We get a four-day vacation! We're headed home (to my parent's house) this evening for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is always a good time. There's no snow yet there, but often Thanksgiving brings in the first dusting, so we're crossing our fingers that we should be so lucky. Isaac, especially, is a lover of the snow. I could take it or leave it, but mainly just because it's painful (yes, painful) for me to be cold, and I get cold far too easily to be living in the Northwest. But the first snow is always exciting enough to help me look past the freezing temperatures and enjoy the piles of white stuff. Can I just insert here that last winter we visited my parents' house and there was at least four and a half feet of snow on the ground! It was insane! And so fun to play in! Naturally, I don't have pictures of that incredible event to share with you, so you'll have to use your imagination, but it was something. I've never seen snow like that in all my years there!

In other news, I registered at the community college up here yesterday for my first two pre-req classes...Nutrition 101 and Pre-Calculus. And I got into both of them, which is no small feat considering I was scheduled to register after every single other person at the college since I was a newbie. I know I've said this a dozen times, but I'm really excited to start the classes. I've been plugging away at the Algebra book I got almost every night so I can have it finished by the time Pre-Cal starts and I am still oddly enjoying the math.

In even more other news, Isaac and I have discovered the secret to amazing food...are you ready for it?? Shredded chicken. Yes, shredded chicken. I apologize in advance to all of you who might find this portion of the post rather boring, but it's fresh on my mind from a meal we made yesterday, so bear with me. We tried it for the first time in a Thai recipe a few weeks ago because Isaac loves being as authentic as possible when it comes to cooking and he had noticed that in all the Thai restaurants he'd been to, they always tear their chicken instead of chopping it with a knife. So we tried it and are hooked! There's such a difference in flavor, it seems to soak up so much more of the goodness when it's shredded. And not only in Thai dishes, but in any style of food. We've had it in soup and Mexican dishes as well and it's been phenomenal in all! Mmm, mmm, mmm. I sure got lucky when I married a chef.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

Winter is here...

Today marked the first day that I had to warm up my car for a substantial amount of time before I left for work so that the sheet of ice could melt before I needed to drive.

Winter is here.

Boo.

It happened...

I finally did it. I gathered my books, notebooks, calculator, and pen, kissed my husband goodbye, got in my car...and went to Starbucks to study last week. Now this may not seem like a significant event to those of you who haven't chosen to reside in the sprawling metropolis of a college town, but to those of us who have, it speaks volumes. Loud and clear, it shouts to all the world that I am officially a student again. Or a nerd, depending on which of my friends you ask, I suppose. Either way, I never thought the time would come when I would wholeheartedly embrace that title again, but, lo and behold, that time did come and I am actually rather excited to bear that name...of student, not of nerd, thank you. I probably should have waited to post this until I was actually a student since there's still a week before I get to register, but it's close enough. Presently I am taking myself through an Algebra textbook to make sure I'll be up to speed in the Pre-Cal class that I'm hoping to get into in January. I can hardly believe I'm even doing that to be honest. My last thoughts after graduating from Western all centered around the incredible joy I had of finally being done. You couldn't have paid me to open up another textbook or step foot in the library again. I dreaded even going back to campus because I just wanted to be separated from the schooling aspect of life; I was done with it and busy fully embracing the high life with my newfound free time. And here I am, two years later, buying textbooks to study for hours each week for a class I'm not even in! Okay, my friends are right. I am a nerd. But the moral of this story is that I am really, really enjoying being a nerd, and that's all that matters, right?

In other news, Isaac and I have been married for two months already! This is the most celebrating we're going to do because my dear husband said that now that we're married, we don't get to celebrate every month anniversary like we did in dating. Sigh. Oh well, we'll at least be home together this evening to snuggle up and watch some Simpsons or read our books. We do enjoy being married to each other, that's for sure.

Watching Grass Grow...

Remember when we started to grow our grass a couple of weeks ago? Well, the wheat grass has just taken off! Check out it's growth! I'm not sure the roots have any room left to grow, but generally this stuff grows at least half an inch a day, if not more. We never would have thought that watching grass grow could actually be entertaining. And Isaac's green thumb is turning greener every day. He's been reading all about our plants and what each individual one likes best, how we can keep them happy and healthy, and what would be the best new plants to add to our little family. He loves it! The sound of the water bottle misting the plants has become a constant in our house. And it makes me smile every time I hear it.

Come and listen...

Come and listen, come to the water's edge, all you who know and fear the Lord.
Come and listen, come to the water's edge all you who are thirsty, come.

Let me tell you what He has done for me.
Let me tell you what He has done for me,
He has done for you,
He has done for us.

Come and listen,
come and listen to what He's done.
Come and listen,
come and listen to what He's done.

Praise our God for He is good.
Praise our God for He is good.
Praise our God for He is good.
Praise our God for He is good.

He has done for me,
He has done for you,
He has done for us.

Come and listen,
come and listen to what He's done.
Come and listen,
come and listen to what He's done.

These words by David Crowder say it so well. One of the things that has brought me so much peace, in most of my life, I'm sure, but specifically in these past few years living up here has been how many people around me are open and willing to share the deep details of their lives with others. They share their struggles, their joys, ways they've seen the Lord work, times they've felt the Lord wasn't there, deep heartaches, everything. There have been so many times that I have been in the midst of a struggle and one of those people in my life has pulled me aside and invited me to come and listen to what He's done in their life. The power of sharing those things is incredible because the temptation for me is to think that I'm all alone in my struggle, that I'm never going to be able to get out of it, that things will never be okay again. But because the people around me have been so open with their lives, I've learned that struggle is so often a mainstay of this life. There will always be points of deep struggle, but they won't last forever. There will be points of deep joy as well. There will be times when the Lord feels so close, and times when it feels like He's nowhere to be found. It's in those times that people come to me and share the truth that what he has done for them, he will do for me. And you know what? He really has. And what he has done for us, he will do for you.

Red Carpet Night...

Let me first say that the nerf war Isaac and the guys held for the youth on Friday was a HUGE success! Seventy rowdy youngsters (and not so youngsters) gathered, gorged themselves with a couple dozen pizzas and a load of soda, and then pulverized each other for four hours straight. And the layout Isaac made was so creative. The youth room was filled with obstacles made of cardboard and duct tape, construction fencing, butcher paper, huge boards, and plexiglass shields. So awesome! I wish I had a picture of it for you guys, but I, believe it or not, chose a girls' night over attending the warlock. What was I thinking?

I do have pictures for you, however, from the Red Carpet Night we had for the youth this past Sunday. We made it like the Academy Awards, and everyone came either super dressed up or dressed up like their favorite person of fame, then everyone got an award for things like "Most likely to take over the world." I, of course, chose to represent all my brothers and sisters in the world of country music and came as Carrie Underwood. However, I tell you with great sadness that country music is sorely under-appreciated up here in the land of the 'ham, and some people didn't even know who Carrie was! Unbelievable. My handsome husband went for the 70's look, and our youth pastor mistook him for one of the Beatles. I've never been more proud.

In true Academy Awards style, we had some famous artists performing songs, one of which was the Isaac/Justin duo. I have no idea how Dan ended up booking them, but I'll tell you what, the girls were in for a treat. So fun. There were screaming fans flooding the mosh pit as soon as these two took the stage. The girls were going crazy! I just leaned back and smiled with pride that, yes, this handsome rockstar was mine forever. Sigh.

This was my first time back at youth group since this summer and it was so nice to get to see all my girls again. I know that I needed to rest and I needed to take a break from youth ministry for a while - it was the right thing to do - but my heart still yearns to love these girls. Maybe someday I'll be ready to get to be in their lives full-time again. I can only hope...

A little morning intrigue...

I've been part of a Bible Study at my church for the past month or so, and we've been going through 2 Samuel and the life of David. Chapter by chapter, just reading it as it is written and discussing what his life would have looked like, what his thoughts might have been, things like that. The thing that sticks out to me the most is the deep consequences of his sin...it's almost overwhelming. The short of it is that David desired another man's wife and slept with her, got her pregnant, and then killed her husband so she could become his wife. In those days, I think the punishment of murdering like that was death, which God spared him of, but the Lord made it very clear that there would be intense consequences for this sin. And there were. It's sobering to read through his life chronologically and watch the results of that sin affect him in so many tragic ways. It really makes me think about the actions and thoughts of myself; how many of those sins will I live out the consequences for?

But there's another aspect to David's story that is intriguing. Throughout his whole life, he is a man who puts his faith in the Lord, he knows God is the true God and worthy of his praise all the time. And even when tragedy after tragedy strikes him and his family after his choice of Bathsheba, he does not turn against the Lord. He does not curse God and tell God that if he loved him, he would prevent these hurts from happening. Some of the Psalms are labeled as to what time in David's life they were written, so we get even more of a look into David's heart, and whatever happens in his life, David still trusts that the Lord is walking with him. He seems to just know that these hard things are a result of sin in the world, both his and those around him, and that the true way to overcome is to turn to the Lord and praise him and trust him.

It's a good example, and so encouraging to see a man who was plagued with intense hardships, yet he knew...really knew...that it doesn't make God unloving if he doesn't prevent hurt from coming into your life. Rather because God is loving, he will be your strength as you walk through the hurt of sin in this world.

And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

Like little boys at Christmas...

Why, you might ask is an arsenal of neon yellow nerf guns piled against the far wall in our bedroom? Why is the living room littered with dozens of nerf bullets shot from a gigantic, automatic Vulcan EBF 25? Why did we just buy 19 more nerf guns last night at Target? One might look at this situation from the outside and think it strange, seeing two grown men (that would be Isaac and Justin) glowing like little boys at Christmas at the sight of their stash of weaponry. However, to the women in these guys' lives, it is no surprise whatsoever. Little in this life bring Isaac and Justin, and Tommy for that matter, more joy than ambushing one another with their nerf artillary. But alas, the arsenal is not for them. Well, not fully for them anyway. Isaac and Justin are hosting a youth event this Friday that involves four hours of nerf warfare, and I dare say, this might be one of the best attended youth events thus far. Apparently I, J, and T are not the only ones in this town who find nerf guns exhilarating. So think of my husband this Friday night with a smile on your face as you picture him racing through the dark sanctuary attacking poor, innocent middle and high schoolers with hundreds of bright orange bullets. He'll be having the time of his life!

Sailors and Witches...

As you all know, Friday night was Halloween and, as you all probably don't know, every year up here we ring in Halloween with a community-wide Harvest party at our church (recall the Star-Bellied Sneeches from last year). It's a huge event where we clear out our sanctuary and fill it with super creative decorations and dozens of booths of games that the kiddos can come play in exchange for more candy than they could ever eat in a lifetime. Well, close to that anyway. This year's theme was Narnia...as in the Chronicles of Narnia...so Isaac and I dressed accordingly. Isaac, as you can see, is a sailor straight out of Narnia. It is tradition for Isaac, Justin and their small group to create a booth out of the pvc pipe cannon they made a couple years back. Every few minutes, they stuff the cannon full of candy and set it off, shooting piles of candy across the room. It's definitely the hit of the Harvest Party every time. If you recall, one of the books is about the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (a ship), so this year, they built a little ship, strapped the cannon to it, and put on their best sailor attire. So handsome. As for me, I was positive no one was going to want to be the evil character at the church party, and someone was going to have to do it, so I selflessly volunteered myself for the role and exuberantly began putting together my best White Witch costume. So fun! Don't worry, I wasn't glaring all night, I only scared a small handful of children, and I got to wear my wedding dress a second time! What more could I ask for? All in all, it was a success. There's nothing better than spending Halloween with hundreds of the cutest little bumblebees, princesses, cowboys, and firemen.