Three places I've lived: Salem, Oregon; Arlington, Virginia; Garland, Texas.

Three animals I have loved: My collie, Folly; my cats, Jellico (well, he's really a dog-cat; he greets strangers) and Peaches.

Three mentors who have helped me: Jim Dubbs (youth pastor); Elizabeth Inrig (the woman thing); Reg Grant (writing).

Three things I love about my upbringing: A huge garden that included fresh asparagus; breathtaking views (we lived on the Willamette River with a view of Mt. Hood from the living room window); and clam digging on the coast.

Three things my parents taught me to make: Apple cider in a big cider press, a dress, and a book.

Three more things they taught me: To canoe, to hike, to make stained-glass windows with crayon shavings.

Three favorite places in Oregon: Fort Stevens near Astoria (see photo); Mt. Hood including a stop at our cabin on the way; tie between Cannon Beach (where we fell in love) and my cousins' place on the river in Lebanon, Oregon (the inner tube float trips we took as kids--cold but unbeatable!)

Three instruments I can play (more or less): Piano, autoharp, viola.

Three vacations I'll always remember: The two-week vacation in the Tetons when I was 13; backpacking the Grand Canyon (the things you do for love!) with my husband, dad, and in-laws when I was 27; the Greek cruise/Ephesus trip Gary and I took for our 25th anniversary.

Three more vacations I'll always remember: Orlando with our friend, Kelly, and his kids; the Oregon-Washington-British Columbia trip we took with Kelly and my sister, Mary's, family during which we had no rain for nine days; last spring in Europe when we stayed with friends instead of in hotels and got a much better sense for how people really live there.

Three ministry trips I'll always remember: Our first trip to Russia/Belarus in 1992 (I'd never seen people lining up for milk); our first trip to Culiacan (Mexico) in 1995 (we met our friend Carlos); my trip to do a women's retreat in Munich last November (singing the Doxology in something like fourteen languages). Three days I'll never forget: Our wedding day, our first pregnancy loss, the day our daughter was placed in our arms.

Tell me three things about you. Three books you love? Three things that bug you about winter? Three fave restaurants?