Morning goodness

Today I woke up to sun!  That isn't normal in Michigan at this time of year, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.  The sun and snow puts a smile on my face.  My morning coffee always helps too.

I feel so grateful, our Christmas was so wonderful this year!  We couldn't be more thankful for our families and their generous hearts.  Its really nice knowing that we have families that love us and want to help us.  Among all the wonderful Christmas presents we were given, money for a down payment on a house seemed to be the most helpful. 

We recently found a house that we both like on the westside of Lansing.  It is a two bedroom and will need our cosmetic love with paint and some updates, but the shell of the house is in wonderful shape.  God really blessed us with this house and reminded me that he knows what he is doing and that I can trust that he has our best interest at heart.  We wouldn't have ever thought that this area would be where we would buy our first home, but lately it has been warming up to us.  The moment we walked in, the house "hugged" me and gave me a warm, homey feeling.  I can't help it, but I wear my heart on my sleeve and fall in love easily with things.

Overall I feel so great about where we are right now.  The Lord continually amazes me with his grace by teaching me what patience and contentment really means.  It has given me a heart that is calm and able to trust my husband to lead us.  I feel like I can respect him more because I know that he loves the Lord and is consistently asking for wisdom in making decisions.  Our marriage is so much more refreshing and wonderful when I become more submissive and find my ultimate joy in the Lord.  I love having a marriage that continually grows me closer to Christ.....much to be thankful for. 

My hope is that you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with Christ's love.  There is much to be thankful for that the Lord continually graces us with blessings in abundance because of what Jesus has done for us.  As David and I start a new year we pray that we would grow more in understanding his love and become more righteous through the word and spirit of Christ. 

I feel sad thinking about taking the Christmas decor down.....last year they stayed up till February!  I'm not sure if David will let me do that again :)  When do you usually take them down???  Also, what traditions do you do for New Years?  David and I are by no means party people and love relaxing at home.  I would love something fun to do/make for memory sake since we usually go to bed early :)  Yeah we have become a boring married couple, but I like it.  Let me know your thoughts.

ps.  I graduate in May and only have one class this semester.....talk about feeling thankful!!!!  I cried when I saw someone in their cap and gown because I felt so overjoyed about being able to wear mine soon.  I have never worked so hard to finish something and it will truly be a wonderful day when I receive my degree.  Just had to share this with you since I never thought I would make it to my last semester!!!!!

Love to all!

Baby on the Loose

I wanted to share this for so many reasons. This is my second cousin Drew from Minnesota and this made me laugh. Firstly, they created a "Drew pen" to keep him contained since he likes to get into mischief. This is a video of him after he escaped the pen. Secondly, listen to the accent when his mom talks. I miss Minnesota for so many reasons and I wish I could live there since my accent tends to sneak out at certain times and Michiganders make fun of me :)

Craigslist and Happy Finds

So for the longest time David and I have wanted an armoire that we could put our TV in and after months and months of searching craigslist, we found one!  David's Mom, Step-Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law gave us money for our birthdays to spend on one!  We never thought that we would have leftover money......

We picked it up in Grand Rapids yesterday and after much needed help lugging it up to the third floor, it now rests beautifully in our humble abode.  Its in great shape and only has some scratches here and there.  It was bought originally for $1200 and we feel like we stole it since we only had to pay $150!  Yay for craigslist and happy finds.

Both of us would love to paint it white after we move to a new place sometime in the near future and I was curious of anyone had any knowledge of how you go about painting stained wood.  I was thinking that you must need to prime it somehow and then paint over, but neither of us have a lot of knowledge on this.  Our other idea is staining it dark.  What would you think would look best? I can't wait to paint it to fit our style more and David said that until then I can buy new hardware for the knobs on the front....he's so good to me :)

Let me know your thoughts and wisdom! 

ps.  I'm attaching a photo of it, I love acting like its a fireplace and hanging our stockings on it :)

Snowbaby

This costume is just too cute.  I know that my kids won't like me since I'm pretty sure that I will dress them in costumes like this one and take like a million pictures :)  Then when I meet their future spouces I will show them off like its my job! 

*Winter weddings*

I can't believe that almost two years ago on December 20, 2008 I was marrying my best friend and husband.  Time has flown by and so much has happened in those two years. 

I wouldn't have ever thought that our life would look like it does now, but boy am I thankful.  The Lord most definately knows what he is doing and has a great plan for our lives.  I feel so much joy in knowing that he is in control and is continually faithful.

Marriage is such a sweet blessing and I feel like I know way more about being a servent for the Lord because of it.  David has taught me so much about who I am, flaws and all.  I can honestly say that the Lord has done such great work in my heart through my husband and I'm so excited to see all the ways he continually does that year to year.

David is truly such a blessing to me and I don't know what I would do without his patience and love toward me.  He has a way of always putting a smile on my face when I need it most.  He knows the times that I get most anxious and usually has a way of calming me down.  He never gets upset knowing that I enjoy having a very neat apartment and strives to care for me by putting his things away without even realizing how much it blesses me.  He laughs at my never ending list of pet peeves and jokes about how I say phrases incorrectly and can't keep a secret for the life of me.  He realizes that coffee dates tend to be my most favorite thing and even looks at pictures of baby things, furniture, houses, etsy stuff, pottery barn...... even though I know it bores him to death.  He never gets frustrated that I'm indecisive and move things around the apartment and will buy shirts that have pink in them since he knows that I like him in pastels.  He gets that I like routine and will try so hard to keep his eyes open since I become most talkative once we get into bed.  He knows how much I enjoy gentlemen and will open the door for me and give me his arm all the time.  His patience, compassion and love never cease to amaze me.....what an amazing shadow of Christ I have in my husband.

So as I reflect on these two years....I get excited knowing that God-willing there are many more to come! 

Since we know how special marriage is we get so excited for people getting married and are so blessed to be celebrating two weddings this weekend.  David is reading scripture in one and I'm a bridesmaid in the other.  Even though we don't get to see eachother a lot that day, I know how much it means to both of us to be a part of a wedding and to share love to both couples.  It will be such a wonderful day celebrating the union of Andrew and Vanessa Chesebro and Paul and Ashley Mazanka! 

Monday is our real anniversary so we plan to have a nice dinner together.  The beginning of January will be our true celebration though as we travel to our favorite place....Traverse City.  We will be staying at a winery/bed and breakfast for two nights and doing nothing but relaxing.  I'm beyond excited!!!

Hope this time leading up to Christmas is joyous and wonderful!  Rejoicing in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

ps. I hope to get out Christmas cards soon....we had a mistake with printing and had to send them back to get fixed!

Great website for Jewlery!

I really liked some pieces of her jewelery and follow her blog a little.  To view some of her work click on Bel Kai Designs under my blog list and then you can view her store from there!  Hope you enjoy :)

JJ Heller - What Love Really Means (Official Music Video)

Even in sickness, I can glorify the Lord

The last ten years or so have been such a roller coaster of emotion.  Long periods of bed rest, joint pain, cracking and dislocations, headaches, fatigue, decrease in mobility, lack of concentration.....the list goes on.  I've only begun to understand what is going on in my little body, but understanding why and how to function still grips me daily.


Thankfully I've been seeing a doctor here in Lansing who is well known for her expertise in Rheumotology.  Since going to her about a year ago she has diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Joint Hypermobility Syndrome......all very difficult things to explain, but I will do my best.  It seems that my major joints (elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, fingers, feet) all have the ability to overextend natural mobility and cause me intense amounts of pain.  This can be very hard since doing things physically (even simple things like brushing my teeth) can be painful and discouraging.  The Fibromyalgia is similar in that it creates pain throughout by body due to over stimulation of the nerves.  There are certain parts of my body that hurt more that others and these are called pressure points (ex. back, arms).  With the pain comes something called Chronic Fatigue which is an inability to have energy or do simple things without feeling extremely tired and exhausted.  With this is a pretty weak immune system that makes it hard for me to overcome illness and an increased ability to get sickness easily.

All of these working together make it very hard to do physical activities without feeling pain and lack of energy.  Besides the physical difficulties, I struggle emotionally understanding how to manage and deal with these problems.  It is such a balance of taking care of my body, but also trying my best to live a life that is joyful and somewhat normal.  I try so hard to make my life look normal to outsiders, but people close to me know that it is far from the case.  I sleep a good amount and I plan out my days according to how much I think I can do without feeling completely overwhelmed and exhausted.  I struggle missing out on things and making the choices based on physical need rather that emotional need most of the time.  More often than not I worry about the choices I make regarding my time, and have a difficult time feeling like I'm lazy or don't do enough. 

Even with all of this, I have joy.  It is not a fake joy that comes out of having a positive attitude or minimizing my struggles.  It is a joy out of knowing that I belong body and soul to a wonderful Father and God that knows me and has made me to glorify him in all that I do.  I know that through my faith in Christ; that he willingly became a substitution and died for me on the cross and carried my sins so that I may have a relationship with God and be righteous to Him, I will have an eternal life with Him in heaven.  I have this gift and choose to believe that my life, regardless of what it looks like, can be a living testament to God's goodness and will glorify Him by being a light in this world.  Sickness and poor health was given to me and I was meant to use it to glorify Him in ways that I don't even know yet.  All I know is that I can hold tight to his promises that he knows whats best and know that he is a faithful God that is sanctifying me and using this to make me more like himself.

I hope this encourages people to realize that the Lord uses weak people to show his strength.  There are so many stories of this in the Bible (Gideon in Judges) where God uses those that look weak and shameful to the world to bring himself glory.  I choose to be thankful for my sickness and find hope in believing in his goodness and mercy.  Day after Day I rely on his grace and strength to get me through.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Sure I struggle, cry, worry, feel pain, get frustrated and discouraged, but I make the choice to believe truth and to know in my heart that I have a God that loves me and cares for me.  I run to him daily to receive what I need and choose to sing of his glory instead of wallowing in my own hurt.