Changed Plans

I just want to praise the Lord for his many blessings...because as I start this blog and realize I have SO much to blog about, I realize how blessed I am to have all these things to blog about. I have a wonderful husband who works so hard and loves me so much, a beautiful daughter who brings me so much joy...we had a wonderful surprise vacation and a great visit from my parents, and extra special time with my bro, sis -in-law, and niece...I have a wonderful church body and ladies I am able to study the Word with...I have a beautiful home to take care of and food I have the privilege of cooking...and ALL these things from my wonderfull, merciful, gracious Savior. Yes! I am indeed blessed!

So...about that vacation :) Most of you know the whole story, but even if this is only so I don't forget, I figure I'll tell you the story! I called my sister while we were on the way to the airport in the morning on October 19th. During the phone call she informed me Micah and Bryan were sick, and the doctor advised to get them tested for Swine flu, because that would be dangerous for a baby. Aaron and I still decided to go, thinking "what are the odds it is swine flu?" Well, the odds beat us, and we listened to a message from her during our stop in San Jose to inform us it was indeed swine flu. My first reaction was shock....shocked at the fact that this trip that I had been looking forward to for many months was going to be different, and I wasn't going to get to see my precious family. Then the tears started to flow...I was extremely disappointed.

It didn't take long for me to see the Lord had been working and planning this all along. Aaron and I feel our lives are pretty easy, so he has to throw us a trial here and there if we are really going to be like Christ...right?? :) Well, I think so! One of the first things that came to mind on the plane was something Dr. Barrack said in the church the night before. He said "Christians have no trouble saying they trust in God's sovereignty, but do they really live like it when things don't go as planned or how we would like." (something like that anyways). I immediately realized God was testing to see if we would live joyfully in his sovereignty or be dragged along kicking and screaming...I think we did a little of both.

When my parents found out the situation, they immediately tried to "make" a vacation for just the three of us...thinking this is what we needed. My dad immediately went searching for a place for us to stay and have a relaxed vacation. I can't tell you how much of Christ I saw in my parents through there selfless desire to gift us with a vacation, and use the Lord's money to serve us...which they got tremendous joy out of. At first I didn't really want to go (I know...ridiculous...this is the kicking and screaming part) beca

I just want to praise the Lord for his many blessings...because as I start this blog and realize I have SO much to blog about, I realize how blessed I am to have all these things to blog about. I have a wonderful husband who works so hard and loves me so much, a beautiful daughter who brings me so much joy...we had a wonderful surprise vacation and a great visit from my parents, and extra special time with my bro, sis -in-law, and niece...I have a wonderful church body and ladies I am able to study the Word with...I have a beautiful home to take care of and food I have the privilege of cooking...and ALL these things from my wonderfull, merciful, gracious Savior. Yes! I am indeed blessed! So...about that vacation :) Most of you know the whole story, but even if this is only so I don't forget, I figure I'll tell you the story! I called my sister while we were on the way to the airport in the morning on October 19th. During the phone call she informed me Micah and Bryan were sick, and the doctor advised to get them tested for Swine flu, because that would be dangerous for a baby. Aaron and I still decided to go, thinking "what are the odds it is swine flu?" Well, the odds beat us, and we listened to a message from her during our stop in San Jose to inform us it was indeed swine flu. My first reaction was shock....shocked at the fact that this trip that I had been looking forward to for many months was going to be different, and I wasn't going to get to see my precious family. Then the tears started to flow...I was extremely disappointed. It didn't take long for me to see the Lord had been working and planning this all along. Aaron and I feel our lives are pretty easy, so he has to throw us a trial here and there if we are really going to be like Christ...right?? :) Well, I think so! One of the first things that came to mind on the plane was something Dr. Barrack said in the church the night before. He said "Christians have no trouble <span style="font-style: italic;">saying</span> they trust in God's sovereignty, but do they really <span style="font-style: italic;">live</span> like it when things don't go as planned or how we would like." (something like that anyways). I immediately realized God was testing to see if we would live joyfully in his sovereignty or be dragged along kicking and screaming...I think we did a little of both. When my parents found out the situation, they immediately tried to "make" a vacation for just the three of us...thinking this is what we needed. My dad immediately went searching for a place for us to stay and have a relaxed vacation. I can't tell you how much of Christ I saw in my parents through there selfless desire to gift us with a vacation, and use the Lord's money to serve us...which they got tremendous joy out of. At first I didn't really want to go (I know...ridiculous...this is the kicking and screaming part) because I was so looking forward to spending time with family, that I didn't want to do anything else. It makes me sad to even write that, because I should have been thrilled at the prospect of spending quality time with my husband, who probably felt somewhat unloved. Anyways, both Aaron and I were a little emotional and weren't sure if we should accept this gift from my parents if we couldn't truly appreciate it, but they pretty much made us go, and we are SOOO thankful they did!!! We stayed a few days at David and Michelle's, and were incredibly thankful for their hospitality (I think Michelle made me gain a couple punds in the two days we were there with all the yummy baking she did :)). So we got to spend a little extra time with them and Paul, which was a blessing. We also hit downtown Seattle, and ate yummy New England Chowder and the best hot chocolate we have ever had. This was the first day that the excitement of spending fun, precious time with my husband and daughter really set in, and I knew that this was going to be a great time! Well, my parents sent us to an inn in Ocean Shores, WA right on the coast! We rented a car and drove through the beautiful fall colors to get there. We borrowed some things from David and Michelle, and even a baby bjorn from their friends! We went for a walk on the chilly(and dlightful!) beach every day, which was beautiful! Just the sound of the ocean makes me happy :) We played games, went for walks to get coffe, cuddled on the couch and watched a couple movies. We even went bowling...and I'm ashamed to say he crushed me! It was SO restful...and obvioulsy what the Lord knew we needed. It kinda makes me laugh that all those months that I was excited for one trip, the Lord knew it would be a whole different trip. God is SO amazing, and I am so grateful that He knows what is best and gives us what is best, even when it comes in hard packages. The fact that he gave us something diffucult so that we might learn lessons and become more like His Son is SO worth it! Our Heavenly Father is all we really need in life to be joyful! Something my husband said on our trip is that the Lord was showing us HOW much we have to be thankful for and showing us what is most important to Him. The Lord should be my ultimate source of joy, and beyond that my husband and daughter should be the next. Extended family is the cherry on top, but my immediate family is the ice cream (that was Aaron's analogy! Sorry family if that makes you feel like an outcast, but being a cherry is really not that bad...I LOVE cherries!). AND as most of you know...we got to see my sister's family and meet the boys anyway!!! They all got better really fast (praise be to God), so we were able to drive over to Yakima and spend a day with them. I am so thankful for that precious day with my sister and her wonderful family. We are so grateful to meet the new "babies" in the family too. They are precious! Aaron and Bryan even watched all the kids so my sister and I could go out for a cup of coffee, which was such a blessing! Aaron also took all the boys to Lowes to get items to make the game "ladder golf", and they made all in a couple hours! It was such a blessing to see my husband so excited to do something fun for his nieces and nephews! We then drove through the first snow storm of the year to get back to the airport and then proceeded to go through the worst turbulance ever on our plane ride home...strangers were literaly holding hands from fear of going down (no joke!). Thankfully Linnea slept through most of the plane rides...she did great!! I was holding her when I stepped off the plane into 55 mph winds and almost blew away with her (also no joke!:)) ...that immediately told us why there was so much turbulance. So...whew...that about sums it up. The verse that immediately came use I was so looking forward to spending time with family, that I didn't want to do anything else. It makes me sad to even write that, because I should have been thrilled at the prospect of spending quality time with my husband, who probably felt somewhat unloved. Anyways, both Aaron and I were a little emotional and weren't sure if we should accept this gift from my parents if we couldn't truly appreciate it, but they pretty much made us go, and we are SOOO thankful they did!!!

We stayed a few days at David and Michelle's, and were incredibly thankful for their hospitality (I think Michelle made me gain a couple punds in the two days we were there with all the yummy baking she did :)). So we got to spend a little extra time with them and Paul, which was a blessing. We also hit downtown Seattle, and ate yummy New England Chowder and the best hot chocolate we have ever had. This was the first day that the excitement of spending fun, precious time with my husband and daughter really set in, and I knew that this was going to be a great time!

Well, my parents sent us to an inn in Ocean Shores, WA right on the coast! We rented a car and drove through the beautiful fall colors to get there. We borrowed some things from David and Michelle, and even a baby bjorn from their friends! We went for a walk on the chilly(and dlightful!) beach every day, which was beautiful! Just the sound of the ocean makes me happy :) We played games, went for walks to get coffee, cuddled on the couch and watched a couple movies. We even went bowling...and I'm ashamed to say he crushed me! It was SO restful...and obvioulsy what the Lord knew we needed.
It kinda makes me laugh that all those months that I was excited for one trip, the Lord knew it would be a whole different trip. God is SO amazing, and I am so grateful that He knows what is best and gives us what is best, even when it comes in hard packages. The fact that he gave us something diffucult so that we might learn lessons and become more like His Son is SO worth it!
Our Heavenly Father is all we really need in life to be joyful! Something my husband said on our trip is that the Lord was showing us HOW much we have to be thankful for and showing us what is most important to Him. The Lord should be my ultimate source of joy, and beyond that my husband and daughter should be the next. Extended family is the cherry on top, but my immediate family is the ice cream (that was Aaron's analogy! Sorry family if that makes you feel like an outcast, but being a cherry is really not that bad...I LOVE cherries!).

AND as most of you know...we got to see my sister's family and meet the boys anyway!!! They all got better really fast (praise be to God), so we were able to drive over to Yakima and spend a day with them. I am so thankful for that precious day with my sister and her wonderful family. We are so grateful to meet the new "babies" in the family too. They are precious! Aaron and Bryan even watched all the kids so my sister and I could go out for a cup of coffee, which was such a blessing! Aaron also took all the boys to Lowes to get items to make the game "ladder golf", and they made all in a couple hours! It was such a blessing to see my husband so excited to do something fun for his nieces and nephews!

We then drove through the first snow storm of the year to get back to the airport and then proceeded to go through the worst turbulance ever on our plane ride home...strangers were literally holding hands from fear of going down (no joke!). Thankfully Linnea slept through most of the plane rides...she did great!! I was holding her when I stepped off the plane into 55 mph winds and almost blew away with her (also no joke!:)) ...that immediately told us why there was so much turbulence.

This is what she did for most of the plane rides

Downtown Seattle

Is she embarrassed?....no....just sleeping :)

All bundled up!

...and again...

I think the verse that came to mind quite often during that trip is Isaiah 55:8, which says, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways,' declares the Lord." I don't know that he could have demonstrated that to us in any better way! His ways are indeed better...well better than better, they are BEST!

ps...sorry if the pictures being on the sides and therefore making the words practically vertical gives you a headache. It's a little crazier than I had imagined :P