It's been awhile!

Sorry for my tardiness in updating this bad boy. It certainly isn't because nothing has been going on!
First- I finished student teaching at Rochester and was very sad to leave. I'm officially a college grad! Next semester I plan on subbing all around the area. I've been on a couple interviews for next school year but none have been extremely promising. Now I'm a stay at home wife trying to find enough things to occupy my time.
Brent is loving his job and we're both loving the pay check :)
A couple weeks ago we got iPhones and they're fabulous.
We moved my grandma into a retirement home in Springfield from up north. We're all glad to have her living closer!
We had our 2 year anniversary last week. Hard to believe it's been 2 years. To celebrate we went to st. Louis for the night Saturday and ate at the always delicious and romantic melting pot.

That's about it for now!! I'm hoping to have some other exciting news for you in the next month or so ;) stay tuned!!



Here is Milo looking very jolly in front of our tree.




Wonderful new phone (and cardigan)



Two sets of beautiful flowers from my man!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I promise I'll get back into posting SOON! The semester is ending and I seem to be getting busier...but trust me, there will be MANY updates soon to come :) Stay tuned...

What's up

Updating my blog was not on my lengthy "to do" list for today, but I came across something in the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan I wanted to share (p.s. if you haven't read this...do so).

Brooke Bronkowski was a beautiful fourteen-year-old girl who was in love with Jesus. When she was in junior high, she started a Bible study on her campus. She spent her babysitting money on Bibles so she could give them out to her unsaved friends. Youth pastors who heard about this brought her boxes of Bibles to give away.
Brooke wrote the following essay when she was about twelve; it will give you an idea of the kind of girl she was.

“SINCE I HAVE MY LIFE BEFORE ME”
I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles. You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I’ll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact that’s all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest. I’ll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I’ll set an example for others, I will pray for direction. I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!

During her freshman year in high school, Brooke was in a car accident while driving to the movies. Her life on earth was ended when she was just fourteen, but her impact didn’t. Nearly fifteen hundred people attended Brooke’s memorial service. People from her public high school read poems she had written about her love for God. Everyone spoke of her example and her joy.
I shared the gospel and invited those who wanted to know Jesus to come up and give their lives to Him. There must have been at least two hundred students on their knees at the front of the church praying for salvation. Ushers gave a Bible to each of them. They were Bibles that Brooke had kept in her garage, hoping to give out to all of her unsaved friends. In one day, Brooke led more people to the Lord than most ever will.
In her brief fourteen years on earth, Brooke was faithful to Christ. Her short life was not wasted. The words from her essay were prophetic: “You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age.”

I don't think there is anything else that needs to be said...just something to think about as you all start a new week.
And to go along with that, here's the new song by Casting Crowns that has really been laying on my heart lately:

let's play a game...

called "find milo"

and in other news--this weekend has been full of fall and family fun! Friday night we went out to eat with our friends Mario and Maria and then came back to our place and played some guitar hero. Saturday I started off the day going to the farmer's market in downtown springfield with my mom--my first time and definitely not me last! Later in the day Brent's dad, grandparents sister and her husband all came to see the house, eat some lunch and hang out for a little while. My dad preached at church this weekend so we went to Saturday night service as well as one of the services this morning. He did an excellent job and definitely challenged brent and i in many areas which i may or may not share later this week (just to keep you on edge). So that's about it, I'll leave you with this fallish photo of us with our mum and pumpkins!

i came home to these today

THANKS HUBS! :)

let the insanity ensue

So I begin taking over the parenting class tomorrow and i'm SO ready to be teaching! From here on out I'll be teaching parenting and gradually adding sections of foods (there are 5 sections, thankfully only 1 lesson plan is needed for them all). I've been observing for several weeks and I'm just itching to begin teaching. I'll let you all (the 3 of you) know how tomorrow goes--I'm pretty excited though, I think I've got a fun lesson planned :) we'll see if the students agree!

p.s. to fill any of you in who don't know...I'm student teaching at Rochester High School and we have 5 sections of foods 1 and 1 section of parenting. We mostly have juniors and seniors. Also, RHS is on block schedule which is lovely and wonderful and I think I'm going to be really super spoiled with this schedule! (inquire if you don't know what block schedule is...and then wish you had it)

HAPPY FALL TO ALL!! (decorations are out, fall scented candles are lit, windows are open when it's below 80 degrees...ok more like below 70, I have 1 mum so far and am soooo ready to hit up a pumpkin patch or two)

i recently discovered the webcam on my laptop

Here are the results:

Senior Picture
Special America's Next Top Model (obviously)

gangster

awkward

back at it

So recently I joined FitClub (a local fitness center here in Springfield) to try to get back into working out on a regular basis. Tonight I ventured out from behind my safe-zone known as the eliptical and tried a class called Zumba. My mom had told me about this so she, my friend Maria and I scoped it out tonight. It was crazy intense but super fun! It's very similar to salsa dancing with catchy music. Now realize this--I'm no dancer. I'm awkward, clumsy and just not talented but even I had no shame while zumba-ing. If this class if offered somewhere near you--check it out, you won't regret it!! (and your butt will thank you).

Snickerdoodles!

Sorry I'm pretty much the worst blogger ever. I've been pretty busy with student teaching. It's amazing every night when I get home I have so much more to do here! It never seems to end. So tonight I finally had some extra time and obviously I made cookies. Because they turned out so great, I decided to share the amazing recipes with you all--I'd send you cookies if I could!

Snickerdoodles
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 t crean of tartar
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 t ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, shortening, and eggs. Add flour, cream of tartat, baking soda and salt.
3. Shape dough into balls. In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon. Roll balls into mixture. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.
5. ENJOY!!

YOU have done great things!

Oh where do I even begin? This is a 2-part post

Part 1:
We're all moved into our house and finally settled! It feels so great to have all the boxes gone and pictures on the walls. It finally feels like home :) We're ready for house guests now so come on over and visit :) Pictures can be viewed on facebook. That's really about all there is to report on the home-front.

Part 2:
Today was day 1 of the Leadership Summit which is a 2 day conference put on by Willow Creek church. Our church here in Springfield is one of the churches showing it via satelite and we were blessed to be able to attend this year. We listened to about 5 speakers today, some pastors, others influential speakers and movers in the world. Let me just say there was no way anyone could leave today and not feel the Holy Spirit completely moving them to action.
Two individuals really touched me today. One was Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva. Basically this is an organization that uses regular people like ourselves to loan money (minimum of $25) to other individuals (a.k.a. entrepeneurs) fighting poverty in the world so that they can start up a small business and provide for themselves and families. Because you're lending the money, these entrepeneurs repay you and you are able to keep in contact with them during this process. What an amazing idea!
I'd been struggling lately with having the desire to give to people in need but not knowing who exactly I should give the money to. Sure we sponsor a child with Compassion and tithe regularly, but I feel we're called to give much more. When I heard Jessica speaking about Kiva, my heart was softened and I really felt called to become a lender. Brent and I have yet to discuss this together but I believe it is something that can change lives and you can see it happening which is even more awesome! If you have some time, check out the website and look into becoming a lender. It's only been around 5 years and at the end of this year, they're predicting to have lent over 100 million dollars...YEAH GOD!
The second person that really slapped me in the face was a pastor from a church in Detroit named Harvey Carey. That sentence alone should tell you enough about this guy. Poorest city, poorest state and he's making some amazing changes through this church. One point he made was this: as Christians, we need to get out of our "huddle" (as in a football huddle) and start playing the game. How true is that? We're so comfortable in our small groups and group of fellow Christians we're not actually out there playing the game, or being the church. Often (and this is especially true for me) fear keeps us from getting out there and out of our comfort zone. I realized tonight that isn't an excuse anymore. What have I got to lose? Someone will say "no thanks, I'm not into the God-thing" and that is supposed to be scary? No way. I have decided I am going to be more bold with my faith...stop worrying about what people will think because who knows when we leave this earthly home? And I would much rather have God saying "Well done, good and faithful servant" than "you didn't try nearly enough because you were scared and didn't TRUST me."
I encourage you to step out of your place of complacency and be BOLD. We're disciples, fishers of men. We can't think someone else will get to these people, WE have to get to these people.
So that's my updated blog post, and a little bit about what God has been laying on my heart. I can only imagine what he has in store for day 2 tomorrow, especially because Bono from U2 is speaking...awesome.

I will be asking for this tee for my birthday in January:Details and other cute shirts can be found here. Enjoy!!

New Hairs...HEYO

So after much consideration and creating a poll on facebook...I went for the chop:

And let me just say....it feels 100% healthier!!

P.S. we close on our house FRIDAY!! it's about to get crazy :)

Not much longer!

So we've been on a buying spree--mostly thanks to finance plans :) Monday we purchased a washer, dryer and dishwasher from Lowe's and I cannot TELL you how excited I am to have a new washer and dryer! Especially after doing laundry last night in our community laundry room...ew.

Yesterday we went to Champaign to shop around for a dining room table and found one we loved at Ashley Furniture. We ordered it and it should be here the day after we close. Below are a couple pictures [keep in mind the picture does NOT do the table justice!]

Now we just wait....I am starting to pack things up [I've actually packed alot so far] and clean so we can get outta here asap!

Less than 3 weeks!!

The chair cushions are subtle green and tan with a paisley print...lovely!

updates [or lack thereof]

Well I haven't posted since the big news because, well, there hasn't been any more news!

We got approved for a loan which is definitely good news [thanks to the help of my father for co-signing!] There's a ton of paperwork we got in the mail to "simply sign and send back". HA yeah right. We hardly understood a word of it. We'll be meeting our banker in person to go over it. Why do people think first time home buyers have any clue about anything? We definitely don't have a clue.

We've also been trying to line up homeowners insurance [another matter we have no clue about...for those of you out there who do have houses, is $536/year [$44/mo] reasonable or expensive? We have no clue. Obviously]

Friday is our inspection which I'm slightly nervous about [who wouldn't be?] Then I guess we wait until July 17th when we close and get our first little home! I'm still brainstorming colors of paint for walls [I'm thinking we'll just be doing bedrooms and maybe bathroom...sorry Shan!] HGTV is really helping me with cute ideas! I currently watch that channel that channel only [Brent is just thrilled as you can imagine]

That's all for now. More updates as they arrive!

SOLD!

Well, we bought a house! Crazy I know. If you had told us 2 weeks ago we'd be homeowners today I would've said, "shut up" And now here we are, by God's grace!

Before I go into the details I want to just give God ALL THE GLORY for this whole ordeal. If we hadn't prayed continuously throughout all of this I know we wouldn't be at peace about everything. Giving it all to Him has been the greatest reward. And hopefully we can bring him praise and glory through this house and the things we use it for. THANK YOU JESUS for blessing us in ways we can't even imagine!!

SO...we decided last night on the Holmes house (pictures below). It's more a fit for us and we felt it was a good first home for many reasons. So today after church we wrote up an offer with our realtor and about 2 hours later got a counter-offer, followed by about another hour of countering (I don't like that part!), and finally decided on a price we felt comfortable with. Now we sign another paper tomorrow and in 2 weeks will have an inspection and hopefully close on July 17th! How awesome to be able to start moving into our HOME in a month. God blows me away! So that's the happs, everything pending on the rest going smoothly (which we feel will...but are aware there could be some snags, so we'll just keep on praying!)

Here are pictures again of the place. Keep in mind it'll obviously be much cuter once I get my hands on it :)

I mean come on, tan walls with white trim. Can you go wrong? No way :)

Per request of Sarah, I am going to post about the 2 houses we're most interested in and anyone who wants to can give some helpful advice because we're completely torn between these houses!

1. Lorrie Lane

-$115,000

-located off Toronto Rd. and 2nd st. (for those who know the area)

-Chatham school district

-3 bedrooms (all approx. 11.11x10.06)

-2 full baths, 1 half (located in garage. weird? i thought so at first too...until you think about kids playing outside/guests over...send them to the garage bathroom!)

-all brick exterior, some brick on the interior

-eat-in kitchen (no separate dining room)

-all kitchen appliances stay (there is a dishwasher)

-1 car attached garaged

-huge yard (lot size is 100x190)

-laundry is in closet off kitchen

-a couple streets away from my brother and sister in law

front of the house

back of the houseliving room

living room again (front door is to the left, kitchen to the right on the other side of brick wallkitchen--laundry is behind white doors, not sure about the lattice work but it would be gone

kitchen w/ dining table. oven and stove are to the left. door goes to garage

2. Holmes

-$92,900 (could get it for probably $87,000)

-located off Maccarthur and Ash

-2 bedrooms (master is 10.6x10.6)

-1 bath

-sunroom turned into actual room (more of a nook, could be used as office)

-everything updated (windows, furnace, ac, floors, kitchen, bath)

-basement where laundry is located

-deck w/ decent sized yard (lot size is 40x140)

-open floor plan

-2 car detached garage

-lack of closet space

-on a brick road

-no dishwasher (we'd install one)


front of house

nook arealiving room (kitchen through door way, bedrooms/bath to the left)

view from dining area into living/nook area

entry to kitchen

kitchen again

SO there you have it. I could go into my pros and cons for each one but I'll just let you all give your opinions!

Home Buyers?

Say WHAT? Could we actually be looking at BUYING a HOME?

The answer is.....



y.e.s.

We got to looking at things are realized we could be paying as much (or less) for a monthly house payment as rent on an apartment! So we met with some people and found out that with a co-signer, we could get a loan and only have to have 5% for a down payment (hello, school loans sitting in the bank).

So we've been looking all over the internet as well as driving around town looking for "for sale" signs in our price range. It's an exciting adventure and while nothing is for certain yet...it's definitely in the works and so far, it feels as though God has opened this door for us :)

I'll keep you posted!

Prayer Warriors

So we could really use some serious pray-ers right now.

This whole finding a place to live thing is really not working out the way we were hoping...but isn't that the way it usually goes?!
I don't remember if I posted about an opportunity that came our way a little while ago to live in a barn that has been renovated into 2 apartments for DIRT cheap (as in no rent, just utilities) but that's the short of it if I hadn't blogged about it. I got a call last night saying the people in the apartments now (missionaries with 5 children) will be living in both sides for at least the next year. So it won't be available now. And since we were kind of planning on living there until Brent starts his job in November, we're back to square 1, only this time with about 2 months to find something.

I KNOW God has a plan and I TRUST Him fully...but MAN is this a frustrating time! I just sit here and wonder why He would close that door when it would have been such a great opportunity for us to save money.

I'm asking for anyone and everyone to please just pray that God will put us where he wants us and we will WHOLE-HEARTEDLY and JOYFULLY follow his will for our lives. We're still so so excited to move to Springfield we're just not sure where exactly we'll be living. Thanks for reading and most importantly...thanks for the encouragement and prayers...they're both things I could REALLY use (especially because I have to be extra encouraging to my hubs as he begins studying for the CPA exam this week)

That's all for now. Thanks my Christian brothers and sisters :)

light sauce, please

I "stole" this recipe from mckmama's blog and we have now had these little pita bread pizza's twice. They're super easy, delicious and pretty healthy :) Give them a try!

Preheat oven to 400. Take as many pitas as you'd like (we each eat 1.5). Sprinkle w/ olive oil.

Cover w/ pizza sauce (if you're like me, take it easy on the sauce...or smother it on)

Cover w/ mozzerella cheese and oregano
Put any toppings you'd like on (I just do pepperoni. Brent prefers some mushrooms as well)
Add more mozz. cheese, top with parmesean cheese.
Bake for about 10 minutes (more for more toppings)
Cut and enjoy!

a wife of noble character

The Lord has really been laying these verses on my heart lately. Maybe it's because I've been feeling a little lost as to what my role as a Christian wife/woman should be. But when I read through these verses and see the characteristics I should be striving for it really makes me open my eyes to how I should be living daily. Take a look:

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can TRUST her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him GOOD, not harm, all the days of her life.
17 She is ENERGETIC and STRONG, a HARD WORKER.
20 She extends a HELPING hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
25 She is clothed with STRENGTH and DIGNITY, and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are WISE, and she gives instructions with KINDNESS.
30 CHARM IS DECEPTIVE AND BEAUTY DOES NOT LAST BUTA WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD WILL BE GREATLY PRAISED
--Proverbs 30:10-30 (with a couple verses taken out)

I strive to be this woman. And as fellow Christian women and wives, I'm here to encourage you all to be striving for these things also. Let's build one another up and encourage each other, yes?

And also, I love this song and hope you do too :)

Zoo and Cardinals

Yes, that's beer and cotton candy...what else?
I love him a lot :)

for the love of animals

I was at Walgreens this morning to pick up a prescription and while I was waiting, I discovered that Walgreens has an abundance of Organic/not tested on animals products! They have a huge selection of Burt's Bees as well as Yes to Carrots (a new line I have recently discovered and love) as well as many other small lines such as Out of Africa, a line of soap and other skin care products that give a portion of every purchase to help educate children in West Africa--yes please! I bought 2 bars of that soap because that's all they currently have there.

I'm not a huge advocate for the organic trend but typically, the organic products and those not tested on animals go hand-in-hand so I end up with organic products. Thus far I've switched my: make-up, shampoo/conditioner, body lotion, chapstick, face wash and lotion and hand soap. Slowly but surely I'm trying to get most, if not all, of our daily products switched to non-animal tested. So you can like the trend, or like the products or like animals...whatever your reason...just do it!!

Also, check out these sites to some GREAT products with GREAT causes!!

Burt's Bees

Yes to Carrots

Out of Africa

out with the double, in with the KING

Our life has changed as we know it--for the better!!

Friday afternoon/evening was dedicated to bed shopping all over Champaign. We hit up Slumberland, Denver Mattress, Ashley, Lebeda and Illini Mattress. After about 4 hours of laying on wonderful mattress, we decided on a plush top king (obviously...after seeing a queen size, which is only 6 inches wider than a double, we realized how necessary it would be to go with a king. Plus, about 90% of couples we talk to who have queens say they wish they went with a king...now we don't have to wish that) with individually wrapped coil springs or whatever so you can't feel the person moving next to you (it really works) from Denver Mattress. Added bonus--they were the only place we went to that had the mattress there at the store and we could take it home any time (lucky for us, Brent's dad has a covered trailor and wasn't too busy on Saturday!)

And for all of you out there that voted--thank you. We ended up with D, the stripes from Bed Bath and Beyond. It was the only one we both agreed on. I also got a set of tan sheet and light green sheets.

Last night was our first night on it. While it will take some getting used it, it's DEFINITELY a welcomed change. We took naps today after church and I think we both slept even better than last night. It's also nice to have king-sized pillows. It's a whole new world for us and we're loving it :)

Here are pictures: enjoy :) And if you are a couple sleeping on a double and try to tell me or anyone else that "it's not that bad" you're lying. Sorry but it's true. There's nothing fun about kicking each other and not being able to spread out. It should be illegal.

Before:

And After...It doesn't look as big because of our big king pillows but trust me, it's huge :)Yes, it's a tight fit but we only have June and July left in Charleston (it's true)!