When did April get here?

I'm not sure where the last few weeks went. It's been a busy spring so far. I'm so excited for the promise of warmer temperatures and days spent outside in my near future. :) We've had a lot of rain lately but with the cooler temps, everything seems to be taking its good o'le time to bloom/grow. Just Saturday morning I noticed that the peas and red onions that we planted in the garden are starting to pop out of the ground. Even though I grew up  having a garden and have seen this countless times, it's still exciting for me to watch the process unfold time and time again.


The first weekend of this month, I was blessed to be able to attend a Scrapbooking retreat at the Hobby House Retreat with my Mom and 14 other ladies. What an awesome weekend we had. Although it wasn't much fun being away from Chris and sleeping (attempting rather) with a room full of 5 other women (3 of which snored), it was a memory making time that I won't soon forget! I hadn't scrapbooked in quite some time so it was great to get back into my wedding album which I soon hope to complete. 


The sweater I'm knitting is coming along. It's been a challenging project at times but I'm hopeful that I'll at least be satisfied with the finished project, maybe even like it. :) I'm very thankful for a Mom who knows how to interpret patterns when I'm confused and the willingness/patience she has to help me learn new things!


Chris and I don't always make the best financial decisions but we have worked hard ever since we got married to watch our spending and use the "go home and ponder it first" rule before making any major purchases. We also discuss most every purchase with each other, large and small, before we proceed with whatever it is we're doing. We work hard to take care of the things God has blessed us with and Chris tries to fix anything we have that breaks before we pay to have it fixed, etc. I say all that to say that we've been hoping/praying that we'd get our $500 deductible back from the insurance company of the rental car that rear ended me last month. After not hearing much since the accident and being unsure how that would all play out since insurance matters and rental cars seem to be a pretty sticky situation, a check arrived in the mail today. While Chris and I would have been okay financially if that $500 never showed up, it is a blessing to know that God cares about the things that are important to us and He proves time and time again that He IS faithful. Now we're able to put that towards our home/rental property insurance that is due next month. We have been so blessed.


Yesterday was a bit of a thrill for me. After previously seeing details of a Facebook contest that was taking place yesterday, I decided I'd see if I had a shot at winning. Sugar Maple Cabins is the rental company that Chris and I used for our honeymoon cabin in Tennessee and yesterday they planned to post a trivia question at Noon and the winner would receive 2 free nights in one of their cabins. There I was at several minutes before Noon refreshing their Facebook page to be one of the first people to see what the trivia question would be. When it appeared, I read: "Which states border Tennessee?" My heart was racing as I opened another browser window and googled the exact question. I decided I didn't have time to search for a map so I just went with the first results that google displayed. I was so nervous I didn't even think to copy and paste the list of states that I had found. As I was wildly typing all 8 (who knew TN was surrounded by EIGHT states??), I figured surely someone would have beaten me to the punch. As I hit enter and refreshed the page to see if I was the first person, I realized that I actually had a chance at winning if I had indeed gotten the right states. Several moments went by and others answered and then the comment came....."Jessica you got it!" WOOHOO! Boy was I excited. They are supposedly sending me a certificate in the mail with further details. Chris and I are anxious to see if it's for one specific cabin or if we'll have choices. Either way, I don't care -- we're getting TWO FREE NIGHTS IN TENNESSEE!!!!!! :)


Chad and Elana are getting married THIS Saturday!! Wedding mode starts tomorrow for me. I'm going over to the farm for the day to help with the favors and any other last minute things that need done. In the evening, the bridesmaids are getting together to have a fun, relaxing (hopefully :) time with the bride! Friday is set up at the church, rehearsal in the evening, and Saturday is the big day! Chris and I have the privilege of walking down the aisle together again and I'm looking forward to that. 


Bring on the weekend!