Family Time

It has been a busy week. Or two.

A few Sundays ago, Mark's family came up for a Sunday! I got the chance to go to church with them (a refreshing treat!) and then we all headed back to our house (house, home, apartment....whatever you would like to call it!). We enjoyed an afternoon of food, laughter and lots of catching up!

The next day, we got the chance to celebrate my grandma's birthday! My grandparents mean the world to me, and their marriage and lives are such inspirations! We had a great time talking and listening to their stories. Here is a picture from our night!
Last night, the hubby and I went on a spontaneous date! It had been a tough week at work, and a week of reflection, and we just needed to get out. I am so glad that we are able to do that! We headed north, explored a few towns, and settled on a new Mexican food restaurant for dinner. We then took the scenic route back home! It was a beautiful night out, and so much fun being able to just drive and hang out! Here are a few pictures from our night!

As I stepped in the muddy puddle coming into work yesterday, I realized that spring had finally arrived. And then I thought to my self... this will be my first spring without a break. my first spring as a married gal. my first spring in malakoff.

And also my first spring without this......

topped with these....
while hanging out here....at least once a week....


with these fine souls...


And then I decided that is ok. That this spring will be full of new experiences and new traditions. As will every other season of life! So here is to a new spring, and to forever carrying out the traditions of old springs!

Pray for baby Stellan!

Mckmama's baby, Stellan, has been put in the hospital for SVT, the same heart problem's he was experiencing in the womb. Please be in prayer for this little baby, for the doctors & nurses, and for the MckFamily.

Angie has encouraged everyone to pray these scriptures and this prayer over baby Stellan:

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

(from Psalm 103)

1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;

the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.

2 The Lord will protect him and preserve his life;

he will bless him in the land

and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.

3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed

and restore him from the bed of illness...

(from Psalm 41)

Lord Jesus, I know Your power. You are great like NO other. We will not cower in fear, nor will we let our thoughts consume us. Our Jesus is still the same....He is still the same. We are praying from a place of confidence, and with the belief that you are able. Heal him, Abba. We will give You all the praise...

Basketball and Nesting

I have never really appreciated March Madness before. I mean to be truly honest, I am really more of a baseball gal. But this year is different. The hubby has brackets. And sports is dominating the TV. And I kind of like it. {But, let's not share that with him!}

Besides spending my weekend watching my new found interest of basketball, I have finally begun to nest in the apartment. Instead of feeling like a few rooms with boxes and a conglomerate of 2 people's things, it is finally feeling like home. Home sweet home. I have attempted to "decorate on a budget", which I think I am slowly mastering! Yesterday I went shopping with Mark's mom at HomeGoods. I got these (and a few other) great bargains this weekend in my attempt to "nest"~~~

6 dollars a piece for 2 cute candlesticks!

30 for bedroom curtains...now if only I could figure out how to hang them over the blinds!

Deed & Truth

This past weekend, the hubby and I got the chance to be leaders in our church's DNow. This was particularly exciting to both of us for different reasons:

~I work with children alot {hence the title Children's Minister} which I love with my whole heart. But it was an exciting chance to serve a new age group for a few days!
~The hubby just loves the youth. And fits right in with them. So this was his cup o'tea!

So off we set for our weekend adventure. Oh, I forgot to mention one particularly exciting part...some of our best friends got the chance to join us a leaders!

Meet Tonya and Darby:

We spent the weekend teaching the kids about showing love. Something that the Lord has been teaching me (and the rest of the staff) alot about lately, so that was pretty awesome. We took the kids out on Saturday to serve and actually show love to people around our area!

Here are a few pics from our weekend!



Side Note: Wedding Pictures are coming soon! I promise!