Home Sweet Home

Well we have moved in and decorated for Christmas. Since the space is small I only put up a few Christmas decorations because it would be overwhelming and claustrophobic to bring out everything! But we do feel like our apartment is home now.  It is nice to be back in a routine and organized. Wes and I have enjoyed doing normal, comfortable pastimes such as making hot chocolate or apple cider nightly, playing Christmas music  in the house, decorating the tree, and seeing all the holiday hustle and bustle.  The Christmas scene in downtown Seattle is different than what I remember from Birmingham or Kentucky. Downtown has many stores that are bigger versions than what would be in a mall (i.e. two story Gap, huge Macy and Nordstrom, expensive brand names I know nothing about). So it is neat to experience what I feel like would compare to shopping (or window shopping in my case) in NYC at Christmas time. To sum it up.... it is nice coming home from work to a comfortable, cozy home  and I  enjoy doing anything festive. 

However there has been something weighing on my heart lately that is more important than my own state of comfortability. I desire for our new home to be a Christian home that is welcoming to anyone. I want people to feel like they can stop by anytime. I want it to be a place for Wes and I to work on our marriage, to teach Leighton about Jesus' love, to engage in bible studies with friends, and to have family and friends over to hang out. Please pray that our home can be centered around Christ and that all we say and do will glorify Him. I want to follow the commandment in Deuteronomy 6: ⁴ "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.^[b] 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Also thanks for letting me share pictures of our home. Being able to give you a window into our lives makes me feel like I am not 2500+ miles away from most of you. And the picutres will give you a visual aid to image as you pray :)

(looking into living room from kitchen... yes there is a sign that says "Seattle" in case we forget where we are)

 (galley kitchen)

 (living room looking into kitchen)

 (three stockings hung)

 (tree is up!)

 (small bath... exciting I know)

(our room...needs some decor)

 (Leighton's nursery...still gray, pink, and white themed)

(my DIY project... picture frame + chalk spray paint = chalkboard for Cheeks)

In the world of the little girl... she tried a sippy cup yesterday for the first time! However she did not get any water out. Since it is leak proof and she couldn't figure out how to suck it since it is different than a bottle, she just used it as a teething toy. We will keep practicing!