White As Snow

"Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool." Isaiah 1:18 NLT

On Tuesday night, we were blessed with a beautiful snow shower. Unfortunately it melted throughout the night (weird Seattle weather--we woke up to rain). But I definitely enjoyed it while it lasted. The girls (what I call my two dogs) and I went outside late at night to play in the snow. Notice all the dog footprints. They had a blast out there!

As you can tell by Kona's beard, she had lots of fun in the snow. She was constantly eating it, as if she hadn't eaten in days!

Marlowe also had fun. She was eating the snow like it was going out of style as well (and I guess it did kind of go out of style); she just doesn't have a beard, so the snow doesn't stick to her.

Snow is so beautiful, and I don't think it's because I'm not used to it. It's beautiful for its stark white color. It covers up dirt and other stuff. Our yard mostly consists of dirt and pine needles, so when I walk outside, my shoes are always dirty. When it snows, I bring no dirt in the house.

Though our sins are like scarlet, God will make them as white as snow. When it snows, I'm reminded of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He took away all the dirt and grime from our lives and covered us with snow, His salvation for our lives.

2010 Year in Review Part 2

We spent a couple days in Vancouver, BC, which is only about 3 1/2 hours from Seattle.

We biked 10 miles or so around Stanley Park.

Chris found a hotdog place he really loved!! Japadog serves hotdogs Japanese style with toppings like seaweed, edamame, japanese mayo, etc.

We took a day trip to Victoria, BC. We visited Butchart Gardens and later went whale watching.

We went whale watching in the San Juan Islands. Don't you love my stylish outfit? It was necessary...the water was wet and cold.

We saw a baby orca whale and its mother.

In July, we went to Charleston with my parents for my birthday. This was taken on the boat heading to Ft. Sumter.

Look at the table behind us (not at Chris's blurry face). I was being a papparazzi so I could get a picture of Dwayne Wade (great basketball player for the Miami Heat) and his girlfriend, Gabrielle Union (she was in Bring It On).

Shelley and David got married in June.

We went to Alabama Football games.

Gorgeous sunset at Bryant-Denny!

We had a going away volleyball party at our house. It was so much fun! I miss all of y'all!

Kendal, Me, Heidi, Nikki, and Elisa (in back saluting someone?? Haha) at another party. I miss all of my Building Church girls so much! Love you!

The toughest and most exciting part of 2010: moving to Seattle!

If you've been following our blog, you already know we drove to Seattle. On our 8 day roadtrip, we went through Lubbock, TX to visit the Potters (or as Chris calls them, the Pottys).

We also made it to the Grand Canyon and hiked around the park.

Jenny Lake at Grand Teton National Park

Snake River in Wyoming

If you come to visit Seattle, you'll definitely go here...great food, fun shopping, and it's close to everything.

The Public Market has gorgeous flowers year round (they're even better in summer), and each bouquet is generally less than $10.

Public Market decorated for Christmas

This is taken in Mukilteo, which is where we live. The photo on our blog header was taken at this same location by Christopher.

We went to Roloff Farms on October 30th and met Amy Roloff,

Molly Roloff,

and Matt Roloff.

If you've watched Little People Big World on TLC, you recognize this sign.

We spent Thanksgiving in Tuscaloosa, AL because the Bama/Auburn game was the following day.

We spent Christmas in Alpharetta, GA...

...and had our first White Christmas! We also built our first snowman.

This is the last photo we have of 2010. We had a Christmas party and visited our Bama friends in Birmingham. It was so much fun! And the group is growing! The first and last picture I had from 2010 was of these people. I love my friends!

2010 was a great year, and I'm looking forward to all that will come from 2011!

2010 in Review Part 1

We barely put up any photos from 2010, so this post is dedicated to catching everyone up on 2010.

The first image we have is from Steph and Nathan's Wedding in January. It was a beautiful, frigid day. The wedding was very romantic...I love winter weddings!

This is where we were on January 7th last year, the National Championship!

We were pretty happy after winning!

My first grade class on Field Day making silly faces!

The dogs braving the little amount of snow we had in Huntsville in February. Don't you love their outfits? Marlowe says, "Roll Tide!"

Fast Forward to April: Sarah and Matt got married!!

Then on May 16, 2010, we celebrated our first anniversary! The cake still looked and tasted really good!

To celebrate our anniversary, we took a trip to Seattle and Canada in June. We checked into the Hotel 1000 in Seattle and had this waiting for us in our room.

Beautiful view of the city from the Space Needle!

This photo is taken from the Space Needle.

Another view of the city that we now live in.

Provision

Right now, I can identify with Abraham's story in Genesis 22. We've probably all heard this story. God called Abraham to offer his beloved son as a burnt offering to test his faith. Abraham really loved and feared God, so he took Isaac, some wood, and a knife. When they arrived at the place where God told them to go, Abraham began preparing to sacrifice his son. But before he could touch Isaac, an angel of the Lord told him not to touch Isaac, for he has proven his fear of the Lord. Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram in a thicket, so he sacrificed it to God. Abraham named this place Yahweh-Yireh, which means "the Lord will provide."

God gives us many tests in life. We may have suffered a loss of a loved one, suffered a loss of a job, moved, etc. God didn't ask us to sacrifice anyone; He asked us to move to Seattle. Moving here has definitely tested my faith. I've been trying to believe that finances will improve and that we will feel at home here. God's timing is not my timing, but His timing is perfect!

Last week we had interest in our home from a renter and a buyer. The buyer made an offer on our house. At this point, we haven't heard anything back from the buyer after countering the offer, but God gave has provided no matter what happens. If the house sells or rents, we won't have to pay two house payments anymore! Since September, I've been praying for this, and God provided. So now when I think of Seattle (aka Yahweh-Yireh) I think of God's provision. He is faithful!! Praise God!