Gabe's Birthday

I am a tad bit behind on posting pictures, so bear with me here as I try to catch up.

In May, Mary had Gabe's 5th Birthday party.

All the boys with Aunt Elisabeth

Gabe quite excited to be the center of attention :)

 DQ cake... can't get much better than that!

Gabe got everything to play baseball for his birthday. So there was a family game of baseball. So cute with little kids playing. It was a beautiful evening to be outside which is what we did.

 I sat on a blanket with Jodi & Letty and didn't play...not sure why not! But Letty is just too sweet :) Have I mentioned that Fred & Jodi are expecting another little one in November? Oh I am so excited! :) A new little baby to hold in church!

Daniel helping Gabe out

 Sorry these are poor pictures, but here is Mary!

 Shiloh & Daniel

Elisabeth with all of her nieces and nephews.

4-wheeler rides!

It was a wonderful evening. Thanks Robert & Mary for having us all! 

Summer Update

So just a quick overview on our lives... in case you're interested.

Our lives have slowed down a little bit more compared to our first few months of marriage. Living closer to family and church has definitely made a difference.

Daniel finished up his first semester of nursing school. The following week, he started a new job in the Emergency Department! He loves it, and honestly I love to hear the stories he has to tell me. The only downfall to the job is that we have opposite schedules... so I don't see him very much, and our evenings together are few and far between. I normally call him on my way home from work, and he's on his way TO work. It was really hard on me at first, but I am getting more used to it. I'm a lot more productive when he's not home, actually. :) So yeah, tonight is actually Daniel's last night of orientation and he's on his own! So if you ever need to go to the ER.... Daniel just might be there! :)

Daniel has the summer off as far as school. It's so nice. So during the day, he usually goes and works for Brian(his cousin) on the farm, comes home to clean up, and then goes to work at the hospital. Such a hard working man I have. :)

Nothing has changed for me! Just working 5 days a week at Gorenz. The summers are a little slow, so some days can get long. But I am thankful I have a job. Brittany and Alyssa(a friend from school) are here full-time now, so they usually make my day pretty exciting. We at least almost always eat lunch together.
I still teach lessons usually about 1 evening a week. Sometimes they are sporadic, but we've been pretty consistent lately.... a lot more consistent than I was during tax season. :)

Other than that, we've been busy with our house. I've had so much fun working on it, trying to make it look cute. I finally got a piano which I am SO thankful for. It's not ideal... a lot of the keys like to stick... but I have a piano. I was so desperate I got less and less picky as time went on.

I will announce that I had my first cooking/baking fail since I've been married.... I attempted to make a Strawberry pie for Fathers Day... and it did not set up correctly. Which made the crust a soggy mess. Yuck. I threw away about half of it, because Daniel said he couldn't make himself eat it. :( Ugh! I think that's the worse experience I've had baking so far.

So that's about it. We go on vacation at the end of July with my family... I cannot wait. I can't wait to be out in the sun, and I can't wait to have a break from work and come back refreshed. And I can't wait to be with my family for the week.
Oh and speaking of sun, I look like I've never seen the sun before in my life. If you see Daniel and I together, you might even think we're from different countries...
Every Saturday is rainy.... so do I ever get a chance to sit out there? No, never. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait until July...

Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Shopping in Chicago

Last Saturday, a group of Knapp ladies went shopping for the day. When I say the Knapps, that's Daniel's aunts... along with some of their daughters. It was for Elisabeth's 18th birthday, but it was also Marisa's birthday too.... or basicaly those were just excuses to go have a ladies shopping day. :)

We went to Schaumburg and left at the bright and early hour of 7am. We shopped for a while and then went to Olive Garden for lunch. Hmmm soup, salad and breadsticks. My favorite things at that place!

 Marisa & Elisabeth

 The whole group at Olive Garden: Lisa, Marisa (& Marie), Elisabeth, Susie, Jennifer, Me & Lori

 Lisa & Marisa... mother/daughter photo

We headed to the mall for the rest of the day, and then went to IKEA. I didn't have as much luck as I would have liked, but I guess I went under my budget that way. :)

 Waiting in line at IKEA

 Little miss Marie... so sweet. It was fun to have a baby along for the day.

 We stopped at Portillos on the way home for supper. Oh how I laughed with these ladies... they are so much fun! They asked me a couple of times if I was glad to be in their family... the answer is YES! :)

 Portillos is known for their chocolate cake.... the birthday girl gobbling it up. :)

Such sweet girls.

It was a fun day, but exhausting. We didn't get home until around 10pm, so it was long! It was nice to have something fill my day though since Daniel was working anyway.

I bought a few good items! It's amazing how tired I get from shopping.. I'm more tired after shopping than I am when I work all day and/or run!

But thanks ladies for a wonderful day! 

The rest of the story...

Tues, May 8th

I felt as if I did when I was repenting. So convicted I couldn't think about anything else. I prayed for continued guidance. I prayed that the Word would give me clear direction.
Tuesday afternoon was the day that I was offered a full-time job at Gorenz. This was a complete answer to prayer. Having this job that I had prayed for gave me so much more confidence to answering yes. I felt like I could never say no at this point... God had answered every prayer that I had prayed. But I continued to test God anyway.. I prayed that I could see Daniel just one more time. (Even though I had already seen him twice...)
That evening after accepting my job, I opened up to a lot of scripture that just continued to give me peace. It wasn't anything that really stood out, it was just comforting scripture and reassured me that this is what I was supposed to do.

Wed, May 9th

All day I kept thinking that my answer would be a yes. In my previous days I felt anxiety when I would think that. But I truly felt peace all day. I remember reading so much scripture and praying. One of the verses I opened up to was:
Romans 15:4 Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

I truly felt so much comfort from the scriptures within those last few days. My soul was flooding with peace; I had finally humbled myself and given it ALL to God, instead of thinking about my thoughts and ideas.
I continued to pray that I could see Daniel again. I wanted and needed it so badly for one last assurance.

Thurs, May 10th

Thursday I took off work early to study at school. I was studying for my Thursday night final, when Daniel came walking down the stairs in the library. My heart skipped a beat. We made no eye contact...I totally turned my head away as soon as I saw him. After he left, I sat there trying to study... but feeling like I needed to go to the next step. Ron had told me that I could meet with him if I needed to, since I didn't know him at all. Instead, I just emailed Ron and asked him if I could have an email from Daniel on his convictions and beliefs. After all, that was the most important thing to me.
After I got home from my final, I poured my heart out in my journal to God, and also doubted a bit that I should not have taken the next step. An excerpt from my journal:

This isn't the ideal timing of our lives. Yes, life would be a bit rough with him still in school, but I still feel peaceful. No, I haven't liked him or had a crush on him for years, but I feel as if I could love him. I wasn't at that point at first but I feel like I am now. Is he what I always thought for a husband? I'm not really sure what I thought, but I read the other day that he doesn't have to meet my expectations just GOD'S. Am I worried what other people will say? Yes, I am a bit, but I know as long as I'm pleasing God with Thy will that is what matters. Lord, I hope this wasn't too quick to ask for more information about him. I really do want to know where he stands spiritually. Lord all the guidance I have received so far I have felt it should be a yes. Please disrupt this peace that I am feeling if I am not following Thy will.

I opened to many scriptures, but one that stood out:
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

This verse didn't just stand out to me because it spoke of a bride and bridegroom. From my journal:

I thank God that my soul is joyful and that I am covered and clothed in His salvation, just as a beautiful bride/bridegroom is on their wedding day. I love how this give me HOPE for heaven and assurance of where my soul is.

Fri, May 11th

I am not sure what happened on Friday during the day, but I do know I was extremely peaceful. Friday night I went to a young group thing, and I just remember being so peaceful and happy, and especially enjoying the singing more than usual. When I got home, I had an email from Daniel. I read it and was in tears. It re-assured me with everything I had been feeling. I knew I could respect him. I knew he would be an extremely supportive husband. And ultimately, I knew that together we would strive for Heaven.
I am not going to post what Daniel wrote in his email just because it is pretty personal. But here is one little paragraph he wrote to me:

I would like to mention my convictions on the spiritually role of a husband. I believe that the spiritually responsibility of family belongs to the husband. I have always been convicted that many of our problems today stem from the fact that the husband or fathers of the homes have not been the proper spiritual guide that they were supposed to be. If the man of the home can keep his house together spiritually then I believe he has done his God honoring duty.

A bit of what I wrote in my journal that night:
Oh my Lord. I am in tears right now. I just received my first email from Daniel and I can't tell you enough how much that made me respect him like no other. I feel so convicted right now, yet so peaceful, thankful, and assured. I couldn't agree more than what he wrote to me. Just continue to help me with upcoming decisions I pray. I am so amazed and blessed with Thee, Lord!

I opened up to a lot about marriage after I read his email:

• Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body.

I really felt like Daniel could be my head, and lead me to heaven, even though I barely knew him. I had the faith that he would.

• Ephesians 5:33... and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

I believed I could respect him as well, even though I didn't really know him.

• Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God had truly directed my paths. I was so thankful. I was thankful to be in the situation I was. I had never grown spiritually so fast in my life. I went to sleep excited to see what would happen in my life next.

Sat, May 12th

I woke up early because I couldn't sleep. I showed my mom the email I received from Daniel first thing. Later in the day, I sat down with my mom and dad, and poured out my heart to them and what I had been thinking/feeling within the last couple weeks. I told them I would truly feel like I would be disobeying God if I did not say yes. My parents both felt very peaceful. However, they wanted to meet with Daniel before I said yes just for their own sakes since they didn't know him at all.
An excerpt from my journal:

I just feel incredibly peaceful, blessed and thankful. I feel rather emotional this morning just because of where you have brought me, how you have strengthened me in the last week.

That evening I began to worry what other people would think. I opened up to one of my favorite verses:
Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

I also opened up to Psalm 128:1; Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
I felt that God would truly bless us as husband and wife as long as we feared the Lord.

There's so much to pray for, I can't believe I'm taking the next step. Just continue to give me peace and assurance. Especially with thy word. Provide for us as I have no idea what will come in the coming months/years. Just bless us and help us to continue in faith all the days of our lives.

Sunday, May 13th

Sunday was Mother's Day. I knew I was going to say yes, I was so peaceful, and so excited. I remember going to Busy Corner for dinner, and seeing some of Daniel's aunts and uncles there... it made me even more excited.... future family. :)
That evening, I talked to Ellie(my only friend who was married...) and it helped me so much. I also opened up to John 14:27; Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

Lord the peace I have received in Thee is amazing and I thank Thee for it. It is the most wonderful thing you can give to us in this world.

Mon, May 14th

Monday was my first day as a full-time employee at Gorenz. I had a meeting scheduled for that evening with Ron, but in the mean time, I was waiting for Daniel to contact my parents to set up a time to meet with them(because they wanted to before I said yes). Monday was a looonngg day at work. I remember texting my mom all day to see if she had received an email or phone call from Daniel.

While we were eating dinner that night, Daniel called my parents and they had decided to meet at Daniel's elders house at 8:00pm... and I was meeting with Ron at 9:00pm. So my parents left before me.... and I was a little nervous. Nervous and sort of jealous that they got to meet with Daniel before I did.
So I went to Ron's at 9, told him my whole story... but I had to wait until my parents got done meeting with Daniel to yes. I of course wanted to give my answer that night. I was literally sitting at Ron's house, texting my mom asking, "can I say YES?" She called me and said that they felt very comfortable with it. :) So I said yes, right then and there. I couldn't wait any longer.
And before I even got home from Ron's house.... Daniel called me for the first time ever.

The funny thing is, when my parents met with Daniel they did not give him any inkling of what I was thinking or feeling. So to say the least, Daniel had NO idea that I was going to say yes that night.

We talked on the phone for a couple hours. Then I had to go to work the next day, and then meet him for dinner for the very first time the next evening. It was another long day at work, a long dinner conversation with Daniel, and then we went to my parents house and THAT is where our first picture was taken. :)

To say the engagement was easy, wouldn't be entirely true. It was fairly short, we were apart for 10 days after knowing each other for a week, and the wedding plans stressed me out. Plus I had started a new job. But I can say we have truly been blessed. I know I say that a lot, and I have said it a lot during this engagement post. But it's the truth. God has blessed us. If he was this faithful during our engagement, I know he will be for the remainder of our lives.

The first week...

The first week of our engagement story went like this....

Wed, May 2nd:

I received my proposal on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday I was still in shock and didn't know what to think. All I can remember is the days being a big blur. I didn't eat, and I kept asking God questions like, Why Daniel? Why do you want me in Roanoke church? I don't know anyone from there. Why when we're both so young? And more questions like those were just going round and round in my head. But at the same time I just kept praying for clear direction even though I had all these questions.
I opened up to Galatians 6:1; Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
When I read that verse, I realized that when I thought of marriage, I was thinking that my husband would just keep me strong and stable in Christ. (very shallow I know...) But I felt very convicted that I needed to be the strong one sometimes and not lean on other people all the time. I felt that I needed to have my own convictions and beliefs and stand up for what I believe in, and not just rely on my husband. I know the husband is the spiritual head, but it certainly isn't all of their responsibility either. Daniel would need just as much support as I needed.
I met my Dad on Wednesday for lunch, and I remember telling him that whatever happens that it is going to be a long and overwhelming process.

Thurs, May 3rd:

Thursday was when my heart started changing. An excerpt from my journal:
I need Thee and Thy direction- Lord I don't even know what to think right now so many things are running through my mind. I think something, and then I(or satan) persuades myself otherwise. Lord I need clear direction with this. I want to do whatever is your will and not mine. I don't want my own wants and then be disobedient to you. At first I was completely thrown off by it being Daniel. My first thought was "no way." Today I found myself thinking totally different than I was yesterday. But then I get scared and tell myself that I can just say no. I know I am going to need Faith no matter what happens, so I pray for an abundance of Faith during this time.

So as I mentioned in my journal, I did start thinking differently. I worked in the morning, and was doing tedious things like filing. I began to think differently about Daniel...and even started imagining IF I did marry Daniel. The first couple of days my mind wouldn't even go there. I thought about the financial part of it, going to Roanoke church, etc.... I think this is when I had my first hint of feelings.
I normally worked all day on Thursday's, but since I was in the middle of finals week, I left early to study at school before my night class. Sooo...I was sitting in the library at school studying. I looked up at one point, and Daniel was sitting right there at a computer talking to someone... not too far away from me. I had just walked RIGHT past him and didn't realize it. I wasn't sure what to think, I didn't even know he was still there at ICC, I thought he had already transferred. It was a restless afternoon of studying.
That night I opened up to:
1 Peter 5:7; Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you.
vs 10; But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle you.
These verses really gave me peace, because I knew that through this that God was perfecting me and strengthening me for good, even though I was confused and unsure of everything at that moment.

Fri, May 4th:

By Friday I began to have more feelings for Daniel. As soon as I had those feelings, the thought of marriage just scared me. I didn't feel ready for marriage at all, and I was basically feeling at that point that I would never want to get married. I believe I was feeling that way because I was scared of marriage, and I wasn't willing to have a major life change. I felt a mixture of things... I was developing feelings, but yet so scared that I was even developing those feelings. I began to think well... "maybe...."(instead thinking NO) but the thoughts of us being too young went through my mind, and satan would tell me "No, you could never do this!" So at this point I didn't feel like it would be a strong no, just because of the way my heart was changing, but I would need to be shown a lot of things for it to be strong yes. I prayed for clear direction. I prayed that Daniel could be at the Central IL singing that next night, because I really wanted to see him again...(see how the feelings would react when I saw him? Maybe?)
From my prayer journal:
I need direction. Clear direction. I feel as if the feelings are growing, but part of me wonders if I'm just getting more used to the idea... or if it's coming from God. Help me to have faith to say yes if that is Your will, and give me clear direction with Thy Word, the Spirit, and maybe seeing him? Prove to me, Lord, that these feelings are coming from you. I don't feel a strong no, but I am going to need a lot of things to make it a strong yes.

I know, asking to see him again seems shallow, but looking back, I really did need that so badly.

Sat, May 5th:

Saturday I began to feel more confused. Satan was onto me. I would feel the Holy Spirit convict me, and then once again I would just convince myself that I was just getting used to the idea of it all. Each night, I would feel so strongly about a yes, and in the morning I regretted that I even felt that way. I felt naive about the whole thing. Looking back, I wanted to know the WHYS about everything, which is called lack of FAITH.
From my journal:
Lord I need They spirit and Thy word to speak to me, but also the circumstances too. I am need of those as they will strengthen my faith. Forgive me if I failed Thee in this situation. 

(Note: I am not writing my entire journal... only parts)

That Saturday afternoon I remember going to meet a study group for finals. I was sooo anxious and could barely concentrate. That evening was the the Central IL singing... to say I was sooo shaky and anxious is an understatement. I wanted to see Daniel so bad, but then a part of me didn't want to, because I didn't really want God to answer my prayer of giving me feelings for him (terrible, I know...). All the Roanoke people showed up, but there was no Daniel. I sat down at the singing and I still hadn't seen Daniel. I was sort of relieved but disappointed at the same time.
Then 20 minutes late, in walks Daniel. He sat right diagonal from me... I could seriously sit there and watch him (and that's pretty much what I did...). I was shaking the entire night. I remember talking to some girls I didn't know very well after the singing, and it's a good thing, because any of my good friends would've been able to tell there was something wrong in a second. Through out the entire singing, I felt SO convicted, by every single song we sang, and as I prayed throughout the singing.
At the end of the singing, there was a bible reading... who read? Daniel. He read in Matthew 20...(more on this later). I just prayed that God would give me some major direction when I got home that evening because I needed peace... I felt so much conviction I was miserable.

When I got home, I went straight into my bedroom to pray. I opened the Bible to:
-1 Thessalonians 5:19; Quench not the Spirit
It's such a short verse, but so powerful. I truly felt I was quenching the spirit.

I felt a flood of peace as I sat there and poured my heart to God, and read the bible for a couple of hours. I finally surrendered to God and let him do His will with my life. It felt so much like the night I started repenting I was so convicted, and then I received a flood of peace. I just sat there and reflected on what the Lord had done in my life in just 5 days. I opened to a lot of scripture about marriage, that took the my "fear" away that I had been having.

From my journal:
Dear God, I do not even know what to think right now. I feel so convicted and lead by the spirit, I have all day. Since Wednesday actually. Lord, I prayed that you would give feelings if there were feelings that needed to be there. And that it would all be you, nothing of me..or my dreams, etc. Lord I have felt those feelings within the past few days and extremely now. This conviction keeps getting stronger, I feel like I did when I started repenting. So LORD, I asked for one thing... feelings. And those feelings are there more than I would have thought was EVER possible. Lord I asked for clear direction, that I would need circumstances to help confirm these thoughts/feelings I have about Daniel. And you have. God you are so mighty and powerful. Continue to guide and direct me tomorrow as it is the Lord's day!

God had given me everything that I needed and that I prayed for.

I re-read what Daniel read at the singing that night... as I opened up to Matthew 20, I saw what was right next to it, Matthew 19, verse 5:
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh.

Little did I know... (which I know now of course), that Daniel actually opened up to Matthew 19 at the singing, and turned to chapter 20. Just an interesting fact. :)
Saturday night I barely got any sleep. This was really the first night that I lost a lot of sleep over this proposal.

Sun, May 6th:

I woke up early and spent a lot of time in the Word and in prayer before going to church. That was when I felt the most peace during my proposal. I prayed for more direction(I know...again. But I am a doubter)... and that I could be hired on full-time at Gorenz. Not that it was top priority, but financially it would make me feel better because I knew he would be in school. I prayed that I could see him one more time... I wanted to so bad.
Some of the verses I opened up to that Sunday morning:
1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

I felt so peaceful, but I felt like I just needed to be more patient. I was honestly tired of having the proposal, I just wanted to do something with it.. whether it was a yes or no. (Some of you are probably laughing because I know you had them for months...)

I don't remember anything about that afternoon or evening, except that I tried to study for finals. But I remember I was a sub for Sunday school that morning, and I taught 2nd graders. Our lesson was on Daniel, we sang "Dare to be a Daniel".... we read in the book of Daniel in the afternoon service. Of course I probably would have never thought anything of that, except that I was thinking and praying whether I should marry Daniel or not. :)

Mon, May 7th:

I began to feel scared for marriage again, and I began to doubt. My faith began to waver. I was confused if whether God was trying to help me to be content with being single, or if it was satan scaring me about marriage. I opened up to Psalm 143, which is really what I was feeling and praying to God about.

vs 1- Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications
8 - Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee.
10- Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

I prayed once again about my job and seeing Daniel again. I knew if I knew about the job, that it would give me confirmation on the timing of it all.
From my journal:
I certainly don't want to base my answer off of the circumstances I am praying for, but it will help confirm, and strengthen my faith. I will know it is coming from You, and not satan.

I was totally lacking in faith, when I opened up to Luke 12:28. Verse 28 ends in the following words:
O YE OF LITTLE FAITH
and verse 29: NEITHER BE YE OF A DOUBTFUL MIND

Those two verses gave me so much peace throughout the day because I had been doubting so much. I don't think I doubted at all the entire day.

After reading Psalm 78 that evening, I realized being disobedient to God comes with serious punishment(obviously I knew that.. but I was thinking about it more than usual), and how it is SO serious. The last thing I wanted to do was disobey God with this proposal. I just prayed for patience so that I would really do what God had willed for my life.



Bear with me here.. I'm sorry it has taken so long... the last week will be continued soon, I hope! Sorry if I am extremely repetitive!

Just an FYI...1 year ago yesterday, we were announced/engaged at church! :)

One year ago....

One year ago today, May 1st, Daniel asked me to marry him.
I can't believe it's been a year already...but at the same time I feel like I've known him for forever.

A few people who read my blog have mentioned how I never wrote our engagement story on my blog, and that they were waiting for it. I was a little busy during my engagement and the beginning of our marriage to take the time to sit and write about those amazing but hard 2 weeks when I had the proposal. Because it has been a year, I decided to reflect back on my thoughts, look back at my journal, and write it out. For my sake mostly... but hopefully someone can be encouraged by it. And I'm so sorry about the length... I might have to divide this up in sections.


As I was reading my journal... I came across something I wrote about a month before I received my proposal... I think God was preparing my heart for the future.

April 9, 2012 - Lord, I pray that Thou would be with me as I finish my last month of school. Give me knowledge as I study my books and also energy and strength, and have a heart as doing it unto Thee. Guide and direct my life as I go on to the next step from college. If Gorenz is in Thy will for me, then let it be. If not, I pray you would provide a place. Whatever Thy will is, let it be done. If marriage is anytime in the near future, I pray I can have clear direction and do Thy will. I pray that you will provide a Godly, firm, stable, husband who will support me in what I do, and most imporatntly help me get to heaven.

Just to make it clear, I was totally content with my life. Marriage wasn't really on my mind at all. At all. I was too young anyway. I was focused on school, in the middle of finals, and anxious to see if I received a full-time job.

Then May 1st came along. Ron emailed me that evening and I went over to his house that same night. I was anxious, nervous, wondering who it was... oh the thoughts that went round and round my head on my way over there.
When Ron asked me if I wanted to know who it was... all I wanted to say was "YES!!! Hurry up!" But I thought I better not jump at it. After talking about it, we decided that it was probably best for me to know, because I was in the middle of finals... and I would probably let my mind wonder and wander as I tried to study.

When he told me he was from Roanoke, I told him I didn't even know anyone from there. Well sure enough, I sort of did. When he said Daniel L... I was shocked. I didn't know WHAT to think. I was pretty sure who he was, but couldn't put a clear picture in my mind. I knew some of his family though. I basically knew them from 4-H and the growing up days. But in more recent years, I had remember seeing Daniel a few times at ICC, but never had I talked to him. Once in the stairwell at ICC, we crossed paths, and said "Hi"... :) I didn't know what he was going to school for, how old he was, who his friends were... Nothing. As I left that night, all I could think was "WHY did he ask for me? I know he's young. He doesn't even know me... this will probably be a no."

I talked to my mom when I got home.... she had no idea who he was. We did a little facebook stalking so I could show her some pictures. Thank goodness I was friends with his sister and sister-in-law so I could see a few pictures! I wasn't even friends with Daniel. :) Mom advised me to just think it would be a "no" (because that was what I was already thinking...) and to wait to really seek it out. Wait until I made it through finals, and just pray for clear direction.

That night before bed, I prayed for clear direction, and to help my heart to be submissive to whatever was God's will. I also remember praying and thinking that I could see him first, and I also prayed that I could have feelings for him before it would ever be a "yes." I was feeling very overwhelmed. I opened up to a verse that gave me so much peace:

Ephesians 3:20 - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.


....To be continued....

April Birthday's

A couple weekends ago, Mom's birthday was on a Sunday. Heidi got a babysitter for her kids, and us adults went out to eat at One World. It was delicious.

Mom & her girls 

We went back to my parents house then, where we had a "party" with the kids. Bridget was quite excited about the party for Grandma, so she brought balloons and everything.

 Mom with her grandkids. So precious!

 I think Bridget had as much fun as she did at her own birthday party. Mom didn't want a cake... so I bought her coffee/chocolate ice cream instead.

 Family Picture!

This weekend was Daniel's family birthday's. Fred & Jodi had us all, because it was Fred's birthday and Letty's 1st birthday! David's birthday was in April too.

Poor little Letty, turning 1, and she was teething terribly... she was up for only about an hour of the party. So she got her picture with her cake and went to bed.

 Elisabeth made letty's little cake.

Daniel had to work, which was a bummer, but it was nice to be with everyone.

 Little Asher...the youngest grandbaby. He's so smiley and precious. Today we went to a wedding reception in Princeville, and I was holding him.... everyone thought he was ours. Hahah.. even the photographer took a picture... I'm sure we looked like a young little family. :)

 The boys playing with Joseph's phone. So typical. :)

Shiloh got to take these cupcakes home... he was grinning ear to ear.

We are so blessed with family!

Easter Weekend

Our Easter weekend was busy but goood. 

On Good Friday, Daniel had to work.... and I did too. For Good Friday services, since I was by myself, I went with my parents. As I was driving there, my car decided to have fun with me, and wouldn't accelerate. So I pulled off to the side of the road... completely broke down. That has never happened to me before. The funny part was almost everyone from church passed me... not one stopped. :) Oh well, they probably didn't know it was me. :) I sat for about 5 minutes until I started it again, and it worked....so I got it to a church in town. Adam came and saved/picked me up and took me to church....I was a little late.

Mom said she'd feed me dinner, and since I didn't go to their house before church, I went afterwards. Adam ended up having quite a few people over, including some of my friends... it was fun to hang out with our group that we always used to hang out with, even though it was for a short time. Mom made some good food... and I showed my age by saying "it was almost 11pm" when it was really only 10:15. Adam said I'm so old already... because I want to go to bed so early. :)

Saturday I didn't work...instead, I baked/cooked all day long. I had to make so much food for Easter. It was kind of fun though, because everything I made I had never made before. I made 6 loaves of pull-apart bread from the Pioneer Woman(delicious!!), deviled eggs, a gluten free chocolate-mocha cake, and a regular cake as well. My kitchen was a mess by the time I was done! The only thing I took a break from was to run with Kendra... 5 miles is what we did! :) Not too bad for us!

Saturday night was my immediate family Easter at Heidi's.

 Playing a game.... challenging at times with the kiddos. :)

 Mr. Carter

 Me & Daniel.... man I look pale here. Can't wait for some sunny Saturday's that I can go to the pool!

Last Saturday we were Daniel's family for Easter... I failed to take out my camera... my apologizes!! We went to his mom and dad's....had a delicious meal, the kids dyed eggs and had an easter egg hunt in the house. It was a little quiter than usual because Shiloh was sick, so Robert stayed home with him. Otherwise, it was a good night! I made my first fruit pie ever. It was actually a gluten-free apple pie... I think I could do better next time, especially with the crust. Or maybe it was just the fact that it was with gluten free flour that it didn't look normal. :)

 Sunday we went to Roanoke for their early morning service, it was beautiful, but we were sitting in church at 7:20... made for a tiring day. They had breakfast there at church, and then we went over to Washington for the day. It was the perfect Sunday to go, because one of my really good friends got announced! Shelly called me on Wednesday night and told me her news. :)

Michelle's engaged to Nathan B... so excited to have another couple in our potluck, and be in another summer wedding! :) Sorry I stole your picture from your blog Michelle... (I know you did that when I got engaged, so I didn't feel so bad. ;)

Sunday evening we went to my Uncle Ken & Aunt Sandy's with the Pfaff's. The first holiday with the Pfaff's that Daniel & I went together since we were married.... he has always had to work for every Pfaff thing. They have teased me saying comments like... "are you sure you're married? or are you just pretending?" :) So it was nice that we got to go together for once. And everyone said my bread looked like it was from a magazine and very good. Whew.....I guess that makes it a little more worth it to have spent half a day on it!!

This year, I feel like I have thought more about what Christ has done for us than I ever have. Communion was so touching for me this year, as it is every year... but this year seemed especially so. It was a blessing to take part of it in Roanoke too. It's another thing that makes me feel more a part of the congregation. Hope you had a blessed Easter!