Thoughts from a Proud Wife :)

For the longest time, I was the picture taking half of our marriage. A few years ago Chris started to take more of an interest in photography and several hard drives of stored pictures later, we both go overboard and are completely okay with that. :) I love to capture people and memorable expressions. Chris loves to capture architecture and landscapes. When we look at a subject and think about how we'd like to photograph it, our styles are completely different. If Chris is currently using the camera and I ask him to take a specific shot for me we joke about how he will make sure to take it "Jessie style". I also like to scrapbook so I always have those parameters in my head when I compose a shot. Any other scrapbookers reading will understand this "problem". :)

Chris has done so much research over the last few years and knows so much about our camera of exactly what settings are needed to capture a beautiful shot. His talents amaze me and I'm so thankful for his new love for photography. Mostly so he can help make my shots look much better. Haha! For those of you that don't know, he works for F&M Supply, a distributor of Eldorado Stone which is a manufactured stone veneer that people use on houses for both indoor and outdoor applications. His job description includes wearing many hats but one in particular has been creating and maintaining their business website. He took a lot of the photos that display the products that they sell. This past summer he had the opportunity to go to a very nice somewhat new construction home in our area and take some photos for their work website. I had the honor of going along with him and we had such a fun time soaking in the beauty of this massive home.

Chris was pleased with how well the pictures turned out so he ended up submitting them to Eldorado Stone for use in their "Inspiration Gallery" of photos if they chose. A few weeks ago, Chris realized that they had used a bunch of his shots!!! How cool is that?? I may be biased but I thought Chris captured the home beautifully so I wasn't surprised that they used them but it's just so neat to see! 

I am excited to see how and where God will use this talent of capturing such beauty through the camera lens. I think I'm done gushing now. Thanks for humoring me. :)

P.S. The entire house made my jaw drop to the floor but I had a particular soft spot for the kitchen space. Oh my. Breathtaking!!

It's time.

The thoughts and roller coaster emotions are constant but rarely get documented. I'm sure most have speculated by now or at least wondered. I feel the time has come to share my heart openly. God is still writing Chris & I's story but for the last several years our hopes and dreams of starting a family have not come to pass. Yet. 

This wasn't part of the original plan. I got married young with intentions of working a few years and then transitioning into starting our family and becoming a stay at home mom. Here we are, 10 years later writing a different story than originally planned. While this certainly isn't the road that we would have chosen to walk if we had been given the choice, we are claiming God's authority and power as we continue to face each day of the unknown that lies ahead. We know that God has precious and wonderful gifts in store for our future that will be revealed in His perfect timing, not ours. 



To anyone who has walked the infertility road, you know that it is not easy. We process as we can and take one day at a time. I have learned many important life lessons especially in the last few years, but one of the biggest lessons has been the power of words. I plead with everyone reading this...Think before you speak. No matter what the situation, you have the power of life or death in your tongue every single time that you interact with someone. You may never know what battle or journey the person is currently facing. You have the ability to either tear them down or build them up in a matter of minutes.

For all the prayer warriors who have been faithfully interceding on our behalf (known or unknown to us), we humbly thank you. And to those of you finding out for the first time, we covet your prayers for wisdom in how to handle each new month that passes.

God is still in the business of miracles and we are anxiously awaiting ours!

March 14, 2004

10 years ago I said "yes" to the best question anyone has ever asked me. After nearly 3 years of dating, Chris took me on a mystery drive to the mountains of Mercersburg for a "hike" on the Tuscarora Trail. What I originally thought would just be a fun Sunday afternoon outing, turned into being one of the best days of my life! :) I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly since then. It feels like it was just yesterday and most of the details from that day seem so vivid in my memory. When Chris got down on one knee that day and asked me to marry him, my joy overflowed with an immediate, whole hearted YES reply. As I look back over the years and all that we have been blessed to experience TOGETHER, I am so thankful for the journey that we are on. Although this journey hasn't always looked like I dreamed it would, it's our journey and our unique story unfolding as each day, month, and year pass. It's hard to believe that later this year we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary and I'm so grateful that God brought Chris into my life in the way that He did. He is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without him. I am so not a hashtag person but since it's Thursday...here are some #TBT photos from that memorable day 10 years ago! :)

The kissing picture has never been seen by anyone until now! Gasp! To our knowledge, no one saw us kiss each other until our wedding day so this one remained top secret. :)

Spring Wreath

Over the last several years I have been attempting to purchase wreaths for my front door that I can use for each season. Apparently I am extremely picky as this hasn't been an easy task. About 2 years ago I found a winter wreath that I actually liked, and more recently found an autumn wreath that wasn't super cheap looking so I added it to my collection as well. I'm not sure why it's been such a process but I like to find ones that at least look a little realistic and not pay an arm and a leg for them. Even some of the super fake looking ones are ridiculously priced! Okay that's the cheap Mennonite in me talking. :)

With the "summer like" temps that we had last week (50's HAHA!!) and everything in stores being sold two or three seasons ahead of time, I decided I should probably start looking for a Spring wreath. The other day I checked at Michael's and wasn't impressed so yesterday I drug my Mom into Hobby Lobby while running our weekly Monday grocery errands. Let me assure you that she did NOT go in the store kicking and screaming but the scrapbooking paper purchases she made were simply not my fault.

After seeing the price tags on the pre-made wreaths and not really being impressed enough to want to break the bank on them, I thought maybe my door would just remain wreath-less for another warm season or two. Since this seems to be a trend each year, I decided to look around for any pieces that caught my eye that I could use to make my own. I found some pieces that I liked and then proceeded to do what any good daughter would do -- I called my Mom who was on the other side of the store and interrupted her scrapbook paper shopping to come help me decide which color flowers were best. :) We are dangerous, let me tell you!

Thanks to the wonderful weekly Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon and their fabulous sales, my items totaled $32.82. I went home nervous and excited to tackle my new project, hoping that it would turn out at least half decent. My hands don't always create what my brain dreams up. :) I started with the following items pictured below...a plain grapevine wreath, 6 feet of berry garland, and a stem of both purple/cream flowers.

And for a better view of each item...

My blank wreath canvas!

I wanted some color but nothing super bold.

I always love the looks of this berry garland stuff.

Definitely stole Chris' sidecutters temporarily. ;)

As you can see in the above picture, I started with the berry garland, attaching it every few inches with some green wire that I already had here. After I had the garland securely in place, I cut apart the purple/cream flower stems and positioned those around the wreath.

And here is my finished product proudly displayed on my front door!

I was pleased with it for being my first wreath attempt and for the price I paid for everything. And the best part was that I had fun creating it! Now I'm ready if Spring ever decides to show up. :)

S.W.A.P. Rewind

August 6-12, 2000 was a week filled with many great memories that I hope to never forget. I was 15 years old and had been so excited to go on a missions trip with fellow "Franklin Conference District Youth" friends. Several of the older youth had gone in previous years but you had to be 15 to participate so I couldn't wait until I hit that mark. The year finally came and we embarked on a billion hour van ride to Harlan, Kentucky. The outreach called "S.W.A.P. - Sharing with Appalachian People" takes groups in for a week at a time to work on homes that are falling apart in one form or another. My group consisted of Kara Lehman (youth group and lifetime friend) and two guys from New York whom we had never met before. Our task was to completely gut a bathroom for an older lady who was in desperate need of a bathroom remodel. This was her only bathroom so we all had to use the neighbors bathroom while we were completing this task. Not only did we get to know the lady we did the work for but we get to know the neighbor lady and her son as well. It was neat to relate to all of them in just the short time we were there. On our last day of work, I swapped addresses with them and have managed to keep in touch via snail mail over the years. The lady who we did the work for stopped corresponding a few years ago but the neighbor lady had continued to keep in touch. Shirley Elkins -- would you believe we even shared the same birthday? Over the years we would write when we could and swap birthday/Christmas cards on a regular basis. 

Fast forward to today. I received a hand written letter that had a return address of Frankfort, Kentucky but the person's name wasn't familiar to me. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and upon opening the letter my suspicions were proved true. The letter was written by Shirley's oldest daughter whom I never had the opportunity to meet. She was writing to tell me that Shirley passed away suddenly. She began to tell me that Shirley always loved hearing from me and thanked me for keeping in touch with her. She ended the letter saying "She thought a lot of you." 

It's never easy to hear when someone passes but I took this letter particularly hard. I can't say where Shirley is today but I hope and pray she is rejoicing in Heaven with Jesus. The questions flooded my mind....

Did I say enough? Did I really make an impact on her life in a positive way? Did Jesus shine through my letters? Did the week I spent interacting with her almost 14 years ago make a Jesus impact on her and her son? Sobering to be reminded that all of our days are numbered and every interaction we have with others in this world are of serious eternal value. May I never take the power of my actions and words for granted and may Jesus SHINE BRIGHTLY through me in all that I do and say today and always. 

 

White Bean Chowder

I had several requests for this recipe so I thought I might as well put it up on my blog for everyone to enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here. I double the original recipe when I make it and have tweaked it to look like the following:

Ingredients -

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Slices Bacon, Diced

1 Large Onion, Diced

2 Celery Stalks, Diced

2 Large Carrots, Diced

1/2 of a Red or Green Bell Pepper, Diced

6 Cloves Garlic, Minced

3 Tablespoons Flour (I use Oat or Brown Rice to make this Gluten Free.)

6 Cups Chicken Broth

2-3 Fresh Tomatoes, Diced

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

2 Bay Leaves

1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

4 Teaspoons Dried Parsley

3 (15 oz.) Cans Cannellini Beans, Rinsed and Drained

6 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Cooking Directions -

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat; add the bacon and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper and cook until starting to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the chicken broth, tomato, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, and beans and bring to a boil; turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot if you want a thicker soup. (I do this quite a bit as I like thick soup.)

Remove the bay leaves and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer a few more minutes until heated through. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired; serve. 

I serve this with shredded cheddar cheese and/or parmesan cheese which is a nice addition to the top of each hot bowl of soup. :) Enjoy!!

Warmer Days

What a busy Spring it's been so far! I can't believe May is practically half over. I'm so thankful that the weather is finally warming up and I don't have to freeze while working outside. :)

At the end of March Chris and I spent 6 nights & 7 days in one of our favorite places - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! We had such a nice, relaxing time and it was bittersweet to come home. We visited Cades Cove for the first time and that was such a beautiful drive. Definitely recommend that one to anyone visiting the area. As always, we returned home with new memories very much looking forward to returning there again hopefully sooner rather than later. :) We just never get tired of that place! If you've never been, don't judge us but rather go experience it for yourself. It's funny how you just can't accurately describe that vacation spot to anyone that hasn't ever been there. Anyone who's been there knows what I'm talking about though!!  

April was a whirlwind for me. Garden work and yard clean up have had me in high gear. I also started scheming up ways to surprise my husband for his 30th birthday which was May 3rd. Neither Chris or I are big party people but I decided to do some special things to help Chris ring in his 30's in several memorable, fun ways! All in all I'd say the weekend was a success and I'm so thankful for everyone who helped me carry out some crazy ideas. Since his birthday was a Friday, I contacted my cousin & brother-in-law Chad (weird, I know) who happens to ALSO be Chris' boss and he helped me work it out that we could SURPRISE Chris with a day off work! It was pretty hilarious because Chris does payroll among many other things which he used to do every Friday. Well, if he didn't know he was going to be gone that Friday, no one would get paychecks! So -- Chad being the genius that he is, came up with an excuse two weeks prior that would make Chris start doing payroll on Thursdays instead just so that he wouldn't get suspicious and paychecks would still go out that week. It worked like a charm! Needless to say when I surprised Chris Thursday evening with Iron Man 3 movie tickets for the following afternoon (his birthday) and informed him that he wouldn't be going to work he was very surprised! :) We had a fun day together. I was also able to surprise him with cards from his friends and family that were filled with well wishes and memories of years gone by to help usher him into his 30's. So thankful to everyone who participated and sent cards back! The day after his birthday I escorted him to his parent's farm for a surprise party filled with both our immediate families. I'm pretty sure he was on overload by that point. Poor Chris -- such a good sport!!

It's golf season again! Chris and his Dad play in a golf league every Tuesday evening so I use that opportunity to hang out with my dear mother-in-law and sister-in-law (Tanya) some of the weeks! Tonight we were able to add Elana to our fun as Chad was out with some guy friends so that was a nice treat! Especially since it involved Mikie's ice cream!!!! Yum! Thanks for the lovely dinner ladies. So thankful for my second family.

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend already and I am so excited for that! My family was able to work it out to all go camping together just like we used to before our lives got crazy. :) Last year we were able to go too but it was really hot and the weekend got cut short because of some crazy thunderstorms and torrential downpours of rain. :( Hoping for much better weather this year!