Flowers from Rain, Beauty from Pain

I guess Arizona heard that I'm missing Iowa, and decided to give me a taste of what Iowa has gotten in the past week.

What our parking lot looks like after it's rained several days in a row. Thankfully our spot has been dry so far! 

Yes, Arizona does get rain - it just doesn't know what to do with it!

Curtis and I were going for a walk when we found this tree fallen over outside of our apartment complex. We had no idea the winds were that strong! If there ever was a tornado or straight line winds like what Iowa just had, I don't think they have sirens or a way of letting anyone know. It doesn't matter, we don't have basements anyway. :p

It's not fair, we only have like 1 tree for every 200 that Iowa has, and they don't even give much shade! Why do we have to lose our precious trees?!

Welp, I guess we're not going through that gate anytime soon!

Storm clouds - I see them a lot, but that doesn't mean we get rain every time. The first day that it rained, Curtis and I happened to be at the puppy store, and ended up walking home in a downpour. It was so much fun. :)

Rain likes to hover over mountains. That's Wasson peak on the right.

Beauty in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19 come to mind. "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." No matter were you are in life or what is going on, God is at work, creating beauty from pain, flowers growing after the rain. Don't spend your time thinking about the past and what once was, instead focus on the here and now and look for ways that God is working around you. 

I've stayed busy carving stamps this week. I'll post some pictures when I have more done. I was so nervous about getting started on these more challenging carves, but now that it's going so well I can't stop! Yesterday, I was able to go to school with Curtis for "take your wife to school day" and we had a fun lunch date. Today, he worked from home. We are so blessed with all this time together.

Picture by Julie Jorgensen, 2013 - from our winter engagement photo shoot, the week we got engaged. :)