The Lord Establishes His Steps

Yesterday we got to enjoy some sunshine at Clayton Beach. This is one of my favorite spots in Whatcom County. I love the smell of the salt water, being able to see "waves", and taking in the sight of the islands that surround us! We are so blessed to live in such a place that has farm lands and oceans and mountains, I surely couldn't ask for more.

Even though the beach was calm, we were in the midst of lots of calling back and forth with our Realtor. Yesterday we signed the paper that resigned our offer on a little house we have been waiting for this past month. In short, it didn't appraise for the full amount of our offer, since the market is just starting to swing back up the bank is still comparing it to other homes that sold for a cheaper price a few months ago. It felt like we were abandoning our little house, I have stacks of paint samples all picked out and ready to go.

Wes was reading this morning Proverbs 16:9 (ESV) 

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." 

The Lord has put our feet on a new path for a reason, I am so thankful He doesn't do things without having a reason or a purpose, either for our learning and molding, or for His glory. Maybe it was a way of teaching us to trust, maybe it was a way of teaching us to not call our dollars our own, maybe we were being protected from thing that we aren't aware of. The possibilities of lessons to learn are many, His steps for our lives are what we want. As I feel a let down giving up my paint samples I am also feeling a sense of gladness in resting in  His strength to establish our steps. We are blessed!

Horse Fun!

 I was one of those girls who read a stack of horse books, dreamed while looking at pictures of horses, and became ecstatic if I got to ride a real live one! While I don't drool over horse books anymore, I still enjoy the incredible beauty that our Creator put into these animals!

What better than two sweet girls, who love horses as well, to go with you on a adventure in hopes of spying a horse!? Katherine and Frances were such fun company as we wandered around the Draft Horse Show in Lynden this past weekend. There was not much happening as it was the afternoon, but there was a small show going on for part of the time. Not to over-tell of the sweetness of these girls, but they were so content as we just enjoyed what was there. We managed to find some facepainting at the Raspberry Festival (again no complaints with the rain...wow!) and very much enjoyed a close up view of the foal. You can see it in the picture, it was missing its mom and letting everyone know that she should be with him and not out in the ring. Even though it was not as big of a show as I was hoping for, seeing this little fuzzy guy made it very worth it. A big thank you to those two for tagging along with me and keeping me company. A summer highlight!

Impressed by my Mocha :)

The beauty of living in a rainy land is the local coffee shops who put so much into their coffee! 

How We Celebrate

Our usual, sharing an order of Chicken Fettuccine

Lemonade

Shrimp Appetizer

Lots of tasty food on a night out to celebrate His goodness! Love these dates with my hubby.

Homemaker Gone Pro

This has been me, the barrista, for a year and a half. Many espresso shots later I am moving into a new season of life. I am thrilled to pieces about the change of schedule. I was so thankful at the time to get this job when I did, the Lord's timing is good in both coming and going. Now after a short and wonderful time of being married I am "retiring" to focus more on home.

Even though it will probably be just the two of us for a while still, one of the reasons for me quiting the coffee shop was to be able to enjoy this season to the fullest, just "us" only happens once! 

 A disclaimer for my fellow younger married ladies is that I really think there is nothing wrong with working outside the home before kids, as long as you have your husbands support and encouragement. For my friends with more energy, and for those who love their jobs, and to those who are being great helpers to their husbands by working a bit...I think you guys are pretty awesome.

We are looking forward to being more flexible to: attend family gatherings, go camping, and do more outdoorsy things over the summer! Wes is excited at the thought of having me here when he arrives home from work, what a joy that is! We are also looking forward to getting to work on projects and ministries together, with me bugging him or helping.

Ask me about the adventures I have planned if you are curios, they will probably include some form of canning, biking in our beautiful Northwest, soaking up sunshine, walks with Wes, visits with grandmas, coffee with friends, meals with family, some scrapbooking (requested by Wes, boy what a hard request), a bit of sewing, and keeping our home a clean and welcoming place! 

 Come for a homemade espresso...I will probably be here smiling away.

Cheers to Woods, may you do well, I will miss my Cedar Iced Americanos with White Chocolate!

Nikon D7000

 This past weekend we got to take the ferry to San Juan Island. It was partly for fun, party for the purpose of looking at a camera that was listed on craigslist. I was glad we were able to arrange it so that I could go along after getting off work! We were thankful we made the ferry, barely made it would be more accurate! We were running down from the upper parking lot hoping we would make it. Thankfully there were a lot of other people getting on too, slowing down the ferry, so we did make it.

While on the ferry we got to enjoy the view (the itouch photo does not do it justice!). We went through some of Wes' flashcards for his last test on the roads of Ferndale. We were blessed with the ideal day, it was sunny and warm. After meeting up with the man selling the camera we got to walk around town and admirer the cute shops and the harbor. We even ordered one of our favorite things, Pad Thai, and shared it in the sun on the ferry dock.

What a nice afternoon! The "fun" of the journey was great, and we even accomplished the mission and got the camera. Wesley has been very patient with upgrading his current one. He has been eyeing this particular one but did not have any extremely important reason for putting out that kind of cash. We decided to invest though, in the one he has been looking at, with the realization that it also takes high definition video! I am excited for him to have a project that has such beautiful products. Anyone needing a wedding videographer? ;)

A photo from the new camera as we were landing.....

Jalapenos N' Pizza

     I had a craving for pizza last night, one of the girls at work ordered one and got it right there at the coffee shop! That got me really thinking. So after I got off work I did the quick "google trick" for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I tried this recipe for the dough and really liked it. I let it sit for about an hour while going to the Y, it doesn't say to do that, but it worked. I liked how it snuck in some wheat germ, who knew? I also pulled out some jalapenos from a jar, boy, what a kick! We dipped it in a lot more ranch than was healthy I am sure, but it was good. I was proud of the fact that mine was much healthier and cheaper than the delivered one, 15 plus a tip for delivering it, for a tiny thing...this lasted us two meals! My fun in the kitchen from yesterday. :)

The toppings:
left over spaghetti sauce
sauteed onions, red pepper, jalapenos, and garlic
a little bit of sausage that we had left from a breakfast at the fire station (my excuse for eating it and enjoying it;)
cilantro
fresh tomato
and lots of mozzarella and parmesan cheese
so good!