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!