Thursday, July 8, 2010

Independence Day Weekend Celebration!

We visited Bend and saw the DeBacker fam and my parents. Saturday we went for a hike on Black Butte. It was a beautiful day! And we set up a slackline in the backyard! Here's some pics:









Tobin Slacklining!

Enjoying Aunt-dom and Uncle-dom


We have absolutely loved being closer to our family. Here are some of the fun things we've been doing:

Teaching a 13 month old how to climb. Preparing him for that 5.14 (that's the hardest climb for those who don't know).


Making Benjamin be a dare-devil. How to have fun, be safe, and push the limit just a bit!
Notice his helmet is covering his eyes!


Grace is getting so big! She's doing Monkey Bars, and is better than I am!


Precious Kate...oh so much to aspire to. She's doing great on her own, and certainly loved squealing at us while we played on the playground.

She's isn't dazed and confused or half drunk....promise!
Her hair would look like this every time she went down the slide!
That's an Electric Slide!!!

Showing Porter how to shop like a pro in IKEA!

Hiking in style, as Tobin goes up the Mountain like a Mountain Goat (literally) with a child in tow!
Falling! Caught in the act!
The mountain man and his stick!
Can you tell We are loving it here?

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Rummel Update


Some of you may have already read this. But I thought I'd post it to give you an update, from my long absence! You can tell why I haven't been blogging!

The Moving Pile!
Dr. and Mrs. Rummel
Our last photo at the SoCal Beach!
So happy to be done (for both of us!)

What do you do with this thing?

The whole fam: Dad, Dr., Mrs. Rummel, Aunt Velva, and Mom
It was special to be able to hood him!




So here is the latest update:

Where in world are Tobin and Christy, you might ask? Well, we are very excited to announce that this time we will be in the same location for over a year! In these last few weeks, we’ve experienced quite a lot of changes. On May 21, 2010, Tobin became, Dr. Rummel! Such an amazing accomplishment, and a day we have been anticipating for 5 years. In those 5 years, if you didn’t already know, we moved 5 times, and Tobin travelled to countless more places for rotations, exams, and interviews! But this past February, we found out exciting news, we had been praying for months and years—Tobin had matched for his residency program in Corvallis, OR for a family medicine residency program. We were elated with joy the morning we found that out! We get to move back to an area we LOVE, be able to have family closer, and an area that has many outdoor activities just outside the front door. His residency program is 3 years long, which will be the longest place Tobin or I have lived in the last approximate 7 years! We want to thank all our friends and family for their love, prayer, support, encouragement, listening ears, helpful hands, etc, etc throughout this entire process, and what a process it has been!

Any move we make, God seems to reveal what we will be doing and where we will be living, just prior to the deadline of when we must move. In March, we flew up to look at houses to purchase. Christy interviewed for two Nurse Practitioner positions, and the process of home buying, getting new jobs, relocating from Southern California began! Despite having a couple months, it almost seemed impossible that we would be able to accomplish all of the above. However, with God’s direction and blessing, He made it possible. We went through the joys, woes, and stress of purchasing a home, but praise the Lord, we were able to close on the home in good timing and move in right in after Tobin’s graduation.

In late-April, Christy accepted a position working as a Nurse Practitioner at an Integrative Medicine Clinic, serving primary, family care patients and working alongside many other clinicians. She is excited and nervous about starting this new position, but very grateful for an amazing schedule of 4, 10 hour work days a week, with three day weekends! Coming from two part-time jobs (sometimes three!), working nearly every weekend, and then seemingly that schedule perpetually changing, the new schedule seems glorious.

The day after Tobin’s graduation, we began loading boxes into a Penske moving van. Thankfully, we had the help of Tobin’s parents, otherwise the process would have literally been longer and much more painful. We managed to get everything loaded, and on Sunday early morning we left LA at 0500. The roads are beautiful on Sunday morning (no traffic!) and we made good time, to arrive in Redding, CA later that evening. The following day, we drove into Corvallis, OR, unloaded the van into our new home—so that we would avoid the impending rain the following day. In a web of confusion, paperwork, protocols, laws, etc, etc, we weren’t actually closed on the house before we moved in, but thankfully God worked it all out, and we are now homeowners, which carries its own responsibilities, stress, and joy.

We have already taken advantage of this area, going for a beautiful mountain bike ride, just minutes from our house. We also have been able to celebrate, in person, our niece, Zoey’s 3rd birthday; and we drove over to Bend, OR with family to relax and (what else…) go rock climbing at Smith Rocks! We’ve onlfy been here just over a week, and we LOVE IT!

We do ask for continued prayer as Tobin begins a very BUSY year as an intern. Yep, the work is, at times, grueling, but also so very exciting. Please pray for Christy, as she begins a new position and everything that goes along with that! Pray for our relationships with people here in Corvallis. Pray that we could be a witness here in this city, minister to the community, and find wholesome Christian fellowship.


Our new home!


We would love to hear how you are doing!