Where has the time gone...

We have now lived in Bellingham for almost 9 months. Craziness! Our time here has been more than we could have dreamed. Nick transitioned into his role at Cornwall Church seamlessly. Granted the first couple months he kept telling me he was waiting for them to figure out they hired the WRONG guy and let him go. He felt completely unqualified to be doing the job he was hired to do. But man was he wrong! So many people, from staff members to volunteers to those who simply attend the church have been so supportive and vocal in their support and love for Nick. During the first interview (which I was in attendance) he was asked if we was more tech minded or relational minded insinuating you can not be both. I quickly answered for him that he was equally balanced in both. At first I don't think they believed me, but just 9 months later that is the thing he is most praised for! It has been an incredibly joy for me to see him in a role he was made for. We thank God for placing the right people in our lives to guide us to where we are now.

I have done many jobs since moving here including freelancing for Young Life, working as an assistant to a professional organizer, working at Pier 1 for the holidays, working at a drug and alcohol recovery center doing childcare and now finally working as an assistant to a managing Broker whom I will be a real estate agent under in the very near future (only 40hrs of class time to go)! I am excited about this new career path, it is everything I had hoped and dreamed off. Interestingly enough my parents will vouch that they saw this coming since I was a child, I was always intrigued by the industry and even since Nick and I have been married I have mentioned wanting to go into real estate at least 5 times! So yes, I am very excited!

Our Journey to Bellingham

It all started when we left the Rock on the 18th. We journeyed all the way to Seattle with two other interns and a car pilled full. Just try to imagine a little Toyota Rav 4 filled to the brim with four peoples stuff from all summer along with those four people. Oh and one blow up dolphin! Let's just say crossing the boarder was a riot. We spent that first night at our friends Stefphan's apartment then awoke bright and early and headed to the Washington Family Ranch to spend the afternoon with our friends the Pratt's. Then yet again, bright and early we headed to Bend to pick up our rental truck that would bring our life's belonging to Bellingham.

We had a total of two days to unpack before we headed to CA to pick up Harley!

I seriously can't resist this face!

We spent our time on the farm adjusting Harley back to being with us. That included lots and lots of walks. 

We enjoyed (I did at least, Nick not so much) temperatures of over 100 the first day and blue skies. After a summer of grey skies it was so nice to enjoy such hot temps.

We left CA this morning and we are now safely home. Harley did great in the car. He pretty much slept the entire way home and any time we stopped he instantly perked up and hopped in the most recently vacated seat. That tended to be Nick's. All in all we are so excited to be on this new journey here in Bellingham. More posts on the horizon. Stay tuned!

Drum Roll Please

Well I thought it was time to make some important news "blog" official...

We are moving to...

Located between Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC

Some fun facts about our move:

• We had no real intention of moving to Bellingham until session two of our summer. God placed some amazing individuals in our life who live there and we were drawn to the community that was already in place.
• Because of these amazing individuals we were able to find an apartment (that allows us to keep Harley!!!), Nick had an amazing interview with Cornwall for a Technical Director position and I landed myself a job working at Organized at Last doing a whole slew of things relating to driving their business forward!
• We pretty much decided to move there site unseen, but did have an opportunity a week ago to visit for a couple of days. So far from what I have seen it reminds me so much of Chico, CA my hometown, and that I love! 

So soon we will be on to our next adventure! We are excited to for our next month her at Malibu, but equally excited for our new life as Washingtonians. There probably won't be much blogging from me the next month as we transition, but I look forward to taking it up more once we get to our new home! Thanks for following us on this journey. :)

Pure and Simple

Summer Lovin'

Summer Lovin' by Sgraves featuring leather sandals

T by Alexander Wang shirts blouse
$188 - barneys.com

Distressed skinny jeans
$229 - bloomingdales.com

Giuseppe Zanotti leather sandals
$595 - net-a-porter.com

Proenza Schouler leather shoulder bag
$1,595 - net-a-porter.com

Kenneth Cole gold plated jewelry
$38 - piperlime.gap.com

Bobbi Brown 'Tortoise Shell' Beauty Kit (Nordstrom Exclusive) ($165...
$80 - nordstrom.com

Full Speed Ahead!

I feel like I say it every summer, but yet again I cannot help but feel that it is flying by! We are already into session three of our summer here at camp. I thought I would take some time to give you some highlights. It is hard for me sometimes once a lot of time has passed to sit down and write it all down but if I focus on the highlights, I think I may find more success at actually getting a full blog post out. So here goes!

• The Interns! There are 7 girls, Shawn (Retail), Kendra (Landscape), Emma (Harbor), Katie (Kitchen), Sarah (Kitchen), Ali (Housekeeping), Kelsey (Ropes) and 9 guys, Cody (Harbor), Kramer (Ropes), Cameron (Fix It), James (Fix It), Joel (Fix It), Brad (Fix It), Kent (Kitchen), Stephfan (Kitchen), Andrew (Ktichen). These people have become our family!
• Intern Fun nights. So far we have played gym games, done a picture scavenger hunt with ski boats, played hockey with the folks from Beyond Malibu, kayaked to the middle of the inlet for a bonfire, and in one night we did the ropes course, the obstacle course, went down the zip line into the ocean then finished the night off in the pool then to the coffee shop for a late night Latte. Lets just say Intern fun nights have indeed been very FUN!
• We have been blessed with being surrounded by some amazing people during every session. Including my summer staff from second session Chaniece who is staying on for third session. Long story short, I fell in love with this girl and she fit right into the office. So I started throwing the idea around that she should stay, never thinking she actually would be able to. Then a week ago I was informed that there was a spot open and that they would consider letting her stay. I fought hard, and I won! She is here still and I am loving it.
• I am being incredibly fulfilled in the work that I am doing. My body has been doing great, and I think it is because I am not putting too much stress on it and I am doing something that gives me such joy. I continue waking up every morning so excited for the day! I even sneak in sometimes on my days off, I just can't help myself. :)
• Last session I was able to  help lead Club Music for three of the four weeks. I had such and amazing time. It was so fun to be on stage and  belt out some Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Adele and many more. In addition to that I have been able to lead worship a couple times for Intern Bible study and that as well has been an honor and a blessing. 
• A day does not go by that I don't think how lucky we are to work in such a beautiful place. The beauty of the cascading mountains set against the ocean, where waterfalls run rampant. The joy of seeing seals never ceases. I smile every time I see one. 
• Hamilton's! What would I do without you! Hamilton's is our coffee shop where I love to indulge myself in an Irish Cream Latte every once in a while.
• Being asked for the millionth time. Where do you live? My response goes somewhat like this. "Well long story short I was born and raised in CA but then I moved to NY for 4 years then I got married and moved to OR for a year where our stuff is in storage, then we hung out in IN for 6 months and now we are here and we don't know yet, what exactly is next for us. So to answer your question technically our home is a storage unit!" I am getting a little tired of answering this question over and over and hope soon that I will have a place to call home and to refer to when asked that question.
• Not having to do dishes! I miss cooking for myself but man I will never tire of having my dishes washed for me. 
• Frisbee Golfing. My husband loves it, I stink at it, but I love to play it so I can hang out with him! I am pretty sure he is tired by now of telling me to "shoot low, bend your wrist down, release earlier!"
• I have come to adore my early mornings. I am pretty sure I was a morning person when I was kid (like crack of dawn) but the older I got the later my mornings became till they were non existent. Now I look forward to that morning shower at 6:30 followed by coffee and some reading. Doesn't help that I have one spectacular view to enjoy. Especially on beautiful sunny mornings.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my summer so far. A lot is happening in the lives of Nick and Stacy and I can't wait to share it all with you, but in due time. In the mean time I would ask that you would pray with us and for use. We are in the midst of job hunts as well as other things. Please pray that our will would align with God's will and that we can make the right decisions in where to move. Thank you for following my blog and taking the time out of your day to read about our lives and to stay connected with us!

PS

I have some sad news to report. :( I didn't know, but apparently I am not supposed to be uploading photos. So unfortunately I am going to have to wait till the end of summer to share all my photos that I will be taking with new camera! 

Full

I always get stuck trying to name my posts and today especially so many different titles were running through my head and the more I thought about everything the only thing that came to mind was FULL. Our days have been full, my heart has been full, my mind has been full all around I feel full. This summer has just flown by that I can't believe it has already been a month (I know way to long) since my last blog entry. No excuses, I have just been busy living life to the fullest. We are officially half way through the summer. For those of you who don't know what Young Life camping looks like, our summer consists of 3 Sessions. Our first being 3 weeks and the other two being 4 weeks. Each session we have a new Assignment Team (Head leaders, Program, Musician, Speaker and Director), Summer Staff (college students), and Work Crew (High Schoolers). So far this summer has been full of blossoming friendships, fun nights with the Interns, long but rewarding days of office work, and lots of rain. Ok, so the rain part not so great. But all the other stuff has made up for it.

I am having the time of my life. I have come to really enjoy this season of life. Being in the office is such a great fit for me, there is not a day that passes that I don't feel so lucky to be here and in the role that I am in. Being in the office reminds me how much I miss my job in New York. I love the fulfillment of doing something that I am gifted in and being recognized for it. I haven't had that sense of fulfillment since I left that job. Life is good!

               ________________________________________________________________

As of this exact moment my AMAZING husband is buying me this:

I am always telling him how I would blog more if I had a good camera. Reason being sometimes I have no words but I would desire to still post pictures but I don't have anything other than my I-Touch (which delivers not so inspiring pictures) or his camera which is not really compact enough to carry around all the time. To say the least I am so excited! This means for you more posts! 

Woohoo! Double score! :)

Camp Life

Reasons Why I love Camp Life

1. I love waking up in the morning to the smell of camp, and by that I mean the smell of trees, dirt and ocean! 
2. When all the campers are here and you can tell by the masses amount of towels hung out, it sends me to a place in my childhood where everything was so simple. All you worried about was if your bathing suit was going to be dry enough the next morning.
3. The schedule. I like the fact that there is a sense of order to the day and it's predictable. But still having plenty of unpredictable moments thrown in there. I mean come one, we are dealing with High Schoolers! :)
4. As much as I know I will dread the fact that we have the same meals every week by the end of the summer, right now I am relishing in the fact that I don't have to think about what to make when I am hungry or do dishes when I am done eating. It is fantastic!
5. The people who are in camping ministry are probably some of the coolest peeps I know! They are amazing servants and I feel so lucky to get to be friends with them.
6. No cell phones! Um, can I just say that a little over a year ago I would never have been so excited about this fact. But after being at the canyon I have seamlessly transitioned into the "happy without a phone club".  
7. Being surrounded by God. I know this may seem cliche but being surrounded by the massive mountains and the depths of the ocean is a constant reminder for me of God's greatness. Not only that but I love that being in a community like this serving God is the primary focus of everyone who enters. 
8. Living in a cabin. I love the smell and feel of our cabin. I feel so blessed to be living in place that is so foreign yet feels like home.

If someone would have told me 3 years ago that my life would go from this:

To this:

I would have never believed them. But I am thankful for my Sovereign Lord who once again proved to me that He knows me better than anyone. He continues to prepare the way for me to live a fulfilled life that I could have never dreamed for myself.

I promise we are not dead!

Wow, I really cannot believe it has been 13 days since my last post. Want to know the reason? I am addicted to blogs! True story. Let me explain. This past month I have finally gotten back into a routine. I wake up no later than 6:15 put on a pot of coffee hop in the shower and then if I am lucky get about 45minutes of chill time. My hope for that time would be to catch up on e-mails, Facebook and this blog. But alas I have spent every minute I can spare reading blogs. I can't stop. I have been spending more time reading about other peoples stories than writing my own. Not that anything is totally wrong with that but I have been feeling a sense that I need to have a balance of the two. I don't want to be someone who is constantly living vicariously through other peoples lives. I want to have a life of my own that I can be excited about.

On the note of living my life, this morning I had a big "Ah Ha!" moment. I think I am using the fact that I have Fibromyalgia as a crutch. You see with my FM I have learned there are certain things I can do to make my every day life a lot more enjoyable and pain free. One of them being sleep. I have noticed that if I get a minimum of 8-9hrs of sleep at night my days are much more tolerable if not perfect! Now on the surface you are probably thinking, "Ok, where is the problem Stacy". The problem is that here at camp everything happens at night. It is at night that friendships blossom, it is the time where the interns hang out and enjoy camp life together. I have been in the mindset of, go to work, eat dinner go home and sleep. And tomorrow do it all over again. And I tell myself and others that it "Has to be this way in order for me to live a healthy life". But I don't know if that is true any more. I haven't tested it. I haven't tried to stay up. For all I know God may have healed me in ways I could never know because I just keep living my life in fear. I believe if I continue on this path there is no way I can truly enjoy life this summer to its full potential. I will not be living a story worth sharing. So as I write this I am putting down for all to see that I am going to take a leap of faith and live my life. Without fear, without hesitation, fully and wholeheartedly grab life by the horns and LIVE!

Just like in the blogs that I read I want to be addicted to my own life. And that cannot happen if I don't simply enjoy the opportunities that are set forth for me. And I wish the same for you! Don't let yourself get caught up in other peoples exciting lives. I encourage you to look at your own life and see areas where you may not be living it to the fullest. We all have the opportunity to have an exciting life. Its up to each one of us to choose to live it!

The sun is finally shining and with my new found freedom I believe it is going to be a great day!

Life's Little Nuggets of Wisdom

A couple of nights ago I sat down to dinner with 7 strangers. I happened to sit next to a lady named Karen. Throughout dinner there was mostly small talk. Then the conversation turned to Nick and I and our journey as Nomads. Jokingly I  confessed that Nick would be thrilled to continue a life like this for many years to come and that I myself was ready to settle down. She then told me about how she ran away to Samoa with a man who became her husband. He died one year later. Since then she herself has been a nomad moving place to place wherever she can help and feels led by God. She then passed on some advice that her missionary friends shared with her about how to have a sense of home when your home is constantly changing. She told me to buy a nice table cloth and a candle. And wherever you go first thing you do is set up your table and have a meal together. This way wherever you go it is  home.

I would like to think that our time of being nomads is coming to an end. But our life is and will continue to be unpredictable. And I am OK with that. I am learning more and more every day how to be content and to have joy no matter where our current home may be.

Powered Up!

Our first official camp came in on Thursday, and I am happy to report it is pure bliss... Well I can only speak for my self. But I love, love, love my job. Granted I only officially have one day under my belt and I haven't experienced half of what I will actually be doing this summer. But none the less I love it.  Before summer officially starts and I get my summer  staff, I am handling more front office duties (checking out Frisbees, answering questions, giving directions, and etc). None of the work is hard it just gets busy doing these things along with my primary responsibilities. But that is what I love, I love the challenge of multi tasking and may I dare say, a wee bit of chaos. And for the most part I only failed once yesterday. I got a call on the radio to give someone some information and totally got sidetracked by campers asking for Frisbees and such only to realize it over an hour later. Thankfully this person (Kelsey Silver) is an incredibly understanding person and was affirming me even after I confessed my failure.

Speaking of Kelsey, more of the interns have arrived. Some are staying some are not but will be coming back. Kelsey falls into the later category. I have been enjoying the peace and quiet but love that they are starting to arrive. I can see a great community forming here this summer.

Another huge highlight is the weather.. God is so good! The entire week leading up to this camp it had been pouring down rain. Just miserable weather. And it was supposed to continue through the weekend (per the weatherman) but Thursday afternoon right before campers arrived the sky opened up and since then it has only been blue sky's. No rain! How crazy is that!

Right now I am feeling blessed that God led us here and that we are both in jobs that feed our souls. I can't imagine spending our summer any other way!

Hockey Night in Canada

Tonight was my first time EVER playing hockey. I don't think I had ever even held a hockey stick before! To top it all off it was all grown men and me. Right before, I was tempted to back out but decided to keep my word and showed up. Turns out, I kinda like it... OK, maybe love it! It definitely kicked my butt.  It is probably one of the best workouts ever. I am excited that come summer it becomes a weekly event. I may not be a fan of watching it one TV but I can now say I am a big fan of playing it.

Mothers Day

Mom,

You are one of the most amazing, selfless, loving, and honest women I know. You have been by my side through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And through all those times you have never failed to love me. I am who I am today because of the way you raised me. You have taught me how to fear and follow the Lord, how to be a friend, how to be a wife, to be wise, to love, and to always remain true to who I am . The older I get the more I see of you in me. And you know what? I like it. There is no other woman on this earth that I would rather emulate. I thank you for your patience with me. I know I was not always an easy child to raise yet you seemed to do it so effortlessly and with such grace.

When I look back on my childhood I remember:

• The nights where you would read to us before bed, depending on the book, some nights were filled with laughter and some with tears. 
• Sneaking into your room in the wee hours of the morning and you always having the bible in your lap and welcoming me (and usually other siblings) to snuggle in between you and Dad. 
• The creative ways you came up with, to get us not to watch TV. Like that time you gave us (Amy and I) a choice to watch TV all week but if we chose to do so we had to watch it all the time and never do anything else all week. I am pretty sure I chose to watch TV and I am pretty sure I begged you to let me go outside only a day into it. Your plan worked and I was off  of TV for a while. 
• The incredible patience you had homeschooling me.
• How you would show up at all the HS football games just to watch me Cheerlead.
• When in a moments notice, sometimes right before school you would cut my hair.
• The times of discipline when you would always help me understand why I was being disciplined and then you would pray with me afterwards.
• All the letters you have written to me over time. And even though I was not always ready to hear what you had to say in those letters I can look back now and see your heart in them. 
• The day I called you and told you I was moving to NY, followed by a weighty confession, and you supported me 100% and told me that you were proud of me. 

It is these memories that I reflect on today, as times that you loved me the best. And I will always cherish them.

I admire the woman of God that you are and I strive every day to be more like you. I love you Mom and thank you for everything that you have shown and taught me through the years. You are irreplaceable.

 Happy Mothers day!

Grandma,

Do you know you are the coolest grandma around and that I constantly brag about you??? Because I do! You are apart of so many of my childhood memories and I am so thankful for that. I am so lucky to have such a hands on grandma who loves me so well. Thank you for raising such an amazing woman as my mom is. It takes an amazing woman to raise one! I would not be here if it weren't for you.  

When I look back on my childhood I remember:

• The time I finally got over being a victim of home sickness and went to NY with you and Grandpa. You took me to see "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (my first Broadway play). 
• Playing dress up in front of all your mirrors in your closet.
• The many times I spent with you in the car (usually going between your home and Pleasanton) and the conversations that were had.
• Every September when you would take me back to school shopping (thanks Grandpa for financially backing this experience!) and the patience you had with me. It usually turned into an all day affair.
• Spring Breaks when Megan and I would crash at your house and you welcomed us with open arms.

You have provided so many memories and have been so generous with not only your money but more importantly your time. I am so lucky to have a Grandma who has been so actively apart of my life. Thank you for always being there for me and being such a great listener and friend. I can't imagine my life without you! I love you.

Happy Mothers Day!

(How the heck we don't have a picture together, I don't know? But it needs to be fixed next time I see you!)

TGIF

Remember the days when you couldn't wait till Friday? And it wasn't necessarily because the weekend was coming, but because ABC's TGIF lineup was on??? My mother (love you mom!) was/is not a huge TV fan so we most always went to my cousins house to watch. And if we were not allowed one week I would wait anxiously till Saturday morning so I could hear all about what happened the night before! Some of my favorites were:

Ah, the memories. Happy TGIF everyone!

AI

One thing that I didn't expect to be able to do is watch TV while here at camp. To my surprise some of the staff have satellite TV. Because of that I have gotten to see a little bit more of American Idol (total guilty pleasure).  And in honor of one of my favorites (Haley) still being in the running I present you with this. In my opinion one of her best performances. Definitely helps that is already one of my favorite songs. Enjoy!

Window Shopping

Since I can't go shopping these days I go over to Polyvore and do some window shopping. I am loving these sandals and so happy longer shorts are finally back in. Way to go modesty, I love it when it is in style! I am totally drooling over this grey bag. That is my one vice when it comes to fashion. I will drop some money down on a beautiful bag. Unfortunately my husband doesn't always approve. Well in the mean time, I will just stare and dream...

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Window Shopping by Sgraves featuring metal sunglasses

All I do is Blob

Today we spent the afternoon setting up the blob here at camp. Nick and Jen were the heroes of the day. They took on the challenge of turning it right side out (after it was mistakenly turned right side in last year). Then dragging the liner inside of it. It was smelly, hot, moldy, and heavy. They were troopers. Just one more thing we can check off the to do list.

I will leave you with this special gem! :)

Happy May 1st!

A Photo Kind of day

Started our day putting a new auto belay on the climbing wall

Headed to the obstacle course to add a new element.

One of the many boats that passed through today. They come by on their way to Chatterbox Falls.

We needed more lumber for our project at the obstacle course so we headed to the old mill, across the inlet of the camp. We took the Hurricane to get there.

The old mill which was built by Tom  Hamilton founder of the original Malibu Club. He used it to mill all his own lumber to build the camp.

The shore was covered in what I believe are empty oyster shells.

View from the mill to main camp.

We use the old mill to store lumber as well as other things like doors, old boats, new/old windows. You name it and it's probably stored here.

View onto the Jarvis Inlet.

We ended up not finding the lumber we needed but we did discover a whole mess of nets. after an hour or so of getting them untangled this was the finished product!

We used some for the obstacle course here. And will use the rest in other parts of it later.

Thats the lumber yard if you look really closely.

Got a little bit of sun today. 

**Photos taken with my trusty I Touch**