Decker Quadruple Week

 Doughnut Falls

Gotta go to Ruth's

Chef Tim

No liquid courage was necessary at the Westerner

Cooley's swingin' at the Westerner

The Gillette's looking so suave

   Jennifer (Eddie's sister) came to town.  We tried to show her the best of what Salt Lake has to offer and I must say, we did a pretty good job.  We shopped 9&9th boutiques, ate at Pago (yes, she had the chicken paillard), line danced with many of our Missio firiends at the Western which immediately became one of the highlights of living in the SLC, snowshoed up in Big Cottonwood, and the Sugarhouse Cinema (we saw The Help. I lasted about 2 minutes before I was wiping tears. I was feeling "tender".  That's what Eddie likes to call it when I cry spontaneously at silly yet heart warming things like commercials or memories or the Reader's Digest.)
   Then Eddie's brother, Tim, came into town the following weekend.  We didn't romp around town as much but we still laughed a lot, had good challenging conversation, the boys got to go snowshoeing, and then we redeemed Thanksgiving by making leftovers. That means that I was pouty that we didn't have any turkey leftovers so Tim recreated his magic by brining and roasting a turkey and whipped up some gravy.  I made purple mashed potatoes, bread, and a squatty pumpkin cheesecake and acorn squash from my garden.  And he made Susie's pineapple crunch which, by the way, is a side, not a dessert, although it has more sugar than fudge.  All was delicious and I'm super excited about all the leftovers!!  We had such a great time with the siblings.  It makes it sooo hard to live so far away, but really cool that we'll have seen each other once a month for three months in a row.

The house...starting the bar top.

The Story Continues...

Creamsicle!

Our first double yolk eggs!

Nylons and Brassieres $0.49 at Sears and Roebuck..circa 1946. found when Eddie tore up the floorboards.

Marcus helping chip away at the old floor.

Deconstruction before reconstruction of the floor.

yay! Laying the laminate! 

The bedroom has a floor!

Teal cabinets

Grandpa Decker

Eddie's grandfather passed this week.  He was a dynamic man loved by all.  He cared deeply for his family and instilled in us the kinds of things that eveyone hopes to pass on to their future generations.  We all value hard work, adventure, Christ as savior, good food, and family above all. 

Ed and I were fortunate to get to go to Kerrville for the funeral (everyone, even all of his grandchildren, made it) and it was one of the most powerful sermons centered around Christ I have ever heard.  Friar Stockton talked about Grandpa in celebration terms.  His passing into eternity and the assurance of the banqueting table with Christ is truly something to celebrate.  Though he will be missed, we will continue to tell his stories, and picture him resting with Jesus. 

1 Year Anniversary Trip to Indy

Eddie worked a few extra shifts this summer so that he could get us tickets home to Indiana to see my family for our anniversary.  Best Hubs ever!

Dinosaur train, dinosaur train, gonna go ride Dinosaur train...excavator!

Gigi Leaf Beard

Brotha Man

In the apple orchard

If he wasn't so cute, I'd think he was the serpent tempting Eve.

I had to include a house shot...Eddie and Marcus tore up the carpet and trim.

West Side Story

We bought a house.  I've (Josie) never wanted to do that.  I've always wanted to be mobile, own only enough to fit in my car, and live somewhere in the middle ground between middle class and $2/day like the people in Cambodia or wherever.  But now that I'm in my 30's (so wise) and middle of three years of a graduate program in beautiful Salt Lake City, married to My Love that reveals Jesus's kindness to me, and trying to make grown-up decisions, things have changed.  We have the opportunity to live cross culturally here in Salt Lake right now.  We have the opportunity to have the authority to dictate what to do with our space by hosting.  We have the opportunity to cultivate the land in ways that honor God.  We have the opportunity to give more of ourselves.  We have the opportunity to use our gifts for God's glory.  We have the opportunity to steward our money to pay off school loans.  So many opportunities we just couldn't pass up. So we're taking it.  We bought a house.  We're moving to a 100 year old house (you could call it a fixer upper) in a Hispanic/Polynesian neighborhood.  We plan on having a friend live with us and to be open to others in need of a place to stay and be mentored (more later on Holding Out Help.)  This will definitely be an adventure and will grow our marriage even more, build our trust in God's provision and wisdom, and stretch our comfort zone.  We hope the fixing up of the house will be a means to build deeper friendships with those who are excited to help.  We'll try to document the progression.  So to begin, we closed on Wednesday 10/5/11.

Entryway Living Room

Master Suite

Master bath

2nd Bedroom old headboard shelving

3/4 Guest Bath

Office

Attic Living Area 

Attic Bathroom

Attic Bath

Back Yard (see the apples on the ground?)

Back Yard Half Fallen Apple Tree

Drive way (currently a forest) and garage

Kitchen (duh)

Mom/ Mother-in-Law comes to town...so we get out of town

Gina (Josie's mom) came for a visit 2 weeks ago, so we got out of town....don't worry, Gina came too!

We booked it down to southern Utah to give Gina a vacay on her vacay/ we just really wanted to go to Bryce Canyon & Zion National Parks. Everytime I find myself in the martian landscape of southern Utah, I can't believe that I'm there without getting on a rocketship. It's other-worldly and stunningly beautiful (brief side note: I feel like I'm a good judge of beauty, because...well...you know...I married Josie).

Anyways, here's a few shots of the trip to Bryce NP and Zion NP:

Bryce Amphitheater

Your new desktop background.

The Crew


Hook 'em!

Seattle to Yellowstone via Missoula

We left Angie at the airport with her team headed for Uganda.  We had to skip Spokane for lack of time and were welcomed into Missoula by Nikki (at one time Nick?)  We rode into town to find it absolutely packed at midnight on a Tuesday!  It must have been the first week of school because all the bars were full! or maybe that's just Montana.  We hiked to the "M" and then went to the Big Sky Brewery for tastings which was brilliant.  Then, we sped through the glorious mountains (next time I want to take the train) and landed in Yellowstone.  No campgrounds were open of course, so we pulled a classic JosEd: we camped on the side of the road.  This time we were really freaking out.  We were in the middle of nowhere high in the National Forest near an abandoned hunting cabin and definitely in bear country (with bear mace).  And a lone, creepy guy was pacing where we parked the car.  Needless to say, we woke up alive in the morning and after a coffee stop, made it into Yellowstone.

We stopped at some of the touristy areas which were awesome!  The canyon and the mud pots are crazy!

At the southern end of the park, we donned our backpacks and hiked for 3 days around Lewis Lake and Shoshone Lake and into the Geyser basin.  It was beautiful! Crazy geology!

Finally, we drove through the Grand Tetons and Victor and Swan Valley and made it home just in time for work and school the next day.  Wait, back up. Victor is home to the Grand Teton Brewing Company and served half pints that were fantastic and powerful for us Utahn weaklings.  If we lost any pounds hiking, we gained them back in full force in Victor's brewpub with burgers, fries, and a pint.  And then sweet Swan Valley with it's square ice cream. mmm.