Portland Festivals & Friends

(Hanging out with Craig & Mika McDougall! Great couple!)

Besides having many visitors come here, these past two months in Portland have also been filled with getting involved in ORFN (OHSU Resident Family Network) and other friends we have met here. ORFN is a network group that organizes events for spouses of doctors at OHSU that include bookclubs, interest nights, girls night out, family BBQ's, and much more. It has been an amazing way to meet other women going through this same stage of life and I have really been blessed to meet some great ones. We have also met some great couples through Derek's work and even one through a winery!

Portland is also known for it's amazing festivals. When we first moved here they had the Rose Festival. Then recently we went to the Portland Local Beer Festival (which turned out to be huge) with some guys from Derek's work and their wives and had such a great time we actually had them all over for dinner the following weekend! I didn't really like beer much before moving here but actually found quite a few I enjoyed! I am now a big fan of SOUR beers! If you haven't ever had one - you must come here to try them. DELICIOUS!

When Jane and Jim were here last weekend we went to the Bite of Oregon Festival with them and had a great time as well. There were so many different restaurants with food and drinks to sample. It was a great feast!
I have also been able to attend lots of events through ORFN including Book Club, Girls Night Out, Dessert Exchange Night, and last night for the first time a christian women's book club which was so awesome. I am really excited about the book we are going through called The Love Dare. It's based on 1 Corinthians 13 in the bible about love. Loving God and loving your husband in the same way God loves us. It has really been amazing so far.

1 Corinthians13: 4-8

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I have met some really great women at all of these events and am looking forward to getting to know them even better in the future. Here is a picture from our first Girls Night Out a couple weeks ago at Bartini. I know there will be lots more events to attend and I just feel so blessed to have met such amazing women already in such a short period of time. God is so good!