Our new home!

This may or may not come as a shock to some of you who read this blog but... we moved to Maryland! It was something that we had been talking about and contemplating for a while now but the opportunity came sooner than expected. We thought that it would be years down the road that we would actually move out this way but we felt like the time was right ... so we moved! 

We knew that there would be many challenges with a move half way across the country, which there have been of course, but through this move we have found more blessings than challenges. To say the least ... we love it here! 

                                                                 (our town square)

                                                                           

     We love our new place

          We love being close to my sister and her family

               We love living in a small town nestled right next to the Appalachian mountains

                    We love the way that Maryland is a state where the North meets the South 

                                                                                                 (so we both feel a bit at home)

                         We love this new season that we are in (in life and marriage)

                                                                   (Catoctin Mountains)

We are both so excited for the future that the Lord has for us and will try to keep this blog updated on new things happening in our life. But in the meantime, know that we are doing so well and are so blessed to be here!

Weekend with the parents!

It was so refreshing to have my parents here for a few days. It gave Curtis and I an opportunity to see and experience more of the sights in the area. In Bloomington, MN there are an endless amount of activities to do and sights to see. Here are just a few of them we got to experience with my parents.

Excelsior, on Lake Minnetonka

The water was so clear and clean that I could see my ankles while standing in water up to my shoulders. We all swam out to a sand bar that was a ways from the shore. I had never seen a sandbar in a lake before. 

We also went to downtown Minneapolis to have dinner at a restaurant that sat right on the river. We did not know that they were having fireworks that same night right on the river. So we got to see fireworks go off over the city lights. 

The State Capitol

"Everyone point at the capitol!"

That's my husband :)

Gone campin'

Curtis and I decided to take a couple of days to go camping this weekend… the first time ever since we’ve been married. It was a awesome and relaxing get away for just the two of us but it wasn’t without some lessons from the Lord. We packed up our car and had a perfect plan of where we wanted to camp for the night about 1 hour outside of the Twin Cities. The last time we had visited the park on a nice weekend there was hardly anyone there so we thought that we would have no problems getting in. But to our surprise… once we arrived we discovered that all the camp sites had been filled. There was not one spot open.

This was so disappointing since we had been planning this trip for a few weeks and had drove an hour to get there. But I asked Curtis to back in to ask if they knew of any other parks around the area that we could go to instead. The man was very helpful and gave us a few more numbers to call. The first number was busy and so Curtis tried the second. The man who answered the phone said that we were about another 20 minutes away and that he should have an opening by the time we got there. 

So we hit the road and prayed that God would reserve a spot for us since it was first come- first serve. As I drove, I admit that I was a bit stressed in my heart that we would not get a spot to camp. Which was disappointing since I had been look forward to this trip for a few weeks now.

But God told me to continue to trust him and rest my heart in Him. As we pulled into the beautiful park I noticed that it was nestled right up next to a beautiful lake where there were boats, skiers, wakeboarders, etc. I thought to myself that this park could be much better than the one we originally planned on going to. It turns out that they only had a couple of camp spots left in the park and they gave us what I think to be the best one. It was a private sight, all to ourselves and just a off the beach to the lake. We were not surrounded by other campers and people. But instead we were set up on top of a small hill overlooking the other camp ground area. This spot was sooo much better than what Curtis and I had planned and expected.

So God taught me this … we may have our plan perfect and our direction set but where God wants to take us is so much better! Curtis and I had an amazing camping trip planned but God had a different place He wanted to take us this weekend. It was a much better camp site and at much better park! In the same way, He has such a better plan for our lives than what we could have ever hoped, dreamed or imagined for ourselves.

So the lesson that was refreshed in my heart is to let go and let God lead and even redirect my life in the way He chooses. I have peace in knowing that His plan is so much better than mine!!!!

Here are some pics from our camping weekend!!!

I love this picture for 2 reasons

1. the awesome light squiggle lines from the spark above the fire.

2. you can see the lights from the other campers fires in the background!

Our little patio garden!

So this summer Curtis and I have spent many afternoons, evenings and meals relaxing on our little patio. We are on the 3rd floor of our apartment building and have a nice size patio overlooking a portion of campus. I have tried my best to make our patio feel "homey" and welcoming for ourselves and others. We are also trying out our "green thumbs" and so decided to do some planting. I have never really gotten into planting flowers myself but this summer it has been a joy to see the flowers grow and bloom.

There is also an older man on campus who has a lush garden on the property here. So we stop by ever so often to check out how his fruits and vegetables are growing this summer. Of course, when we see him there we like to ask him so many questions about gardening. He loves to talk about his garden and could stand there all day giving us tips that he has learned throughout the years and we could stand there all day listening too, just soaking in his knowledge. We are so interested because one day we want to have our own garden for our family. Our hope is that many of our fruits and vegetable would come from our home garden that we keep together as a family.


But that is a ways down the road and impossible for this season of life, since all we have is an outdoor patio on the 3rd floor. So we'll just start with flowers and some small veggies in a pot for right now. Here are some pics... 

It is amazing how God's creation works together, just a little bit of sun and water each day can make a world of difference for plants!

Love' in the Kitchen

For the first few months of marriage many of our meals were eaten in Bethany's cafeteria as a part of our work package here at the College. But in just these past 2 weeks our status has changed and we no longer receive meals... so that has given me the blessed opportunity to become more active in our own kitchen. Really, it is the first time that I have had to plan, buy, prepare, and cook all of our meals! Since leaving home (many years ago) I have always been apart of a school or program that provided meals, or someone else was cooking and I assisted, or I shared the responsibility with other women. So I was a bit nervous at first!

Would I be a good cook?
Could I plan meals well?
Would Curtis enjoy my cooking?

Well, I have to admit... Now, I absolutely love it! I've got a system down that I really enjoy and I'm excited about.This system has eliminated so much stress because I am not haunted by the daily question, "What are we going to have for dinner tonight?" This question can stress me out when I don't know and am unprepared with the right ingredients that I need. For me, having a plan and system eliminates most of the stress associate with cooking so that I can enjoy and have fun with it.

Before the week starts, I plan the meals for the week and then make a separate list of all the ingredients that we need. The meal schedule goes up on the fridge so that we know what's coming up for each day. I think Curtis enjoys knowing what's next for meals and I enjoy watching him get excited when he looks at the schedule to discover that I am making Barbecue chicken in the crock pot that night! :)

I have also decided to make my own personal cook book full of recipes that I have tried to make and we love to eat. I search my recipes online, in cook books and through the recommendations of others. After eating the meal Curtis and I decide whether it is keeper or not. If so, then I set it aside to go into my own personal cook book, which I will title "Love'in the Kitchen ~ All meals made with love".

Why that title? Because I believe that part of my ministry as a wife and some-day mother is to love my family by cooking in the kitchen. Some of my fondest, most comforting childhood memories were when I came home from school knowing that my mom had a home cooked meal for me. It meant so much knowing that she was waiting for me at home and cooking. I could feel her love for me and desire to provide healthy, wholesome food through her home cooked meals. So my desire is to express that same kind of love for my husband and future children through good, healthy, wholesome home cooked meals!

My goal is to have my own personal cook book, full of recipes that we know and love, by the time we have children. No, we are not planning on having children in the very near future (so there is no particular rush) but I would like to start it now. That way, when a few kids come along down the road I have a plethora of recipes to choose from, gathered in one source, and easy to choose from. I suspect that will personally eliminate a lot of stress from the chore of cooking with children by making it easier to choose recipes! ... at least that is my hope!

And with this title ~ Every time I pick up my cook book to seach for a meal to make for my family... I will remember that cooking in the kitchen is not just a daily chore but a ministry and expression of love for my family!

I am so excited!

* Wow, I never thought I would say that about a cook book, but I guess marriage changes you :)

What's next?

Curtis & I are working on 5 months of marriage... and it has been AMAZING! I have no regrets, no hesitations, and no doubts about the decisions we have made in getting married, moving to Minnesota and working in our current rolls at Bethany College of Missions. We have enjoyed these past 5 months as newlyweds and have set a great foundation for the rest of our marriage. We don't want to rush this season to the slightest degree. Instead, we want to soak up every single day yet, because both Curtis & I are planners :) ,we can't help but wonder, "What's next?" 

It is so exciting to be at the beginning of our life together and wonder...
Where will God lead us?
What will we accomplish together?
Where are all the places we will go in the world?
So many questions ... and so many dreams to live out!!!

It's exciting!

Just in the past month or so we have begun to ask ourselves some of these same questions and weren't getting many answers. So we decided to get away from Bethany campus for an extended weekend to pray, seek the Lord, relax, and have some fun!

A few weeks ago, we packed up the car and headed to Wisconsin Dells
where we enjoyed the weekend at Chula Vista water park.We had a blast together, spending about 8 hours each day going down extreme water slides, floating down their "Crazy- river" (instead of lazy-river) and livin' up the many water attractions. In the evenings we could come together and really talk about the specific dreams that we have on our hearts to do in life, family and ministry. We even took some time to separetely write down all of our dreams, desires, callings, etc so to make them simple and clear. Afterwards, we came together to share them!

It was amazing to see how our dreams and desires complemented each others in so many ways!

Through that weekend of retreat, we came to conclusion that we will not be staying at/with Bethany International long-term. After writing out our dreams and desires we realized that they can not be accomplished here, in this place, and with this ministry. Our time at Bethany will be only for a season, to prepare us for what God has next around the corner. So we set a time in the near future for us to move on and begin stepping into our dreams. By the end of this year, we will be leaving Bethany and moving on.

Where?
you may ask...

We don't know!
There is a bend in the road ahead.
We know that it leads away from Bethany but we're not sure where it leads next.

 But that's the adventure of it all!
God, where will you lead us?
Where will we go?
What will we do?

I guess we will all have to stay tuned...

My favorite wedding pictures!

So we got our wedding pictures back a few weeks ago and after going through them all one by one, I have decided to post my favorites here! So enjoy!

The Dress

The rings

Father & Daughter

The Ceremony

So in love ... and finally married!

The wedding party!

Our friends who hooked us up!
So thankful for David & Rachelle!!

Pictures at the park

A kiss at the reception

The first dance

Our friends and family!
Thanks for all your love and support!