Jon and I losing to Kalyn and Elliot while playing a giant game of chess.

Took in the beautiful view by going horseback riding around the campgrounds over the mountains and through the woods to....

Made a new turkey friend, played mini-golf and enjoyed some ultimate frisbee in the pool.

Jon and I "pitching" our tent and enjoying the calm life of the outdoors.

Vacation is all I ever wanted-vacation, had to get away-vacation wish it would never end....ohhh yeah!

Last weekend Jon and I went camping with my mom, Dennis, Stephanie, Kalyn, and Elliot(Kalyn's boyfriend). We had such a good time! We went swimming, grilled out for all meals, went horseback riding, played a giant game of chess and had a campfire with s'mores (ohhh sooo good to eat)-did I mention I also had s'mores for breakfast too?? lol
Overall, it was a great weekend and it was nice to hang out with everyone and meet Elliot for the first time and the weather couldn't have been better!
Below you will find some pics from our weekend...did I mention Jon and I slept in a tent? Your eyes are not deceiving you...I did say a TENT! I will admit I had an air mattress (don't judge me) but I still braved the outdoors and all that comes with it-the bugs, the humidity, the non-air conditioned tent, and the bath house with a full shower and potty not even 10 feet away. I guess you could say I sure did have it tough out there! ha ha Oh, before I forget, I must tell you about my "potty" story. Before you get all grossed out-let me explain. In the middle of the night, not sure what time-no clocks-I had to go use the outdoor woods room. I got up, unzipped my tent (we had it closed up so that no critters would get us) and stumbled/walked to the restroom. The restroom was a single stall so I turned on the light and walked into the stall and locked the door (you can never be too sure when you're in the woods what kind of crazy people are around!) Once finished, I proceeded to exit the stall so I unlocked the door and pushed it forward (thinking this was the way to exit said stall). When I pushed open the door it fell completely off of the hinges and hit the concrete floor with a loud THUD several times (it was a large door) before eventually landing flat on the floor and making a huge noise. Well, I stood there (half awake and now in shock of the bathroom door that almost took my life-not a good way to go)and starred at the door for a second waiting for someone to come rushing to the bathroom to see if I was okay. After no emergency response rescue team showed up, I decided to pick this huge door up and place it gently to the side and leaned it against the wall. I then walked out of the bathroom with the expectation that someone would be making the attempt to walk my way to check on me-wrong! I walked outside and all I hear are the sounds of wildlife (laughing at me no doubt). I walk back to my tent and proceed to climb back into my sleeping chambers and find Jon still sleeping. Needless to say, that morning I asked if he heard my "situation" the night before and he said, "yes I did but I prayed and trusted the Lord would protect you and nothing harmful would cross your path, and then I went back to sleep". UGH! Good answer! I am married to a man who truly lives out his faith-so much for the damsel in distress act! lol Thank you Lord for protecting me from a huge bathroom door in the middle of the woods. Oh, and to clarify for all of those "philosophers" out there...when asked the question, "If a tree falls in the middle of the woods and no one is around to hear it, did it make a noise?" The answer is: "If it is anything like a metal hanging bathroom door, then YES!" :)

Casablanca Lillies

Hello to all of the tens of people who read our blog! I have titled this post "casablanca lillies" for a very special reason :) First, they are MY FAVORITE flower in the entire world! I had them in my wedding bouquet with red roses and it looked amazing! .....sorry, I got sidetracked there for a second. The real reason I am focusing on casablanca lillies is because of an awesome way the Lord has worked in the life of my mom. As we all know, I love craigslist and check it frequently. Well, as some of you may or may not have known both my mom and stepdad were laid off and in need of employment. I had been searching for jobs in our area on craigslist for them both when I spotted a listing that I knew would be perfect for my mom. It was a job posting for a nanny position taking care of a newborn little girl. Well needless to say, I called my mom and "strongly" urged her to apply. The Lord is so good and his timing is perfect because the listing had just been posted and it was on a Tuesday morning and that is not a "prime" time to list things on craigslist generally. All this to say, my mom applied, interviewed and she now has the job :) This job is amazing for her and her pay as increased by 50% from the job she was laid off at. PLUS the parents of the little girl like to travel (they are "well off" it seems) and when they go oversees they want my mom to go and all expenses will be paid for her! Sweet deal! The hours are amazing and she is responsible for one precious little girl instead of 10-15 screaming elementary school children. You may be thinking at this point, Praise the Lord He provided the perfect job but...what does this have to do with casablanca lillies? Well, when my mom got the address from the couple to come and meet the family the wife told her that they lived in a brick home on the water and in front of the house were bushes full of casablanca lillies lining the home :) This may not mean a lot to those of you reading this but to me it was a subtle and sweet reminder from my Heavenly Father. He was simply reminding me that not only will He supply all of my needs according to His riches and glory, but those around me as well. His still small voice guided me to look on craigslist that morning before work and call my mom and He took it from there to bless my family with an opportunity far better then anything my mom would have hoped for.
Thank you Lord for always providing for me, Jon and our families! Thank you for your sweet reminder of how you are always listening when I speak to you.....and one more thing... thank you that my mom's new boss grows my favorite flower and she may be able to bring me some home every now and then....Amen.
PS. Did I mention my stepdad also got a new job with great benefits and he and my mom started their new jobs on the same day :) God is sooooooo good!

Simplicity

There is something to be said for really taking time to enjoy the "simple" things in life. It has been a month since the dance showcase and Jon and I are really enjoying the new found time we have together. We are learning to cook dinner at home instead of picking it up and eating it in the car. This has altered our food budget some and so we adjusted as necessary but it has proven to be a positive thing since we constantly have leftovers for the next day :)
On Monday I was able to enjoy a movie at our small town theatre on Main street with my sister, Kalyn, who is home. Monday night is "girl's night" and it's $7 for the movie, a drink and either popcorn or candy. Of course, I ALWAYS opt for the candy and splurge with my raisenettes! It was such an awesome time to just relax and hang out while watching Toy Story 3 (great movie by the way).
It's in these times that I find I am so grateful for the things I have in my life.
For the longest time, I found it difficult to just "be still". I thought I ALWAYS had to be doing something or running somewhere. If I slowed down then I was wasting time when I should be "productive". The truth is, the Lord has shown me that in the midst of doing things for myself, work, my family and even for Him with our church it is easy to get so "busy" that I miss out on Him trying to speak to me. I would wonder why I wasn't seeing God's blessings in my life, until one day I realized...I had never stopped long enough to look around and take notice if in fact the blessings were happening. Well, as soon as I did, it was obvious! The Lord is always blessing us! Unfortunately, we never stop long enough to take notice.
Blessings come in many forms and for me-they are usually in small moments that can easily be overlooked. My many blessings for this month have been, eating dinner with my husband at home, going to the movies with my sister on a Monday night, sitting on my front porch without a thought in my head but simply breathing in and out for more than 5 minutes, laughing at a story a friend of mine sends me regarding her adventures with offering the mailman a bottle of water (so funny and much appreciate-you know who you are) and hearing from the Lord louder than ever and understanding more clearly his Love for me and the many ways he shows me. Simplicity is sometimes the best answer for life's many problems. It is in these times that the Lord reveals Himself to us, but not because He was holding back before-but simply because we never took the time to simplify.
May your days be... simple. The end.

Kiddos...

Many people have asked and wondered when Jon and I will have children. Well, to answer all of your questions........WHEN WE ARE READY :) ha ha
Anyway, I love watching this video because I sometimes think it is a glimpse into Jon and I's future if we have a little girl one day. As you all know, I am very shy, quiet and reserved. I don't like to talk much and it's difficult to carry on a conversation with me. STOP LAUGHING! Alright, alright, so maybe I am the complete opposite of those things but nonetheless I think if/when we have a girl she will be something like the one in this video.......... lol :) TOO FUNNY! hahahahahahahahaha

Slip and Slide days :)

Can you believe we are already in June? I feel like we just started 2010 and now we are half way to 2011! Since we are entering into the summer months-I began to think about fun things to do. Remember slip and slides? I DO! They were so much fun :) It's funny that someone actually invented a large piece of material that you could water down and turn into hours of fun! Who wouldn't love the opportunity to get a running start and throw themselves onto a flat surface on the ground and slide out of control until eventually running out of space and hitting the grass head on? That sounds like A LOT of fun to me! Well, in honor of the slip and slide I have attached a photo I found online of a rather large slip and slide. If you notice there are mainly adults in the picture indidcating that you are never to old to "slip and slide" in the summer :)

Freaky Friday....

In observance of Friday, I decided to entertain you all with some pictures of the past. First, let me explain :) Jon and I work with the youth at our church and we just started a new series titled "Too cool for school". The youth pastor asked everyone on staff to dig up some awkward pictures of ourselves to use during the series. Although I thought this task would be difficult to do-I soon found out how wrong I was. It is amazing how things change and your perspective on what is "cool" changes as well. For example, in no way, shape or form should I have EVER worn that hat-let alone in a picture that would capture time for all of eternity. Jon on the other hand somewhere down the road thought that homemade shirts full of glitter were appealing. Now, I will give grace with regard to his glasses since I am told they were "popular" then but I cannot let slide the mass of hair across my forehead that I proudly wore as bangs in the eighth grade! I love the picture of Jon faithfully practicing the clarinet and looking oh so stud-like....ladies please! Try to restrain yourselves! He is already taken!! :) The baby photo-although not awkward-is funny to most since it appears I have a huge head and have just now grown into my smile....or so I've been told. :D
We hope you enjoyed our trip down "awkward" memory lane.
Have a great holiday weekend and may all of your photo opportunities be great ones...or at least make great stories for years to come!

Life in FAST motion..

So, I am happy to be back and updating our blog. I know it's been awhile-thank you for those of you who kept reminding me :)
A lot has gone on in these past few months. To begin, this year was my last year teaching dance at PAC. I am really going to miss it and all of the people I worked with. I know it is time for me to move on and I am excited about what the Lord has for me in the future. I've attached a few photos from my last show :)There is a pic of Jon's dad singing-he and I had the opportunity to do a duet. He sang and I danced:) We did the song, "Praise Him with a dance" by Casting Crowns. It was so much fun and we got a lot of really good feedback-praise the LORD! It truly was a great show and I was so blessed to have my family there and then to hang out with everyone afterwards at the Bowman B&B. A great BIG thank you goes out to everyone who helped make my last year amazing!
Aside from dance...I have decided to end my "break" from school and go back. I wasn't sure what I wanted to be when I grew up (no, 26 yrs old is NOT grown up yet)so I took a break once I finished my gen. eds. The Lord is so good and has been so faithful and gracious as I tried to figure things out on my own. I struggled for awhile exasperating myself over my "degree". I thought along the way, I am so glad I am able to teach my little ones at dance as an outlet away from the mind-bogglingness of what I want to do with my life. Finally, I STOPPED, sat still for more then 26 seconds and asked the Lord what His perfect will was for my life. He revealed things to me that were obvious in my life yet I overlooked them (ie. teaching 3-5 year olds at dance) and reminded me how much I loved it and really sought out to invest in their lives in a positive way. Although I knew I was supposed to leave the dance studio I finally listened as the Lord directed me towards "other avenues" to teach in. So, with little effort on my part and a lot of listening to the Lord I found a degree at TNCC that offers the ability to teach preschool. YAY! I am so excited to start classes in the fall and even more excited to jump into a teacher's assistant position in order to gain hands on experience. While I know this "profession" may/may not make a lot of money...I am happy to say that-I DON'T CARE! I used to always picture myself as the shopping, coffee sipping, jewelry wearing, spending money at my disposal kind-of-gal and while I will never turn any of those things away :) I've realized that the sound of little three year olds yelling my name (the best they can) and making me cards full of stickers and pictures of me resembling a bald baby with a bow on top of my head are much more satisfying. Although I will miss my little dancers at the studio all dressed up in tutus and ribbons-I am thrill at the thought of working with more little ones in an atmosphere where they learn basics like counting and reading instead of plies in first and second position (even though they were super cute when they did it :D).
So that is what I have been up to...Jon has been busy working as well...
Jon has exceeded my expectations with things he has done to improve our home. Currently, we are working on the guest house behind our house. If some of you will remember-this was what Jon and I had built to live in until the "main house" was complete. However, when that didn't work out we found a 16 ft travel trailer instead and went camping for 6 months at a local campgrounds.
ANYWAY, we now have drywall in the guest house as well as flooring and electric. Jon has done a great job and he never ceases to amaze me with his many hidden talents and abilities. I found a sectional on craigslist (love it) and we put a tv out there. So far we have not had the opportunity to take advantage of it so we put our pups out there while we're at work. It is a glorified MAN(dog)cave! They seem to love it and it even comes complete with a doggie door and small fenced in area to accomodate potty time :)
Our yard is looking better and better now that the spring/summer seasons are here. I just added two ferns to my porch-SO EXCITED! Currently we do not have a lawn mower but thank the Lord we have a friend with a lawn business who cuts our grass every two weeks. Jon still gets out there and trims the driveway and sweeps to make it look perfect. We can't wait for the day we purchase a riding lawn mower and then we can really tackle our 3/4 of acre lot! It's huge! lol However, right now Jon and I just like to look at the riding lawn mowers and occasionally sit on them. I think that Home Depot and Lowes should invest in a lawn mower ride. They have horses and cars for kids to ride on-I think that many wives would love the opportunity to drop a quarter in the machine and watch as their husband's faces light up with delight as he rides around on the lawn mower ride testing out all of the little gadgets lol-just a thought!
Mowing right along....haha....sorry, I had to do it. Jon has also begun listning to series from Andrew Womack. He has downloaded several onto our phones so we can listen to them on our hour long commute to work each morning. I am so grateful to have Jon in my life and for him to be that spiritual guide for me. We balance each other so well and although we are really learning to walk in faith and keep circumstances down with the Word-it is so easy (when walking in the flesh) to feel defeated. Jon helps me out so much with this and when a situation arises he is right there with a scripture to combat it! Thank you my love for being you :)
Alright-thats enough updating for now. Talk to you later!! Enjoy the pics :)

Politics? Not so much!

Okay, so a friend of mine at work brought this quote to my attention. She heard it on Comedy Central and while I don't generally repeat things I hear on Comedy Central since Jon and I do not have cable...(yes, yes, I know, the fact that we do not have cable is totally unheard of and unamerican I'm sure but let's try to stay focused here...)
The quote was in response to President Obama's comment regarding American consumption. It reads:
"In America, consumption equals jobs. And these days, the banks aren't lending us money we need to buy the things we don't need to create the jobs we need to pay back the loans we can't afford".

I thought this whole thing was hilarious.
I am so glad that despite what the economy looks like, I am apart of an economy that is ALWAYS flourishing. Praise the LORD!

Resonate Staff Christmas Party

I LOVE Yankee Candle Factory. So much to see and so much to do. Jon and I had a great time. Thanks to all of the wonderful Resonate Staff for being so awesome to hang out with!

Girl's Christmas party '09

Another great Christmas party with all of the girls! Thanks for an awesome time-you all are very special to me! Love you! Tonya and Amy too :)

Christmas deals

6 foot pre-lit Christmas tree-$25 (retail $60)purchased on Black Friday
ornaments in various sizes and colors-$10 (retail $100)purchased after Christmas last year
party size crock pot-$3 (retail $13) purchased on Black Friday
Overall, tis' the season to SAVE SAVE SAVE

little helper

Always there to lend a helping paw, JimJim wows the crowd with his green striped sweater. For all the haters out there-what do you expect? The sweater was handed down by a poodle.

Rubber Ducky

It's been two years and our house has finally gotten it's first bath-so pretty!

Whistle while you work....

Day by day things on our "to do" list are being completed. Today's project-the retaining wall.

A husband's answer to his wife's request

After two years and a minimal budget, Jon has the answer to the tin ceiling I have long awaited for in our kitchen. With a bit of textured wallpaper and silver spray paint, Jon has created a masterpiece and given me what I always wanted while working with our budget. THANK YOU MY LOVE!!!

Adorable jewelry wall display!

Judy AKA mom-in-law strikes again with her crafty yet practical creation for the daughter-in-law always in search of more storage. Love it!