Just thankful…

Here we are, on the eve of the most thankful month of the year. I try to maintain a grateful heart year-round, but the month of November usually finds me more reflective than the rest of the year.

A few things I’m thankful for (in no particular order) in my little world:

~My Savior, Who forgives me and carries the shame and guilt away.

~My sweet husband, whose love for me amazes me every day.

~Our girls ;)

Miss Livie, who at 16 months old already has an opinion about her clothes and bats her eyelashes at her Daddy when she gets in trouble.

And tiny Miss Katelynn, who even though she isn’t due to make her appearance yet, has already stolen our hearts. Early in the pregnancy we had a few little scares and I wondered if I would ever get to meet her. Now we are only about 12 weeks away from her arrival. God is good to us!

~My Keurig coffee machine and all of the wonderful cups of coffee and tea it provides me throughout the day ;)

~Our cozy (albeit somewhat messy) home. Thanks to our toddler, there are lots of happy messes popping up everywhere.

~My new Swiffer WetJet, which makes mopping so much easier on this pregnant gal, and Murphy’s Oil Soap, which makes cleaning all of my antique knotty pine cabinets a breeze.

~My clothesline.

 

These are just a few things that immediately spring to mind,  I’m sure there will be more in the coming days.

And here we are in 2013!

      The holidays are over and we are getting back into a more normal routine. My husband went back to work yesterday and after having him all to myself for two 4-day weekends in a row, I’m feeling a little lost and not sure what to do with myself.

   I’ve been busy decorating and put up curtains last week with Jacob’s help. We’ve been married almost two years and I finally hung our first set of curtains. When we lived in the apartment I never found anything I liked (pre-made curtains or fabric) so I just didn’t do curtains. In our new house however, that would not be acceptable. I finally found some that I liked at Hobby Lobby for the living room and I’m working on one room at a time.

I still need to get some sheer panels to go behind the curtains and you can see the Christmas tree, bare and waiting to be taken down, on the left side ;)

While I’ve been getting “my spaces” how I want them, Jacob has been doing the same with his domain—the garage. He took advantage of the four day weekends he had during the holidays to work in his garage and build a work bench. I took a few photos, but didn’t get one of the end result.

The first thing he did was build a work bench. He enjoyed himself so much that he didn’t come to bed until the wee hours of the morning.

He finally has a place to do all of the carpentry projects he’s been missing the last two years. I’m hoping for some bookshelves now ;)

In baby news: Morning sickness hasn’t reared its ugly head in almost a month. Thank the Lord for helping me to survive until the second trimester! I was able to enjoy the holidays to the fullest. I am enjoying getting things done again, though I do tire easily and have to take breaks often.

Three weeks ago I felt the first little kick and everyday since then, Little Bit has been letting me know that it’s really in there! It is a very active little person with it’s favorite playtime hours being right when I’m trying to go to sleep. Jacob still hasn’t felt the baby kick yet but hopefully he will soon.

In a few weeks we’ll find out if our firstborn is a boy or girl. I can’t wait to find out so we can stop calling the baby “It” and start calling it by its name. Despite the many predictions that I would have twins, there is only one baby in there ;) I’ve seen for myself.

The 14 1/2 week bump photo. Jacob caught me off guard and talking. We were on yet another trip to Lowe’s for stuff for the garage.

This year is going to be our biggest yet and full of changes. I can’t wait to see what all the Lord has in store for 2013!

A much more chipper update

I realized how very depressing and blue my last post was and I apologize! I will try to make up for it with this post.  I always want to honest in what I write however, and I don’t want to give the impression that the world is always rosy and perfect. I’m very human and constantly need the Lord’s strength. Thank you to everyone who commented and left words of encouragement for me—they were a great blessing, I promise!

We’ve been busy and got a lot of things accomplished over the weekend, in spite of my husband having to work extra hours (even on Saturday, which is rare). Over time is welcomed at this time of year though, and especially with the baby on the way.

I’ve had several good days recently and was able to feel more like myself and enjoy my new kitchen. Jacob enjoyed that greatly as it meant meals more like he was used to before first trimester sickness set in. I’ll be 12 weeks along tomorrow, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my most favorite things about being pregnant so far has been the reaction from all the little people in my life. My sisters are beside themselves with excitement about being aunts and my little darlings at church are just about as excited. One of my little sweethearts, Mallorie, aged barely 4, when I told her that I was going to have a baby looked at my belly and said, “Well, it must be really tiny right now ‘cause you don’t have a belly at all. When Cayla (her cousin) was expecting Presley her belly was so big she didn’t have a lap!”

Jacob  worked in his garage for several hours Saturday and there are only a very few boxes left out there now. They are all in the house, but they are in the rooms where they belong, making it much easier for me to empty them now. He also set up his desk and arranged everything how he wanted it. We put his desk in the breakfast nook in the kitchen so we can visit while he works and I cook. I love it ;)

Ever the bookworm, my heart soared with joy as I unpacked my library and put it on the bookshelf. I felt like I was seeing old friends again after a long separation. It made me really want to read, but I am trying to exercise self-control and not start a book until I get more unpacking finished. I have a tendency to get lost in a book and let everything else go and we can’t have that right now!  I’m hoping for a bigger shelf for Christmas—I have too many books for the medium-sized one I have now. There are still three boxes of books that need to be unpacked.

 

Our post-Thanksgiving deerlease trip was a success, as you can see from the photo above. We are cutting up the deer Jacob shot, getting it ready to be ground into hamburger meat.  My father-in-law helped us and that really sped things up. Notice Jacob’s very comfortable camo t-shirt I’m wearing? ;) Something tells me I’ll be borrowing his shirts a lot in the future for around the house.

Last year we ground an entire doe into hamburger meat and it lasted us almost a year. We’ll do the same with this deer, and as it was bigger, hopefully it will last a full year.  It really helps out with the grocery bill when you have your own meat ;)

It’s almost time for Christmas—the tree is up, and it is 80 degrees outside. Welcome to Texas. We are hoping for a cool front in time for Christmas, but we shall see. In honor of our unseasonably warm weather, I thought I’d share the following song with y’all:

October Happenings

   Where has time gone? We’ve been home from the lease over a week and things have been so busy I haven’t had time for much of anything, much less writing.

   Shipping golf clubs, finishing orders from my Etsy shop, getting local order dresses ready for fittings…..somewhere in the midst of all this I’ve got to start packing to move! I usually schedule wedding sewing months in advance and had no idea we’d be trying to move at the same time ;)

We had family and friends-that-are-like-family with us on this trip. The children in the photos are borrowed from my friend Kristin at In Mother Words.  We had such a good time—drinking coffee and cooking and eating peanut butter cups :)

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

My manly bowhunter. Mmmmm Mmmm Mmmm…

The first deer of the season. Way to go babe!

Ellie and Jacob catching a nap.

The fellas.

Me and Cici coloring in cabin.

The nice 8-point Jacob got on Saturday evening’s hunt. The most fun part was that I got to be with him when he shot it ;)

My Hero and my Healing

It’s been a busy several days since I’ve been here. My days seem to be getting too short—I need to start getting up earlier ;) The Lord is blessing my sewing business so much, I am in awe of all of the business coming my way.

   Things have been busy at church lately. We are in the middle of a 5 week study on holiness—more on that in another post. We had a youth conference at our church and spent two weeks preparing the music and getting ready for it. We had over 430 people attend, which was around four times what was expected and projected for it.  It was wonderful and the Lord was there.   Now our choir is in the middle of preparing to go to another conference to sing—lots of practices and excitement.

   Last Sunday afternoon I had a moment where I was proud to bursting and terrified at the same time. While at my parents’ last weekend I somehow pulled a muscle in my back and it hurt to move. Everyone prayed for me before we left but I was still in a lot of pain. So much pain that I didn’t go to church Sunday morning. It felt better closer to noon on Sunday so Jacob took me out for a bite of lunch and to get some medicine. (I had taken some and spent a lot of time with my best friend the heating pad, but it wasn’t doing much.) I wanted to go to church that night so I needed something with some power in it. Our pastor’s wife is an RN and she suggested Aleve so we stopped in a store to get some.

  When we came out of the store, there was a lady standing at the back of a vehicle, talking on the phone and crying. There was a man standing in front of her—comforting her, I thought, but as we watched we realized that was not the case at all. We put our things in the car and got ready to leave when the man hauled off and slapped the lady hard across the face. I was shocked—he did that in broad daylight! ( I guess I am a sheltered little homeschool girl.)

Almost as soon as the man slapped her, Jacob was out of the car. The man looked like he was going to hit her again and Jacob told him not to touch her again. The man grew very irate with Jacob and went to the vehicle and start digging around in the backseat. There was another man in the car and he got out. Needless to say, I was having a prayer meeting in the car asking the Lord to intervene(Lord, protect my protector!) . I just knew a gun or something was about to come out and I  was prepared to use my car and run over whoever made a move at my husband.

There were a few other people in the parking lot and when they realized what was going on they came over and another man said the same thing as Jacob.

Long story short, they all left and the police were called and came by for a report and they are on the lookout for the man who slapped the lady.  I don’t know if they will find him, but at least she (and the other women in the parking lot) know that chivalry isn’t dead, and the man who hit her knows that he can’t get away with that forever.

  I have to admit, I was pretty scared, not knowing what was going to happen, but I was and am so proud of my defender.

  And my back? I took the medicine and it helped and I was able to go to church. During church the Lord touched me and it hasn’t hurt me the slightest bit since. I know it was the Lord and not just the medicine because there was a certain way that moved that it hurt even with the medicine and I realized during church that it didn’t hurt at all. Our God heals His people!

Blessed and Privileged

   Last Sunday, after the evening service we went out with some friends (this is a pretty common occurrence). In the course of conversation it came up that the following day was Monday. This brought sighs and  groans from nearly everyone at the table. The ladies that were present made comments like “Oh I’m not ready to go back to work yet!” and several more in that vein. The following morning I got on Facebook and saw posts along the lines of “Back to work….sure missing baby girl” and  “So ready to be home already.”

   We ladies who are privileged to stay at home are blessed beyond measure. We don’t live in dread of the workdays and the office and we only have to concern ourselves with our husbands and families. We have been spared a lot of stress and anxiety.

    I am so blessed to have a husband who allows and wants me to line up with God’s plan.  He works very hard so that I can stay at home. The Lord has blessed us so many times over the last 18-19 months. People have been amazed at how He has provided for our every need.

   When we first married there was some resistance to me staying at home. Some couldn’t understand why I didn’t just get a job for a little while to help out and get us in a better position financially. They thought we were being foolish and irresponsible. Whenever you are in the Lord’s will, there will always be naysayers and ones who discourage you.

   But as we tried our best to stay in His will and live according to His word, He has never let us be in need. He has provided for every need, right on time, sometimes in ways that we never dreamed possible.

     I have to stop and give honor to my husband for a minute. It was huge step of faith for him to let me stay at home. He grew up in a two-income family that had trouble making ends meet at times. If it had not been for his mother’s jobs, they wouldn’t have made it, I’ve been told. So with these memories and knowing the difficulties of making ends meet with two incomes, it was a huge step for him to keep his wife at home. He has told me that he honestly in the beginning didn’t know how we could do it on just his income, but we have. He gives all credit to the Lord for making things work and providing for us. We are now in a considerably better financial position than when we married and are almost completely out of debt. Not only has the Lord provided what we needed, but He has gone above and beyond and allowed us to get out from under some burdens.  

I don’t want to give the impression that life is all chocolates and roses because I’m a stay at home wife. Being a stay at home wife does not magically double or triple what is in your bank account. We still have to live by faith on a daily basis and trust the Lord to provide for us. There are times when it gets pretty close and scary and we wonder if we are going to come out alright—but He ALWAYS comes through and NEVER FAILS. He rewards and responds to our faith and obedience—every time.

Summer Snapshots

What have I been up to lately? Here are a few glimpses into our life the last couple weeks.

Apple pie—yum ;)

A trip to the hayfield…..

Faith had to check the hay like Papa was to make sure it was dry enough to bale.

Faith “helping” me getting the pickles ready for their three hour chill.

Bread and butter pickles—my first batch ever. I’ve helped Mom make them over the years but these were my first to make alone.

We also made apple pie filling the same day we made pickles. I can’t wait to try it out!

Meet Fergus, the latest addition to the JHR spread ;) He is just a few hours old here.

And last but not least, here is Jacob and his little sweetheart being silly:

Domestic Bliss and Trophy Bucks

Sequestered in their calm domestic bower,
   They sat together.  He in manhood’s prime
And she a matron in her fullest flower.
   The mantel clock gave forth a warning chime.
She put her work aside; his bright cigar
   Grew pale, and crumbled in an ashen heap.
The lights went out, save one remaining star
   That watched beside the children in their sleep.
She hummed a little song and nestled near,
   As side by side they went to their repose.
His arm about her waist, he whispered “Dear,”
   And pressed his lips upon her mouth’s full rose—
The sacred sweetness of their wedded life
   Breathed in that kiss of husband and of wife.

~Domestic Bliss, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Before a girl marries she has dreams and ideas about how her home will be one day. I had mine planned right 

down to the color of the kitchen cabinets and tea-time at three o’clock in the afternoon everyday.

 We girls dream of how we will run it, how it will be ordered and how things will be in our very own home.

  What many of us do not take into consideration is the fact that the husband in the home will likely have his own opinions and ideas about how he wants things done in his home. And those ideas just might not line up completely with yours. Even with my very easy-going, laid-back husband, there have been a few bumps in the road in our journey towards domestic bliss.
 Here is an example of domestic dreams clashing:

As I have mentioned before, my husband is an avid and dedicated hunter. I fulfilled one of his dreams by not only having land to hunt on (for free!) but also that I like venison (or deer meat, as we call it). His mother has never been able to eat deer meat, no matter how it is prepared, so having a wife that liked what he brought home meant a lot to him.
  Being the avid hunter that he is, my Jacob likes to have his trophies stuffed and mounted and displayed on the walls of our home. His mom has always loved this aspect of hunting and joyfully displays all of the trophies that her husband and until recently, her son would bring home.
  Unfortunately, mounts are not my cup of decorating tea.  My father and brothers have always hunted, but the extent of their trophy keeping was to mount the skull and antlers on the shop wall. While I love the rustic country look—which is how I have most of my home decorated—mounts on the wall have never really appealed to me except in a man’s office or study. But not in my livingroom….Trophy mounts were not in my plans.
  Guess what? When I married my sweet Jacob not only did I get him, but also his small herd of mounts. At the time it was only Dasher and Dancer (a whitetail buck and an axis buck), but soon our game preserve will welcome Wilbur (a Pineywoods hog skull) and Billy, a Corsican ram’s head. (Those are my nicknames for them—don’t tell Jacob! ;) )
  Our apartment back home is about half the size of where we are living now and we are running out of wall space. It was really starting to bother me because it didn’t fit into MY plans, it didn’t match up with what I wanted, I didn’t want to seem like a redneck, I, ME, MY……..What’s wrong with this picture? Yes, there is a lot of ME and MY opinions in it.
  I had to stop and remember that it’s  not just my home, it’s our home. If I had wanted a house where I got everything my way and completely to my tastes, I shouldn’t have gotten married.
  One of my responsibilities as a wife is to be the homemaker—to make our house a home. We as homemakers are supposed to make our homes havens and places of joy and relaxation for our families. It should be a pleasure to come home because that is where you are most comfortable and where the things that matter to you and are important to you are. I have to remember that what may not be important to me, may be very important to my husband. Something that might be a source of irritation for me may the thing that really makes our dwelling feel like home to him.
  And to be honest, my wonderful husband lets me have my way in everything concerning the house—except the mounts. Those are the only things he asked for and really wanted. Sure, I could have thrown a fit and insisted that we leave them at his parent’s house and he probably would have eventually given in to me.But it means a lot to him to be able to display his trophies in his own home.  It helps make it home. Just like the things that mean a lot to me—my great grandmother’s dishes, the doilies that I made—help make it home. He doesn’t complain about the feminine touches I’ve added here and there. It convicts me about how I’ve felt about his things.
  Marriage is about two people compromising on their desires and giving in to each other. And not just “Ok, I’ll let YOU win this time, but I’m not going to let you forget it!” It means to do it without grudging or complaining. It’s about thinking about the other person and what is important to them and putting them first before yourself. No one said it would be easy, but everyone says how wonderful the rewards of it are.
  Domestic bliss is not something that just “happens” when you return from your honeymoon or after you’ve been married a while. You have to work for it and sometimes the work is hard. You have to deny yourself—no one likes doing that! But if you are committed to making things work, you’ll do whatever is necessary, no matter how much of an inconvenience it is to you personally.
  So I’ve decided to get over my dislike for trophy mounts in the livingroom because Jacob likes them. I’ve decided to start taking even more pride in what a great hunter he is and to appreciate his trophies.
That doesn’t mean that I’ll stop being concerned about wall space though!;)

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EOA # 20

A few first anniversary images

 

One Year ago today…

This year of being married to my best friend has been the best ever!

Two Years Ago Today....

Two years ago today, Jacob asked for permission date me. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It has been the most fun, wonderful, exciting, and full two years of my life. I was reading over our story yesterday and marveled anew at how the Lord brought us and everything together.
  I can't imagine being with anyone else. If it is this wonderful now, and we've only just begun, I can't imagine how it will be in a few years, and then in twenty years....
  To sum it up, the following quote from Winnie-the-Pooh says how I feel:

Loneliness and Transitions

I've learned a lot in the last nine months about loneliness and transitions. When I married, I moved from the country to the city, from one way of life to another. I changed addresses, churches, and left almost everything that was familiar and "safe" to me. I grew up in a small farming community where everyone knew everyone, just about, and if they didn't know me they knew my father, or grandfathers. My family has been in that area for close to a century.
 Now I'm in a rather large city on the outskirts of a really large city. I barely know anyone. There is not that same feeling of security that I used to have.
  Not only has all of that been a big adjustment, probably the hardest thing was going from a loud, happy, busy house that was always full of family and friends and life to being alone in an apartment most of the time. It was rather jarring, really. Going from having seven to eight other people to talk to and be with every day, all day, to just me, alone all day, was a huge change.
 The first several months were the hardest. I missed my siblings, I missed my parents, I missed my church and I missed the country. Yes, I had Jacob, and he was the fulfillment of all of my hopes and prayers, but I still missed my family. When you are as close to your family as I was  ( and still am) it is not easy to leave them. My mom is my best friend and we were used to being together, cooking together, drinking coffee in the afternoons...it was harder than I thought to leave them. My heart ached for them.
 Many nights after Jacob would fall asleep, I would get up and go to livingroom so as not to wake him while I cried from homesickness.
 I missed my church. I had grown up there, and now felt uprooted and like a stranger in a different land. My new church was wonderful, and loved me to pieces and went out of their way to make me feel loved and at home, but it just wasn't the same. It's a large church, and for awhile I felt that I wasn't needed. I grew up in a small church and I was very involved. I played piano, taught Sunday School, and helped with whatever else needed doing. Now I felt useless.
 To be honest, I was close to despair a few times.
  I don't think I could have made it through the transition without Jacob and the Lord. Jacob was wonderful and so understanding and gentle with me through all of this. He took me home to see me family A LOT. It was every weekend for awhile. We visited my church a lot those first few months.
  Whenever I would cry for missing everyone, he would hold me and pray for me, asking the Lord to help me and comfort my heart. He prayed for me a lot during that time.
 That time of loneliness drew me closer to the Lord and closer to Jacob. I'm beginning to understand "leaving and cleaving" now. It hurts sometimes. But it is necessary for growth and maturity.
  Things are much better now, nine months later. I still miss my family, and it hurts that I am missing so much of their lives--like my baby sister Faith has started walking this week, and I wasn't there. Those things still hurt. But I've grown accustomed to being alone most of the time, and actually sometimes I crave it. :) I guess I'm turning into a hermit.
 My new church is now "home" to me. My feelings of not belonging are gone now and I am very happy.
  I didn't know what I was in for when I married and moved away. So I will share somethings I wish I'd been told in order to deal with transitions and loneliness:

• You are going to miss your family more than you can imagine.
•  It's OK to cry. Don't try to hold it in, just cry and don't worry about it. You'll feel better afterwards, trust me. Tears can be healing.
• Transitions and changes do not come easily or painlessly most of the time, but they are for our good.
• Even when it hurts so bad and we don't understand, God sees the bigger picture and holds all in His hands.
• It will get better. It may take a little while, but it will be better and your heart will stop aching as much. Just draw close to God and your husband and it will all work out.

Encourage One Another Link Up

Venison Shish Kebob and homemade pita bread

For supper last night Jacob and I were adventurous and made something neither one of us had ever cooked before--shish kebobs. It was due largely in part to our pastor's message Sunday night--he talked about shish kebobs and had the entire congregation's mouths watering. We decided immediately that was what we were having for supper the next night. Aaahhhh, the power of suggestion!

 I had some venison backstrap in the freezer from a whitetail deer Jacob shot last year. I let it thaw then marinated it for several hours in and oil and vinegar dressing, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of steak seasoning. I know, the spice combination may not be very authentically Middle Eastern, but this was an experiment. I cut up yellow and zucchini squash, onions and bell peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Lessons learned: Next time I'll slice the squash thinner and use cherry tomatoes. Everything else was perfect.

I made some almost whole wheat pita breads. They would have been 100% whole wheat, but I didn't realize that I was almost out of whole wheat flour. So they are 75% whole wheat :) Jacob LOVED them and called them "Bible breads". He especially loves them with peanut butter.  I was glad because he hasn't cared for some of the whole wheat things I've made in the past. I'll share the recipe in a minute.

Here are some photos of our evening for you to drool over:

My manly man manning the grill :) Notice our brand on the truck?

 

 Hungry yet?

Almost whole wheat pita bread

1 T yeast                                               1 T honey

1 1/3 c. warm water                               1 T oil

2 t. salt                                                 3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water. Stir in salt, honey, oil and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat til smooth.

 Stir in 1 cup flour. Knead in as much of the remaining flour to make a smooth and elastic dough. Cover and let rest  for 10 minutes.

  Punch dough down. Knead until smooth and elastic. Wash out bowl and grease with a little oil. Place dough in greased bowl and turn to coat.. Cover and let rise til doubled.

  Punch dough down and divide into 8 equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for 30 minutes.

  On a lightly oiled or floured surface, roll or pat each piece into a 7 inch circle. 

 Preheat oven to 500* F and place an upside down pizza pan on bottom rack of the oven. Let breads rise for approx. 30 minutes. When bread is ready to bake, gently place one or two breads on the hot pizza pan. Bake for four to seven minutes or until lightly golden and puffed up into a ball.

  Cool on wire racks, but cover them so they do not dry out. If not using right away, store in plastic bags.

Enjoy!

Encourage One Another Link Up
Raising Homemakers Link-up #58 

The Mrs. and the Quilt

I've been a Mrs. for eight months today. It has been the most wonderful eight months of my entire life. I still catch myself wondering if I am dreaming and when I'll wake up.
 Our little home is finally getting where I want it. I've been told that it is cozy and homey, something I've been striving for. I have to admit though, my first few months here I wondered if it would ever feel like home. Its bare, waiting-to-be-decorated walls were depressing and I didn't know where to start. I felt like we would never get anything up on the walls except deer heads and clocks.
  I wanted (and still want) our home to be comfortable and peaceful and for Jacob to love it and be proud of it. I wanted him to be happy and relaxed here and not feel out of place. It's his castle--I'm just the one in charge of decor and atmosphere. (And he lets me have my way in everything concerning the castle :-) )
  I can't pinpoint the moment when it began happening, but I do know the moment when I realized that it felt like home. I'd been making doilies and pillows and having photos I'd taken around the farm developed and framed. I'd been pulling heirlooms out of my hopechest, setting them out and using them. These actions helped a lot--they added personality and really made it feel like it was "mine".
 What really completed it for me was a quilt. Jacob bought me a quilt for our bed--an eight-pointed star pattern on a light tan and white floral background. Even though it was cheater's piecing (for all you non-quilters, cheater's piecing is fabric that is printed to look like a patchwork quilt), I fell in love with the colors. It looks like it was made from feed sacks.
 Feedsacks?! What?! A lot of people don't know this, but at one time feed sacks were made from cotton fabric printed with lovely calico designs. I've been told stories by my great-grandmother about ladies sending their husbands to the feed store with a piece of material and instructions to match the pattern so they could finish a dress.
 I put the quilt on the bed and raised the window blind, turned and left the room. A few minutes later I came into the room and it dawned on me--this was home, really home.
  Who knew what a quilt could do?

The quilt that made it feel like home.

Off to the Symphony!

Last Saturday Jacob took me to a symphony concert. It was wonderful!!!! It had been years since I’d been to one. Afterward we went to Spaghetti Warehouse—yum! I realize it’s probably because we are still such “new” newlyweds, but everything still feels like one big date for us.
Jacob had never been to a symphony concert as he really isn’t into classical music, but he enjoyed it and mentioned wanting to go to some of the concerts next year.
This Friday will be the 6 months mark for us. I can’t believe it has flown by so fast.
Recipes and vintage-themed posts are in the works, so come back soon!

What I'm thankful for today...

"Can we ride him pwease, Jacob?" Jacob and little sisters 2 and 3 the last time we worked cows. They love Jacob's horse, Jesse.

My husband's relationship with my family--especially with my siblings. He loves all of them, and they adore him. :) He even won over my brothers, who agreed the other day that if all their sisters married guys like Jacob, they'd be doing good.

Blessed beyond Words!

I am such a blessed woman. Everyday I realize it more.
 I was privileged to be raised in a Christian home by dedicated parents who, despite opposition in the beginning, chose to homeschool my siblings and me. They sacrificed to educate not only our heads and minds, but our hearts as well. Academics were important, but matters of the heart were of even greater importance to them. They wanted us to understand and know why we believed what we believed and from where in Scripture that we drew our beliefs. They taught us that if we honor the Lord and keep His commandments and precepts, that He would always provide for us and keep us safe.
  They protected us from many things until we were old and mature enough to handle and deal with them. No wasn't always my favorite answer and I didn't always understand why they did things the way that they did, but I am so thankful now. I never doubted that they loved me and had my best interest at heart.
 I am blessed with six siblings whom I love very dearly. We have been best friends and I greatly miss being with them. We didn't always get along all of the time but we were (are!)  very close and united in vision and desires for our family and our church.
 Now, as a married woman I am even more overwhelmed by blessings. I have a husband who loves me as Christ loves the Church and constantly gives and sacrifices for me. He places me above everything but God, and I am overwhelmed and amazed by his love for me at times.
 I have awesome in-laws who love me like I was their own daughter.
 Ever since I was little I always wanted to be a mommy and stay at home--just like my mom. I expressed this desire to Jacob in the early days of our courtship and he agreed to it and honored it.
 So we are a single income family. It hasn't been easy, I'll admit, and there have been times when we haven't known where the money was going to come from. But because we have honored the Lord's precepts, He has always-without fail--provided for our every need.
  This week, Jacob showed me again how deep his love for me is. We had a big, beautiful, huge Ford F350 truck and the monthly payments for that truck were almost as big as the truck itself. Instead of insisting that I get a job so we could keep the truck, Jacob sold the truck this week so that I could stay home. Now he is driving my cute little white Chevy Malibu to work.
 Have I mentioned I love my husband?

My manly man

 

Jacob and the mouflon  ram he shot with his bow last weekend. Yes, its head will end up on the wall with his other trophies.....

Back in the Swing of things

After being sick for nearly a week, I'm sitting on our couch surrounded by an impressive amount (or rather mountain) of laundry.  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who helped me get it almost all washed so all I had to do today was fold and put away. Socks are NOT my favorite thing to do, but oh well, they are a part of life....

I've never been quite that ill away from Mama, but Jacob did an amazing job taking care of me, waiting on me hand and foot, making sure I had what I needed, and ignoring how crazy our apartment was getting. He's wonderful!

My poor geranium nearly passed on to glory while I was sick, and I think my peppermint plant is beyond hope. I've never really had much luck with potted plants anyway--I do better with plants that thrive on neglect. :)

Before I became sick I finished the little smocked dress. It is now available from my Etsy boutique.

 

And I just had to share this picture of my awesome husband :) working at the shop, building a headache rack for his truck.

It's so nice to be well again!

He makes all Things New

My favorite picture from the wedding! Maybe that is why I keep using it in my blog posts :)

5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

~Revelation 21:5 (KJV)

It has always been amazing to me how the Lord allows our earthly human relationships to reflect His relationship with us. It gives us context and helps us learn and better understand His love for us. Before I was married I learned volumes about His love for me as my Heavenly Father from my earthly father.

Now that I have entered a new season of life I'm learning about another aspect of His love. I am beginning to see Jesus' love as the Bridegroom.

Everything in my life right now is new. New dishes, a new address, new towels, a new church and a new last name. My priorities have changed, as has my lifestyle. Marriage has completely changed my world and the way I live.

As I did when I was still in my father's house, I can see things that remind me of the Lord. I have a new perspective now and my husband and his love for me remind me greatly of the Bridegroom and how things change when you become His.

When you fall in love with Jesus and make a commitment to Him, you get a new name. You get a new life and a new set of priorities. Everything is new--a new heart, a new attitude.

Your life changes and with that new life comes a new set of challenges and tests. You'll be asked to move in areas that require you to leave your comfort zone.

I never dreamed my new married life would be so wonderful and full. I also never dreamed how trying some of the changes and transitions would be. It is scary to leave the safety of everything you've ever known and enter a new season.

But I haven't been alone. My husband has been patient, kind, tender and so loving to me. He has given me direction, encouragement and comfort on days when the changes hurt the most and I couldn't understand. He has loved me and made sure that my needs are met first and that I feel safe.

Just like our Bridegroom. He draws us close and comforts us; He provides for our needs and gives us direction. He is gentle and patient with us as we start our new life.

We are safe with Him.