Christmas 2007

At last... some pictures from Christmas with Julie, Michael, and Ralph.


Ralph & I decorated my tree - I had saved it to do only once he got here.





Road tripping - we went to SK in my new car. :)














all the cousins from my mom's side who were present at the evening in SK.








and us, safely back in Edmonton on Christmas Eve.














Mike & Ralph made Christmas morning breakfast for us. :)























Julie's little tree, with tons of presents!!

















Ralph opening his stocking.












Michael's presents were mostly all from Starbucks this year. :)















Julie affectionately hugs her new red toaster,


















and Michael receives a much-needed gift. :P


















This shirt was one of my favorite gifts (from my siblings, not Ralph!).

















Ralph loves pigs.














Julie made this, a photo of us 4 taken on Christmas Day. :)



















Then Ralph & I spent 3 days with his family. One night we went sledding on a small hill nearby (here's Ralph giving Sterling a ride).













Ralph also spent some quality time playing Need for Speed with his dad. ;)














We visited with 2 old friends of Ralph's at West Ed Mall & Ikea.


















and posed with the guy on the right's baby, lol.















Last but not least, can't forget fun with Photo Booth! :) Here's pictures of me, Julie, Ralph, and his youngest sister, Raina.

white as snow

Last night as I walked home from work, large snowflakes were gently falling, illuminated in places by streetlights. Now, normally I don't like winter that much, but seeing as it had been about a month since the last real snow, I enjoyed the beauty of yesterday's snow.

I had the privilege of walking through the fresh few inches, mostly unmarred by traffic or shoveling because of the late hour. As I gazed around at the delicate white blanket, I thanked God for the beauty and wonder of His creation. Seeing how it covered everything so perfectly made me think of how Jesus' perfect righteousness covers my sin. We are still recognizable, still the same people, yet the Father sees Jesus' beautiful covering instead of our ugly dirtiness or mundaneness. God also used snow as an analogy in Isaiah 1:18, saying, "Come now, let us reason together.... Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow...."

How blessed I am to be made clean, beautiful, and fresh through Christ's perfection, imputed to me. How blessed to have a Father who sees Christ in me. And as I live for him, my life can sparkle and shine like the snow, reflecting light, reflecting the Son. I don't want to get dirty, muddy, and packed down like the snow. Jesus' death made me sparkling clean and my life should continue to be pure and delicate, reflecting Him and His beauty.

I got a car!!!

Whoa, almost 2 months since the last update! What can I say, I've been pretty busy with work, TESOL homework, leading a HS girls' Bible study, taking a Theory 4 exam in Dec., and Ralph. :) And I use Facebook much more than this!

But I wanted to post pictures of my car!! Ralph helped me by researching constantly, talking about good models & prices & more details, and then by buying it for me (with my money, don't worry!) right after he got off school! He went to Edmonton for a couple of days and stayed with his family, and on Sat. Dec. 15, the Lord led him & his dad to the right car. They only went to one dealership & test drove 2 cars, so we were all thankful it went so quickly (they were there about an hour)! Many more hours after that were spent faxing info back & forth with AMA for insurance! They were amazing and went out of their way for us. PLUS I got really cheap rates. Yay! The whole day was a big answer to prayer.

It's a 98 Nissan Altima, and had only 144,000 km! It appears to be in great condition; looks quite new from the outside. I like it a lot. :D