Thankful Thursday X 4

Today, I am thankful for...

My friend Lauren (and her family)

As I've said on this blog before, Lauren is the BEST friend a girl could ask for.  She is so thoughtful and always there for you.  When we got the job in O'Fallon, we immediately began talking to a bank to discuss a loan for a house.  We were told that we would need 30 days of Steven's employment before we could close on a loan (they are making loans harder to get).  So, we were needing somewhere to stay for a month to a month and a half.

God knew what He was doing when he put Lauren in my life, my first semester at MSU.  Lauren "just so happens" to be from St. Charles, a city right next to O'Fallon.  Her home is only 20 minutes from our new church.  Her parents have a finished basement, complete with a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.  They were so generous to OFFER it to us when Lauren heard of our need... we didn't even have to ask!  Lauren's parents know me a little bit, but have only met Steven briefly at our wedding.  Their hospitality has touched us so much and we are SO thankful for their gracious hearts!

I hope and pray that Steven and I will learn by this example, and always be willing and eager to help those in need (whether great or small).

Gasolina

We have had a really good weekend!

Friday, we headed to Tulsa to spend the weekend with my cousins.  We just paid the toll on the Turnpike, when the "low fuel" light came on.  So we kept waiting for an exit to get gas.  Well, 25 minutes later, we had passed no gas stations and began coasting down the highway!  Steven pulled to the shoulder of the road, and we went 20 mph for quite a ways, until we finally came to a picnic area.  Thank God we made it there!!!  We found some older men who offered to take Steven to the next exit (which was two miles away) so he could get some gas.  He then walked all the way back to the picnic area where I was waiting.  It was around 80 degrees, so Steven was really sweaty when I met him along the side of the road with his Strawberry Lemonade!  I think that we have learned a valuable lesson here!

We went to Go West for dinner on Saturday.  Steven's dessert looked like a smiley-face.

It rained pretty much the rest of the weekend.  Sunday, the rain (and hail) was so bad, and there were a lot of flash flood warnings.  Steven and I decided to stay an extra night instead of driving in the dark, rain, and flooding!  We were glad we did, we got to spend more time with Dayna and Levi, and the road was nice and dry during our ride home.

I woke up this morning with a comment on my blog that I had won a give-away!  I am SOOOO excited, I never win anything! 
Positively Splendid hosted this giveaway, and I won a $50 gift card to Lisa Leonard Designs.  All of her stuff is SO cute, I am having a hard time picking out what I will order!  I'm so excited, because it's stuff I love, but wouldn't normally be able to spend the money on.  So it's been a good day so far!

Thankful Thursday X 3

This Thursday, I am thankful for our BBC apartment.

Moving here was not my first choice.  The first time we toured these apartments, considering moving here, I about cried.  It was just so small, out-dated, and ghetto looking.  But it was just the most logical option- super cheap, literally right next to Steven's friends, and close to my school as well.  Now, I am so glad that we chose to live here.  We made some good friendships and saved so much money along the way.  We also have pretty low expectations now when we are checking out houses which I am sure our realtor appreciates!

A week from tomorrow, we will move to St. Louis.  We will leave behind this little ole apartment where we spent such a special time in our lives...  our first year and a half of marriage.  We have had our share of laughs and tears here.  We have celebrated both of our college graduations here.  We have hosted many dinners or game nights with friends and family.  We have made many memories here.

While I am soooooo excited about moving to O'Fallon and discovering the next chapter of our lives, it is a little bittersweet to leave.  The innocence of our lives as college students will be officially over.  We will be home owners, with full time jobs, mortgages, and bills.  If the fridge, roof, or furnace goes out, WE will be the one paying for it.  We'll have a lawn to mow and many other responsibilities and expenses we don't have now.  But we'll also have a dishwasher (!!!), a patio and yard to spend time outdoors, and a porch to put Christmas lights up.

We will miss you, A building apartment #210... (but only a little bit.)

Our God is Greater

Something has been on my heart the past few days.  I love my family.  My parents are so great, encouraging, and supportive.  My little brother and sister are also so sweet and thoughtful.  My grandparents have been prayer warriors for Steven and I as we have entered this chapter of our lives.  My cousins have taken time out of their busy schedules to send us encouragement.  I am SO blessed and I hope that I can (and do) pay it forward, and be there for them when there are needs.

I am responsible for me, and being the best that I can be.  That is what I will do.  Love is an action.

Steven and I are going to Tulsa this weekend for Easter.  We love staying with my cousins and playing game upon game.  Dayna is now pregnant with a little boy, and we will soon be moving making us 6 hours away... so this may be our last game weekend for a long time.  I'm so glad it worked out for us to go and for them to have work off!

Now glory be to God! By his mighty 

power at work within us, he is able to 

accomplish infinitely more than we 

would ever dare to ask or hope. 

Ephesians 3:20

I love this verse.  It is my prayer that God works through Steven and I, at Dardenne Prairie Bible Church, and does things bigger and greater than we ever would have imagined.

Such an exciting time!

You make me Smile

I am so blessed.
I love that I have a hubby.. that I KNOW loves me.
If my biggest issue with my man, is that he does too much dancing and singing made up songs about how much he loves me, then I should be grateful for that.
Steven, if you ever read this, I am sorry I am impatient with your goofiness sometimes.
But please don't stop because it is part of what makes me one of the most lucky girls in the world.
I love you and marrying you was such a great decision.

We're a couple of goofs... making our paper cups "kiss" when we were dating.  Ha!

White Houses

We just got back from a 3-day trip to St. Louis!

We got to the hotel in O'Fallon around 6:30 on Wednesday.  We went to a restaurant called Max & Erma's for dinner (it was like an Applebee's or Chili's), and then went back to the hotel and relaxed in the hot tub before watching TV and going to bed.

Thursday we met with our realtor, Lisa, at 9:00.  We probably went to 13 houses.  We found one we really liked on Aster street, and went back to her office to look up some info on it to see what we should offer for it.  Well, while we were sitting in her office, Lisa saw that in between Wednesday night and right then, an offer had been accepted on that house!  So we went back to the hotel around 6, intending to check out a couple more houses on Friday as well as go back to one that we had seen that day.

Friday we went back to Karington house and decided that it would also be a great first home.  We get back to the office to put a contract together, and Lisa calls the selling agent to clarify some wordage.  The agent tells her that just THAT morning the paperwork had come through that an offer had been accepted!

So, unfortunately we didn't get to leave one step closer to having a house.  We are going to just wait and see what else will come up on the market.  Obviously, God closed the door to those houses pretty quick so we know something else will come up!

Friday night we went to Pastor Dan's house for dinner, we had a really good time with him and his wife Susan.  Spending time with the church family really makes us excited to be there and be a part of it!  Only 2 more weeks!

Miscellaneous Monday (4)

:: Kim had her baby on Friday!  Baby Ari is soooooo beautiful, and has a good head of hair on her!  (I always think baby girls are cutest when they have some hair to them).  I'm so excited to meet her next month.

:: We are leaving Wednesday to look at houses in O'Fallon!  I am being a hard-core home searcher this time in that I have made two sheets that we will use to organize our thoughts.  I don't want all of the houses to run together.  First, I have a "home recap" sheet where we will list all of the addresses we visited along with their basic info, and then rate several different aspects of the house.  I also have another sheet which will be one per house, that has more detailed things to look at and make notes.  Our realtor (and Steven) may think I'm crazy, and I realize this is a little overboard, but I can't trust myself to remember all of this info if I don't write it down!

:: Grilling corn on the cob is seriously the BEST!  We've had it two times in the last three days.  You just wrap the corn along with some butter and salt sprinkled on in some aluminum foil, and put it on the grill!  The grilling just makes it extra juicy and gives it a distinct flavor.  Try it!

::  I have come to a hard conclusion lately, that I need to distance myself from some of my friends... maybe "friends" even.  I feel that I need to put more effort into the friendships that encourage me, genuinely love me, and bring me closer to God, and less effort on ones that bring me down with negativity and self-centeredness.  You'd think that would be common sense, but it's easier said than done.  Hopefully by writing this down, I will hold myself to this!

It is You

"You are not an accident.  

Your parents may not have planned you but God did.  

He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose.  

Focusing on yourself will never reveal your purpose.  

You were made by God and for God.  

Until you understand that, life will never make sense.  

Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny."
- Rick Warren    

I am always finding different quotes, phrases, or verses on blogland that speak to my heart.  I publish them on my blog so that I can read, re-read, and reflect on them.  This is one of my favorites so far.

Thankful Thursday X 2

Today I am thankful for two things!...

Tungsten, the metal that we got Steven's new ring in.  Scratch-resistant, waaaaaaaaaay cheaper than white gold, and looks just like white gold!  That's a win in our book!

(pic from Kay.com)
^say hello to Steven's ring!^

We called every pawn shop in Springfield two times this past week, and even went to a Jewelry one today to make sure it wasn't there.  So we have come to the conclusion that we won't get the original ring back.  :( 

I am obviously pretty sad about the situation, but keep telling myself that it is just a ring and there are worse problems to have.  At least we are both healthy and happy and Steven has a job now.  We are so blessed beyond what we deserve.  (And, let's be honest... at least it wasn't MY ring!  ha!)

AND...

I'm thankful for Kayak.com, and Delta Airlines, because they are making it possible for me to fly to North Carolina and visit...

Kimmy and Kelly!  It's official!  I bought my plane ticket yesterday.  I'm going there in May to be there after Kim has 'lil Ari.  Kelly called me this morning to tell me that Kim was having contractions, but she didn't end up going to the hospital.  It could be any day!!

This picture was taken on my 11th birthday.  Ha!  It's not flattering of any of us but I wanted to show just how young we were when we became BFFs.  Now we are all in different and special stages of life (Kim having a baby, me married and moving, and Kelly finishing up college student teaching) but I love that we are still close enough for me to fly over there, and for them to want me to come!  Ha.  I love these girls so much and pray that I can be a blessing and encouragement to them when I visit next month. 

Miscellaneous Monday (Part 3)

Well, Spring did not follow my requests... as I am writing, it is like 50 degrees and windy outside!  At least we didn't get a hail storm like my family did in KC!

:: Do you shop at Aldi's?  I do.  I actually <3 Aldi's.   I feel that they are any newly-wed's BFF.  We have one right down the street (conveniently next to WalMart).  And, although sometimes I wonder about walking through the parking lot alone (I am sure this is not true for all Aldi locations, I just live in the "ghetto" side of town), it is worth it when I think of how much I am about to spend in my head, and the total is less than that!  Some things I always try to buy at Aldi are sour cream, milk, cheese (blocks or shredded), paper plates, pickles (they are the best pickles ever), and canned goods.  All of these things I have found are just as good as the regular brand but are substantially enough cheaper that it is worth the extra stop.  I always just bring a cloth re-useable bag with me (I don't usually get more than one bag's worth) and I am good to go!

:: Every night, I think of a story in my head to get me to go to sleep.  This keeps me from thinking about or stressing about real-life events.  Steven tells me, "just don't think about anything", but my mind doesn't work that way.  I have several "stories" that have going on at any given time... I just pick the one that is the most appealing that night and add on to it until I fall asleep.  I try to keep them realistic.  For example, one of my "stories" is how I find out I am pregnant, and then we find out I am preggo with triplets.  I have it all thought out how I would tell Steven we were pregnant, and then how we would tell my parents it was triplets.  I have thought out how I have to go on bed-rest because all the weight is too much on my lil' body.  I haven't gotten to their birth yet but each night I add on a little more to the story...

:: A kitchen mixer would be so handy.  I have a hand-held one now, because we don't have counter space for a stand-up one, but when we get a house I would like one eventually.  Maybe a yellow one to match my theme?  The hand-held seemed like a good idea at the time but I always end spraying cookie dough (or whatever I'm making) in a hundred different directions, including my clothes, the kitchen floor, and probably someone's jacket that is chillin on the back of one of our dining room chairs.

:: Last night, I couldn't help but notice that the body wash I use claims on the bottle that its scent "helps put you at ease and boosts self-confidence."   Really?  I am almost finished with this bottle and have never noticed such results in my confidence level!  ha!  How do they come up with this stuff??

Rockin' Robin (tweet tweet, tweet-a-lee)

I am so excited to share with you my new and improved key rack!

Last week I went to Salvation Army with my mom and saw this beauty for $2.97

It was dusty and neglected, but I saw potential in her.

When I got back from SA, my hubby asked me what I had gotten.  I told him I got our new key rack and showed it to him...  He just looked at it and said "oh."  lol.  So I had to prove to him that I could make her pretty again!

Here she is all cleaned up.

First I took it all apart, and sanded the wood down.  I spray painted the metal pieces with Krylon Satin Bright White, and the wood with Krylon Bahama Sea.

After she is put back together.  She looks good, and I could have stopped here and it would have been cute, but I had an idea...

I have no idea if this is the "right" way to do this or not, but it worked for me.  I found a fabric I loved which matched my blue, I got some quilt batting, and I sacrificed one of our abundance of cardboard boxes to add  a padded backing to the coat rack.

Last night I was so excited it was done and took several pictures of it for "after" pictures. 

That was before I saw the Ziplock bag with the hooks laying on the floor.  Goodness gracious, I tell you I am losing my mind!  The hooks would be an essential part of a key rack...

I proceeded to insert the hooks, and decided to make a cute fabric flower with some of my remnants.  (and used this tutorial.)

And, one more time...

I LOVE how it turned out!  I once again can't wait until we get our house so I will have somewhere to show it off!  Until then I will just stare at these pictures while it is packed up!  ha.

What I love, is how much money I didn't spend on it.  $3 for the rack, $2.50 for the fabric, and probably $1 worth of batting.  So the entire thing for $6.50 ish!  Can't beat that!

Oh, and the best part, is my hubby's reaction when he saw her done for the first time!  He very enthusiastically (almost surprisingly?) told me, "wow, babe, this looks good !"  Much better than the "oh" I received earlier.

Enjoy the Spring!

 


linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick Before and After Party

and

You are my Sunshine

Today it is sooooo great outside.  As in, 93 degrees worth of greatfulness!  I love it.  I love the feel of the sun on my bare (and white!) legs.  I love the breeze.  I love grilling out.  I love homemade ice cream and other summertime desserts.  I love wearing tanktops and Soffees.  I even love how hot the leather in my car felt on my legs today.  I hope that spring and summer are here to stay a while this time!

In the spirit of Spring, I made my very first Strawberry Trifle.  It is currently sitting in my refrigerator, so I can't say how it tastes, but it definitely looked delish as I was making it!  I am also thinking of making a tomato pie for dinner tonight.  (I have found so many new recipes since joining blog-land!)  Tastes like summer to me!

I finished a project today that I still have to take a picture of before I share it with you.  So, instead I will show you two of the other projects I have been up to in the past couple of weeks.

First of I have five "baby blankets" I made.  My mom and I went to Hancock Fabric over a month ago and the idea to make fleece blankets came to my mom.  We got to thinking that we could make some baby ones either for Alexandra's House (a prenatal hospice in KC), the Linus Project, or a local hospital.  I made the blankets and prayed for the babies and their families while tying the knots.  They have sense been delivered back to my mom, who knows where they will end up!

 

And, I made these bean bags to either freeze or heat depending on the injury.  I hand-stitched these babies, and each one probably took at least three hours.  I have nothing if not time, lol.  I like to imagine that since it took so long, my very presence is infused in the stitching, so whenever someone has an injury and they put a bean bag on it, it is as if I am kissing it and it will heal faster.  As a bonus, this way I can "kiss" my own owies.

lately

Not a ton has been happening lately.  Yesterday I went and ran errands for about four hours... yes, four.  I of course started off with a Vanilla Coke from Sonic and went from there.  I have decided that I am losing my mind.  I went to Target and couldn't find anything I needed.  I was about to walk out when I saw bleach and suddenly remembered that I needed to buy bleach.  So I bought one item.  On my way to my car, I looked at the coupon I recieved when checking out, and it was for toilet paper.  Well, we only had two rolls left at home, so I put the bleach in my car and then went back inside to buy some toilet paper.  I got back to the car again, and was sitting in the driver's seat when I looked down at my list and had forgot to look for one thing!  After major debating in my head, I got out of the car again and went back into Target.  They didn't have what I was looking for, but I am sure the greeter thought I was crazy, going in the store three different times in thirty minutes.

When I finally got home (with several other stops) I realized that I had bought all but one thing that I needed for the new project I am working on.  Don't you hate that?  (In my defense, it wasn't written on my list) So I talked Steven into going to WalMart with me under the guise of going grocery shopping.  Of course we bought much more than was originally on my grocery list, but we are hoping this trip will last us the rest of the time we are in this apartment (less than a month now!).

Steven lost his wedding ring on Wednesday (he will tell you it was stolen.  I guess it is both).  He went to Jiffy Lube to change my oil (he used to work there, so if he brings his own oil in they will help him change it for free).  He went to wash his hands of the oil and set his ring on the sink.  He left without it.  The next day he called Jiffy Lube and one of the managers told him that an employee had found it and put it on the desk in the office, but it was not there anymore.  Leaving us to believe that one of the employees stole it.  I have called over a dozen pawn shops in Springfield and none of them have it.  We are praying that whoever did it will feel guilty enough to bring it back, or that maybe it just got knocked off the desk and it is just hidden somewhere in the office.

If it isn't one thing, it's another!  There is never a dull moment. 

Here is a verse to leave you with.  My aunt Pam sent this to me when I e-mailed her that we took the job in OFallon.

"He will lead me in paths of life.  In His presence is fullness of joy and in His right hand are pleasures forevermore."  Psa. 16:11