Looking for a good book to read...

TJ and I just finished reading together "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" by John Piper.



The book only has thirteen chapters. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Christ's character. "The Power of Jesus Christ," "The Wisdom of Jesus Christ," "The Mercies of Jesus Christ," "The Excellence of Jesus Christ" - are just a few of the chapters. Piper did an awesome job with each chapter. We were so blessed and convicted as we read through this book together. Christ is seen throughout the whole Bible. Our lives would be nothing apart from Him. It was great to read through it and just meditate on His person. We thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to all of our friends and family.The back of the book says that Piper wrote it "in hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else. "

Beading Party...


A few girls came over last Friday night while our husbands got together for their monthly "men's accountability" meeting :). I have "accountability" in quotes because I'm not to sure how much accountability really goes on. Anyway, we had a fun time making jewelry. It was one of my first times attempting such a thing. I was surrounded by beading experts. They made some awesome pieces. I managed to put together a bracelet. Maybe, this will be the start of my beading days or.....maybe not. Even if I don't get into it, the experience was fun. And, of course, it will always be nice to admire what everyone else creates.

Abby

Julie and Jess

Katrina

Emily

Recent Happenings...

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day held a few nice surprises. Among them was a nice Italian restaurant called La Bella Italiana. The food was very tasty, fresh, and authentic. It was recommended to us and we were definitely NOT disappointed.




Fun Times with the Varners

Sat. night we went to John and Bethany's house. We had a great night together. We've known John and his siblings since going to college at Northland. We were all at the same church together. Kristin, John's sister, is Niko's dogsitter when we're away. Niko loves Aunt Kristen. And Shannon was friends with Bethany back in her days at Maranatha College. Thanks Varners for your friendship.


Niko's New Playmate

The last couple times Allie Trach has been over, she and Niko have had a great time together. At first Allie was a little timid, but then she opened right up and found out how much fun Niko could be. She loves throwing Niko's ball and having Niko chase after her while she's holding the ball. Niko probably loves being able to play with someone his own size. They were so cute when they played I had to take a few pictures.

Our Seattle Trip

We had a great time visiting Seattle with our friends Steve and Sarah Branine. Overall the weather was rainy, cloudy, cold, and foggy - typical for Seattle at this time of year. Inspite of the weather, we still enjoyed our adventures. I hope you all enjoy the pics ...

Our sweet ride for the week- Chevrolet HHR

SUNDAY

Our first sights for the city

Pike Place Market:

We ate at a cheese factory

.

The Original Starbucks

MONDAY:

Pics of our condo



The Air Museum

This lady was a woman pilot during WWII.
Her husband served in the same war. There was
a pic and a story written about him in the museum.

Here we are on an older model of Air Force One

Concord jet -flew very fast, but too expensive to keep flying

Harbor Cruise around the Puget Sound.
Oldest pier in Seattle

While on the cruise, we came across some seals.

Silly pics-Steve and Sarah in a curiosity shop. TJ and Steve playing some game at the Science museum.

More pics from the Science Center

The space needle was a little difficult to see with all the fog.

TUESDAY:

We spent most of the day in Vancouver, B.C.

Steam clock

We didn't find too much to do in the city. But, one of the hightlight was definetly the ice cream shop that featured 218 flavors.

TJ and Steve tried Wasabi flavored icecream-Here are before and after photos of them trying it. Look closely at Steve's facial expression.

Vancouver wasn't our favorite city so we were glad to return to the states

WEDNESDAY

Tues night and all day Wed T.J. and I were very sick. I think that we got food poisoning. It was pretty bad. Fortunately it only lasted one day.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY

Thursday morning we took the Branines back to the airport. It was sad to see them go before us. We then drove around Seattle some more. We went back to Pike Place market and did a little more shopping, ate at a Mexican resteraunt, and then went back to the condo to relax on our last evening before going home. Our flight left Seattle early Fri. morning. We had a lay over in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get out of the airport to see any sights. The airport there was definetly the busiest and coolest looking airport we had ever been in. They even had slot machines in the airport- no, we didn't actually play any. We also saw some great views from the plane of Mt. Rainier and of Las Vegas.

Self portrait at Pike Place market. You can barely make out the small sign in the background.

Sights from the plane

Overall, we had a great time. We thank the Lord for safety and the opportunity he gave us. Thank you Steve and Sarah for inviting us. Thanks to their aunt for giving us the time share and thank you to Fed Ex for the cheap tickets. :)

Small Blessings

TJ and I love our church. We love the people, the preaching, and the many opportunities to be involved in ministry. TJ and I are teaching the primary Sunday School class. We average three children, two that come consistently. I know it's small, but we love the interaction we have with such a small group. We can easily focus in on each of them and teach them in a way that best meets their spiritual needs. Our pastor's two youngest children are the ones that come every Sunday. They have been such a blessing to us. They are only 5 and 7, yet their ability to remember the things we teach them is amazing. We just recently finished studying through the life of David. It took us a few months. By the time we finished the quarter, Abby and Eli had memorized all of Psalm 23. Their hard work and faithfulness to memorizing the psalm, were such a blessing to us. Praise the Lord for little children with a desire to learn God's Word and hide it in their hearts!

Eli and Abby Ickes

( They all matched, but not on purpose--Don't they look silly)

Happy New Year Everyone!

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends the Hines, Conleys, and Branines. The festivities included eating, playing games, laughing, and toasting sparkling 7up at the beginning of the new year. It was a great time. After watching on TV the ball fall in Times Square, I was grateful for the fact that I was with a few friends instead of trapped in Times Square surrounded by all those thousands of people. As for New Years Resolutions, TJ and I didn't make any. Although,
we heard a great message last Sun. night on new life resolutions. The message was taken out of 1 Peter 1:1-12. The message had two parts. The first part was reflecting on what had taken place in one's past spiritual life and then the second part was looking forward to new resolutions in one's spiritual life. Some of those resolutions were being mentally prepared and setting our hope fully on God's grace. Both of these resolutions and others were taken right from the text. It was a great reminder for what all Christians need to be striving for!
New year's day we spent time relaxing, shopping, and watching movies. We went to the imax with the Hines to see "Night at the Museum" - a great movie!

Christmas with the Logsdon Family