Can you believe it’s almost 2009 already? It seems like this year just flew by. When I stop to think about what we’ve done this year, it’s amazing to think that all that happened in only one year. If I had to sum up this year in one word, it would be Noah. Our first son was born April 18th, and that pretty much changed everything, period. Now it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without him.

Silvia and I are doing fine. I continue to work at UCLA Medical Center, doing IT. Silvia’s is attending classes at Cerritos City College and working at Big Lots. I, along with my business partner, have done well. We’ve completed a bunch of websites and continue to have new business. We launched a new site called www.usfinances.info that we hope will become a major source of financial news and resources.

Here’s a recap of the significant events in 2008:

• March 9th: Silvia has her baby shower, and I take the guys to a BBQ in the park. We had a great time, and thanks to Monica and all those who helped put it together!
• April 18th: Noah’s born by c-section at 10:21pm Friday night. Weighing in at 8 lbs 12 ounces, he’s perfectly well and healthy. What an amazing time that was.
• June 21st: Family reunion in Pine mountain. It was great to see everyone, and to show off our new baby.
• August 30th: We visit my Dad and family in Reno. This was their first time to meet Noah, and we had a great time. We made the stop on our way up to Washington.
• September 1st – 7th: We visit friends in Sequim Washington, and have a great vacation there. We had a great time, thanks again to our Hosts Dagny and Denny Lord. We saw Seattle, Victoria Canada, Sequim, and Port Angeles. What a beautiful state, and a fantastic time!
• November 27th: We visited my Grandma and Uncles in Arizona for Thanksgiving. That was a real nice time. Relaxing, and the first time my Uncles got to meet Noah.

One goal we had for 2008 was to find a home church. Somewhere we could get involved and really feel a part of. As we sought out something close to us, we found a church called Cottonwood. We enjoyed the teaching, and felt God leading us to become a part of it. In October I went through the membership class, and became an official member. Silvia was working that day, but plans to take the membership class as well. Our next step is to become a part of one of their small groups. We really enjoy the church and look forward to the next steps God has for us there, as our family changes and grows.

Thank you all for your love and friendship. We enjoy each and every one of you, and look forward to seeing and spending time with you soon. I leave you with a verse that bring inspiration and motivation to us for 2009…

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25

With Love,

-Russ, Silvia and Noah

Silvia’s Baby shower. She had a lot of fun, and felt so blessed by the encouragement and friendships.	Noah, 10 minutes after he was born. I think that roller coaster ride, also known as birth, made him tired.
Family reunion in Pine Mountain CA. Kudos to Pam and Rex for organizing it.	Our visit to Reno. My Dad first meets Noah, and enjoys every minute.
Our friends Dagny and Denny and family in Sequim Washington.	Grandma, Uncle Bill, and our visit to Arizona for Thanksgiving.

Our first destination was Reno Nevada.  We left Saturday morning and arrived there that evening.  Spent time with my Dad and Carol – there first time meeting Noah.  Sunday we went to the Rib Cook-Off.  Wow, great food.  A little on the pricey side, but well worth it.  Lots of people, and attractions.  I think this is one of Reno’s best qualities, they have the ability to attract lots of people to these outdoor, fair type events.  Also, great attraction is Hot August Nights.

Our next stop was Washington State, in the beautiful town of Sequim.  Noah loved it:

We stayed in the Home of our friends, we had the whole bottom floor to ourselves, it was such a great place.  This is their backyard:

The next morning, we had breakfast at a great little diner called “The 101 Dinner“.  Noah loved it:

Actually, it was very good, and the place had a very friendly feeling.  Everyone knew each other. And the customers who came in all semmed to know the staff.  A very small town feeling.  But also very warm to new-comers like ourselves.  And I found my new favorite coffee: Tully’s.

We first took a small tour of Sequim, driving around, and seeing what we see.  First interesting stop was Dungeness Wild Life Refuge.  There we found a nice walk way overlooking the Peninsula:

With some benches to enjoy the view, Noah loved it:

The next day we visited Victoria Canada.  What a beautiful coastal town.  We saw the Royal British Columbia Museum:

Craigdarroch Castle:

Parliament Building:

and the famous Empress Hotel:

The next day we visited Seattle.  What a great city.  We enjoyed it a lot.  A couple of touristy tips:  Take the Double Decker, tour buss – it’s relatively in expensive ($15/person), you get to get on and off all day, and they go around all the major streets pointing out interesting things.  It works great to see the city in one swoop, and then get off when you find something interesting.  The underground city tour is also well worth it.  Great history and information, also very funny and engaging tour guides.  Some other things we saw:

The space needle:

The very first Starbucks store in Pike Place Market

The Science Fiction Museum, which didn’t allow photos. But basically had movie props, exhibits, and lots of information about science fiction stuff.

Sadly, our digital camera broke during some takes of the Space Needle, so from this point, we only had our phones for photos.

The next day we spent time in Sequim and it’s big neighbor Port Angeles.  We walked down what is known as the Dungeness Spit, which is a long skinny strip of land surrounded by water.  It’s 11 miles long with a lighthouse at the end.  We didn’t walk the whole thing, but enjoyed the time.

Then the next day we left.  We left in the morning, drove to Redding, stayed the night, then drove the rest Sunday.  I snapped this cool shot early Sunday morning using my phone.   I found the shadow very cool.