New sensations.

Dan and I made it up to Seattle last week to see little Micah. It was so fun to hold him and imagine how much he is going to change in the next few years. What a wonderful blessing for our family!

We spent the day hanging out with Micah, Jen, JR and Bethany. Friends from their church dropped off dinner, and we enjoyed hearing the details of the birth. He is a cute kid, and I think being an aunt is fantastic.

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Dan and I went on a hike yesterday. We took the highway out to a trail base near Oxbow Park, and we headed up the hillside toward the plateau that overlooks the city. We missed the main trail at some point, so the next best thing was to head straight up the hillside through the brush. A little hand-and-foot climbing got us there.

The view from the top was breathtaking. The whole Columbia River valley spilled out in front of us, and hawks circled the valley at our feet.

We climbed back down the hillside just before sunset. As we left the trail, a sign caught my attention. "Caution, Poison Oak in this area"

Sure enough, my hands are covered in a tingly, red rash today. Fortunately we were wearing long pants and long sleeves, but it looks like we will be feeling the effects for a while.

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Check out the new, awesome, incredible wedding website that Dan made for us: www.danerin.com

The best kind of new.

Our family is moving into a new era. The first grandchild for our little clan arrived early this morning. After about six hours of labor, Micah James was born in Seattle at a healthy nine pounds, nine ounces. Jen, JR and Micah are doing fine, although JR did mention that it would take a while for the reality of his little son to set in. I can't wait to meet him.

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Speaking of childhood, I have been scanning the pictures from my albums to use at our wedding this June. I've come across so many memories in the process. In honor of my brother's first son, I thought I should post a picture of JR and me from not too long ago. I'm in the red.

You can check out more pictures from my childish past over at my Flickr account.

When the perfect is come.

Life is contrast. Light and dark. Old and new. Life and death. And then there is all of that space in between.

My grandma died a week ago Wednesday. The mother of my mother slipped quietly away from the hospital, the confines of her age, the pain in her body, and into the calm.

It was peaceful. She was surrounded by her four living children. You know, each of them looks like her in their own way. And we spent the next few days remembering her together.

Of course there were things to go through, and that always brings up stories. Old pictures spilled out of drawers, and someone found love letters. The interior of her house had been frozen in time since the late sixties. She was a constant in all of our lives.

I saw her a couple of hours after she died, lying on the hospital bed with the sheet mostly covering her face. Death makes us the most vulnerable, small and weak. We began the preparations for the funeral, and we celebrated Easter with radiant hope.