Cheap Labor

Last weekend, we had the pleasure (with sadness :-/) to help our friends finish their move from Jackson to Kentucky. Jake and Jennifer have been in Kentucky since mid June but officially got their house last week. On Thursday, movers packed up their old house & delivered the items to their new house on Saturday.

I went to their old house on Thursday morning to let the movers in and clear up any questions. Later Thursday night, Jake and Jennifer came to Jackson and stayed with us (since their bed and house had already been packed up). Friday morning, Jake headed to the old house to clean it up and help the movers while I drove Jennifer back to Kentucky.

She and I arrived around noon on Friday, ate a quick lunch, and headed to the new house to paint and prepare for the movers. We got to work quickly and started tackling the main area where the heavier furniture would be. Jennifer worked on the trim while I rolled the walls. It was so much fun getting to chat with her and catch up on all that has happened over the summer.

In the evening, we ran to Lowes to get some more paint and rent a carpet cleaner. When we got back home, I worked on painting the trim work in their bedroom while she cleaned all the carpets. We had plans to stay up later and finish up some more projects, but we called it quits around 12:30.

We woke up early Saturday to tackle the last major projects that needed done before the movers showed up. Jennifer worked in the master bedroom repainting the tray ceiling while I worked on painting the small laundry room. While we were knee deep in paint, the movers arrived. They worked on moving furniture in other parts of the house while we worked. I ended up painting just the areas the washer and dryer would be in so that the paint could dry. I finished the laundry room up later after the appliances were in place. But in the meantime, I found another ladder and helped Jennifer finish up the ceiling (she somehow had pulled the short straw on that project)!

As the day was winding down, we had moved on to painting their closet. However, the movers had put a bunch of boxes in the closet. We monkeyed around the boxes as much as we could, but ended up calling it quits. The movers left shortly afterward and Jennifer was dying to start unpacking. I ended up leaving around 5 and headed back to Jackson.

What could have been a bunch of boring work, was a lot of fun. Being able to hep Jennifer out as well as catch up with her was worth all the tiring work we did. We didn't get everything crossed off of her project list, but we definitely made a dent. All in all, the weekend (as tiring as it was) was a much needed girl bonding day!

Quiet Again

Last week, we we had a very active and loud week with my nieces visiting! My mom, sister, and 3 nieces (ages 8, 5, & 2.5) made an end-of-summer visit to Jackson. While they were here, we did crafts, played outside in the sand (we have a little pit of sand along our property that they think is the coolest thing to play in), played in the slip-n-slide, and made a trip to the Memphis Zoo. Steve even took a day off in order to head to the zoo with us. Even though it was hotter this time (last time we went to the zoo was when my nieces visited in April), the zoo was still lots of fun!

They were only here for four days, but we seemed to cram a lot in. It was fun to see how much the girls have changed and who they are becoming. While they were here, we managed to play SuperMario Bros on the Wii for hours on end. I tried teaching them how to play last April, but it was a lost cause. However, this time (maybe the fact that I was playing with them instead of letting them do it alone) they seemed to get the hang of it and we had a great time playing. At times it was the two oldest nieces, my sister, and myself playing at once. It made for several great laughs. We ended up completing 3 worlds while they were here!

They've been gone almost a week now and our house is as quiet as can be. I only babysat one day this week, so I've had several days of just working around the house and running errands by myself. About a month ago this would have driven me crazy; however, it was nice to have some alone time again. I've come up with some new projects to work on so I'm still keeping myself busy while Steve is working. We've loved visiting friends and have my family come and stay with us over the past month, but for now we're just enjoying the quiet.

Love

Together for 4 years, married for 2. Where has the time gone?

SLCF Fall 2007 Hayride (right before we started dating)

December 24, 2008 (The night Steve proposed to me)

August 8, 2009 (In case you didn't know, our wedding day)

August 7, 2010 (Bree & David's wedding)

August 8, 2011 (Celebrating our anniversary)

Two

Two years ago today, I married my perfect complement and love of my life. It's crazy to think that we said "I Do" two years ago -- it still feels like it just happened yesterday. Our first year of marriage was marked with a burn, senior project, student teaching, and leaving Lafayette to move to Tennessee. We were so busy and stressed at times, that I feel like our second year of marriage felt more like our first.

Since I reflected on our first year of marriage, I'll continue tradition and reflect on our second year:

A year ago if you had told me that moving to Tennessee would be a blessing, I wouldn't have believed it. I dreaded the move, especially being 500 miles from my family and all I have ever known for 22 years of my life. However, I can now say that Tennessee is exactly where Steve and I were meant to be. Because we're 500 miles from both of our families, we have had to solely rely on each other for everything.

Over the past year, we have had to create a whole new life together in Tennessee. We found a new church home together, met new friends, searched for a new house (even though we didn't buy one), and have gone on a roller coaster ride over Steve's job placement. We've also started to set up routines, traditions, and mindsets that we will continue to have when we grow our family. By creating these new routines, we have become more comfortable spatially with each other on a daily basis. But most importantly, we have grown closer together in our relationship through Christ.

We continually have to battle our sinful nature and humble our selves before Christ and to each other. Our marriage isn't perfect because no one's is, but it allows us to continually learn and grow deeper in love together. (And if you're reading this and saying, "oh but mine is" then I want to challenge you go find an area you can improve on; only Christ is perfect).

This past year has allowed us to grow close together, enjoy each other's company, and to rely on each other during the hard times and rejoice together in the good times. I'm so thankful for God putting Steve in my life and putting us through the situations we've been through. Everything happens for a reason and it's an adventure walking in faith not knowing the why's until much later.

I predict that our next year of marriage will involve a move (to only God knows where), house hunting (with a purchase this time) meeting new friends, finding a new church, and maybe a trip to Rome. Of course these are just things that I see in the plans, but God's view is bigger and Steve and I will just have to wait and see what the next year holds.

We've Been Busy. . .

After a roller coaster summer of packing up half our house, only to continue living in it, we've been packing in some end of summer events. A few weekends ago, we headed up to Indiana to "campout" at a friends' house where we got to be with several friends who's friendship was an encouragement to us while we were at Purdue. Originally, 4 couples (including us) were going to go camping in IL for a few days; however, it fell amidst the heat wave and decided on a Plan B.

It was great to see the Kempsons, Cardinals, Robinsons, & 1/2 of the Lamberts [the other half was home sick :(]. We got to catch up on life in the past year with everyone and see how God has been working in their lives and plugging them into their new communities (it's crazy to think that we all met in Lafayette and dispersed all about the same time!).

Steve departed from our friends' house and headed back to Tennessee while my parents picked me up so I could stay a few days with them (how could I possibly go to Indiana and not see my family?!). I stayed for about 5 days and hung out with my sisters, nieces, parents, and good friend. I kept myself busy while I was there (I don't want to miss a moment with them all!). My parents then took me back to Tennessee at the end of the week and stayed a few days with Steve and I.

Even though my parents were here less than a month ago, it was good to have both of them stay for a few days and just relax together (well, Dad didn't get to relax much as Steve and him worked on our car together). When my parents brought me back, they brought back a bonus item -- their piano! Ha ha, my dad is the only one left in the house who plays piano but he he has a digital piano and a digital keyboard. I had asked him for help on how to pick out a digital piano and he just offered for us to borrow his for awhile! I'm excited to be able to work back to the level I was years ago!

They left at the beginning of this week giving Steve and I time to recoup from the past few weeks. When we aren't traveling to see friends and family, Steve and I have been working on a few different projects. Recently, Steve has become quite the mechanic in our house. He's been doing lots of research on how to maintain and upkeep our own cars. He's done a lot of little things (like oil changes, tire rotations, checking fluids and such) and just completed a big project -- replacing the drive shaft(s) on our Honda. We had been noticing a clicking noise when turning and decided it was time to replace them. He had done most of it before my dad came but had dad double check and help finish up the project. Dad was impressed at the job Steve had done without much prior knowledge. Now Steve is talking about taking some auto classes in his free time, we'll see how that turns out ;).

I've been trying to finish up crocheting a blanket I started for Steve before we got engaged. I guess after 2 years of marriage (yes that's right, 2 years next week!), it's time to finish the blanket! I've also "dabbled" in a canning project. I had a coupon for an "intro to canning kit" and thought, why not?! My dream is to eventually have my own garden and be canning my own fresh vegetables. But as that's not possible at the moment, I started small. I made and canned some homemade salsa. It appears that it was a canning success, but I guess time will only tell (when I open up the jars!).

Up next on my "to-do" list is get our house cleaned up and readied for some company. My sister, mom, and nieces are planning an "End-O-Summer" Tennessee trip. They'll come for a few days next week before before school starts for the oldest 2 nieces. I have to juggle around some boxes in order to make room for them all to stay in the house ;).