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!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I realize I've been delinquent on blog posts, but I'll do an update within this coming week. We've been busy visiting families for the holidays and moving into our new home in Washington. Thanks to Pastor Pat, I know have a working and like new computer!! Our photos are now on it, so I can post good pictures from our life. I will soon share all that happened at the end of 2010, and I'll keep it up in 2011. Thanks in advance for holding me accountable.

Let It Snow

Before we left Seattle to go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, we got some snow! Being from the South, snow is a winter treat, so I was very excited! It's just so beautiful. The picture is of our new home.

I have now learned how to drive in snow and ice (not very well but I can do it). The city sort of shut down because of the weather. All schools were closed among many other places. I figured Seattle would be prepared for this weather, but they're not. Highways and major roads are cleared but residential roads are not.

The day of our flight to Atlanta, we planned on picking up some skis for me. We didn't realize we had to drive down an icy hill to get them. I have a new saying: what goes down must come up. We couldn't make it up either hill. We kept sliding backwards multiple times. It was really scary! We felt so out of control! Our flight was leaving in less than 2 hours, and we were stuck. I prayed and called AAA. Right when I got through to AAA, Chris decided to give it one more try. We made it and were so relieved! I believe God saved us from the pit we got ourselves into!

It looks like it's going to be a pretty cold winter!

Black and White

One thing I've been learning about God lately is that He is black and white about most things. Just to clarify, I'm not talking about things that are of little importance: tattoos, piercings, drinking, food, etc. But He is very clear on what is black and white.

I think the most important thing to understand is that we live in a world where a battle exists between life and death. Life is God and all that brings glory to Him. Death is from satan and all that brings glory to him.

Words can bring life or death. Let's say a child doesn't do very well on a project. We can choose to speak life or death to the child. By saying, "You'll never amount to anything," we are building up satan's kingdom. But by saying, "I see great potential in you," we are building up God's kingdom.

God is very black and white. Are we speaking words of life or death? Are our actions building up God's kingdom or satan's kingdom? Are the clothes we're wearing causing another to stumble? Are the things I'm watching advancing satan's kingdom? By not keeping my mouth shut, did I speak words of death to another?

When we think about building up God's kingdom or satan's kingdom, it sounds so easy. Of course we don't want to build up satan's kingdom, but there are times when we've all done it. The hardest thing for me are the things I speak and the things I watch. It's so hard to watch a movie or flip on the tv and find a show that's not advancing satan's kingdom. But just remember...

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

"The battle is not against human flesh but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:11-12

We are in a battle against life and death. Which side are you on?