Singing in the car!

Wednesday's meeting with the church in O'Fallon went great, and they are wanting us to come visit sometime in March.  Maryville is supposed to call us sometime next week.  We are excited about these opportunities!

Today I went to Bolivar to visit my friend Heather.  Heather and I were in Welcome Week together at SBU and hit it off, and we were roommates my last semester there.  We had a good time- got Happy Hour from Sonic, enjoyed the GREAT weather at the park, had El Rodeo for dinner, and then watched an entire disk of Friends.

Today is the day that was supposed to be Steven's first day at Maryville.  On the way home, there was nothing good on the radio so I turned on the Chris Tomlin CD I had bought a few months ago. "I Will Follow" really hit me and almost had me crying on my way home.  The lyrics at the beginning go,

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow...

All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone

In my version, though, the words were "WHEN you go, I'll go, WHEN you stay, I'll stay...".  This really is the desire of my heart.  God is working His perfect timing and all Steven and I need to do is trust that HE has everything in His hands!

I really think that God has been using this as some sort of a "refining" process.  I know we would have been ready if we had started the Maryville position today, but through this trial we have had to rely on God even more than ever before and have grown closer to Him as a couple and as individuals. I've been more intent on having devotions and have been able to see God move in my heart in the little things. I had a passion for teenage girls before, but now I am even more eager to nurture these girls God will entrust us with... to show them they don't need a boy to be beautiful or lovely... to encourage them, hopefully give them a little wisdom, and just be a listening ear that they may not get anywhere else.

I know it's cliche to say "God has a plan and it's the best thing" but I think that that has become real to our hearts and minds and it is a lesson we will take with us through the rest of our lives and marriage!

Valentine's and Faith

Well hello, hello!  It has been almost a week since I've written last, so it's time for me to play catch up...

Last Wednesday, Steven and I decided to go home.  My friend Bethany got married last month and invited me and my friend Ali over for dinner and for me to see her new house for the first time.  Bethany and I have been friends since 2nd grade, and Ali is also my cousin so we've known each other our whole lives.  Bethany, Ali, and I have been good friends ever since 2nd grade and have many memories together. We got there at 7 and stayed till 2:30 am.  You can tell we had a GREAT time!  We really didn't do all that much other than talk, laugh, and tell stories.  I love making new friends but there is something just so special about friends that you've had your whole life who have been there through everything.  I love these girls!

Thursday we mostly hung out at my house, and I went with my mom to pick up Austin and Kyla from school.

Friday Steven and I met up with our high school youth pastor, Lance, and his wife Rebecca and their son Parker for lunch.  Steven also did both of his internships with Lance.  We love them- Lance has had such a powerful impact in Steven's life- and are always so encouraged when we get together with them!  After, Steven went to his house and I went shopping with my mom.

Saturday, we spent the day with Steven's family.  Maddie and Kaden had basketball games so they were fun to watch, and then Kaden's team had a pizza party so we went to that. 

Sunday we went to "e-church" at my cousin Dayna's church.  I felt kind of lazy doing it at first, but the message was so good and I really felt like God was speaking to our situation.  The pastor is going through a series on Joshua and said something to the effect of, "if you want to be in the will of God, you must be willing to be in His timeline."  I am always praying for God's will in what church we end up at, but God is showing me that I can't ask for His will in our lives while expecting Him to work at the pace I think is best! 

We came back to Springfield Sunday night, wanted to be back in time for Valentine's Day.
Monday was Valentine's.  We usually try to do our date the day before or the day after Valentine's Day so we can avoid the lines.  We opted for the day after this year.  Instead of doing a real "date" Monday, we went shopping and got some good deals, and picked up a Redbox movie and a DELISH Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen on our way home! 

Today (Tuesday) I got together with my friend Lauren.  We went on a walk downtown and then just went back in her dorm and talked for a while.  Then Steven and I went on our date and we went to Hinode, our favorite Japanese Steakhouse here in Springfield.  We tried the Las Vegas sushi rolls and they were honestly soooooo good.  After I pulled the salmon out, they were the best sushi I've ever ate!

That's it for me.  Tomorrow Steven is meeting with a pastor in Osage Beach to discuss a youth pastor position at his church.  I'm really not too nervous because I know God is in control!!!

Shutterfly

We've had a good couple of days!

Saturday, I got lunch at Panera with Sarah, my sister in law.  We stayed for a couple of hours and had a good time just talking.  After, Steven and I went to WalMart and then headed to our friend Asian's (his real name is Anthony but he's from Taiwan so everyone calls him Asian) for a Chinese New Year party.  Asian had ordered Chinese from New China and it was SO good.. we were stuffed.  After we ate, it was kareoke time!  I think that lasted around 2 hours and there was a lot of singing and dancing going around, and of course, Steven was quite a hit!

Sunday was church, then I took a nap, then we went to Chris (the High Street youth pastor) and Cassandra's house for a Super Bowl party!  Steven is a counselor with our youth group, and several youth kids came.  I didn't get too into the game but there were some good commercials!

Yesterday I got to talk to my friend Kimmy on the phone!  It was sooooo good to talk to her.  She and her twin sister, Kelly, moved across the street from me the summer before 5th grade.  We became fast friends and their family became my second family.  They moved back to North Carolina the summer before 7th grade, and as hard as that was, we were able to see each other almost every summer since then.  Either I would go to NC or they would come to KC.  They are such special friends and the kind of friend where, even if you haven't talked to them in a LONG time, you can call them up and be right where you left off. I am hoping to be able to visit them sometime in May to meet Kimmy's baby. We haven't seen each other since my wedding!

 This is me, Kim, and Kelly at my Bachelorette party!

After, I ran some errands... really didn't buy much at all but it gave me something to do!

I'm about to start working on a Shutterfly photobook of our honeymoon!  Only a year and a half late... my mom got a coupon for a free 8x8 book and asked if I wanted to use it.  Getting it for free gave me motivation to get working on it!

DIY

Today was a very good day!

Steven and I got up early (well, early for us) to help our church deliver Power Packs.  Power Packs are a bags of food our church provides two times a month for students at a low-income elementary school here in Springfield.  Today they were due to bring the packs to the school to give the kids, but it was a snow day, so drivers were needed to deliver the packs to the kids homes. Steven and I had kind of a crazy time maneuvering the snowy/icy back-roads while using my phone for directions to bring 12 kids their Power Packs.  One of the homes was down a really steep hill and my heart was racing when we tried to go back up it- we had to try a couple of times.  We are so proud to be a part of a church that is so involved in loving and blessing their community!

We came back home and I took a short nap, then met with my friend Lauren to get Sonic Happy Hour and then go to Hobby Lobby and get some more tulle for a project I was working on.  Lauren is one of the best friends you will ever find.  She just found out she got a job at Panera so I was excited to hear about it and celebrate with her!

Came home and finished my DIY Valentine's wreath with my material from Hob Lob.  Steven and I then went to the BBC basketball game and saw a lot of Steven's (and my) old friends.  Made us realize it had been way too long since we've hung out with them!  I think we might get together with them again tomorrow night.

Well, aside from making new recipes, I have also been making projects for myself to make the time go by faster.  I'd say I've been to Hobby Lobby at least once, if not twice, a week since the new year.  I feel so crafty!  ha.  Here's the Valentine's wreath I finished today!

I have also been making some little girls hair bows.  One of my best friends (who was also a Bridesmaid in our wedding), Kimmy, is pregnant with a little girl.  I am so excited and love browsing the baby aisles whenever I go shopping!  Girls are so much fun!  Anyway, one day I was tempted to buy some little hair bows, but got to thinking that I could make them myself and they would (hopefully) be cuter, customized, from the heart, cheaper, and it would keep me busy!  Five in one!  So off to Hob Lob I went and bought some ribbon, and I'm pretty pleased with the results so far!

 

These are "headbands"- I attached stretchy nylon stuff to put it on the baby's head

little tiny bows with little tiny hair clips glued on- for when there is barely any hair on the little gal's head!

And these are bigger and have bigger hair clips sewn onto the back.  The baby will definitely have to be a little older and have some more hair before she will be able to wear these!

Well, thanks for looking!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Three days ago, it was almost 70 degrees out so Steven and I got Chipotle to go for dinner and ate it outside at Jordan Valley Park.

 Three days later, "Snowapalooza 2011" has come!  I honestly don't think we have been hit as bad as other parts of the mid-west... I'd say we have 6 inches or so of snow?

I've been trying several new recipes- it's been fun trying out some new recipes and keeping busy doing it.  Luckily, before the snow storm hit, I bought a bunch of groceries to try some other new recipes.  So I'm going to get on dinner soon while Steven is out cleaning the snow off our cars!

 This picture is from last weekend- every few months we like to go to Tulsa for game weekend!  We went to Go West for dinner one night and all tried different desserts and shared with each other.  I got the "Diablo Cake" and it was huge but sooooo good!