Christmas in St. Louis

Quick Trip

After Dave's wedding (see below), I drove to Florida to see my family. It was a really good trip. We basically had two "get-togethers" and so since I didn't have to drive all over the place to see people, it made for a more relaxing time. I had some good conversations with my family and enjoyed seeing them. Unfortunately, Trish and Roxy did not go on the trip and everyone missed them severely; especially me.
Leah, Ken, Jonathan
This is my brother Ken, his wife Leah, and nephew Jonathan. Also, Leah is pregnant and is due March 4th, the same day Roxy was due.

Presenting the McLaughlins

My friend Dave that I grew quite fond of while we were both in the Navy in Japan got married on December 16, 2006 in Savannah, Georgia to Erin Pozorski. I was honored to be a groomsmen. I was edged out as best man, by another dear friend from the Navy, Kyle Swanson. I am so happy for Dave. I believe he is going to live a much happier and fulfilled life with Erin. The wedding went well and I think fun was had by all. I also got the chance to get to know Dave's immediate family who I stayed two nights with in Dave's newly purchased home. By the way, Savannah has an awesome downtown that is full of character.
Paul, Dave, and Kyle

Jingle

This morning we did the Jingle Bell 5K with some friends. The run (not really a race) is downtown. Lots of people dressed up (as in costumes). Thanks to Karen for bringing the antlers. Roxy actually fell asleep during the race. We ran took the bus down together and then walked back and had some coffee. Good times.

Sarino's Trip

Trish's oldest sister Jen and her husband Jason visited us over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were very thankful they came to spend the holiday with us. We really enjoyed their company and the chance to show them around Seattle. They seemed to love it. We tried talking them into moving here. They were tempted.

Of note, we saw the Bodies Exhibit which is a fascinating look at the anatomy of preserved human bodies. We also saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. No pictures allowed at either place though. We ate our Thanksgiving meal at the Clark's home. Besides that, we mainly did the free sightseeing stuff.

Proud Hubby

Trish ran the Seattle half marathon (13.1 miles). Obviously, that is quite a physical feat. One that she doesn't plan on doing again any time soon. I don't blame her. She ran most of it with her friend Jenn Clark. After hitting up Krispy Kreme (the race started at 7:30 am), Mr. Clark and I drove around to three spots on the course to cheer them on.

Proof

In case you were doubting the legitimacy of my last post, check out this video clip.

Brag

I just wanted to take a second and brag about how smart Roxy is. By the way, she is 20 months now.
Today, the waitress asked Roxy her name and she answered (correctly).
Roxy has a toy that counts to ten upon each hitting of the buttons and this morning after hitting the seven button she said 8, 9, 10 on her own.
She does summersaults on command (except in front of company).
Today Roxy had her friend Jocie over and about an hour after she left, Roxy said, "Jocie back," out of the blue.
She likes to say, "mama, (or dada) where are you?"
I was carrying her outside today and she started shrieking. I told her to stop and she said, "outside." As to say I can shriek outside. See, she gets told to use her inside voice a lot.

My pumpkin

We went to the pumpkin patch with some friends. Pictures tell the story...

Working Man

In my recently infrequent posts, I have failed to mention that I got a job. Well I did! I guess the best generic title would be Administrative Assistant, part-time. I started October 17th. The business, PDIC, exports carpet and wallcoverings to SE Asia. We have some exclusive distribution rights for US companies in that area of the world. We're mostly a middle-person.

Right now, I am processing sample and order requests and other various office duties. It is a small office with usually only one or two other people at a time. We also have six offices overseas. I was attracted to the job because of the international business experience (especially Asia), flexible schedule, likeable and successful boss/owner, and the potential growth with the job. With that said, stay tune for a post on what I am beginning to believe is my future vocation.

Quick cute story

I picked Roxy up from her crib this morning, and as I walked away with her in my arms, she waved at the crib and said, "bye-bye sleepy!"

Missionfest

A couple weeks ago I went to the first ever Seattle Missionfest. It was my first mission conference. I didn't attend all of it, but went to a few seminars on business as mission. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibitors tent. It was an emotional high being around all of these people, ideas, and organizations dedicated to missions. I talked at length with a women who runs the YWAM North Korea Study School here in Washington. It is thrilling to see what God is doing through all these people.

Another highlight was talking with Steve Saint. He was one of the plenary speakers. He is quite famous in the missionary world. His father was a martyr in Ecuador. It is probably the most "famous" martyr story of modern times because of the eventual evangelical success with the targeted tribe. A movie, End of the Spear, was recently out about it. Anyway, I went to church and school with the family so I know them from back in Florida. So it was interesting seeing him after probably thirteen years on the other side of the country.

Wee busy

I'm still here. So last week I was in class about 35 hours and I read about 700 pages that week as well. I had Spirituality of Leadership II, a two-credit intensive format class. It was an incredible time, but very exhausting. I hope I can implement what I've learned. Hopefully it is embedded in my unconscious.

Check us out

Click to see us. Find our face and click it!

The Dark Side

Waxy

In case you were wondering, hot wax spilt on the back of your hand doesn't hurt as bad as you'd think - shocking though!

Cute

We think Roxy sounds quite cute sometimes... click

Two Years

I have been blogging for two years today. That's 245 posts. Thanks for any interest you've shown: it keeps me doing it.

Year-and-a-half

Saturday Roxy turned 18 months. We didn't celebrate, but we did celebrate our friend Brian's birthday while we were at the MHGS Fall retreat. We shared a cabin for two nights with the Pendergast and Clark families. So back to Roxy... she is such a big, smart girl. She is learning new words everyday, drinking out of a cup, eating with a fork, throwing away garbage, and for the big news (drum roll...) she pooped in the toilet on Monday and peed on Tuesday. Shout out to Trish for her patience during these major events. I missed both of the events, but I did take pictures of the remains (available upon request).

Catching Up

We went to Quest church the past two Sundays. After church one time we went to Greenlake, a popular urban lake, with the Pendergast family. They have this fun, huge wading pool next to the lake.

Sam and I took Roxy and Jocie for a stroll to Kinnear park near our home. There are quite a few small parks around our neighborhood. Hopefully we'll make trips there on a regular basis.

We stayed overnight in downtown Portland last weekend. We explored downtown, ate at some local restaurants, and visited a park.

The is the Int'l Rose Test Garden in Portland. As you can see, it is beautiful.

We ended up going to Multnomah Falls because Roxy fell asleep in the car on the way to the zoo and we didn't want to wake her so we drove here. It is 620 feet tall and the second tallest year-round waterfall in the States.