This year has been a year of changes, a year of moving, a year weddings, a year that was...well...unexpected.
Last Christmas found the L-W's in Southern CA. If you could have peeked into our home you would have seen Josh SICK with the flu. I talked the Dr into giving him some powerful medicines so that he was feeling much better a couple of days later when we were supposed to get on a plane for Lunde Family Christmas in Hawaii. We spent a week with my family and had fun exploring the island of Kauai, hiking, relaxing, and hanging out at the beach. (Josh: Not puking during our tropical island getaway was definitely a plus. Thanks honey.)
At the Luau in Kauai. It was my third Luau and Joshua's second. We had a great time. The program was the best either of us had seen.
Matt, Aleece, Joshua, and I hiked into the Waimea Canyon (The Grand Canyon of Hawaii). It seemed as if we hiked for ever and ever through nothing but woods until suddenly there was canyon all around us. Breathtaking. This island should go on everyone's list of places to visit. We would love to go back again.
New Years Eve 2009. "Should auld aquaintaince be forgot..." Lets just say we will not be forgetting one another anytime soon. It was a Happy New Year. (Josh: Five years ago we made an odd acquaintance... which quickly progressed into full-blown hilarity. )
We kayaked the Hanalei River with the Lunde family. From the looks of this picture, you would think that we beat them in the great kayak race of 2010...but no, no...we were just excited to get started. (Josh: We didn't win the Great Kayak Race of 2010? What???!! )
While we were on our kayak tour, we hiked to this 100 foot waterfall and 'swam' in the pool around it. I use the word 'swam' loosely as the water was FREEZING so the picture was taken for remembrance and posterity. (Josh: A tragic note: a few tourists nearby that were watching us ended up going blind from the sun-glare radiating off of Josh's chest. Very sad.)
A trip to Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA. We were members of the Gardens and visited as often as we could. We relaxed as we wondered through the gardens and enjoyed the plants and flowers.
Seal Beach - One of our favorite places in SoCal. We often walked down Main Street to watch the sunset and then would walk back up and eat dinner at Cafe Lafayette. We actually had plans to celebrate OUR Valentine's Day at that place only to find it was closed when arrived. Since I preached on Valentine's Day and we both hate crowds, we decided to celebrate on February 15. Josh saved the night when he came up with the idea of eating at Le'Creperie. (Josh: That's me. The Night Saver. BTW the El Mare Crepe is the best dish. Ever. Of ANY restaurant or time period in human history. Le Creperie (sp?) is in downtown Long Beach if you're ever there and intrigued. Oh yeah... this was the night my bike was stolen from our apartment complex... but it was worth it b/c I got to eat an El Mare crepe. )In July, we moved from Southern CA to East Texas to live with my grandmother and provide some extra support for her. In typical L-W fashion, we decided to turn the move into a bit of a roadtrip and headed to Texas by way of Napa, Lake Tahoe, and the Grand Canyon. We had a fun time seeing family, friends, and some beautiful parts of North America.
My sister, Aleece, was married in August. I think beautiful is the only adjective that could possibly be used to describe the event. We are all thrilled that Matthew is finally part of the family.
The Lunde-Whitlers, The Nelsons, The Lundes. It was a day worth celebrating.
October 4, 2010 - We turned 2!!!!!!!!!!
We spent Thanksgiving in San Antonio with Don and Debbie, Josh's parents. My parents were invited to come and we all had a fantastic time eating, laughing, and being thankful. Christmas was spent with my family. We have decided that life is most fun when it is spent with our families. (Josh: By "have decided," Amy means "we have always unequivocally and without reservation believed.")
All things Josh:
Josh is working as the Interim Associate Pastor of at First Presbyterian Church in Conroe, TX. He is applying for Ph.D. programs in Theology. Actually he is finishing up his last few applications as we speak! We should know something in March and will have decided where we will go next in April. He is also serving as pulpit supply on a rotating basis at a small church in Caldwell, TX.
All things Amy:
I am working on my M.Div. though Western Theological Seminary's Distance Learning Program. This means that I spend a lot of time on my computer, a lot of time reading, and writing papers. This also means that I travel to Holland, MI for a couple of weeks twice a year. Since I LOVE the cold the January intensive is extra-super-fun. (Please go ahead and insert sarcasam into that statement. I do not have enough polar bear inside of me to muster up excitement about cold weather.) I have also been working in Pastoral Care at a small church in Huntsville, TX and have been preaching in the same rotation at the Caldwell church as Joshua. It seems the more I get my feet wet in ministry the more excited I become about being a Pastor one day.
(Josh: Thanks for reading. We'll provide updates from time to time when we have major life-developments, for those interested. Thanks, also, for being connected to us.)
