Exodus to the North West

With in a week two couples we love dearly both moved to the North West portion of the country. One couple went to Eugene, Oregan and another went to Seattle, Washington.  Lucky for us we were able to get together with both couples before they left to share one last meal together and just be able to hang out, since presumably it will be quiet some time before we get to see them again. Since they moved with in 3 days of each other we had one farwell dinner on monday and then the other farewell dinner on tuesday - you know, that's how we roll around here - non-stop parties!
The first couple we "celebrated" (not that we were at all celebrating their leaving, I just don't know what else to call it) was the Radliffs. We love them! They are a breath of fresh air to our souls! Adam and Michael get lost in talking about the latest Scientific America article and/or talking about music or theology or a combination there of. Becky and I love to meet for coffee and talk kids (not that they have any but I can hope can't I?!) and theology and food, we always end up talking about food - oh well, it's fun to talk about! Anyways, we love them but we are excited for their new life in Eugene and we already have a trip planned to see them in September (since we will be in Salem for a wedding) so we are for sure looking forward to that!

So what we did to send them off:
We (as well as the Ward family - the Ward's are basically the reason we know the Radliffs in the first place) all met up for a hike at the Santa Rosa Plateau  and had a lovely walk. I had forgotten how beautiful it is up there. It had been at least 10 years since I had been up there!

After the Plateau we all made it back to our place for a fabulous vegetarian meal prepared especially on Adam's new grill he got for his birthday just hours prior to our hike.

After dinner we had a few more friends join us for dessert and games.

It really was one of those nights were you think - "This was perfect!" One of the most lovely and enjoyable evenings I have had in a long time. Perfect conversation, tons of laughter, fun with all the kiddos, it was just a great memory to make and keep close to our hearts.

The next couple leaving is Justin and Elisha Davie.  We share a rather funny memory with the Davies, we lived in the same apartment as our first married apartment. Adam and I lived there for a year and a half and then Justin moved in when we left and Elisha moved in a month or so later  (after the wedding of course). So oddly enough when the Elwers and Davies think fondly back on their first apartment as a married couple, we all think back on the same place - random huh?!  Anyways, sad to say that it was that move that made us about 30 minutes away from them (as apposed to the 10 minutes prior to that) so we didn't see them as often- oh well, such is life. But that doesn't diminish our love for them! Justin and Adam have been friends for a really long time, Justin was actually in our wedding. And Elisha and I met for about two years for discipleship, which was such a joy because she is such an amazing and sweet woman who loves the Lord so much. Justin and Elisha will both be attending Seattle Pacific University to finish up their BA's. We will miss them but we are so glad that they are finishing up school.

So, all that to say, we had them over for an old past time of ours, playing "Hand and Foot"! We used to have them over (when we lived in our old apartment, you know, before they moved into it) and would play this game for hours and hours until it was "tomorrow" - So we had to play just one more time!  We played boys against girls (always a favorite competition) and the boys blew us girls out of the water! It was unbelievable, I've never been beat that bad before ...EVER! It was a great night!

We are sad to see our friends (both couples) leave in what seems to be an exodus to the northwest, but we know that each of them are following dreams and goals of their own and we bless them as they go off to fulfill them.  

Love you guys and we will miss you!