a green girl in the emerald city: An update

My apologizes for the lack of blog posts. It seems that every time I think of a blog I want to write I don’t have access to the computer- so of course I eventually forget because I didn’t jot down a note to remember. I thought I would give an overview of the past few weeks and get you all up to speed.

Sea-fair:

2 weekends ago Josh and I attended a well-known annual event called Sea-fair. It runs for 8 weeks of the summer and is composed of many different events. The “grand finale” if you want to call it was happening at a lake less than a 10 minute drive from our apartment. We had heard about this because of the Blue Angels performing and Josh went online to check out the schedule. To our surprise there were many other things happening to check out at the lakeside. We had an hour to spare on the Friday- so we went down to check out the wakeboarding competition. It was quite the set up with vendors, food, wakeboarding, air shows, hydroplane races and more. We enjoyed our time on Friday so much we thought lets go back on Saturday when we have more time. One thing we didn’t realize until we were at the entrance was that Friday is family free day and the rest of the weekend was $30 a person! So like peasants we found a spot on the other side of the fence and watched from there because we could still see all we want to. The Blue Angels show was amazing. I am not into planes- but would definitely see them again! Josh had to work early on Sunday morning (5-10am) and when he was at work a man who worked at Sea-fair gave him 2 free all access passes. Knowing that we most likely would never be at Sea-fair again decided to head back out once he got home. We thought it was pretty funny that something we had never heard of and randomly came across we ended up attending everyday that weekend- but it was well worth it. Not only did we enjoy our time there is the sun (yes the sun has been out and blaring lately- makes me thankful I was not in MN for all the heat!) and feeling like we were a part of the Seattle community attending an annual event, but it also brought about more opportunities to discuss why we are here and what to pursue. It has been amazing how much the vehicle for our vision has changed or more so been refined. We are constantly discussing, evaluating, realizing and praying and hope to share more on it all soon.

Pray for the vehicle for our vision.

Job update:

Josh is still rockin’ it at Starbucks. I enjoy seeing all the people who now know him whether in our building or at church because they see him on a regular basis. It is a great spot for him to be because he is a great connector!

Pray for meaningful connections and conversations.

I had two other nanny interviews not too long ago and while they both seem like great options and really pulling for one. Both would be great families to work with- one is just much closer than the other.

Pray for favor.

I also have made great progress of the children’s book and am very close to finishing the 33 pages- yeah!

Pray for a strong finish.

Marriage:

If I would have known of all the great conversations Josh and I would have on this journey I would have moved out here sooner. Moving across the country and living in a new state has been a challenge, but a great strengthening tool for our marriage. I realize more and more everyday how Josh truly is my best friend and how I want to do life with him. Because God brought us to Seattle- it has given us the opportunity to dream and make goals and then talk about them in a way that they one day could be a reality. Seeing my husband discover his passions and where he wants to grow in life is utter sweetness.

We also have started reading “Real Marriage” by Mark and Grace Driscoll (the pastor of Mars Hill). We have not read a book together in awhile and know that our marriage can never be put on the back burner, nor will it ever be perfect therefore we want to make sure we work at it!

Pray for our marriage- and yours!

Visitors:

Nicole recently visited us in Seattle and had primal weather to view the city. We did all the tourist hot spots of the market, ferry ride, City Center and more. We also went on a hike, which was challenging at times but proved to be a very refreshing journey- though I did get bit by something that quickly swelled but all is well now. We each were wearing something MN on the hike- Josh a Wild hat, Nicole a Mankato State shirt and myself a LTF shirt. Thanks to Nicoles Mankato shirt two couples on the hike down stopped us to ask if we were from MN. One of the couples hasn’t been back to MN for a while, but the other recently moved from Lakeville- again small world! We also got to go to three different art museums- all for FREE! Thanks to SBux and a Sbux customer we went to SAM, Museum of Glass (Tacoma) and the Asian Art Museum. On the ferry ride to from Bainbridge Island- we were walking past a family when the baby became fussy- instantly the mom jumped up and sang, “Lets do it, lets do it, mama’s dancin’ for you-a!” It was super cute and we said that line over and over again through out the trip.

This coming Sunday we will be getting together with Dan and Kristi- the youth pastor and wife Josh interned with in WI. They are out here celebrating their 10 yr. anniversary! It should be fun to bring them to church and catch up over lunch.

Pray you can make it out here! :)