Many fun things to report today! This past Thursday was my 23rd birthday! Chris spoiled me as usual! He got me a Nikon camera and all the accesories, jewelry, Vera Bradley, a jewelry tree, dinner at cheesecake factory, and he took me on a hike! I was so blessed by the birthday wishes and cards from friends and family! Friday morning we got up and went on a hike! The hike was called Lake Twenty Two and it is 5.4 miles round trip. It was an incredibly beautiful hike with waterfalls and snow and massive trees! We met a little snake on the hike as well (see pictures). Saturday was another full day. Chris and I arrived at the church early to meet up with the students for service projects. They had a great time serving different families in the community! We all met back at the church for a pizza lunch and then off to the Mariners game! However, it was "turn back the clock" night at the ballpark so technically we went to a Rainers game! They lost.... The fellowship was great! Sunday was church which we always enjoy! Sunday evening we had dinner at Salty's on the water and went to see Men In Black 3 with The Parsons. We thouroughly enjoy their company! Monday was a lazy day for us and Tuesday was hit the ground running. The youth team is in the middle of planning for our summer camp "Shasta" and Chris is still preaching Wednesday and Thursday nights. I was introduced at my first official Mary Kay meeting last night! I am very thankful for this opportunity. Speaking of Mary Kay... My unit is currently doing a fund raiser for a shelter here in Seattle that houses victims of domestic violence. We are filling make up bags with product to distribute to these women. Everything must be in by June 15th. If you would like to get involved please email me at Haley_Taylor@marykay.com. All donations are tax deductable and I will be matching everything given! Please Help :). Chris will be preaching tonight and I will post the link to his sermon tomorrow for anyone that would like to listen!!

I apologize that it has been so long since the last post! We've had lots of things going on! Lets jump back a week. Last Tuesday the middle school and high school adult leaders for our youth students came over for dinner! Chris was out of town at a pastor's confrence so we had girls night! It was a great time of fellowship and we enjoyed a pasta bar and Mary Kay makeovers! We are blessed to be serving with the greatest leaders out there! Chris returned home from his conference late Wednesday night. He had a great time and says  he was challenged and encouraged. He also enjoyed spending time with the pastoral staff. Of course he came home with about 12 new books to add to his already HUGE library. We went camping the following weekend at Larrabee state park about an hour North of where we live. We had a great camp site and made smore's and just enjoyed each others company around the fire. We were prepared for a 50 degree night but it actually got much closer to 35. Needless to say we were FREEZING and quite miserable through the night. We decided to cancel our hike for the next day and head home. We packed up at 5 am and it took a total of 10 minutes to have the whole camp site packed up! We came home to a warm bed and slept until noon! We figured a lazy day was in order after such a rough night and headed to the movies to see Battleship... it was interesting. This week (in my opinion) has been the busiest of any since we arrived. Monday night was the senior banquet Fiesta. We serve an incredible group of seniors that we are so very proud of! Last night Chris had counseling and I went to a Mary Kay event (more on that soon). Tonight is youth service and tomorrow is my 23rd birthday!! Chris has a whole birthday weekend planned and a table full of goodies for me! My sweet mom also sent decorations in the mail for me to put out! Back to the Mary Kay! I am officially an Independent Beauty Consultant for the company! Please feel free to contact me if you have any skin care, make up, body, or gift needs! This job is truly a blessing in that I can work from home and work whenever I want or need to! Could not be more perfect for a youth pastors wife! Check out my website at www.marykay.com/Haley_Taylor you can order from there 24/7 or email me at Haley_Taylor@marykay.com to book a free facial or makeover!
 Thank you all for your many prayers and sweet cards! More updates coming soon!
In His hands,
Chris and Haley

Pics: Camping at Larrabee, The senior class at the fiesta, My birthday surprises, and another pic inside the house!

We Love Hiking! Chris did an amazing job teaching Wednesday and Thursday night! He is continuously encouraged by students and adults. Saturday we continued with our hiking. We will be doing a different hike every weekend! We tried to tackle Mt. Pilchuck on Saturday -side note- Mt. Pilchuck is one of search and rescues most visited place-- We had to park over two miles from the trailhead and hike in 5 feet of snow on the "road" to get there. When we finally arrived at the trailhead there were postings for an avalanche warning so we decided not to attempt the hike yet. We will head back there in late July! However, we got quite a workout hiking in over 5 miles of fresh (not packed) snow. The view from the trailhead was still worth the work and we look forward to seeing the view from the top! On our way down the mountain a friend called and invited us to the lake with him and his wife... Welcome to Washington where you can hike in the snow and lay out on the boat all in the same afternoon! I am officially nursing my first Washington sunburn. Where's the rain? Don't ask me, I havent seen it! We hated to be away from family on Mother's day but we were able to speak with everyone and sent cards in the mail. Chris flew out yesterday for a pastor's confrence in Cleveland and will return late Wednesday night. We have never been apart for more than a day so this should be interesting! I spent the day with a sweet friend and her family yesterday at the lake, will be cleaning the house today, and having the female youth leaders over at six on Tuesday for dinner. Time should pass quickly. Chris will be speaking at one of the local schools this week so pray for wisdom in what to say! We will be heading out for another hike on Friday and staying over to camp this time. Missing everyone back in Texas but Loving our new home!

In His hands,
Chris and Haley

Pics from the hike Saturday:

If you would like to hear Chris' sermon for last night here is the link! http://buddydogproductions.net/blog/ Enjoy!

The Surprise Anniversary Trip

Our 1 Year anniversary was a fantastic celebration and Chris did an amazing job with surprising me! I know lots of people are curious about where we went and what we did and now you can wonder no longer! Chris took me to La' Conner, Wa to stay at the Wild Iris Bed and Breakfast. It is the #3 rated B&B in the Northwest. It Was incredible! La'Conner is a city right on the waterfront. We had dinner and listened to some live music right on the water front! SInce it was opening day for boating season in Washington, we also got to watch a boat parade! People on the boats were dressed like pirates and shooting canons! Our second day we went to hike at Deception Pass. There were lots of beautiful places to hike and we ended up hiking about 5 miles. I was so blessed by being with Chris and exploring more of our Lord's creation. Overall it was a fantastic weekend! Chris is back in the swing of things this week and will be teaching the student leaders tonight, playing soccer tuesday night, teaching highschool wednesday night, college thursday night, and then date night friday night! I have enjoyed still receiving letters from back home! Today is Chris' mom's birthday so we want to wish her HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Lots of exciting things happening this month and more updates on the way! Thank you all for your prayers!



We are starting off with some great news today! Chris passed his kidney stone! Thankfully he was able to pass the stone before the guys event this past weekend. Around 1130 Thursday night it finally came out! On Friday, Chris left for Dudefest! He took a group of highschool boys and leaders on a camping and hiking trip. They had a great time and he was greatful that he was able to participate in everything instead of having to stay home because of the kidney stone! They got home around 7 on Friday night. Estrofest was also this past weekend. THe girls took a day hike and then returned to the home of one of our leaders for pizza, swimming, and some time in God's word! What a great weekend! Yesterday, Chris and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! It is so hard to believe that an entire year has passed since our wedding! What an incredible year it has been. Chris has a surprise planned for this weekend and I am looking forward to it! To celebrate yesterday, we hiked the Heather Lake trail (about 4 miles round trip) and ate at Buca Di Beppo (this is where our rehearsal dinner was held). The hike was beautiful! The second half was all snow and some areas were at least 6 to 8 feet deep! Considering I have never seen more than a few inches of snow, I was blown away! We ate some snacks by the lake at the top and just enjoyed being together in God's creation! Buca gave us a free dessert to celebrate our occasion and it consisted of 12brownies, 6scoops of ice cream, Choc and caramel sauce, sprinkles, TONS of whipped cream, and a cherry.... so much for all that hiking! Over all it was an incredible weekend! Thank you again for all of the prayers surrounding our transition and Chris kidney stone! More adventures to come...

pics: Dudefest collage, our anniversary hike, and the HUGE dessert!