daddy & Auntie Hannah's brother) was visiting me last fall, we showed him the city where I was born, too, and Daddy told me that we're even staying in the same apartment we stayed in with him! Now that Auntie Hannah is here, all of my family on my Dad's side have been here to see me. Mamma told me that my Uncle Corey, Aunt Leslie & cousin Eli might come to see me this summer - then everyone in my immediate family will have been here to see my home in Lithuania! I love having friends over and I'd love to show my apartment & my kitty to anyone else who wants to come visit me, too!