"Arctic Blast 2008"

Well...we are going on day eight of being "snowed/iced in" more or less...we haven't had snow like this in Portland/Vancouver in over 40 yrs. At least that's what the local weather guys are telling us. :) To date we've gotten about 20 inches.






Shoveling last night's snowfall off our driveway...


The finished product. :)


A corner of our backyard...the trees are about 4 ft. tall...


Glad we bought a cover for Brad's BBQ !!!!


Our street...

Well, the pictures really don't do it justice, but we are definitely set for a White Christmas here! The forecast???? More snow!!! It looks like this year I may be home for Christmas only in my dreams...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELLEY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELLEY!!!
We love you!!

Iced In...

Well, Saturday it rained very hard all day, and that night the temps dropped into the teens and low 20's. So, needless to say the roads around here are an icy treacherous mess. So, yesterday we just stayed put and kept warm.


I made some peanut clusters and white chocolate pretzels and put together some plates for our neighbors, which Brad then braved the elements to deliver for me.


There's nothing like a big pot of homemade chili on a cold winter day!


We ended the day with some of Brad's signature popcorn...


...and a few games of Settler's of Catan and Yahtzee.

I love winter days! What did you do? :)

Christmas Decorating...

Yesterday I brought out all our Christmas decorations. I had a lot of fun, and it makes the house feel so cozy and festive!

I made a wreath for the front door...


Who wouldn't want to come into our house when you're greeted by this lil' guy at the front door? :)


I thought it was so fun when I found this gingerbread man candle in one of our Christmas boxes, as it goes with a gingerbread man table runner I have.


Our Christmas tree! It's not the greatest picture cause of the slider doors, but that's okay. I gotta find a tree skirt!


My favorite Christmas decoration that I can't wait to put out each year. My Willow Tree set from mom and dad Vos.


Gotta love filling up the counter with some greenery and a candy dish! At least for the next few weeks it won't be the spot for junk mail! :)


I did a lil' redecorating...this pictures is for you, Shel and Staci! :)

I hope you all are having a blessed Christmas Season!

The house...

Here are a few photos of the house. We'll just go with the main floor right now, as I have it all
unpacked. We're still working on the top floor, so those photos will come later. Enjoy!!


view from the front door...


powder room...


view from the hallway where the powder room and coat closet are...


view from the kitchen...


view from the slider doors...


kitchen...


dining area ( the door opens to the laundry room that leads to the garage)


laundry room...

And there you are! We are very blessed and happy with our house, and our neighborhood. We are enjoying getting settled and meeting some of our neighbors. It is starting to feel more like home each day. Please stop by if you're in the Vancouver area. We would love to have you!

Grandpa Faw

Today is my grandpa's birthday. He is 86. I am so thankful for him. Thank-you, grandpa for first and foremost loving and serving Jesus with all your heart. Thanks for loving and serving your family with all your heart as well. I am so blessed to have grown up basically next door to my grandparents, and for their place in my life. I love you grandpa, and I am thankful for you today. I celebrate having you in my life!

We're moved!

We got everything moved into our house this weekend. It was a lot of hard work, but we got it done! Thanks so much to all our Faw brothers and sisters, and the Schwary's. We couldn't have done it without you! You guys are the greatest! Pictures to come soon...I can't seem to find which box our camera is in... :)

Papers are signed...

Well, we did our final walk-through and inspection of our house yesterday. Everything looks good! Then, we went and signed the last of the paperwork. We will get keys on Friday. Now, we finish the flurry of packing. All of my brothers and sisters are coming for the weekend to help us out, and we have several friends who are helping us out as well. Please pray for safe travels on Friday for my siblings, and that the moving will go safely and smoothly this weekend. We'll keep you posted!

The Big 3-0!!

Yes, it's true. I officially left my 20's behind and entered my 30's on Wednesday. Since we were going to be flying to Iowa on my Birthday, Brad took me out to celebrate on Tuesday night. We went to this amazing restaurant call the Portland City Grill. It is on the 30th floor of a highrise building in Portland, so it has an amazing view of the city and the mountains. Brad's suave line was that he was taking me to celebrate my 30th on the 30th floor. :) :) I had amazing crab cakes, garlic potatoes, and roasted asparagus for dinner, and then delicious breadpudding with seasonal fruit for dessert. It was amazing!!

Celebrating with my most handsome knight in shining armor!

The most amazing bread pudding I have tasted...

Brad's handiwork with some decorations that were sprinkled on our table at dinner...

A good book ("Emma", one of my gifts from Brad), some delicious chocolate (thanks, Amanda!), and a good glass of wine... is there a better way to end the day?? :)

I was also very surprised on the night of my birthday. We stayed at Randy and Nicole's (Brad's brother and his wife), along with Nicole and Scott (Brad's sister and her husband). When we got back to Randy's after the family viewing on Wednesday night Nicole and Scott surprised me with a delicious chocolate and caramel cake they had made. Honestly one of the best cakes I have ever had. So, we had a Vos family party with cake! Thanks guys, for helping to make my birthday special!

God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams in the last 30 years. I am excited for the adventures He has ahead of me!

We're back!

Well, we made it safely home from Iowa late last night. Uncle Paul's service went well. We were so glad we were able to be there and spend time with the Vos family. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. We can rejoice that Uncle Paul is home with Jesus, but it is still hard on those left behind.
7 day's and counting until moving day! Wow! We are getting so excited! This week will be extremely busy with packing up, and closing all our paperwork. We are both fighting colds, so you can pray for extra energy for us this week. We'll keep you posted!

Hello, all. Well, we are gearing up to close on our house and move in next week. Tomorrow we are headed out to Iowa for a few days. Brad's Uncle Paul passed away on Sunday, so we are flying out for his services. Please keep Brad's family in your prayers, and us as we travel. Hope everyone is doing well!

Update

Well, another busy week or so here. Things are moving along quite smoothly in our home buying process, and it looks like we are on track to close everything on Nov. 7. This is an answer to prayer. Please keep praying that everything keeps going smoothly! We are getting very anxious to move into our house and begin getting involved in our new community!
We spent time this last weekend shopping for some appliances we will need to buy (washer/dryer, fridge), as well as paint colors. Woo-hoo!
We are also very excited about some new friends we made this last weekend. We met them through a friend of Brad's. They are new to the area, and are really excited about joining with us in starting this church! Praise God! We are so excited to have them join us in this adventure, and we're excited to have them as friends!
Hope everyone is doing well!

Vossen Get Internet

Well, I know this seem like a small think, but we got high speed internet installed today!

Keep praying that our loan goes through!!!

More news!

We also put in an offer on a house last week, and our offer was accepted! Please pray with us that our loan process, home inspection, etc. goes smoothly. Barring any unforseen events we will close on the house on Nov. 7th. We are SO excited! We love the house, and the neighborhood will be great for us, too.

Ordination!

Well, the last few weeks have been pretty busy around here. We were out of town for most of September. We spent time in Quincy celebrating my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, and spent time with my folks and siblings. Then, we spent a few days in the tri-cities where Brad attended a preaching conference and then had his last examination to be ordained. the good news is...He passed!!! What a blessing! It was a fairly grueling examination, but he did very well and I am so proud of him!
This weekend we had his ordination service at a local church, which will be our calling church. Both of our folks were able to be here for the service, which was a blessing to us.

All of the elders (along with both of our dads) had the chance to go forward and pray for Brad.

Brad had a chance to share briefly how God had worked in his life to bring him to this point of being ordained, and being called to start a new church in North Vancouver.

They had a cake reception after the service. Here's the official ordination certificate! Virgil (pictured with us) is the pastor of our calling church.

Our new church family! We haven't known Bob and Hester very long, but they are already dear friends to us. They live in the Vancouver area, and are very excited to join with us in our church plant. We are very blessed to have them along with us in this journey. Their wisdom, energy, and love for the Lord and others will be a vital part of our new church.

Thanks moms and dads for being here with us this weekend! It meant a lot to us to have you here!

Pastor and Mrs. Brad Vos. :)

Its official! I am ordained

Well, it is now official!  This morning, I (Brad) passed an almost 3 hr ordination exam by the local group of CRC churches.  Thus, I am now officially ordained as a Minister of the Word & Sacrament in the CRC!  My ordination / installation service is next Sunday.  We officially start working for the new church plant on Oct. 1.

We're back!

Well, we just got back from a lil' vacation to Whidbey Island. It was WONDERFUL!

We took some long walks on the beach right outside our back door, and enjoyed the awesome weather...






...enjoyed some ice cream on the pier...










...soaked in some awesome sunsets and watched cruise ships go out to sea...




...and got hooked on HGTV...




Thank-you for sharing your cabin with us, Gary and Aunt Di! We'll be back soon!