Just in Time

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

At the end of every September, fall rolls around. By October, the leaves suddenly turn beautiful shades of reds, oranges, and yellows and you can feel a crisp fall breeze. I took this picture today from the window in our hotel. Isn't it beautiful? Though I would love if it were always fall, I really don't think I would appreciate it as much if the seasons never changed.

I was listening to a song yesterday by Misty Edwards called "Like a Rushing River." In the song are the words, "God makes all things beautiful just in time. It's just a matter of time." These words could not have come at a better time. I have been having a tough time adjusting to our new city. Things aren't going as smoothly as I would like them to go, but I know in just a matter of time I will see the big picture. It could be months down the road, or it could be years.

I was also thinking about our life back in Huntsville. It was going pretty smoothly. We had finances under our control. We had amazing friends. And we had family closeby. Living there was beautiful, but it was time for the season to change. Winter dismisses the beauty of fall to create something new. Winter may not be as beautiful as fall, but soon it brings beauty with the changing of the season to spring. God does make all things beautiful just in time. And I have faith He will do that in me so I can be a light for Him.

Weather

Today is such a crazy weather day for my Huntsville friends! I'm praying for safety for all of you! Even though that weather is extreme, it's more normal to me than the weather here. I'm used to it storming, and when the storm is over, the sun comes out. Sometimes the sun is even out when it's raining but not here.

Here, the skies are always gray when it's raining, but there aren't thunderstorms. The storms are windstorms with a misty, drizzly rain. Yesterday I was so confused because the wind is so strong that it sounds like thunder. I kept looking outside expecting a storm but it was just wind. I spent yesterday running errands, going to the doctor, cooking, and spending time with God.

Have you ever heard of Graham Cook? If not, I encourage you to go on YouTube and look up "The Nature of God." It's very powerful and will speak to you wherever you are! Here's a little clip of something that completely spoke to me in my situation..."God has called us to see the invisible and do the impossible. He calls us to do the outrageous; so we cannot find security in what God is doing. We can only find security in who God is."

This weekend was really tough for me! We looked at rental homes and even homes for sale. I began to question why we came here and if I would be happy here. I was desperate to meet people and connect with them. God always knows how to comfort His children, and He was faithful again. We've begun to build friendships and connect with others. We still haven't found a place to live, but we'll be in this hotel until the beginning of December. Since our house still hasn't sold, we're grateful for this hotel. And as you can see by the picture, Chris is enjoying the hotel on gameday! He had a nice set up with 2 flat screens and a computer, so we watched 3 games simultaneously. Thanks for all your prayers! I'm so grateful for all of our friends and for their encouragement!

Ups and Downs

We've had ups and downs this week. We miss everyone back home, and when hard times come, those feelings are amplified.

The picture is our dogs playing hide and seek? Who knows what they were thinking, but they make me laugh so they can be as unique as they like. Well, that same day Kona was acting like a fool. She was barking up a storm. If you know her or have heard her bark, you know she doesn't stop and it's the west bark ever. We had a complaint about her barking. We also assume she's doing it when we leave too. So I bought her a muzzle yesterday. Hopefully that will work. We haven't had to use it yet. And yesterday she was so good! Hoping for another quiet day from Kona.

There are also good things going on here. We went to a Sound Church small group. Chris played basketball, and I went to a women's bible study. We love getting plugged in! We're looking forward to a great weekend filled with food, football, and maybe even new friends.

I love all of you and have been praying for y'all daily! Thanks for all your encouragement!

"The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what He tells you to do." Ecclesiastes 12:13

Church

On Sunday, we were excited to try a church out and finally meet people like us. The church began in February, so it was different from Building Church, which is completely normal. I don't need to go into details on differences because I don't want to compare them. We decided to go to the 301 growth track class (DISC personality test) so we could meet people and get a better understanding of the church. It definitely comforted me! This could be our church, but we'll see where God leads us. One thing they mentioned is that a couple from Church of the Highlands (in Birmingham, AL) is moving here because God called them here. They're leaving their house, jobs, and everything else! That's faith. I would love to meet them. We plan on going to small groups throughout the week. Thanks for the encouragement BC family!

On Sunday after church and before the growth track class, we decided to explore the city. Traffic in Seattle on a Sunday is like rush hour in Huntsville on a Friday afternoon. We went shopping at Nordstrom and Macy's (my two favorites other than the LOFT) before eating dinner. Restaurants in Seattle are running a promotion this week where over 100 gourmet restaurants offer a 3-course meal for $25. Normally these meals would cost $30+. We went to a Tom Douglas restaurant called Dahlia's Lounge. I had butternut squash ravioli for an appetizer, halibut with pole beans and mashed potatoes for my entree, and a flourless chocolate torte with gingerbread ice cream for dessert. I love restaurant week! We're looking forward to going out one (or two) more time(s) this week to take advantage of some great food!

Puget Sound

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This is the photo that didn't publish correctly on the last post. This is the Puget Sound taken from Mukilteo.

We've Arrived!

We arrived in Seattle (actually a suburb about 20 miles away called Mukilteo) on Tuesday afternoon. We checked in and i took the dogs to our studio hotel room. We looked around and noticed it only had a shower, no tub. Chris just went to the front desk and asked if all studio rooms only have a shower. Since they all do, they offered a free upgrade to a one bedroom hotel room with a shower/tub. It's bigger too, so we're definitely happy with that. After moving rooms, we unpacked our car and junked up our hotel room. Our hotel offers free dinner Monday-Thursday, so we ate at our hotel lobby for dinner. We found a Wal-Mart and got some laundry detergent.

Chris didn't start work until Thursday, so we relaxed on Wednesday. We slept in, did laundry, and grabbed some lunch. I wanted to see the water, so we drove to the downtown part of Mukilteo (pronounced muck-ill-tee-o) and ate fish and chips at a place called Ivan's. The picture above was taken from the pier we sat on while eating. We live in a beautiful place! We spent the rest of the day relaxing, exploring, shopping, and doing more laundry. We found a nice mall with a Nordstrom, Macy's, and a Jamba Juice...some of my favorite things.

Thursday has been the only rainy day we've had so far. Chris went to work, and I spent the day with God. I realized that I'm actually excited about the future. I'm really looking forward to trying a new church on Sunday, which is normally something that I fear. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us here. Chris already knows what he's supposed to do work-wise, and I'm excited to see what's in store for me. When Chris finished his first day, we went out for sushi to celebrate.

On Friday, I went grocery shopping and began cooking since dinner isn't provided on the weekends. Chris is enjoying work. He was ecstatic to go tour the factory where Boeing builds planes. He likes the people too. He hasn't done much technical work since he doesn't have his computer yet, but overall, he enjoys his new job.

Today we spent the morning watching College Gameday and went out to look at rental homes. We only drove around (didn't go inside any homes) but were able to figure out areas we like and get more familiar with everything. We'll spend the rest of the day watching football (of course), and I'm going to make pot roast before our game. Pacific time is really nice on gameday, usually! Roll Tide!

Roadtrip Day 8

Yesterday we drove from Bozeman, Montana to Spokane, Washington. We saw some towns in Montana named after European countries like Belgrade and Amsterdam. We got a kick out of that. Montana was pretty. It was covered with farmland, not much civilization. I did see a lone llama in a field.

We passed through Idaho, our 12th state. We stopped at a cute little mining town in Wallace, Idaho because I just couldn't pass it up! Couer d'Alene, Idaho was gorgeous! It had a lake that was surrounded by mountains. It reminded me a lot of Wyoming, especially Jackson Hole with the lake and mountains. We drove through the skinny part of Idaho, and Spokane is practically on the Washington/Idaho border. We wanted to get a picture of the Washington state sign, but it was in the median of the interstate, and we weren't willing to risk our lives for it.

So we're finally in our new home state. We are currently driving to Seattle and will be in our new home (for a month and a half) this afternoon. I can't believe it!

Roadtrip Day 7

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Today we explored Wyoming. We started the morning off by exploring the Jackson Hole area. It has such a cute downtown area. We went shopping and got some coffee and food at a local roaster and coffee house, Jackson Hole Roasters. It was really good. While we were exploring, I was thinking of Building Church. I miss it, but I know that amazing things will have taken place during our absence. Lives are being healed and people are being changed!

After that, we headed to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Grand Teton had a lot of natural beauty. There was a gorgeous lake called Jenny Lake that was surrounded by mountains and forest. Grand Teton and Yellowstone are basically connected, so we headed to Yellowstone next.

Yellowstone is full of God's beautiful creation. When I look at places that are completely full of amazing things, I realize how much He loves us. He created it all for us! We have seen Old Faithful, many other geysers, many pools including the one in the photo above (Morning Glory), wildlife (buffalo, deer, but sadly, no bears), canyons, and waterfalls.

I'm not trying to do an advertisement for the state of Wyoming, but it's a really neat place to visit. I highly recommend visiting here! We've talked about coming back to Jackson Hole for a ski trip.

We're heading to Bozeman, Montana for the night. I may be judging a book by its cover, but I imagine there's not a whole lot to do there. We'll soon find out. But for now, I'm still on a bear hunt. I really want to see a bear..any kind! I'm not picky. And by the way, we miss all of our friends and family and love all of you!

Roadtrip Day 6

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I'm a little behind on the posting. Yesterday we left Salt Lake City and headed to Jackson Hole, WY. Before leaving Salt Lake City, we went to a farmer's market and grabbed some food. We also discovered that Kona's tummy is all better, so no more yucky clean-ups. Yay!

There was a lot of natural beauty on our way to Jackson Hole. Gorgeous mountains covered with yellow and orange trees.

During our drive, I downloaded an app for listening to the radio on my phone for the Bama game. It was kind of nice driving in the mountains during the game because the phone would cut out often, so we didn't have to hear all of the heartbreaking details of the game. But I realized one thing through that game. Football may fail me, but God never has. No, football didn't fail me last year, but it did plenty of times when I was in school at Alabama. Even when my team loses, I still wear my Bama gear proudly. If I can do that, I should always 'wear' and boast in God, especially since he's never failed me!

Every time we check into a new hotel, we (Chris) completely clean out the car. Once that was finished, we headed out for dinner. We went to a place called Trio American Bistro. Chris ordered elk medallions with mashed sweet potatoes, and I ordered Idaho trout almandine with green beans and Yukon mashed potatoes. The food was really good, and the downtown Jackson Hole area was great!

Today we're exploring some more national parks. I'll do my best to update again today.

Roadtrip Day 5

Yesterday was our fifth day on the road, and I haven't even driven at all...I've offered a couple times though. :)

Yesterday morning we drove through the Las Vegas strip and went to a pawn shop...that's it. If you've seen Pawn Stars on the History channel, then you've seen the shop we went to. They had lots of neat stuff. We would have explored the strip more if we had more time. We gy back to the hotel to clean up a mess from a dog with an upset tummy. After cleaning, we packed the car and headed to Salt Lake City. We almost thought we were going to be delayed because of my car's transmission, but everything is fine! God provides!

We made it to Salt Lake City around 8:00 and grabbed dinner at a Mexican restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives called the Red Iguana. They had around 15 different mole sauces. I ordered a carnita enchilada covered with mango mole sauce. It was yummy and unique.

Next stop: Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Roadtrip Day 4

"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." Hebrews 11:3

Isn't the Grand Canyon beautiful?! Today we left Flagstaff, AZ and headed to the Grand Canyon. We walked a trail for a few hours with the doggies. When I was looking at the Grand Canyon, I kept wondering how people lack the faith to believe that this world is God's magnificent creation. Then I began to think about myself, and I often lack the faith to believe. Sometimes when I pray, I'll ask for something and believe it won't actually happen. For example, I've asked for God to have favor on us in the selling of our house. And often, I've thought that the house will never sell. A dear friend, Leah, always told me to be expectant. Now I am. I know that God knows all my needs and He will provide. I know the house will sell in His perfect timing. God has definitely timed everything perfectly in my life so far, and I believe He will continue to work His magic. It took me a while to develop the faith I have, and I still have a long way to go, but I can't wait to see where He takes me!

Roadtrip Day 3

How beautiful is the Painted Desert? After exploring Albuquerque this morning, we headed to Arizona. In Albuquerque we saw the International Balloon Fiesta where hundreds of hot air balloonists are in the sky for a week all at the same time...pretty cool! Then we visited Old Town Albuquerque and grabbed lunch at the same place we ate last night. Normally I like to try different places, but it was just so good! My new favorite thing is posole or green chile stew. They also had the best flour tortillas! I could eat those all day. After I spilled some posole on myself and my pillow, we headed to Arizona.

As you can see by the picture, we visited the Painted Desert. The Petrified Forest is in the same park, and we saw that too. It has tons of petrified wood scattered all over the forest. One really cool thing we saw when we were leaving the park was the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ. Have you seen the movie Cars? Well, it looked like it came straight out of it. There was even a Towmater parked in front of one of the Wigwam teepees. I'll post those pictures later.

We're stopping in Flagstaff, AZ for the night. We haven't eaten yet, so we'll grab some food before bedtime. But we have to rest up because tomorrow is the Grand Canyon!

There are so many pictures I'll post later when I get my computer back...yes, I said back! It's all better! The Apple store fixed the recalled video board. God is always faithful. He reminded me of that yesterday through the "healing" of my computer and through His word. I was beginning to get anxious about our house selling when I read some feedback from a realtor that showed the house last week (on moving day by the way). I decided to read His word so my fears would be calmed. I know that He will always provide but sometimes I just need reassurance. This is the verse I read, "For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do." Hebrews 6:10

Roadtrip Day 2

Yesterday was our second day on the road. We left Dallas (actually Arlington) in the morning and headed to Lubbock to visit people. Our friends, David and Shelley are in grad school at Texas Tech, and my cousin, Ashley is a freshman there. We went to David and Shelley's apartment and ate lunch with them. Even though we only saw them for a little bit, it was really good to see them! Then we met up with Ashley for coffee. I hadn't seen her in over a year, so I'm glad we were able to see each other!

After leaving Lubbock, we headed to Albuquerque, NM. We got there about 8:30 and ate some really good southwestern food! It was super cheap and super good. We had this green chile stew that was pretty spicy and amazing! Today we're headed to Flagstaff, AZ...eventually. We're watching hot air balloons land right now at the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.

Roadtrip Day 1

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We have finally begun our journey to Seattle. We left a little later than planned. You'd be amazed how much we were able to stuff in this car!

Today we went through Alabama (of course), Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas. We're stopping in Dallas tonight and heading to Albuquerque tomorrow. And we get to see our friends, Shelley and David tomorrow in Lubbock!! My only goal for the rest of today is to get some good Tex-Mex food...I miss it a lot!