Cities

Ladies and Gentleman it is official.  Josh and I finally saw “The Avengers”.  One thing we quickly learned out here with movies is that there is not a cheap matinee time.  So (as some of you have read from earlier know) we opted for renting “Captain American” and “Thor” to satisfy our Avengers craving.  Through some Internet searching, Josh was able to find a good deal through Amazon on movie tickets and this past Saturday we joined everyone and their mother on seeing Marvels ultimate.

On Sunday Pastor Mark continued with “The Seven” series (about the 7 letters to the 7 churches in Revelations) with an amazing message on tolerance.  It was great because it has been a topic of conversation for Josh and I the past few months and it shed some great truth on our questions and thoughts.  I would highly encourage every Christian to take some time and listen to this message because it is VERY relevant for today- and Pastor Mark has some very funny moments! 

"The Seven" Progressive in Thyatira: More Tolerant Than God

Sunday afternoon Josh gave me a map test.  He grabbed a blank piece of computer paper and wrote in the bottom corner things that I needed to identify and had me draw my own map of Seattle.  I must say I did NOT have a good attitude about this- my sense of direction is horrible and was in no mood to be tested on it!  After much whining I did complete it and realized I know more about this city than I realized.  Ultimately I am very grateful for my husband and the ways that he challenges me so that I would grow.  He wants to make sure I have a good understanding of the city we now live in. 

One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is significant cities in my life.  I came up with three cities and what they “represent” in my life:

Minneapolis/St. Paul: my home cities.  I very much have a sense of pride for being Minnesotan and love the state.  This city represents where I am from.

Chicago: I love Chicago.  When I think about that city I always get those warm fuzzy feelings and can’t wait to go there again.  So many great things have happened in Chicago.  Went there with youth group, visited Josh at college, got engaged by the giant bean, attended Legacy Conference…it is the one city I have visited the most.  This city represents good times and part of my relationship with Josh. 

Seattle:  while this is a great city- it has been my city of challenges.  Josh and I first came here for our honeymoon, which was great but a challenge.  We can out here for a job position where everything seemed to be in place but turned out to lead us in a new direction (challenge) and finally we have moved our here pursuing urban ministry (challenge).  This city represents challenges in my life, good ones, but still (stretching/growth) challenges.

This past Memorial Day we had the great pleasure of spending it with our good friend Brittany Bean.  She was in the area with work friends and extended her trip a day to spend with us.  It was pretty awesome to have someone from back home here in Seattle.  We went around to some of our favorites stops downtown, checked out the troll under the bridge and had delicious ice cream from Molly Moon’s.  It was sad to drop here off so soon at the airport but grateful for the time we had! (Pictures to come)

   

Thankful for: Britts visit and my parent's visit soon approaching!  

time to go make dinner and chill out for the evening!

a fun find

I saw this in a very old baby name book at the family I nanny for...thought it was pretty cool :)

You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover

The past few days have been a great reflection of the age-old saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover”.  Monday nights are our Community Group nights (basically small group) and this past Monday the men had a “man’s night” at church meaning that only the women would be attending CG.  Our leader decided it would be cool if we just took the evening for everyone to share her story so we could get to know one another better.  Seeing that everyone we have been in contact with the past few months has been new, it is easy to start judging the book by its cover.  I admit I had already developed “backgrounds” for a handful of people in our community group based solely on looks and a number of interactions.  But this past Monday night I was seriously holding back tears the entire time everyone was sharing.  I “devalued” these women based on my own preconceived notions.  I was humbled by their stories and in awe of the power of Christ.  I know these women will be real with me, challenge me and love me.  Being in community is knowing where you came from and where you are going, I’m glad I didn’t miss that with our group.  How can you best pray, support and challenge each other if you don’t KNOW significant moments about them?        

Tuesday nights are youth group and the leaders have a meeting prior to the night starting.  It was during this meeting that we learned even more about some of the students’ backgrounds.  My soul is uneasy with what a lot of these teenagers are involved in and dealing with.  It is so easy to get frustrated with them by the attitudes we experience on Tuesday nights, but knowing their story helps shed some light.  There is no excuse for sin, but knowing their story tends to lend itself to us being more compassionate. 

So I say all this to remind us (including myself) that you can’t judge a book by its cover.  You have no idea what sin people are dealing with in their lives- whether it’s their own or the effect of another’s.  We all have sin, we all have a story, we all are human. 

On a way different side note:  Phillip Phillips won American Idol!!!!!  So cool to watch his reaction to winning!

Thankful for: a chill night with the husband watching the Idol finale J

Sleep well friends!        

still here!

I realized that it has been a "long" time since I have blogged!  I just wanted to touch base with you and say I'm still here!  Life has picked up with my temporary nanny job and it is good to be working.  Just got back from youth group and would like continued prayer on connecting and supporting these teenagers.

Short and sweet because its time for bed...more to come on a later (but not too much later!) date!  :) 

Tacoma

I had every intention on blogging yesterday- but by the time evening rolled around I was exhausted…so here are a few things from yesterday and today.

Yesterday:  Josh picked me up from work and we made the quick jaunt over to downtown Bellevue.  Since I am pursuing nanny positions I got the Tdap vaccine- (

not as bad as I was anticipating).  We had not heard of it until we got here- but apparently MN is experiencing the whooping cough as well- who knew!?  Seeing that trying to get back to Seattle from Bellevue on a Friday at 5pm is RIDICULOUS- we opted to walk around the mall area we had seen the week prior.  We stopped in an Irish pub to get some of their 3-6pm Happy Hour deals.  It really was a fun way to end the week- we sat at the bar, ate good food, listened to actual Irish music and both bar tenders were authentically Irish.  There were a few moments as I was watching the bar tender pour a Guinness that I felt like I was actually in Ireland- sigh. 

Today:  Once Josh got off of work at 11am we packed a lunch and headed out to Tacoma.  Our destination was the Point of Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.  My MN Zoo pass expires the end of May- but until then I can get into other zoos around the country for half off- sweet!  Once we got to the zoo we spent 30 minutes driving around trying to get a parking spot- no fun.  We did however really enjoy our afternoon at the Zoo.  We even liked it better than Woodland (but in my book MN is still my favorite).  Some of our favorites were: the aquarium (sharks, tropical fish), tiger, polar bears, puffins and the walruses.  The zoo is located in a larger park area that includes a 5-mile drive.  It was really pretty driving through dense green forest and every mile or so coming to a viewpoint of the water.

After the zoo we went to the Chihuly bridge located right next to the Museum of Glass (we did not go into the museum…yet).  His glass work is so beautiful- never gets old.  Our last stop of the day was a sweet unplanned find- a little bakery called “hello, cupcake”!!!  We shared a delicious carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting- yum!  Made me want to work in a cupcake shop…for realz. 

Thankful for: my wonderful husband who wanted to completely serve me yesterday by grocery shopping on his day off and buying me a Sprite because I had to get a shot! He’s so sweet!

Well our pizza is in the oven and we are beat- so in light of our adventures today- we are going to watch Finding Nemo, eat pizza and hit the hay!        

so on the way to the zoo we saw this in a neighborhood and turned around so we could take a picture- we laughed really hard!

the nemo gang

one of the most amazing zoo moments ever- the tiger walking out of the bush to sit and look at the people- wow.

the size of an adult male polar bear- 11ft tall

a friend on the 5 mile drive

Chihuly bridge- literally cases of his work

yummy

me and my boy waiting for our ride!

T.V.

It is interesting how simple things can create community.  Through being exposed to American Idol and in turn getting hooked- it has opened doors in getting to know other residents in our complex.  One resident that has also been a faithful idol fan opened up to us last night about recently being let go from his job.  We had a long conversation and hope we can continue to connect with other residents. 

Tomorrow will be the completion of my first full week of work since March.  It has been nice to have something to get up and go to each day- and baby J. is pretty cute! 

We just finished watching the announcement of the final two on idol and season finale of grey’s.  Our boy is still in it for idol- but disappointed that Joshua is gone because he was our boy too.  Grey’s finale….hmmm….well I can honestly say I didn’t watch half of it because it was way too graphic.  To me it was just too much, had bad acting and was not a Grey’s season finale. 

Well it’s off to bed with a nice Seattle rain outside.  We watched it roll in early this evening and we are glad to have the rain again- a few too many days without it!

Enjoy the weekend friends- off to bed, g’night.

Domestic

It was a full day of being domestic!  This week I am working full time for my part time nanny job (the husband is out of town so I am lending an extra helping hand) AND had the first youth group tonight where I cooked!  It was a very simply meal tonight- elbow noodles and sauce but it still tasted good.  I don’t think I have ever cooked that much pasta at one time in my life.

Josh and I would appreciate prayers on navigating our way with the students in the area.  It is much different than anything we have done before and find it a more delicate process to develop trust and a relationship. 

Thankful for:  the sun- yet another bright and sunny day in Seattle, we will see how long it lasts!

Definitely time for bed I am way tired- mothers I don’t know how you do it day in and day out, you must just love us a lot!  Nighty night J   

Happy Mama's Day!

First of all I need to say a big, Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom!  Seriously I know there are many wonderful mothers in the world, I have several moms who are in my life that I am extremely grateful for- but none come close to my sweet mom!  She is always there to answer my random questions and be one of my biggest cheerleaders!  I hope to be a great mom like her some day! love you mom :)

our special date before we moved to Color Me Mine- super fun!

Church today was amazing because God uses people to bring about great realizations and convictions.  We had a live/in person sermon preached by Pastor Caleb from the downtown campus.  He spoke about the rich young ruler and blind Bartimaeus.  It was really good and if they put it online I will post it because its one you just have to listen to- but the biggest realizations/convictions:

1.  Jesus is a GIVER not a taker (and along with that we can't give to God, but we can receive from Him!)

2. Are you giving Jesus teacher access to your life, or God access?

I realized how I am giving Jesus teacher access in my life.  I always just want him to teach me something so I can "make myself greater" when really only God is good and great.  I can't give God anything, I can't give Him my money in tithing, my time in devotions, my abilities in service- but I can receive what he wants to give me and ACT from that.  I tithe because He gave me finances, I can read my bible because He gave me His word, I can serve because He gave me the ability.  Ultimately He gave us Himself and I pray I will fully understand that truth and live.

After church and before Josh worked we made a quick run to the market.  It was PACKED with people and vendors.  Thankfully, a vendor we saw when we first got here but had yet to see him again was there!  We purchased this "free willy" pin made by him- so cool!

This afternoon I got to skype with my whole family... it was that much more special being Mother's Day. Once Josh got home from work, we had some dinner, and then also got to skype with Karen, Nicole, Dante and Faith.  They are a pretty funny bunch, and we miss all of them!

Thankful for: my mom and humility

I hope you were all good to your mama today!  now its time for a movie favorite before the start of a long week- goodnight all and especially my mom- so cool that we get to sleep under the same stars and moon :)

Timber!

Josh and I headed out early (for a Saturday) this morning for Renton.  We were headed to the Renzelman’s to help take down a tree in their backyard.  Now I should clarify- Josh helped take down the tree- I used internet and sat in the sun!  This was something we had never experienced before and when those 70 foot branches plummet to the ground- its crazy.  It was a beautiful day for the job- clear, sunny and 70 degrees. 

After we finished up at Renzelman’s we headed out to Tukwila.  Josh discovered this area the other night and it has stores like Half Price Books, Kohls, Old Navy, Best Buy and Michaels!!!!  They were all stores that remind us of home- since we have not been in any of these stores since living in MN.  We enjoyed dinner at Apple Bees and a phone call from home saying they were missing 2 around the bonfire to make the circle complete.

We had hoped to end our evening around a bonfire on the skydeck- but unfortunately the fire was not lighting and the hot tub was full of tipsy people.  So we opted for a bowl of ice cream instead. 

Thankful for: quality time with my husband- one of my favorite things to do with him is roam stores without being on a time crunch.

Enjoy a few pics- I am off to snooze.  

the biggest size you can get at Starbucks- woah! (picture does not do the size justice)

watching the magic happen

Sadie joined me for a few minutes when she couldn't find Rebecca..she's a total mama's girl

5! count them FIVE letters in the mail today- thanks friends and mom! :)

Casino Road

Way back when we first arrived in Seattle we attended the Northwest Ministry Conference.  It was during that time we met a lot of great connections Chris has across the board in ministry, but there was one person we met on our own.  Tyronne and his Casino Road Ministry led one of the sessions Josh and I attended during the conference.  As we listened to his heart, vision and passion we immediately had respect for this man and what he was doing.  It was in that session alone we felt that we could have left and gone back to MN with so much insight.  After the session, we introduced ourselves to Tyronne, gave him a brief overview of what we are doing and gave him one of our Seattle cards.  He was so excited for us and genuinely said he would pray for us.  Well a month and a half later we finally got to sit down again with Tyronne and hear more about his ministry. 

For real- this guy is so genuine.  When we were setting up the meeting through email he wrote that he has continued to pray for us and has even been telling other people about us.  When we saw him today he greeted us as if we had known each other for years.  We met up with him at Trinity Lutheran College located in Everett, WA.  There was a meeting going on at the college and surprisingly both Tyronne and Chris were attending.  After their meetings were finished, the four of us sat down and just talked about ministry.  It is so encouraging when you can tell that someone is doing what he or she does because of his or her Christ like love, compassion and motivation.  His heart is completely for the kids of Casino Road to know Christ.  His heart is in it for the glory of God. 

With that said I encourage you, as the church, to support local non-profits with prayer and financial gifts.  They are most likely providing a way for people to serve in an area of need and the church should be all about that!  Its so great how para-church organizations/non-profits and churches can be a huge support/cheerleader to each other.   

Jesus Calling had another good entry today and I would like to share part of it with you:

“When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for Me.  Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us…Thank Me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.”

Thankful for: good connections

So I do have to mention that Phillip is safe on idol and Grey’s is wacked out.  Not a fan of the season finale preview…looks likes a bad horror film, filmed by teenagers in the woods…boo

Tomorrow is Friday- yeah enjoy your weekend hope its as warm and sunny as it is predicted to be here!  G’night all. 

       

my ladies.

It has been a huge blessing to get connected with Mars Hill church.  They have welcomed us in and sought to get us plugged in right away.  It is awesome to be a part of a small group where we can build relationships and have people to turn to with questions or needs.  While I am thankful for the new connections I was reminded tonight of what is means to be known. 

My two close friends from college, Karen and Bethany, and I started meeting on a regular basis to check in and to be accountable to one another.  Since moving and trying to get settled we have not had that opportunity.  Fortunately tonight we were all able to skype on the night we would usually meet.  There were so many moments during our long conversation that I was reminded of how much these ladies care for me and KNOW me (and of course vise versa).  It is such an opportunity to know someone well because it allows you to pray for that person in a rich way and even better it allows you to see him or her be transformed.  I miss my friends dearly, but am thankful for the fact that we still are connected and aware of each other’s lives even though we are miles apart!

Thankful for: my ladies.

Oh here is another random tid-bit for you that came up multiple times and I think I have found a way to summarize it…

Seattle Weather: Consistent (in its own way)

Minnesota Weather: INNNNNNNNNNconsitent J (in its own way!)

Tomorrow brings potential for new possibilities and time to get things done- I hope you all are productive and excited for the coming of summer!  Sleep tight!

warning.

I feel like we are getting to the point that life is slowing down and speeding up at the same time.  Summer is approaching fast which means Josh will begin to dive deep into the ministry work.  I did my first trial run day with a nanny position and all went well but full time working is hitting me again.  One can forget what it is like to be at a place of work all day when your last day of work was March 9^th!  I mean, deep down I know I not built for full time work J  (I like to tell Josh that all the time-haha)

Another thing I realized today was that I dislike waiting for the pizza guy.  Still trying to get meals sorted out with youth group meant another night of dominos pizza (yuck).  I was standing at the side door staring at the parking lot just waiting for the pizza guy to pull in.  I felt like I was in middle school again- not a fan. 

So I want to give you all a warning- my daily posting will most likely not be so daily very soon.  I am anticipating the transition to having a full time job and actually having to be in bed at a decent time.  Also walking down the hall every night to use internet is well, what it is.  Granted I surprise myself with how consistent I have been and it is a good opportunity to reflect on the day- we all just have to face the facts- it can’t go on forever! 

I actually got to try something I found on pinterest for dinner tonight!  Oh I am so exited for the day when we have internet IN the place we live just so that I can try all the things I find on pinterest.  It was super easy- but a way cooler way to do baked potatoes!

Oh hey another random Seattle tid-bit for you.  The traffic here is RIDIUCLOUS.  Seriously there are always a ton of cars on the road and if you have to go on Interstate 5- bah!  Get ready for a long commute.  We have learned that Seattle has the 4^th worst traffic in the country and Josh and I have developed a lot of theories on why that is true.  So be thankful MN- because you are super flat- your roads are not so screwy! 

Please pray for continued clarity of our time.  Both Josh and I are trying to figure out how to balance jobs, ministry, marriage, church, relationships, art etc.  We need godly wisdom and insight to make the MOST out of our time and to learn that skill.  From here on out we have got to learn how to BALANCE. 

Well this Midwest girl has some things to do before bed- enjoy your Wednesday, night.

Fun in the Sun

It was in fact a nice warm sunny day today.  We ventured out to “Volunteer Park”, the local arboretum (doesn’t have anything on the one back home) and Bruce Lee’s gravestone. 

We enjoyed our local community at CG tonight and it seems the group is ever growing and changing.  It is nice to connect with people on a more personal level so that Sunday morning has familiar faces to say hello to!  My hope is that as the group begins to settle, attendees become more established and deeper relationships can be formed. 

Thankful for: some delicious grilled burgers- yum

oh and I almost forgot something- one month today my parents will be here to visit!!!!!!!! oh man I am SO excited- we can't wait to bring them around Seattle!

Short and sweet and time for bed. 

sculpture in Volunteer Park

City Center

We haven’t been able to say this in a few weeks, but the mountain was out today.  It was B-E-A-utiful- not a cloud in the sky with a perfect temperature. 

After church, I did something I haven’t done in a long time- mixed up some chocolate chip cookie dough.  Here is a helpful tip for you: if you don’t have a mixer, a potato masher works just as well!

As soon as Josh got home from work, we bolted out the door for the light rail.  Our plan was to walk around the City Center.  It is the area that has the space needle, pacific science center, key arena, experience music project and more.  We thought the last stop on the light rail would put us right next to the center- but we were a little off.  Thankfully it was a great day to walk. 

Granted a lot of the attractions in the City Center require money- we enjoyed the afternoon looking around at an area we have been to, but haven’t thoroughly explored.  We did get to see a few “sneak” peeks of the Chihuly Garden opening the end of May.

Our evening has been chill and Josh is especially looking forward to the forecasted 70-degree weather tomorrow.  Since neither of us has work- we hope to get out and play a little bit. 

Thankful for: a fun adventure outside the apartment.

Please pray I hear from nanny families and can really start to sort through all the possibilities.    

Hope you all have a happy Monday!  Sleep well.

Chihuly Glass

Fountain

Angle needed to look up at space needle

Taco, Burrito...

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!  I hope you had a festive day full of tacos, beans and salsa! 

Well I did it, I finished cutting my hair this morning and I am much more happy with the results. 

a new art form

I had the opportunity to skype with some important women in my life- Roxanne, Lindsay, Tara, Amy and my Mom.  I miss having my friends and family around and it hit me hard today.  I mean really you could live anywhere- but it’s when the people you love and care about that aren’t down the road anymore that makes it extra hard. 

The afternoon did not go as we had hoped- misjudging distance, and time.  Basically trying to do too many things at once- but the evening helped to redeem it. 

We did receive a nice card from my Aunt Laura and Uncle Steve today.  My Aunt Laura is always good about writing a letter with the card- though it sometimes takes a little bit to read her writing J But my favorite line from the letter (well there was a lot but this one stood out):

“Shell- any luck landing a JOB?  I can’t believe nobody recognizes the value of a good ol’ Midwest gal.”

yeah my Aunt Laura is pretty sweet!

Josh and I made our tacos and brought dinner to the sky deck to eat and enjoy.  It was really nice to sit outside and look at the beautiful scenery while eating a taco- yum!    We also were able to hit the hot tub before coming back down. 

We continued our Marvel marathon with the watching of Thor.   Personally, out of the four main avengers- Iron Man and Hulk are my fav.

Thankful for: tacos- mmmm my absolute favorite meal!

Well I am missing all of you a lot.  You can pray for me in making new friends.  It is a task that seems to prove itself difficult for me- especially when I know I have my GOOD friends back home. 

Buenos noches amigos!       

thinking of blog titles can get old

Well I must say there is not too much to say about today.  Josh had the day off again and we continue to take steps to get more settled as residents of Seattle.  Today that included joining a local credit union.  We did our mini-investigation on banks in the area and in the process learned about credit unions.  They are basically a non-profit/co-op bank that seeks to benefit you more than them.  Thankfully it was a fairly easy process to get set up.

We had the opportunity to skype with each of our families, which of course, was nice to see them and catch up.  My mom was able to give me some tips on cutting my hair- so that whole adventure will take place in the morning!

Apparently the Northwest doesn’t understand that matinee movie times are suppose to be cheap- so we unfortunately will not be seeing The Avengers anytime soon.  We decided it would best to get familiar with all the super heroes and rented Captain America.  It was decent- but no Iron Man.

I hopefully will be having another phone conversation about a different nanny position.  So continued prayers on this whole process and finding the best fit are always welcomed and appreciated. 

Thankful for: Skype time with family- even though it makes me miss them more, I value getting the chance to see them.

I hope you all have a festive Cinco de Mayo!! Enjoy some tacos- yum yum!

Time to hit the hay- g’night

  

I am a blogger, not a writer.

I thought I would start today’s blog with an explanation of that I am a blogger, not a writer.  My husband always reads my blog after I post it, and it is then he likes to read me sentences that I clearly wrote too fast.  So to all my faithful readers, I hope your brain auto-corrected my crazy typing that sometimes comes out not quite like I thought!  I think one word, and my fingers type another...go figure.

It was a classic rainy Seattle day.  Woke up to grey skies and the rain has ebbed and flowed all day.  Josh had an early shift this morning so we headed downtown to experience Pioneer Square art walk.  The art walk only happens the first Thursday of every month so we were excited to get the chance to experience it!  We first heard about the art days on our honeymoon- so it’s been a long time coming.  Unfortunately, once we got downtown and were looking for parking we saw that only a few artists’ tents were out…so we opted for free parking and a quick stroll through Pikes Market instead.

The evening was chill; it was nice and matched the weather.  We sadly watched Skylar get voted off idol and wonder if Grey’s will be coming to a close.  Seriously, all of you in the cities if you can get cheap tickets to the Idol tour- I think it would be money well spent on a great night out!  Josh and I have already brought up going to the tour to our CA friends who got us hooked….ha would be fun!     

Thankful for: Seattle rain and again Mysterious Benedict Society…could not put it down today!

Speaking of which I am going to keep this short and sweet- I want to get back to my book!  Nighty night J

park by the market that is usually packed with people- but not when it's raining!

chop, chop!

This morning I woke up, organized the kitchen counter, ate some breakfast, showered and decided it was time to cut my hair.  In the attempts to save some money and getting very annoyed with, my as Josh and I would call it, “fox tail” I chopped it off!  However, I did have Josh help me with cutting the back- the deed is done.  Granted I am not super happy with it- well the back is good, the front not so much.  I need to do a Skype date with my mom and have her guide me through fixing up the front.  So all you get to see is the back for now! J

 We headed over to the Renzelman’s today so Josh and Chris could catch up.  We haven’t seen them in 2 weeks, which seems like a long time.  Like I always say- it was nice to be in their house.  Seriously walking in, giving Sadie a pat hello, hugging Rebecca and saying hey to Chris felt like stopping by home.  We did the usually of Josh going downstairs to with Chris to his office, while Rebecca and I caught up in the kitchen.  Chris even said to me when they came up the stairs, “so does if feel like home walking in?” and it seriously does.  We are so excited for when my parents are out to have them meet our Seattle parents- they’re pretty great!

So it seems the Lord is multiplying for my job situation as families contact me about jobs.  I have some options floating around and I would love prayer on knowing how to pursue the best one!

Praise- Josh as feeling A LOT better today.  Still not 100%, but my Joshy was back for most of the day! J

Thankful for: SERIOUSLY amazing colors always out our window, I need to do some art about THAT and of course our trip to Renz’s

OH and of course we watched Idol with our 2 building neighbors- it is now to the point that on Wednesday night we expect one another to be there! This commercial plays almost every idol- I laugh EVERY time...

I was telling Josh today that it is weird to think that from this point on we are under the year mark of going back to MN.  Granted a year is a long time and things could change of how everything pans out for us- it just puts it into perspective to not miss out on living in Seattle. 

Here is a little something from “Jesus Calling” that I thought was really good- so read it, think about it, pray about it etc…while I hand off the computer and head to bed!

Living in dependence on me is the way to enjoy abundant life.  You are learning to appreciate tough times because they amplify you awareness of my presence.  Tasks that you used to dread are becoming rich opportunities to enjoy my closeness.  When you feel tired you remember that I am your strength; you take pleasure on leaning on me.  I am pleased by your tendency to turn to me more and more frequently, especially when you are alone.

my dinner plate smiley face! ha an omelet, biscuits and Rebecca's strawberry jam- yum!