Chris is feeling much better lately. He still has not passed his kidney stone but we are hoping he will very soon. This weekend will be our first event with the ASM students. Dudefest and Estrofest!! The boys will be doing a weekend hiking/camping trip and the ladies will do a hike Saturday followed by dinner and a movie! It should be a great time of fun and fellowship! Chris is continuing the study through 1 Peter with the highschool students and if you would like to hear his sermon from last night here is the link : http://buddydogproductions.net/blog/ Just ignore the noises from the mic falling off and getting a new one. His ears are too small to accomidate those silly mics. He did a fabulous job though. He will be teaching the college tonight as we are moving through 1 John. He did not play soceer this week due to his kidney stone and being sore but he is looking forward to the game next tuesday! We have felt so blessed and welcomed by our Alderwood family and are daily seeing that we are right where the Lord wants us. Mom and Dad are coming up in July to watch the Mariners and Rangers play so we are really looking forward to that! For those of you who have been asking about the weather let me just say where is the rain?? We have been here a little over two weeks now and have only had two partial days of rain. It has been absolutely beautiful! One thing that is very strange to me is that people wear shorts and tank tops in the 55 degree weather simply because the sun is out. Im walking around all bundled up and there are half dressed people walking around! I guess that is something we will eventually adjust to. In 4 days Chris and I will have been married for 1 year! The time went by so fast! He has something planned as a surprise and it will be good to have a little time away since it has been "hit the ground running" since we arrived.

This picture is not the best because I was driving when I took it. I know not safe but oh well. This the street we live off of so we see those beautiful mountains in the background every single day! Isnt our God great!

Update on Chris

Unfortunately the stone was not passed unnoticed like we hoped. Around 1030 last night Chris began feeling severe pain in his left side once again. It wasnt much longer before the vomiting kicked in. He threw up roughly 12 times from the pain and popped some blood vessels in his face :( my poor baby. He braved the pain for almost 12 hours before he consented to a second trip to the ER. He slept around 1 hour total last night. They finally got him back around 1045 this morning and ordered an ultrasound of his kidneys and bladder. He was given IV fluids for dehydration and IV pain and nausea medicine. He was still in quite a bit of pain about 30 min later and was given morphine. He finally got comfortable and his ultrasound showed some inflamation and constriction of the ureter which was not allowing the kidney stone to move. They gave him more medicine to remedy both of those issues. He was given a final dose of pain meds and sent home around 230. He was able to keep down two pieces of toast and was then finally able to get some much needed rest. I woke him up at 745 for dinner and more medicine and we thought he was going to have a pain free and restful night. The last hour or so he has been experiencing severe pain off and on with each spurt lasting roughly 10 to 15 minutes. I am dressed and ready incase ER round 3 is needed. At this point he has been able to keep the latest dose of pain meds down but if he throws those up in the next thirty minutes we will be headed back to the hospital. If that happens, I will request that they admit him, atleast for the night so they can keep him heavily medicated and he can get some much needed rest. I wanted to say thank you for the many text/calls/fb messages of prayers for Chris. Many of you have asked questions concerning his condition and I hope this helps! Please be in continued prayer as we are still waitng for him to pass the stone

Chris' First Night Preaching at Alderwood

Let me start off by saying Chris did an incredible job preaching last night! He taught out of 1 peter. Quick interesting fact for those of you that did not know... Chris started walking through 1 Peter with the Pwood Jhigh the same night that Alderwood began first Peter! He got to pick up right where he left off! How cool is that. Anyway, back to the story... Chris started off the night by introducing the Alderwood students to a famous Texas game known as "Gorilla, Man, Gun." It seemed to be a hit. Maybe that was simply because he put a Johnny Cash/western spin on the game. After the evening was over he received many encouraging complements from students and leaders about his preaching. If you would like to hear his sermon click here http://buddydogproductions.net/blog/  He loved every minute of it! I want to give a quick shout out to all of you that have sent snail mail from back home.. we LOVE it. Thanks for thinking of us! Chris and his team lost their soccer game again on Tuesday. They were leading 4 to 1 the first half and then the other team put in their version of David Beckham and that was all she wrote. Of course he had a blast just playing the game. Enough about Chris.. :) Let me tell you what I have been doing. For any of you that know my dad, he is what we call an ebayaholic and he was so proud to find out that I am now selling things on ebay! Since moving in we have found many clothing items etc that we dont have as big of a need for in a cold and rainy place, so on to ebay they go. The extra cash flow doesnt hurt either. Besides that I have been busy getting the new place in order. You can look below for a picture of the completed guest room that is awaiting visitors! Ive also been asking around about some nursing schools and I think I will have to sell a kidney to afford any of them. Seems the farther north you go, the more expensive everything is. A random fact for all you Texans: Gas is 4.20 here in good ole Washington so quit complaining. Tonight will be Chris' first night teaching the college group and we want to thank all of our faithful prayer warriors for lifting him up during these times.

pictures: the finished guest room, welcome cards from alderwood students, and Chris preaching last night



Getting Settled

Well we finally got home internet so our updates wont be so sparatic! My (Haley) mom spent this past weekend with us and we had a great time! We took her to Snoqualmie falls, the beach, and some of our new favorite places to eat. She has just landed back home at DFW and we look forward to her next visit! I'm sure everyone is wondering about Chris and his kidney stone and hernia. I am happy to say that he is feeling so much better! We are not sure if he has passed the stone or not yet. The doctors seem to think that it may have broken up in his bladder and passed unnoticed. We sure hope that is the case! Chris has loved his first days at Alderwood! He is working with a great staff! Tomorrow will be his first time to preach to the kids so please keep him in your prayers! He will be playing soccer again tonight and we are hoping for a win this time. He is glad to be feeling better so he can play. As far as the house goes... all of the boxes are unpacked! Unfortunately there were quite a few items broken from the move. One of those items was my desk and thankfully we found me a new one last night at Goodwill for 9.99! Anyone that knows my mom knows that she can find a goodwill in any town blind folded! She helped me finish unpacking the final boxes and getting odds and ends put away last night. Pictures of our new place will come in the next post. As we are beginning to settle in, I will start looking for the right college in the area to finish my nursing degree! I know the Lord has the perfect place waiting! We miss everyone back home and have been greatly blessed by snail mail and pictures from our Prestonwood family. As always, please continue to pray for our transition!

In His hands,

Chris and Haley

pics: Chris and I in his new office, Mom and I at the falls, pics from the beach, day antique shopping along the river, and dinner overlooking the ocean!

An Exciting and Interesting First Week

We have many new things to report to you Today! I will start with Chris' first soccer game since I mentioned it in the last post. He had a BLAST playing. Unfortunately they did not win. The final score was 10 to 13. He played defense most of the game and scored a great goal from mid field! GO Chris! Now let me back track to Monday evening... I have mentioned quite a bit about our search for wood pallets to build a new couch. The search was successful and late monday evening we finshed building our couch and attached end table! I will load a picture below. This was a very fun project for us and it turned out better than we expected. Thank you Pinterest! Now fast forwarding to last night... It was intended to be our first Wednesday night with the students and a party was planned in our honor. Around 4 o'clock that evening, Chris came up the stairs with intense pain in his side. After suffering through this for a while I decided to take him to the emergency room. Roughly two hours, a CT scan, and several doses of medication later he is discharged with a diagnosis of Kidney stone and a minor hernia. Please keep Chris in your prayers as the process of passing the stone continues. Needless to say we were bummed about missing time with the students and the party! On the way home from the hospital we decided to swing by and say hello any way. Satan has been prowling and there was no way he was winning this one! As we entered the student worship center, the associate pastor announced over the microphone.. "Ladies and Gentlemen, straight from Stevens hospital, allow me to introduce your new youth pastor and his wife Chris and Haley Taylor!" The students were very excited that we could make it and we were very encouraged! The evening ended with a ping pong game between drugged up Chris and the worship pastor Daniel. Daniel won by two points! We are home for the next few days letting Chris rest and just take it easy while unpacking boxes and getting the new home ready. Thats right UNPACKING BOXES... meaning the movers finally arrived! Thank you all for your prayers! We continue to be blessed and encouraged by each of you!

pictures: Chris in the ER, Chris playing soccer, Chris ping pong match with Daniel, and our completed wood pallet couch



Our First Day at Alderwood

Easter Sunday was our first official day with our Alderwood Church family. We were introduced to the body in all three services. Chris and I were very blessed by the warm welcome and the many invitations to spend Easter with different families. We ended up having lunch with the associate pastor Fred and his family. It was a great time of fellowship. After so many days of travel and an extremely crazy Sunday we took a long Easter nap! In other news... we found the wood pallets we have been searching for and are ready to begin building. We still have not heard from the moving company about when they will arrive but are hoping it will be soon. Chris began his first day of work today and I just finished having lunch with him. He is loving it! The Jhigh pastor is on an indoor socceer team in the area and had asked Chris to join. His first game will be tomorrow night at 750! My mom (Debbie Stuart) will be coming to visit at the end of the week and we are very excited about seeing her and showing her around the new home, church, and community. Thank you all for keeping up with us and praying for us!!

Our new address:

 Chris and Haley Taylor

 429 164th St SW Apt E3

 Lynnwood, WA 98087

We love snail mail so feel free to write anytime!

pictures below: Chris and the Jhigh pastor in Chris' new office, Our photo from the Sunday order of worship, and a front view of our new place! Interior pics coming after we receive our things :)

In His hands,

Chris and Haley



We Have Arrived!!

We arrived at our new home in Lynnwood, Wa last night around 745.The Seattle skyline came into view right around sunset and it was quite a view! I apologize for not updating sooner but we do not yet have internet at the new place. Our last day of travel was an interesting one! We went through three snow storms in the mountains our last few hours of travel. The highlight for me was seeing a wolf digging in the snow on the side of a mountain. We ended up traveling through the cascade mountains and the rockies. BEAUTIFUL is an understatement. My pictures dont capture the incredible scences well, but I did my best! When we arrived at our new home, we were so blessed to find an air mattess, fully stocked fridge and pantry, easter basket full of goodies and gift cards, and fresh tulips! Needless to say, we were blown away by the generosity of our church family here at Alderwood. We still have not heard from the moving company unfortunately but hopefully Monday or Tuesday we will recieve our things. Today has been a sucessful day of "bed hunting." We found a new bed and mattresses for the guest room at a GREAT price. The search for wood pallets continues and then Chris will begin building our new couch! Chris and I will be formally introduced in church tomorrow and we are very excited! Please continue to pray for a smooth transition and quick delivery of our belongings! Once again I must say we are daily blessed and encouraged by all of your encouraging posts and messages!

In His hands,

Chris and Haley





Welcome To Idaho!

Today was a bit more relaxing than the previous two. We traveled 350miles today and eneded up at a fun B&B in Boise, Idaho! We had the joy of seeing many different landscapes during our time today. Our favorite part of the day was a pit stop at Shoshone Falls located in Twin Falls, Idaho. The falls are 212 feet high, which is higher than Niagra! We came into Boise around 5 this evening and have enjoyed some much needed R&R. We plan to take on the final stretch tomorrow and arrive in Lynnwood, Wa late afternoon. Once again thank you all for praying and keeping track of our progress! We are very excited about reaching our new home! Please continue to pray that our belongings will arrive in a timely manner :)

1348 down... 752 to go!

Thank you all for your prayers! We had much better weather today! Not a single drop of rain. We traveled 700 miles today passing through New Mexico, Colorado, and landed in Utah. We are spending the night about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City. We have been 1348 miles so far and still have 752 remaining. We originally planned to arrive in Seattle tomorrow night and meet the movers at our new place on Friday, however, we got a call today saying they will not arrive Friday. Now we will take our time for the last stretch and arrive in Seattle Friday afternoon. Please pray that our belongings will arrive in a timely manner as Chris will begin work on Monday and many things on the moving truck will be needed. It is 11 oclock our time and we are turning in for the night! Thnak you all for your prayers and encouraging words... we have been very blessed by them!
In His hands,
Chris and Haley

We Made It Safely To New Mexico!! 1452 Miles Remaining...

It is about 11 our time now. We traveled 648 miles today and are staying in Albequerque, NM tonight. We were able to stop off at some neat places along the way. My favorite being a HUGE antique mall. We picked up a few old coffee tins (Chris collects them) and got back on our way. For the most part it was easy driving, however we did encounter 3 hail storms today. We are hoping for better weather tomorrow. We are missing everyone back home already, especially the family but excited to continue our journey. We are hoping to travel 750 miles tomorrow. Please continue to pray for safe travel as we still have 1452 miles remaining.

The Truck is Loaded Down

The truck is loaded down and we are ready for the long haul to Lynnwood, Wa.Chris and I will be Leaving first thing in the morning and we plan to travel 700 miles per day for three days. We will be driving through some beautiful parts of the United States and have the privelage of experiencing 2100 miles of our Lord's creation. Your prayers for safe travel are very much appreciated.The moving company is scheduled to deliver on Friday (the day after we arrive). We will be introduced to the Church in all three services on Easter Sunday and Chris will begin work the following Monday. Please be in prayer for safe travel, a smooth transition, and favor with our new students and church family!
In His hands,
Chris and Haley