Antics of crazy dogs...

Backyard is blooming...

Whirlwind next two weeks...

These next two weeks are going to be a whirlwind for me and in turn for Carrie! I am flying up to Seattle for a day meeting and then turning around the next day and driving south for another meeting. Then two days later, I am flying out to Minneapolis and Fargo for 6 days. It is a combination pleasure and business trip. Going out early to visit Carrie's Grandma Ottis and her mom's side of the family and then driving back to Minneapolis to attend the International Diabetes Center training.

The day after I get back home, Louisa arrives for Memorial Day weekend which we are so excited about having her come out. And I know that she is looking forward to utilizing my parents new backyard pool while she is out here. :)

So, with all that being said...please pray for safety and for Carrie while I am gone.

Maternity clothes...

What an amazing blessing it has been that my Mom has offered to make maternity clothes for Carrie! My Mom has made 6 pieces of maternity clothes in the last week! Not only do they look cute on Carrie now, I'm sure they are going to look better when she starts showing more!

New top with navy pants made by Mom.

New top and pants made by Mom

New capris and top made by Mom.

New top with capris by Mom.

New top with pants by Mom.

Baby Briggs cometh in November...

Since it has been, well, a while since we last posted to our blog, we decided to make it a BIG posting...

Carrie and I are expecting our first child in the middle of November. We had our first OB appointment last Wednesday where we saw the heartbeat, the head, arms and legs. It certainly moved me to tears. The HCP informed us that both Carrie and the baby seem to be healthy.

Gratefully, Carrie has not been suffering from morning sickness though she seems to be in two constant states...tired and hungry...which happen to not be mutually exclusive. :)

I really enjoy seeing Carrie GLOW! Pregnancy really does sit well with her and I can't be anymore thrilled!

Immediately following the OB appointment, we proceeded to call all of our family and our out-of-town friends. Your excitement on our behalf was powerfully supportive! Both set of grandparents are eagerly a waiting this little one's birth! My mom has already started picking out patterns to make maternity clothes for Carrie, baby clothes, and other items for the baby's room. Grandma Ottis was so excited because she "never thought she would be a great-grandma."

People at church, however, had to wait a little while longer.

We hosted a BBQ on Saturday for our Bible study and close friends at church where we made the announcement. When we did, it was met with an enthusiastic response which frankly overwhelmed us with your love and support. This morning we told Pastor Greg and Laurie, the Wolfe's and several others before Pastor Greg made it official by telling the church body. We were very moved by the outpouring of love and encouragement from everyone at church and our family.

Thank you to everyone who have been praying on our behalf! We continue to seek your prayers for the health and development of the baby and Carrie's health as well.

The Art of Sailing...

Jackson learned this weekend the Art of Sailing (albeit through the air)...

After his bath, he decided to make a running leap at the couch...launch himself into the air and then realized he was coming up too short, hit the cushions of the couch which absorbed him and then repelled him backwards through the air and landed him smack down in the middle of the great room rug.

Undeterred, he tried again and this time landed on the couch much to his satisfaction...that is until Carrie came out and pushed him off the couch.

Again, undeterred, he attempted again this time making sure that he really flew...this time he nearly flew over the couch and managed to wedge himself into the back cushions of the couch.

Since that humiliating turn of events, Jackson has decided to give up learning the Art of Sailing (for now).

Grandma Kay...looking great at 92 yrs old!

Christmas Pictures...

Thank you for your continued prayers...

Yesterday, several of us from River City Grace were in attendance and helping out at the memorial service for this 18 yr old young man who died on the front yard of our church about 1.5 wks ago. Over 800 people showed up for this young man's memorial service.

Please continue to pray for the Lord's handiwork and work of grace in the lives of this young man's family and friends. Also, please continue to pray for Pastor Greg as he continues to see how the Lord will use him in this tragic situation.

Jackson's antics...Harrison's patience...

Harrison, our 7 yr old black tri Australian Shepherd, is the most patient dog I've ever had or encountered. He plays and teaches Jackson ALL the time. Ever since he was a puppy, I've been working with him so that he is not over protective of his food dish.

Well, now I am having to protect Harrison from the 11 wk old Jackson who thinks Harrison's food must be better than mine.

Thankfully, Harrison has a LOT of hair so when they are playing and Jackson is really ripping into Harrison, all he really is getting is hair. The most hilarious thing is that after they are done and Jackson wants to take a nap, he literally is coughing up Harrison hair balls or has grown whiskers courtesy of some part of Harrison's anatomy.

More to come later....

Different ends of the Spectrum of Life...

Last week, two people died. The fact that two individuals died might not mean anything to anyone and yet it has caused me to reflect on how fragile life is and how we never know when the Lord has decided for our days to be numbered.

Selmer Ottis passed away in Moorhead, MN (after living all his life in North Dakota) at the ripe old age of 96 yrs old. Another individual passed away on the front lawn of our home church Wednesday evening, Scott Crouch, Jr. who was only 18 yrs old.

In Kindred, ND, Selmer and Kay Ottis' home for many years on the family farm, the town rallied around the family and in Sacramento, CA, a family of a different sort rallied around the grieving family left behind after a drunk driver took the life of their son. River City Grace members have been rallying around the family like no other church body I have seen in many years, showing the grace and fullness of God's abiding love.

Tomorrow, we remember Scott as we, the Ottis family (and extended family members), remembered Selmer last week in a time of grieving and sorrow.

May we as believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ not take for granted the days He has granted us on this earth to be a witness and to witness to those He foreordained to bring us into relationships. We do not know our days for we may be as fortunate as Selmer Ottis to live to be 96 yrs old or as fortunate as Scott Crouch, Jr. For if we are believers, living until tomorrow is one day closer to eternity with our Lord or if He grants us 50 more years, let us use those years to witness and be a witness.

Can someone say C-O-L-D...

When we arrived in Kindred, ND at 12:45AM last night/morning, it was a warm 4 degrees (WITHOUT accounting for the windchill)....I know, I know, some of you out there will just say I'm being a wimp...you just try it for a little while...:)

We are enjoying our stay here although I am freezing many external appendages off right now. :)

It will be a while before I start complaining about our cold 45 degree weather in California again. :0

Saying goodbye to Grandpa Ottis

On Sunday, December 16th, 2007, Grandpa Ottis passed away and Carrie lost her first grandparent. We had providentially already made plans to fly out to Fargo, ND on Tuesday to visit and spend time with her grandparents as we did not know how much longer they had to live. Grandpa Ottis left us at age 96 on Sunday. Grandma Ottis who happens to be 92 is doing better lately and has seemed to rally quite a bit.

It has been a pleasure seeing her again and spending time with a wonderful saint who enjoys sharing her faith and love for the Lord with everyone that she meets. Grandma Ottis and I talk on the phone every couple of days or so and it means so much to be able to talk to her in person.

Carrie and I are actually staying on the family farm in Kindred, ND which is now run by her Uncle Mark. Please continue to keep Carrie in your prayers as she deals with the loss of her first grandparent. Also, for our testimony amongst the relatives as we interact with them during this time of grief and loss. We are eager to share the gospel and offer encouragement when needed.

5 years!

November 19, 2002, was a significant date in our life. Five years ago, I had just taken the CPA exam (and will never take it again!), and I decided I wanted to get plugged into a Bible study. There was a college and career group at my church, but because I didn't want to go by myself, I asked two coworkers to come with me. The three of us tried out the group on November 19, and a handsome guy named Joshua was there as well. He was just starting to come to the group. We ended up being at his table, and in the course of the evening, we found out he was friends with Paul, who worked at the sister organization to our organization. I found out the next day when I talked with Paul that Joshua had already emailed him letting him know he met me! Anyway, it took me a while to get the hint that Joshua liked me, and unfortunately, I turned down his first two invitations for dates. However, the rest is history, and I am so glad that Joshua and I met that night, and he was gracious enough to ask me out a third time 8 months later!

Update on blog...

As some have pointed out (see comment under "Ants"), we haven't posted anything on our blog for a while. The lack of posting pretty much boils down to prioritizing the time we have, and blogging is on the bottom. It seems like our life keeps moving at full steam, and after working, cooking, cleaning, church, activities perhaps on the weekends, and relaxing somewhat, there's not much time left. I'm working on trying to be more productive by avoiding time wasters like TV, but if I have extra time, I need to devote it to my continuing education (which needs to be done soon) and practicing (which I haven't done since the beginning of June).

I know if I am more disciplined with my time, then I should have time available for other enjoyments. So, until I finish my continuing ed and develop a better routine, my blogging will probably not happen.

I'm open to suggestions...

Ants!

Since the end of June, we've found ants in different parts of our house. At first, it wasn't a lot; just a few here or there. However, for the past couple of weeks, they have decided to take up residence in our kitchen! First, I found them on one shelf of our pantry. So, I moved everything out, sprayed, cleaned up, and reorganized that shelf. The next day, the decided to go to the top shelf of the pantry. So, I cleaned again. Since then, they have found the cabinet above the refrigerator, crawled across the counters, gone under the sink, and gotten into the cabinet with all of the spices. I found some more this morning on the water picture, so when I get home tonight, I'll be cleaning the picture and checking again for ants.

I hate ants!

Life

As you can see, we've been very prompt (not) in posting pictures. I hope to put some up soon, but blogging is very low on my priorities list. We've had plenty to do since coming home. There have been two church work days, one weekend organizing the garage in order to add a treadmill, and a wedding to attend.

The wedding was great! It was about a half hour from our home, and both families (bride and groom) we knew back in Virginia. The bride's family (who are now back in California) Joshua knew well, and I worked with the father, and the groom's family I knew because of church and babysitting for the groom and his siblings! I felt "old" being at the wedding since the most of the bridal party was my brother's age or younger, but it was wonderful seeing friends from Virginia that I hadn't seen for over three years! Plus, it was great suprising Virginians who didn't know Joshua and I would be at the wedding.

This weekend, we're planning on catching up around the house. We'll be having my parents and Lousia visit over Labor Day weekend, so we need to start getting ready now.

We're back!

Joshua and I are back from our vacation to Italy and Switzerland. We arrived in Milan late Saturday night on the 7th, and we got back to California on the 15th. It was quite a neat experience and a great opportunity. Everything was beautiful. At some point, we will post some pictures - first we have over 1100 to sift through!

3 years!

This is a little late, but Joshua and I celebrated 3 years last Tuesday, June 26. It's hard to believe we've been married 3 years, but then again, with so many changes in our life, it seems our wedding was a long time ago. As we are traveling to Italy this month, we decided not to go away for our anniversary. However, we did have a wonderful time at the Melting Pot (a place where I've wanted to go for a while).

I love you Joshua!

New walkway...

As many of you know, Carrie and I live on a corner with our front door positioned facing a different street than our driveway faces. Odd, I know!

Well, we decided that I was going to put in a walkway leading from the sidewalk to the front door.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Italy!

It seems like our life is too busy. The weeks fly by, and the weekends are always full. However, we will be getting some much needed rest and relaxation when we go to Italy in July for a vacation! We're going with Joshua's parents and his grandma, and we will be on Lake Como (northern Italy, very close to Switzerland). I've heard from one of my coworkers (who is Italian) that the Lake Como area is beautiful. Both of us are excited as this has been in the works since December, but I think until we actually get to the week of our departure that it will sink in that I'm spending a vacation in Europe! There's a lot to do between now and then, but our trip is fast approaching!

Harpist for Hire???

Yesterday, Carrie played marvelously at her first outdoor wedding on the rose garden of the state Capitol here in Sacramento. She played four songs at least twice: "Fairest Lord Jesus", "As the Deer", "How Great Thou Art" and "My Jesus, I love Thee".

Close your eyes and just imagine if you would, sitting in the beautiful California sunshine admiring the amazing architecture of the state Capitol building, smelling the amazing scents of 20+ different kinds of roses and listening to harp music float around you. Now, you have transported yourself to the beginning of the Rock and Michelle wedding thanks to Carrie playing the harp.

Friends from our church, Rock and Michelle were getting married and Carrie played the prelude for about 25 mins. She did such a great job and I'm so proud of her! The sound guy/DJ asked Carrie where she was out of (ie, if she played for hire). Like I said, she did a marvelous job!

Animals in weird positions...

Bottoms Up...

Carrie began getting Harrison hooked on yogurt....

Now, it's bottoms up Dude...

Sad day

Today was a sad day for my office. Our dear VP of finance, Chuck, lost his battle with cancer. We all knew the end was near as on Thursday of last week, we found out he was unreponsive. Chuck passed away at home. He leaves behind a wife and stepdaughter, and a whole office that loved him.

I didn't cry at all today. I cried on Thursday when I found out that he was indeed dying. I had wanted to go by one last time and talk with him and his wife Barbara about the Lord and the gospel. I am thankful that I was able to visit with them back in March, give them a Bible, and talk about the hope I have of eternal life and peace through Jesus. The last time I talked with Chuck was just 3 1/2 weeks ago, and because my boss was along, we talked about work the whole time. He seemed to be doing ok. I thought I had time, and when I heard two weeks ago that Chuck was sleeping most of the time, I decided to go over again but with two other coworkers who also wanted to say goodbye, and we waited too long.

I don't know if Chuck ever read the Bible, but I do know that the Lord is sovereign over men's hearts. When I go back to visit his wife, I'll be praying that I can talk with her about the gospel. I think this is the first time I've had someone that I know die who was probably not a believer. As far I as know, he didn't have hope of eternal life with our Lord. I am praying that I have opportunities to witness to my other grieving coworkers.

On other note, this is the third person that we've know who has passed away because of cancer within the last five weeks. Joshua's former coworker and close friend Carla passed onto heaven the day after Easter, and my former coworker Barbara joined her there about three weeks ago. Chuck's death has been the hardest because I don't know where he is. This should spur me on to be bolder in my witness to those around me, and it makes me so thankful for my salvation and hope. May I not forget this.

Remembering Carla Pipes Wolf...

On Wednesday, I learned that I had lost a dear godly Christian friend to her fight with cancer. Carla and I worked together for a little over a year at Loudcloud and we remained good friends even when I moved to Virginia and Carla took a position with Intuit.

Carla had such a wonderful, up-beat personality...a magnetism that drew people to her like a light draws moths out of the darkness. She touched everyone and everything around her and life for those who came in contact with Carla will never be the same again. Carla's love for the Lord was evident in everything she did and said. Even when she was diagnosed originally with breast cancer, she was praising the Lord!

I had the privilege of introducing Carrie to Carla shortly after we got engaged and Carla accepted and loved Carrie immediately. Even while going through chemotherapy, Carla and Crystal (her daughter) came out to Virginia to our wedding in June 2004. It was shocking yet not surprising to see Carla in the crowd at church and I was thrilled to see her at the reception.

Carla was such a strong believer and follower of Jesus Christ our Lord and risen Savior. What a wonderful gift to those she left behind to know that she is rejoicing with our Lord in her glorified body! You know she is with our Lord singing in the heavenly choir!

Carla, you were loved and will be missed greatly by all who's lives you touched...especially me! Your memory will never die and neither will the impact you made on my life!

Sightseeing with Julia...

On a beautiful Tuesday morning in April, Carrie, Julia and I set off to see some of the wonderful sights Northern California has to behold. We started off driving over to the coast and seeing Muir Woods National Monument where we were able to walk amongst some of the tallest trees in the world, Coastal Redwoods.

We continued on our way down the coast crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge, driving alongside and inside the Presidio near the Golden Gate Bridge and much to Julia and Carrie's delight, we drove up and down the steep hills of San Francisco. Julia and Carrie got to experience driving down Lombardi Street, the crookedest street in the world. We also drove by Pier 39 and Ghiradelli Square as well as driving through some really beautiful areas of San Francisco where the homes were spectacular to see.

We continued our trip by driving down the coast from Half Moon Bay down to Monterey where we saw everything from lettuce, strawberries, and artichokes being grown to the pounding surf of the Pacific ocean. In Monterey, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we were able to see the opening of the new African Spotted River Otter exhibit as well as viewing the sea otters (my personal favorites), penguins, and an enormous sun fish that is less than a year old and weighs in at over 2,000 lbs already (full grown they can weigh as much as 5,000 lbs).

After enjoying a brief visit to the aquarium, we continued our trek down the coast stopping to see and feel the surf pounding the coast and seeing the magnificence of God's creation. We drove through Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-sea and headed down to Highland's Inn where we had dinner. Carrie and I had been there before with Aunt Barbara in December and while we were not able to pull any strings to get food up in the lounge, we did manage to enjoy ourselves on the patio overlooking the ocean.

As we drove home, the most enjoyable part of the trip happened for me and that was the sweet, sweet fellowship of like minded believers. Julia, Carrie and I had such a great time conversing with you during the drive back and we are so looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for you. May God richly bless you as He shows you the next steps in your life!

Resurrection Sunday...

What a blessing Resurrection Sunday was for us here in sunny California! We pray that you received the same blessing wherever you were on Resurrection Sunday. Sunday morning, my parents, grandma and my brother Karsten and his family joined Carrie and myself at our church. I was part of a mixed vocal group that sang a selection of arrangements which I was blessed to be a part of and hopefully blessed those in the audience.

We were able to witness several individuals get baptized which was a tremendous blessing. KJ and Noah, my two nephews, did really well during the service even though the service was longer than what they were expecting it to be. The message was great as usual!

Everyone then came over to our home in Elk Grove for an early dinner. Janice and two of her friends from Davis joined the family as well. It was an amazing time of reflection, conversation and fellowship. Karsten and Kim stayed for a long time allowing us to enjoy our nephews. They are both so cute and Karsten and Kim will have to be on the guard with them.

Anyway, hope you all had a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Joshua