Spring is definitely here!

I can't believe May is half over already. Where does time go anyways? Such a mystery. With the warmer temperatures, I spend most of my days outdoors. I've been creating some new landscaping spaces as well as trying to get ahead/keep up of the existing ones. What a chore! I still have a good bit of edging to do but most of the weeds in my current flower beds are under control. The garden on the other hand is a different story. I'm pretty sure the annoying, hard to pull, clover type weeds mated with some other annoying weed and had a bazillion kids all within the inside parameters of our new garden fence. Thankfully I've been able to put the grass clippings down between most of the rows but right up next to the each of the plants is out of control!! Someday I'll catch up. I hope. :)


Chris and I have been busy dreaming up fun ideas for projects we'd like to do in the future. I'm so thankful for a husband who dreams with me and takes time to listen to my wild and crazy ideas. Not only does he listen but he throws in a few of his own at times! We are working on creating some new spaces outdoors but our main focus this summer is the basement project. Our deck needs replaced badly but that will have to wait until next summer or the next. :) On Saturday, I helped Chris start the beginning stages of the plumbing project that will enable the basement process to move forward. There is a half bath down there that also houses the water heater/water softener which makes for a very cramped room. His plan is to redo some of the plumbing so that he can move the water heater and water softener to the corner of the garage. I'm so excited to see how "big" that bathroom feels once they are moved!


It's Tuesday night and Chris is golfing with his Dad. They play in a league every Tuesday for the rest of the summer. While I'm glad he's able to enjoy the sport and the time with his Dad, I do miss him not being here. It's a good time for me to do fun things though so I guess I won't complain. I considered scrapbooking some tonight but Zeus (the cat) is sleeping in my scrapbooking chair. I opted to at least update my blog before I moved him. :)


Our house is brick and partially wood siding which needs painted very soon. Hopefully next summer. We are hoping to paint it some sort of darker tan color. In the meantime, I'd very much like to paint the doors since they're all white. Normally I don't have a hard time picking paint colors but for some reason I'm having a hard time deciding what I want to paint the doors/trim. Someday I'd like to have shutters on the front windows which I was envisioning a sage green. I was thinking of painting the doors some sort of deep red but once we get shutters if we do go the green route, I don't want our house looking like Christmas all year round. HA! Maybe I'll just do eeny meeny miny moe?? SIGH.


Enough of my rambling. The end.

10 Years

April 30, 2001 -- 4 P.M.

Chris dawned the steps of my current home with my parents to meet with my Dad in order to ask his permission to date me. I remember hiding out in my room nervously awaiting the "results" of their time together. Several minutes went by (which seemed like years to me at the time) and my Dad knocked on my bedroom door. Upon opening the door, he informed me that there was a young man downstairs waiting to see me. :) Chris stayed for supper and we spent the evening outside sitting at the picnic table talking as if time stood still. While we had some rules we had to follow and our initial dates were few and far between, it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship that I'm thankful to have today!

For anyone that knows my Dad at all know that I have always been referred to by him as "Littleone" and he was a stickler for the ever popular...."10 Rules for Dating my Daughter". For those of you that haven't had the wonderful opportunity of ever reading these -- let me enlighten you!! I'm pretty sure I had them memorized by age 5??

Rule One: 

If you pull into my driveway and honk you’d better be delivering a package, because you’re sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two: 

You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter’s body, I will remove them.

Rule Three: 

I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don’t take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric (I believe my Dad's version was customized to say pneumatic instead of electric) nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four: 

I’m sure you’ve been told that in today’s world, sex without utilizing a “barrier method” of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five: 

In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is “early”.

Rule Six: 

I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven: 

As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don’t you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight: 

The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter:

- Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool.

- Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight.

- Places where there is darkness.

- Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness.

- Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her throat.

- Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay.

- Hockey games are okay.

- Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine: 

Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten: 

Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy outside of Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car-there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

After reading through those again for the first time in several years, I can look back and laugh again at the memories they created in my early to late teen years. I dedicate this post is to my Dad for putting such a high value on my life/purity and to Chris for stepping up to the plate to be the man God created for me. :) I am thankful to both of these men in my life who are my heroes and whom I love dearly!

The following two pictures are from "the early years". They make me smile.

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.