Thursday, May 29, 2014

Thankful Thursday

  Since it is Thursday, and since there is always much to be thankful for, here is my list of the moment.

(1) Answered Prayers. 

 I (along with many others) have been praying for my fiance to find a job, so that I'll know where we'll be settling after we get married, but more so that he can put the degree he just earned to use doing something he enjoys. Well he was offered a job last week and he'll start the beginning of June. So praise God for answered prayers.




(2) Forever Friends.
 



 I was at a bachelorette party over the weekend for one of my best friends. It was like a reunion of college friends and I loved it! I'm so thankful that no matter the distance, I will always have these ladies in my life.

(3) The Farmers' Market. 
I finally got a chance to hit up Madison's awesome farmers' market last Saturday and I got all kinds of goodies. I'm thankful for all those who put in the work to grow the fruits and veggies and seedlings so that the rest of us without a big yard can enjoy them.
 
(4) Family. 
 
I had the chance to celebrate my younger brother's birthday last week as well as have dinner with my older brother. I'm so thankful that we all live close enough to get together. My parents are coming up tomorrow, so even more family awesomeness. All of Jeremiah's siblings were able to come celebrate his graduation and I insisted on a photo. Family is important. I'm thankful that was ingrained in us growing up, and I'm thankful that it holds true for the family I'll be joining in a few months.

(5) Beautiful Weather. 


Spring was extremely short and Summer seems to have appeared here. I'm loving being able to go bike riding or hiking for a few hours after work and still be home before it's dark.So thankful for health, beautiful weather and longer days.
 






(6) Pictures.

 I've been trying to do a little catching up on my scrapbooking, along with getting pictures printed. I'm so thankful for all the memories represented in each shot and all the people who make them up.


(This picture is of the first bible study I was in in Madison. Awesome group. 2 are now in the seminary and 2 have left the state.)

 



(7) Happy Hours.
Yesterday some of my coworkers and some of the ladies that used to work at our office all got together for some drinks, appetizers and catch-up conversation. I'm thankful for good people to catch-up with, patio seating and great food and drinks.

There's the short list of what I'm thankful for this Thursday. Enjoy it friends! There is much to be thankful for!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Summer List

So one of the blogs I follow (I can't remember which one, sadly) posted a Summer to do List, which sounded too good to pass up. The summer always seems to fly by and there always seems to be something "summery" I missed, so I thought I'd put together a quick list of some of the great summer-stuff that I hope to do over the next few months.


Make It Count! My Summer To Do List.

  1. Blow bubbles
  2. Go kayaking/canoeing
  3. Have a picnic
  4. Make & eat popsicles
  5. Go hiking
  6. Find a new summer salad recipe I love
  7. Go to at least 3 town festivals
  8. Go to a county fair
  9. Bike ride as often as I can
  10. Go for long walks, just enjoying the season
  11. Go to a baseball game
  12. Share an ice cream cone with my guy
  13. Make root-beer floats
  14. Watch an outdoor play
  15. Go to the farmer's market as often as I can
  16. Go to concerts on the square
  17. Make salsa
  18. Make ice cream
  19. Go camping
  20. Stop to smell the flowers

So there's my list to start with, I'll try to post some awesome pictures when I check things off. If you made a summer list, what would it include?

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Thankful Thursday

Life has been pretty great around here, and with Spring finally showing it's face there is much to be thankful in my life, so I thought I'd revive my Thankful Thursdays (at least for this week...)
At this moment I am thankful for...
 
(1) Wedding Planning, and not being overwhelmed..yet. 6 months to go and things are coming together and I'm thankful that everything seems to be falling into place.
 
 (2) Friends that are full of joy and make me want to be more joyful. I am blessed to have many wonderful friends that show the joy of Christ to others on a daily basis. It's the Easter Season, we should all be more joyful.
Alright, so these are my brothers (not technically just friends) but this picture is so joyful. Love it!

(3) The quirky devotions of the Catholic faith. I went to a talk earlier this week entitled "Quirky but Beloved Prayer Practices". It was about the origin of some of the various devotions that are practiced (or used to be practiced) in the Catholic Church. It was fascinating and it was fun to here what others grew up doing in their families or communities. We talked about praying to St. Anthony to find lost things, burying St. Joseph when trying to sell a house, dressing the Infant of Prague and much more. The origins of all these practices, the stories of why certain saints became the patrons of the things they are is so interesting. Love it!
 
(4) Graduations. I have a good friend who just graduated with her nursing degree and my fiance is graduating on Saturday. I love to see people succeed and am so thankful for all those who follow their dreams.
Follow your dreams, even if it involves taking a picture with a giant mouse.
 
(5) Thunderstorms. We've had a lot of rain this week, which is great for the farmers. I love thunderstorms (as long as I'm not driving in them), I love to hear the rain coming down and see the lightning. It's a beautiful reminder of God's power.
 
(6) Letters. My mom writes all of us kids a letter every week. I love hearing about the news from back home, what her and dad are up to, what the neighbor did, etc. I'm so thankful for a mother who puts such a strong emphasis on staying in touch with those you love.

My mom and dad riding a jackalope at Wall Drug in South Dakota.         Blowing bubbles at my sister's wedding reception.

(7) Growing plants. I planted some spinach and salad mix seeds the beginning of the month and I love seeing their little green leaves peaking out of the soil. There was an unwanted squirrel who decided to dig around a bit the other day, but I suppose I should be thankful even for squirrels and that I live in a place that they can jump from tree to tree.

Alright, that's it for me. Enjoy the rest of your Thursday! What are you thankful for today?

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Five Favorites (vol. 1)

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd join Hallie over at MoxieWife for her Five Favorites link up.

Here's my 5 favorite pics from some awesome adventures over the past couple of months.

(1)
 One of my best friends got married a couple of weeks ago. Even though this shot is blurry I love the look on their faces.

(2)
This is the crew I hung out with the weekend of the wedding. 4 different states, all awesome people.

(3)
 
Easter Sunday I was blessed to become Godmother for this beautiful little boy. This is the first time I met him, a week before he was baptized.

(4)
I love the water, I love the ocean and lakes and rivers and just being near it all. I got to visit this lovely friend out in South Carolina and so we of course spent lots of time walking along the beach. It's cold, yes, but we still walked for hours.

(5)
Also when I was in South Carolina we visited Charleston Tea Plantation. This picture shows some lovely Spanish moss and the tea plants in the background. Tea is awesome and tea grown in America is even better ;)

(Bonus)
Another dear dear friend (my maid of honor) is getting married in less than a month! We had a great shower with some beautiful friends, it's always fun to get together with these women!