let it snow

We are enjoying so much seeing the pictures of everyone back home playing in the snow! Mercifully, we were spared the worst of the winter storm this weekend. We got about six inches...which to southern ears sounds like a crisis, but really and truly it is not a big deal here. But let me tell you, it's not because northerners are tougher. It's because the snow is pure powder here. It's so cold that the snow won't even pack into snowballs or roll into a snowman, and it stays like that for days and days. It snowed a couple inches last weekend, and a lot of that had melted before Friday but most of it just stayed on the ground like powdered sugar. It's stayed so cold that there's no chance for the snow to melt and refreeze, making ice.

There are also snowplows that scrape and treat the roads. I wouldn't drive during a snowstorm like it was yesterday because the plows can't keep up when it's falling so fast. But today it'd be fine to drive. Our winter strategy is to not drive if we can help it, though.

We had Monday off so we did enjoy the snow then. We took a walk along the river a couple blocks from our house.

Otherwise we just sat around in our pajamas, which was pretty great. We had traveled to be with Patrick's family due to his aunt's passing. Although a sad occasion it was a good visit. We were also able to grab a meal with my parents, so that was nice.

It's been an eventful week. Our friend Melva from graduate school moved up a couple weeks ago, so we had her over for dinner on Thursday. Through a range of events too complicated yet boring to explain, three other friends ended up at our house so it was nice to have some company. We love having people over but are pretty far removed from most folks we know, so it's a rarity. On Friday we had an outing at work to an ice skating rink. My coworker, Josh, who plays ice hockey, tried to help me learn to skate because I am pretty pitiful. But I am convinced I could learn with some practice! There's a free rink across the street from our house. I'm thinking about buying some skates because it'd be nice to be able to do something outside on really cold days. We went out with our friends Mark and Kimberly on Friday to finally see the Star Wars movie. Yesterday we did pretty much nothing but watch the snow fall. It probably started around 3pm and didn't stop until sometime overnight.

I have this problem where back home, when it snowed we ate brownies and cookies and other treats because it was a special occasion. This is translating to me feeling the need to eat junk food pretty much all the time, since snow's on the ground! We did make cookies yesterday. The cookbook said that they were good for you because of the oatmeal and pecans in them (never mind the three sticks of butter, cup of brown sugar, and the whole bag of chocolate chips)...

Last night when planning for church we weren't sure how the roads would be this morning so we decided to go to a church within walking distance--Evangelical Baptist Church in Newton. Not that we had low expectations, but I think we were both pleasantly surprised. It's about a 15 minute walk (or an 8 minute bus ride + walk, or a 3 minute drive, with free parking, in a adequately sized parking lot, which is a huge deal here!). It's a small congregation but it felt comfortable to be a visitor. The teaching was solid, and the people were incredibly friendly. So I think we will visit again.

It's interesting trying to sort through what's really important in a church after you have checked off the essentials of good doctrine. What if a church is really convenient but you don't like the style? What if a church has people you naturally click with but is far away? What about the offered programs, congregational diversity, dedication to outreach, or a thousand other factors? I have a list of things in my head that are important but it's difficult to know how to weight each factor. I think there are definitely wrong choices but I don't know that there's a single right choice. But all in all I am pleased to report that in a widely unchurched city there are many sound churches to choose from.

Until next time!

Happy new year!

Ever since we got home from our travels (and honestly, probably a few weeks before that) I've been meaning to write. I wanted to take some more pictures of our house because a lot of you are curious, and I've been waiting for the house to get clean to do that. But, this post is inspired by a dear friend, who came to our clean-on-the-main-floor-only house last weekend, and said, "Gosh, I don't know how you keep all this space clean!" And I thought to myself what a blessing it has been over the years to walk into friends' messy houses, take a deep breath, and realize they don't have it together either. Thanks for letting me into your lives and not putting up facades. Here's my version of that.

Our living room is overtaken by all kinds of stuff. My grand plan was to get all the Christmas decorations put away Sunday and to get the house clean before going back to work. But Patrick has had an excruciating headache since Sunday morning so that's thrown a wrench in plans, and that's fine! There are more important things than housework. Cleanliness is not necessarily next to godliness.

You'll also notice we've dragged the extra couch into the living room (temporarily). We had the joy of hosting some dear friends on New Year's Eve to watch the Clemson game, so with this setup we could all sit comfortably together! We are so thankful for our sweet friends and the time we get to spend together.

We have a pantry, which is really exciting to me.

If you go upstairs, here is our bedroom. Patrick is hanging curtains that a kind coworker gave us in hopes of reducing the road noise that comes through our bedroom window.

We are looking for a new bedspread. In the meantime my grandparents got us a king sized, sherpa lined electric blanket that has been keeping us toasty warm during the freeing cold nights.

We have a nice bathroom off of our bedroom:

 It has a bathtub in the corner you can't see.

On that same floor is laundry, a bathroom, and two small bedrooms. One of those is set up as a spare-spare bedroom. The other is set up as a little office for us to share.

So far we haven't worked from home too often but it's nice to have the space in case we can't get to work one day (and so we can play computer games together).

If you go up the last flight of stairs, you get to the guest suite (which actually is clean, since we never go in it!) Please come stay with us here. It's super cozy. That open door is a bathroom.

I didn't take pictures of the garage or basement but you get the picture :)

So that's real life for you. Here's to a year of celebrating everyday living instead of waiting for things to line up better or turn out perfect before letting others in.

We had our first accumulating snow about a week ago. Sunrise is ~7:15 and sunset ~4:30 so unfortunately I didn't get any pictures in the broad daylight, except for the top one, which is our rooftop garden at work.

Call me a naive southerner, but I was genuinely surprised by how difficult it was to get around outside walking. I thought, oh, this city is used to the snow, so the sidewalks will be totally safe. Not true, at least for this snow! Ice is just as slippery here as it is in SC. 

The cold really hasn't been that bad. Even when it was 6F when I left for work yesterday. We made the decision early on to spend as much as was necessary (within reason) to keep us warm for the winter. I've not regretted my purchases so far. I bought nice boots, coat, gloves, hat, scarves, socks, and long underwear, and if I am wearing all that I can honestly say the cold is not a big deal (yet). 

Here's a quick list of some things going on:
- We had a really nice visit with friends and family over Christmas. We are so thankful we got to see so many people we love. We miss you all.
- We are still considering what to do about church. We love, love, love Park Street Church, but with it being far away we're trying to decide whether it's wise to try to find church closer. Less commute time translates into more willingness and more time to serve.
- In February I'll be escaping to CA for a week for some training, so it will be nice to see some warmer weather then.
- Paid time off is great. We're experiencing this for the first time in our lives.
- Please do pray for Patrick's headache. The doctor is sending him to an ENT specialist but it'd be nice if the pain would let up.
- We started playing Pandemic Legacy with some friends this past weekend. Super fun if you're looking for a new game and are up for a challenge.

Until next time, take care!