Wrapping up April

Chad & Elana's wedding has come and gone already. What a whirlwind that weekend was! It was a fun but busy time and it was exciting to see their faces light up with joy as they made a lifetime commitment to one another. I'm still trying to grapple with the fact that my cousin is now my brother in law but I suppose stranger things have happened. :) The wedding was beautiful and it was such a blessing to be a part of their special day and watch everything unfold from the front of the church as a bridesmaid instead of sitting in the pews. And of course it was fun to walk back the aisle with Chris arm in arm again just like 6.5 years ago. Thanks Chad & Elana for allowing us to participate in your wedding day in such a special/meaningful way! Since I was too busy to get a shot of the happy couple together, you're all stuck looking at a picture of Chris & I.....

I finished my sweater!! It was a process and I'm very thankful for my Mom's all knowing knitting wisdom to see me through the project. :) Overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and how it fits me. I finished it on Good Friday so I was able to wear it Easter Sunday with my sundress that I fell in love with the moment I saw it in the store about a year ago. Chris was a good sport after church and took some pictures of me "modeling" my recent accomplishment.

Finished Front & Back Shots:

The basement remodel hasn't really progressed any further as life has been keeping us busy these days. With the weather getting warmer the garden and a few outdoor projects have taken precedence. The next major part of the basement project is Chris redoing most of the plumbing that runs in the suspended ceiling. He wants to replace the old copper lines with pex and move some things around. This week we put a piece of plywood up on the garage wall that the pex manifold and some other things will mount to. The following pictures show the transformation that took place this week as I primed and painted two coats on the board so it now blends in with the wall.

I guess I'll close this post with an updated shot of our growing garden and the current landscaping project we have begun...

Peas & Red Onions -- One of our newly planted Leyland Cypress trees didn't make it through the winter. :( We're hoping the rest continue to turn green and grow well throughout the summer.

This is under the two apple trees in our backyard. I didn't take a picture before I started but trust me when I say, it was all grass. :) We are planning to dig out all the grass that is underneath both trees and make a connecting flower bed....1. To make it look nicer; 2. To make it easier to mow. :)

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!

Another Weekend

I'm not sure where the time goes. It's been a cold weekend here in Pennsylvania so it feels like we're stuck back in winter mode but in reality, April is just around the corner which is hard to believe. Chad and Elana are getting married in THREE weeks. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around that one. :) For those of you that don't know, Elana is my dear sister in law and Chad is my first cousin. Very cool but super weird to think about your cousin becoming your brother in law. :) I love you, Chad. ;)

Chris and I had a nice weekend together. They always go way too fast but it was nice just the same. Saturday we worked on some miscellaneous projects around here and that always feels good to get some things accomplished. We also took time to go to the grocery store together for a few odds and ends, picked up take out from Brother's, came home to make "Little Fessie's Oatmeal Cream Pies" and relax the rest of the evening. Today after church we dropped off the car at the auto body shop to get fixed. I'm bummed that I'll be without a vehicle all week but I'm so ready for the car to come back in the condition it was before I got rear ended. I think I may open and close the trunk several times just because I can when we get it back! :) We had my parents over this afternoon to watch "Walk the Line". I just love that movie so it's always entertaining to me and I thought they'd enjoy seeing it. We had a nice time together. 

On Friday I started a new knitting project. About a year or so ago I bought a sundress that I'd really like to wear more places but it would be better with a little sweater to go over the top. After searching high and low and not really finding anything I was willing to pay $30 for (or more at times!!) I decided to knit one!! Hoping it turns out as neat as I'm picturing. Pictures to come if the pattern doesn't get the best of me. :) Here are the beginning stages of it...

Not sure what all I'll get into this week but I'm charging ahead hoping for a great week with some sunshine! I close with some of our projects from Saturday.

The last of the intercom system that was throughout the entire house before Chris attacked it:

After he removed the last two that were left in the basement, he drywalled in the holes and put a coat of joint compound on the areas already!! I love my handy hubby!

We also got the first set of bifold doors from the hallway back up thanks to Dad Coblentz's help. What a nightmare the entire project was. I'm glad one is complete but now I have to get up the gumption to tackle the second set for the end of the hallway. Someday. :)

Also finished the wall painting in the garage - just have to paint the doors at a later time:

Evening Humor

"I'm going to drink some Chai Tea while I practice my Tai Chi." 
-- Chris


The Chai Tea part he is really doing, the Tai Chi part was made up on the spot to make his rhyme work. :) *giggles*


A month or so ago, Chris bought a powder Chai Tea mix at Sam's Club that he soon fell in love with. As his stash was quickly diminishing he did some research and found this recipe. After we successfully found all the ingredients to make it, we tried our first batch last Friday evening. Chai Tea isn't really my favorite thing so it was mostly an experiment for Chris. At first he wasn't sure about how strong some of the spices were since they didn't dissolve as well as he thought they would but it's growing on him. It's fun to be able to find recipes to recreate things you'd normally have to buy! 

Romance

Music speaks to me. I have always been fascinated with various styles of music and have a very diverse range of musical interests. Sometimes when I find a song that speaks straight to my heart, I listen to it over and over so much so that it would probably be annoying to most people. Thank God for headphones. :) Several weeks ago a friend from church posted the following video on her Facebook (Thanks Heather!) and while I'd heard of "Jesus Culture" before I hadn't really listened to much of their music. This song mesmerizes me and I love it. 

Won't you dance with me

Oh, Lover of my soul

To the song of all songs

With You, I will go You are my Love

You are my Fair one

The winter has passed and the springtime has come

Won't you dance with me

Oh, Lover of my soul

To the song of all songs

Romance me

Oh, Lover of my soul

To the song of all songs

I just love the above lyrics that are brought out in this song. It's no secret that women love to be romanced and I'm no different than any other woman on the face of this earth. I have an amazing husband who loves me more than I could ever imagine any single human being loving me and even better, I have a Heavenly Father who loves me even more!! How awesome is that?? I have a deep desire to be romanced by the ultimate Lover of my soul and I'm so thankful God has placed me where I am today. While some days my human nature questions why I have to face the things He lays before me, this song and many others remind me that I'm not alone and while I'm on this journey with family/friends who are very dear to me, I have the greatest promise of a wonderful Savior and the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you Jesus for offering me the gracious gift of eternal salvation that can only be found through YOU.

Stealth Mode

Those of you that know that my husband, Chris, know that he is a pretty easy going and quiet sort of guy. While some occasions call for a response from him, he normally listens and keeps quiet in a large public setting. Let me assure you, this is not normally the case when he's around his sisters (whom he loves to pick on) or when he's here at home picking on me and cracking jokes. He is without a doubt a great source of joy in my life. Sunday it rained alllllllllllllll day. Temperatures were in the low 50's. Sunday night as we were getting ready to go to bed, we realized that the temperature outside had dropped drastically and it had already put down an inch or two of snow. Being that we didn't even know snow was in the forecast, we were a bit shocked. As Chris and I were laying in bed discussing the events of the day I mentioned that I just couldn't believe a few hours before it was dumping rain and that the temps had been well above freezing most of the day. I also commented on how weird it was for it to be quiet again since we'd been hearing the pitter patter of rain all day. Without missing a beat Chris said to me..."It went into stealth mode." Those are the times I'm thankful for Chris's quiet sense of humor and the way he enables me to forget about any life stresses at those random moments and just simply laugh.

Sunday afternoon Tanya, Jess (other bridesmaid), and I were able to surprise Elana with a bridal shower. We had about 30 people come celebrate with us and the look on Elana's face when she arrived made all the planning and stress worthwhile. :) I'm not sure she could have been more surprised and Chad was a big help in making that possible. Thanks for being so cooperative, Elana. :)

 

The continuous rain made the day a bit of a challenge but thanks to Chris and my Dad, the guests were able to stay relatively dry while the vehicles were stashed at a completely different location. Chris is my hero -- his socks, shoes, and jacket were completely soaked by the time the party was over but he didn't complain once. :)

We are still trying to get things worked out with our car. Yesterday I took it to the garage to have them check out the muffler/exhaust to make sure that wasn't damaged. No cracks in the system but they did have to do some adjusting to get it back into it's normal position. We are hoping to make an appointment at the body shop soon to get the car fixed up. You never know how much you miss your trunk until you can't use it. 

Yesterday I made another Strawberry Pie and I took pictures this time. Man is it good!! I keep telling myself that if I continue making Strawberry Pies each week and thinking of warmer weather, it will carry me through until Summer actually arrives. :) 

Hello March!!

Woohoo! We've made it to March -- we're that much closer to Spring and warmer temperatures!! I'm getting really anxious to plant stuff. :) I'm not sure how I'd feel about any snow coming now but I guess one of our biggest blizzards came in mid March. Let's not focus on that at this time. :) If I don't stop saying that sn** word, I'm liable to lose some followers!!!! Two weeks ago when we had a warm spell, I cut my Blue Fescue plants to the ground to make room for new growth this spring -- the following picture that I took today shows how much it has grown. I'm excited. :)

After getting snow last week and Chris having off Tuesday, he started getting sick (cough, fever, congested, achy) and a few days later, I caught it. He was so sick he even took off work early a few days at the end of the week. He never does that!! The weekend was spent doing absolutely nothing for the both of us. What a miserable way to spend a free weekend. It seems like the entire county is sick with either the stomach part of it or the coughing bit and there were so many sick within our church that they had to cancel our Sunday morning service. That was all very crazy but definitely seemed necessary since there were so many germs flying around. It's been a slowwwwww road back to recovery but I think we're both finally on the mend. Chris still has an annoying cough he's trying to kick to the curb and I cough here and there but we're grateful for good health again.


Since Chris has been downing the cough drops like they are going out of style, I decided I'd run to town yesterday to get him some more and get milk since we were almost out. All I wanted to do was go to the bank, the grocery store, get gas, and stop for a McDonald's Strawberry Banana smoothie. Was that too much to ask??? Apparently it was. I went to the bank and to the grocery store first. I had to leave the grocery store in a rush because I started coughing and couldn't stop. I almost ripped open the new pack of cough drops before paying for them. Made it out of there alive and was driving through Greencastle on Route 16/Baltimore Street when I had to stop for a person in front of me trying to turn left onto a side street. She turned and I had just started to accelerate and just as I did, I randomly looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see a guy in a car coming up on me pretty quickly. The following next few seconds went something like this in my brain....


"Wow, he's going pretty fast."
"Wow, he's not slowing down at all."
"Wow, he's going to hit me."


I remember thinking that I really should step on the gas or something to get out of his way but of course it was already too late. After he rear ended me, we pulled off the side of the road. I was wishing it was a dream and that it hadn't actually just happened. Too bad it wasn't! The driver that hit me was apologetic and kind but I was still mad at him. :) The police came but since neither vehicle was damaged beyond being able to drive he just swapped our insurance information and we were on our way. To my surprise, the guy who rear ended me didn't even get a fine or ticket of any sort. How is that fair? Oh well.

The insurance dude came to look at my car today and I took it to the body shop to get an estimate. We're still waiting to hear back before we proceed but the initial estimate was $2,300. So far I'm extremely impressed with Erie Insurance. They have been completely on top of things and so very helpful. As far as my body, it wasn't very happy with the impact I took especially since I watched it unfold and while I didn't consciously brace myself, I'm sure it happened without me realizing. Yesterday afternoon was pretty miserable but I didn't wake up this morning feeling any worse so I'm taking one day at a time and hoping for no long term side affects in either my neck or back. 

Needless to say after all that drama with my car, I just wanted to go home and skipped getting gas as well as my smoothie. I was so bummed about missing that smoothie.

Tonight Chris came home from work bearing gifts -- A Strawberry Banana Smoothie from McDonald's. How awesome is he? I was overjoyed and felt so loved at his kind gesture. :) I am abundantly blessed beyond what I could ever have imagined.