New Addition!!

..we have a new addition to our family!

...her name is Ellie:) She is a yorkie-poo and as of yesterday she weighs 4.4lbs.!!
 She is so sweet! She is so playful and hasn't slowed down a whole lot since we got her!
...now its time to potty-train her! All your prayers will be appreciated!

Im still here....

Its been  a while...but I am still here...
....not been much to blog about...although me and Jordyn have started running on his days off......it has been somewhat of a struggle...but hopefully will be worth it in the end...
  where we live there are so many geese...we have a huge pond outside our apartment and they all love it there. The other day Jordyn was working so i decided to walk/ run by myself. I took some leftover bread to the geese...they will eat anything..so I figured instead of throwing it out, I would give them a treat!
   I soon found out that may be a bad idea...this is what I saw coming towards me..

....and this wasn't all...they multiply very quickly. Within seconds I was surrounded  with only two pieces of bread. They all started chirping and bobbing their heads and chasing me so I decided the best thing for me to do was get out of there! I threw the bread and ran off..:)

 As I was escaping..I happened to see two geese off to the side.. I got a little closer only to see that there were baby geese! I was able to watch them for a while. They were so sweet.

  I had to show Jordyn, so as soon as he got home from work we took some more bread and had another visit with the geese! I told him that this time he was in charge of giving out the bread, and I would stand off to the side.

We also have a few ducks....they spotted the food first so they all stood in line waiting on Jordyn to give them food. One ate out of his hand....and he had them all literally jumping to get the bread from his hand. I think in this picture he was trying to get them to "sit" to get some food..they don't quite listen as well as dogs do.

Here are the babies! They are so cute! Jordyn was able to get them to come close to us so we could feed them! It was so sweet but the poor kids, the mom was taking all their food so, Jordyn had to throw it far away so they could all run to it!

After a while the others realized we were there...so here we go again...Jordyn said...what am I supposed to do? I don't have any more food... My advice...RUN!!!!





      

Don't Quit

     Living away from home has brought on several challenges. One of the biggest has been finding a church. We have looked on the Internet, and visited so many churches over the past few weeks. I guess we also have very high standards because our church back home is the best you will find. I have been there all my life, so coming here and finding a new church has been very difficult for me especially.We had a guest preacher and he preached a very encouraging message.

I have heard these verses and even the words he said over 1000 times, but this time was different. God used his word to speak in a completely different way. He read Galatians 6:7-9- Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

He talked about how as Christians, we have a job to do. We have a job to go and spread the gospel to others. We also are called to be servants and to do what the Lord called us to do. He said we are not called to quit or give up on God. Even though we don't feel like He is there or is working, He is, because His word said He is!

It is so easy to get discouraged when we feel like what we are doing is useless. We pray and seek and hope, and it feels like God is not intervening with our problems. The pastor often reminded us in his message that the harvest is in Gods hands. Our job is to plant the seeds, and then leave the rest to the Lord.

The most profound things that he said that has stuck with me is a story that he told about a farmer. He said every year he gets ready to for the harvest. He sows with handfuls, but reaps with truckloads. 


I'm so thankful that God's word always has new things to say. He is a great God, and His word is full of truth. I am so grateful for His timing and encouragement when I need it the most.

Remember...Don't quit...your work is not in vain! 

Decoration!

My parents came down for a visit last week! It was great having them here! They were able to see our new place and spend some time with me and Jordyn!! While they were here they helped us put some finishing touches on our apartment!

We added a picture above the couch! I have so much wall space it was hard to find one that was big enough! This one matches my rug, so it was a winner!

 

 

A closer view

This is my favorite area! We put the scripture on the wall (vinyl lettering) and my mom made our beautiful centerpiece!!

     

I'm really not sure what to call this area.  My mom calls it the Olive Garden area because it looks like something you would see in an Italian restaurant. Again, my mom used her creativity to make something to fill this space!!

This is the hallway!  I love this picture. I have been looking at it for weeks! My parents purchased it for me when they were here! I have to say they still spoil me! I'm still waiting to get my pictures to fill it up! I can't wait til its done!

 

 

 

  Thanks again Mom and Daddy for all your help! You helped make our place look more like a home (temporary home)!!

My Big Day!

Well....one month later I decided it would be a good time to post about my wedding:) My wedding was everything I imagined plus even more (with the exception of rain). I have been truly blessed with so many people who made this experience in my life even more special. My mom, mother in law, and many other of my sweet friends and family members helped to decorate the church. Everything was lit up, and was very elegant. My bridesmaids looked stunning in their black dresses (not to mention about as skinny as a rail :)) The guys didn't look too bad either! My wedding was very simple, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! The best way to describe this day is to let you see it for yourself. All these pictures were taken by Calla-Lilly Photography.

 To set my wedding apart, I decided to sing to my husband. I love to sing, but struggled with this decision because I tend to be a little emotional. To keep this top secret only the people that had to know about it knew. My brother is so talented and is able to play several instruments. He lives about 6 hours away from me so finding a time to practice was impossible until a few days before the wedding. We started the Thursday before staying up til about 2am practicing this song. It turned out to be so beautiful. My brother, Matt, played the piano while I sang a song called Forever and Ever I Do. I was strong until about the second line when it hit Jordyn that I was singing to him and started sobbing. I did my best to hold it together, and I made it all the way through! I don't get to surprise him often-but this one was GREAT!

 

We also had a wonderful wedding party! Each one is so dear to our hearts. This is my favorite picture of all of us! We had so much fun!

 

And of course...we couldn't have made it through smoothly without our wedding director! Thanks Deidre for all your help!! I love you so much! 

And if course our parents....We love our parents so much. They have done SOOO much for us, especially throughout our engagement. We cannot express how blessed we are to have such amazing families. We truly love them with ALL our hearts!

We have been happily married for a month now! God has been so good to the both of us, has answered so many prayers already. We are so excited to see what all he will do in the days ahead!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!!! 

I hope you have a great day! 

I love you and miss you a lot! 

Can't wait to see you soon!

SOOOO much to tell!

Yes I am still here, and I have not forgot about blogging! It has just been crazy for the past few weeks! My husband and I  got married on March 5th. It still seems unreal! After the wedding we headed to Ft. Myers and Disney World for our honeymoon! I have been wanting to go Disney for a very long time. My parents decided to take me when I was 2, so needless to say I don't remember anything from our trip. We spent the first 3 nights In Ft. Myers, FL. Jordyn's grandmother has a place there, and graciously let us spend some time there! It was beautiful.

 

When we got there we opened the door to a beautifully decorated apartment. As you can see they used a lot of rose petals....It took us a very long time to get them all up! We also spent a day at the beach there. The weather was beautiful! The beach was so nice and relaxing!

 

We were able to catch the sunset one night..It was breathtaking! I am so amazed at Gods beautiful creation!

 

After Fort Myers we headed to DISNEY WORLD~!!!!!! It was about a 3 hour drive! We headed straight to Disney's Animal Kingdom!

 

There was so much to see! My favorite thing about this park was the safari we went on! We saw giraffes, antelope, lions, hippos, rhinos, and so much more. It was so neat to see all these unusual animals! We had a great time. 

 

We then headed to Magic Kingdom. Jordyn and I both thought this park would be our least favorite but it was actually our favorite park! We had so much fun! We were able to ride several rides and see some beautiful shows! It was truly magical!

We then headed to Epcot! We were also very impressed with this park! They were having a festival of flowers the week we were there. They had several Disney characters made out of flowers! It was amazing!

 In Epcot you are able to travel all around the world and experience many different cultures. I had to make a special stop in Moscow to have my picture taken with the characters from my ABSOLUTE favorite Disney movie, Aladdin! Bless my sweet husband for standing in line for a very long time so he could take the picture for me!

We then made our way to the last park...Hollywood Studios. There was only about 3 things there that we really enjoyed. Tower of Terror, Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller coaster, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PLAY!!! You can probably tell which one was my favorite. These two rides were probably our favorite. They had so much detail, and were so different than any other I have ever been on! Their Beauty and the Beast play summed up the classic story into a 30 min production. I was so amazed. They did a wonderful job!

As you can see, we had a wonderful time! We have so many memories that we will cherish forever!

.....Wedding pictures are on the way!