So in no certain order, {until we get to the end of course where my top TWO favorites can be found} here we go:
14. Couponing....Let's be honest. You all know about this LOVE I have. So I'm not going to dwell on it. Just know, it hasn't gone away with David getting a job or moving to Memphis. Nope, still there. Read here if you want to know more.
13. The Lovings...I know you're sick of hearing about them, but we had some new friends over for lunch after church Sunday, and I caught myself talking about them NON STOP! Not in a like, "our friends Matt and Jenny" way. Instead we talk about coupons. And who taught me coupons? Jenny. We talk about the art in our house. And whose art project idea were they? Jenny. I serve dessert. And whose recipe is it? Jenny. We pass by the fridge. And whose Christmas card is on there {and the only one left up there}? The Loving kiddos. I seriously feel like there was one more way they came up, but I can't remember how. I love the Lovings! We both miss them tremendously.
11. Bethany Dillon: Say Your Name...I discovered this song when we got engaged and fell in love with it! Here are the lyrics:
I'm trying to find a moment with you
These days are speeding by
This ring gives me a new point of view
I'm a dealer in my time
And if I can make a confession
My time is torn between
The man who has won my affection
And the God that saved me.
Oooh, it all looks different
But that doesn't mean anything has changed
Cause still I reach for you
When I am afraid
And this breath that comes from you
Helps me say your name
Seriously, if you have a few minutes, listen to this video. I've realized more and more with these two rings on my finger what Paul was saying when he talked about not getting married versus getting married. Marriage is a wonderful blessing. It paints an incredible portrait of the love that Christ has for us, and the day that he will return for His believers--His bride. But MAN. Marriage is also such a distraction from my time with Christ. If ever I thought an engagement was a distraction, I clearly didn't realize the distractions marriage would bring. I want to spend all of my time with my husband. But I LOVE this song. This ring, it doesn't mean anything has changed! Christ is still the one no matter what. And, in our passionate pursuit of Him, He's the one that David and I rely on together to direct our walk through this crazy path called marriage. Anxiously awaiting a new CD from this new mommy. God definitely blesses her gifts.
10. My wedding photos....And on that subject of marriage! I love, love, love my wedding photos. Our photographer Maggie could not have better captured what I asked her to capture. Choosing photos from the MS Magazine was hard because most of my photos are very candid. However, that is what I ASKED Maggie for. I didn't want super posed photos. I wanted photos that artistically could be hung on the walls of our home. Check out one of my latest projects below. I found an old window pane at an antique store in Memphis. Then I printed six 8x10 photos and framed them. Such an inexpensive way to display wedding photos! On that note, please say a special prayer for my wedding photographer Maggie. Without giving out details, just pray for her. She was such a blessing to us on our big day, and I am forever grateful for the talents that God has given her to share with others. Here's a few of my favorites. Which could very easily turn into 800. Oh and if I posted 800, that would not even be half of the photos she gave us.
9. Williams and Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate and my Hot Cocoa maker....Have you ever HAD THIS STUFF? Oh. My. Gosh! Seriously! I would say go buy some, but it's only a Christmastime thing at Williams and Sonoma. The. Best. Stuff. Ever. Pat and Chris gave us some for Christmas along with two beautiful pottery mugs they made.
Unbeknown to them, we received a hot cocoa machine for a wedding present. It doesn't even live in the cabinet we have it out so much. {except today it's so beautiful outside, we don't need hot cocoa}. Below is what it looks like, and if you click on the photo, it will take you to a link to purchase it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. For real. Order one. You won't be sorry. It will live on your counter too. Anyway, we got this Peppermint Hot Chocolate for Christmas, and it was so good that I traveled to the Williams and Sonoma outlet {yes, outlet} that is about 2 minutes from our house {that's right, 4 blocks away}, and bought another. And then a week later, I bought two more. Needless to say, we're on our last little bit. Maybe I'll get lucky and the outlet will have more. Regardless, this is the best hot cocoa I've ever tasted!
7. My Le Creuset Dutch Oven...I LOVE IT! Thanks to Giggleswick in Starkville "going out of business" this summer {and reopening I might add}, I was able to have a fun shopping spree. I had store credit and rather than rely on them to order things for me, I decided to play it safe and use store credit. Because of that, I got a Le Creuset Dutch Oven that NEVER in a million years did I think I would ever have in my kitchen. It cooks things SO well, and I just love it. Currently, it's cooking our Valentine's dinner in it. David and I have Downline tonight {a discipleship program we're doing in Memphis}, so we're limited on what we can do tonight. We're going to celebrate Wednesday night, but why not have a special dinner tonight?! So I'm going to share one of our favorite recipes for roast. My mom has the simplest recipes to follow. I don't care who you are, you cannot mess this one up!
You need: one 3-4 lb eye of the round roast, one can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup water, one packet of brown gravy, one yellow onion
Combine water, gravy mix, and cream of mushroom soup together. Place roast in greased dutch oven {I've also made it in a baking pan}. Cover with sliced onion. Pour gravy mixture over roast. Cover with two layers of aluminum foil, then cover with lid. Cook on 325 degrees for 3 hours and 30 minutes. I usually check mine at 3 hours. Enjoy!
6. Gchat...if you're not on it, you should be. I discovered Gchat about 8 months ago. I have this nifty, way too smart for me smart phone that comes with Gchat included. All you have to do is create a gmail account and you're good to go. This has come in SO handy! When we lived at Browning Creek and David had zero service with ATT, he could just log onto his computer and Gchat me to my cell phone {or laptop if I was on that}. No matter where I am, as long as I have 3G, we're good to go. It also has come in handy with hubby at work. It's a lot easier to shoot him a message to his computer than it is to shoot him a text. He can respond quicker, easier, and more efficiently from Gchat. It's pretty much saved me in the "what is the password, code, etc" instances or the "what do you want for dinner" instances or the "HELP, I'm lost in Memphis instances." Of course I've used it for the "honey I just found the CUTEST thing in Hobby Lobby--can I buy it?" instances too!
5. My ADAMS sign...That is now hanging in our home. Many of you may recognize it from this post, but you've yet to see the finished project. Well here she is! I'm not sure why I call it a she. Don't judge me. I made it. I put my loving time and creativity into it, and I can give it whatever gender I so choose. Don't you love it though. Thank you to my wonderful hubby who cut all of the wood out for me. Didn't he do the best job ever? This is my daily reminder of MSU and everything it means to both of us. I'll be taking orders next week, so just message me and let me know what letters you want. I'm KIDDING! No plans to venture out and do this for money. Though, I did have fun making my own.
4. Ephesians...The past few months I've been slowly working my way through Ephesians and memorizing verses. It has been so incredible and has given me a hunger to know the word. And to not just know it but commit it to memory. Many of you have heard me talk on and on about the most incredible realization I had back in September. Pam Tebow {yes, the one who has the football playing son} came to speak at an event in Starkville, and we were offered free tickets. What she said changed my heart towards memorizing scripture forever. She talked about how she wanted to instill it in the hearts and minds of her children and now grandchildren. And she accomplished this by SINGING it. Yep, you read right. Singing. If you know me, you know I love to sing. Love it. So, what better way to learn scripture? It just clicked for me instantly. My mom used to play a CD called Hide Em in Your Heart by Steve Green when we were younger. It consisted of nursery rhyme type songs with bible verses as lyrics, and to this day, I can still sing those songs to you. All these years later. You should definitely look them up. We LOVED them, and I'll probably have the same ones one day for my kids. I'm not talking about putting the verse to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. I'm talking about humming a tune and memorizing it to that. Some of my friends that I've shared it with have not had the same luck I've had. I guess memorization comes in different forms for different people. But you would be so surprised if you start singing it. You know how you get out of the car humming whatever was on the radio? Well, I can honestly say, when I get out of the car, and I've been memorizing scripture, guess what floods my humming throughout the day. Yep, you guessed it. Try it. It may or may not work. All I know is that my retention has drastically improved. Drastically.
3. The fact that MSU Baseball season is right around the corner...Thank goodness! Please, PLEase, PLEASE make basketball season end. And you may think I'm saying that because I'm a fair weather fan, but that's not true. I. Detest. Basketball. I don't know why my husband still loves me. I guess I'm glad our love isn't built on sporting events. This former MSU Diamond Girl can't wait for some Dudy Noble time and Left Field Lounge. And some warmer weather to go with it. Of course over HALF of MSU's baseball home games will be played in February and March. Stupid planning on a coach's part. We'll all have to suffer through the cold, and I'm not sure I'll make as many as I would like to make. Regardless, I love it. Win or lose. Omaha or no Omaha. {so glad I've gotten to see both}.
1. My handsome hubby...And my very best friend. I've been so blessed to have him by my side and be by his side these past {crazy at times} almost 8 months. I've learned so much about myself and him. The other day, I sat in a coffee shop and watched two old people drink coffee and sit in silence. The girl I was with said, "I want to be old one day so I can just sit there in silence with the other person." I thought...me too. I can't wait to grow old with this man. I think we focus so much on the here and now and the past, but what about the future? Not that I'm eager to get to that stage soon, but I think there is something so romantic about an elderly couple in love who can just sit and stare at each other over coffee. They already know everything about each other. And it's not an awkward, "Get away, I have nothing to say to you" silence. It's a "you know everything about me already" kind of silence. I can't wait to grow old with David. Of course, we'll be the couple at the coffee shop...I'll be drinking coffee and David will be sipping hot chocolate. And you can't leave out the fact that I'll probably be babbling on and on about our grandchildren or MSU Baseball {hey...just because I'm old does not mean I will give up my love of all things MSU and Baseball}. And David will be just sitting there staring, patiently waiting for me to take a breath so he can chime in. Rest assured, unless I lose my voice, I highly doubt there will be much sitting in silence for these two. Don't feel sorry for him. He knew what he was getting into when he said I do! I love my Valentine! He bought me roses the other day! My man knows I love flowers! :)
Let us not forget to tell everyone that is special in our life how much we LOVE them! However, let us also not forget who loved us first, and what that means for us!
"But God, being, rich in mercy, because of the GREAT LOVE with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:4-10
Such a great post with SO many great Loves!!! And you know I have a great obsession with you on the Owls and one that I doubt will change.
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