Miracles, Accomplishments, New Life, and Celebration!

Back at home now, it's been incredible to reflect on the whirlwind week Mom, Dad, and I shared together. I can't believe we did as much, saw as much, or enjoyed so much in the past week. So let's recount the journey together...

The 1st day we were in town we spent the day cleaning up 5 months of home remodeling construction at my Aunt and Uncle's house to prepare for my cousin's engagement party scheduled two days later. I'm pretty sure I've never worked that hard in my life, and we cleaned house! It pretty much sparkled by the time we sleepily slunked out the door. Their remodeling job looked absolutely fabulous, and it was so sweet to be a part of their hard work.

The 2nd day, was loaded with activities for the 2 grads (my brother and His fiance)  in our expanding family.

The Ivy Cutting Ceremony is an Seattle Pacific University (SPU) tradition in which each graduate is given a piece of ivy to serve as a symbol of them leaving the school and going on to greater things remembering where they have been. 

 From there, we went onto brunch at Kaelin's parent's home. Her mom makes a killer breakfast casserole...I'll be craving that for months! The view we got to enjoy on Lake Washington was spectacular.

Following brunch was Kaelin's Nursing Pinning ceremony. It was such a fitting ceremony to reflect on the nursing graduate's journey through nursing school. Kaelin has such a big heart for especially those in the hospital from alcohol and drug abuse, and will be working in the trauma center of a prestigious hospital nearby where she will be able to care for many of those that need her attentive and capable care. I'm so proud of this girl!

Later that evening, I was able to meet up with my dear friend, Audrey from Florida, as we celebrated in town. She's just moved to the Northwest, following God's call on her life and will be working in nursing as well. It has been so amazing to watch Him provide for all of her needs, and even the timing of her job placement was so awesome. She continues to boost my faith and encourage me as we keep in touch. It was definitely an added bonus that she got to join in the festivities!

Top: Future Bride in the middle surrounded by bridesmaids
B. Right: Kaelin and me
B. Right: The groom and bride-to-be and me

My wonderful cousin's (Tianna) engagement party came with great excitement, as I finally got to meet her sweet Groom-to-be. Jordan is a top-notch gentleman that has valiantly won the heart of Tianna. He is in his final year of Chiropractic school and will be graduating before their big day. I am so pleased that I get to be be the Matron of Honor in their wedding and look forward to June 28, 2014 when the wedding bells will ring. She and I have always been close since childhood; and even through distance has kept us separate, our hearts have remained close.  I love her to pieces, and greatly value her insight into education as she is a fellow teacher. Tianna was invaluable to me as a bridesmaid in our wedding, working into the wee hours of the morning making jam and finishing other tasks. What great things await us in the future!

Lil' Bro and Big Sis.
Let's just talk about the money lei Mom and I made by hand folding dollar bills ;)

 Graduation Day arrived with much pomp and circumstance. Christopher and Kaelin earned every bit of honor they received on this day. It was remarkable to see my little brother walk to receive his diploma for his B.S. in Biology. He will go on to study to receive his degree as a Physician's Assistant in a few years. Don't tell him I said this *wink wink*, but my little brother knows waaayy more than I do, and it's so cool to see him stretch himself like this.  I have so much respect and admiration for him and I know he is going to make a  wonderful doctor!

Our families join to celebrate the graduates' accomplishments!

The graduation party was held at a local gourmet pizza shop. Wow! We had such a fun time together!

Gourmet Salads, Pizza, and Cake was served. Yummo!

A typical rainy day in Washington.. >_o

 The last day of our trip was spent with two other cousins. We got to visit Nick at his home overlooking the Puget Sound. Such a peaceful location that I could spend hours just soaking up the view of the sound and wildlife. Nick is a real life miracle in our family, as we watched his broken body recover from a horrible fall from scaffolding. Now he is walking about, and ready to start a new job after years of being on disability. His dream is to be a "rock star" and his guitar skills are amazing. I would say (with an untrained ear) that he plays tunes sounding a bit of classical guitar mixed with blues and rock. He is definitely gifted with impressive talent.

Family!

We drove over to Anjilee's home to help prepare meals for her and her hubby, Chris. You may remember them from this post when they visited us here on the Big Island. Ashton is just under two weeks old, and the timing of my trip was so perfect that I was able to meet him so soon. Hopefully, she and Chris will be well fed for the next couple weeks from our labor of love in the kitchen. Anj's job was to rest, and it was such an absolute pleasure to give her this time to rest. But, Ashton...what a perfect little boy! There are no words to describe this bliss!

The last evening finally came, and the Whitcomb tribe headed to our favorite haunts in Seattle's Chinatown. First, Kau Kau (cow-cow) a BBQ pork hideaway my family has frequented for years and years, where we always eat too much while listening to the restaurant's favorite Michael Buble CD. Then we headed to Oasis for bubble tea. Yum!

This trip was everything a girl could hope for in a visit with family and even more. I was so blessed to be with the ones that God has put in my life for good, and give and receive love so freely. This, I know is such a special season of everyone's lives as we see new things on the horizon and reach farther above to pull from the fruitful tree of hope. My heart is so full, and I am so blessed.