The front bedroom

This is what the front bedroom used to look like. Brett and I nicknamed it the "death trap". It seemed like every time you walked in there a crashing sound would soon follow.

Well one Saturday I took the bedroom on as my project and made it safe once again. Below is about half of the boxes that were emptied and then burned.

More of the aftermath of the front bedroom, these are the boxes and things that couldn't be burned.

I would love to say that that bedroom has stayed perfect, but sadly right now it is covered in papers. I am working on setting up our file cabinet and it takes time to sort through everything . . . sigh . . .

The Honey Do List

Brett has been doing some Honey Do projects around the apartment. He put up these great floating shelves in the kitchen to put our spices on.
We got these great shelves at the Container Store. That places is like heaven for us OCD types. These shelves really helped with our storage needs.

Hair Cut

I got a hair cut a few weeks ago. Laura who is on the other side of the world wanted to see so here it is.

This when I have it pulled back. It is till long enough to go into a pony tail.

And this is me being tough and showing off my awesome fighting skills. ha ha ha

Mom and I went shopping on Saturday for Martin and Ashlan's baby. Here are the great things we found!

This is my favorite! The smallest size they had was a 9 month, so we will have to wait awhile for the kid to fit into this one.

Mom got this really cute duck outfit. It has a hat, bib, coverals, and duck socks!

Mom picked this one out. But it would be a long trip to make it from NY to AR.

That is so true.

I'm going to be an Aunt!

My brother and his wonderful wife Ashlan are expecting a baby in July! Let the shopping begin!

Half Way Around the World

I have a friend, a great friend, a best friend. She is currently half way around the world spending time with her best friend who is a boy (aka her husband). I miss her deeply. We are 15 hours apart and that makes it hard to talk on the phone. We have been able to talk some on facebook, but it just not the same.

I think the Lord knew that I needed to hear her voice. I received my wedding DVD's this weekend. They are wonderful. But I also received the most soft and warm blanket from this friend who is half way around the world. It is an early birthday present - like more than a month early.

So today while my best friend who is a boy (aka my husband) slept, I watched my wedding DVD and curled up with the softest blanket in the world. I saw my friend and I heard her voice. I cried, and cried and then cried some more. I am crying as I type this. I miss her so much. But it helped to see her even if it was on the screen of my lap top.

I saw her cry as I cried while saying my vows. I saw her read the Word of God and proclaim Truth over our marriage ceremony. I saw her throw birdseed at me - but not in a mean way! I saw her tuck my make up bag into the truck with out me even noticing. I saw her cry as we drove away and I cried back.

So as you read this my dear friend, sitting in a small dorm room on the other side of the world 15 hours ahead of me, know this. I love you. I miss you. I can not thank you enough for coming for a week to help me with the wedding. I don't know when I will hear your voice next, but know that I feel your love and warmth, even it is from a DVD and a soft blanket.

A little of this and that

The wedding thank you notes are finished! Just in time to start on Christmas and Brett's birthday thank you notes. (and before you say anything, yes Brett will write his own thank you notes for his birthday gifts).

We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent time with family and friends and food! Now January is here and we are trying to work off the holiday fun.

We are excited for our friends Josh and Erin. They got engaged in December and are getting married on March 21, 2009. Brett is the best man and I am a bride's maid.

We have done some work around the apartment. I have some pictures to show of Brett's handy man work. Also I have a new hair cut - pictures to come.

We wish you a wonderful 2009!

Date Night

Tonight is date night for Brett and me. We have decided that at least once a month we will go out on a date. It might be dinner and a movie, it might be pick up fast food and play a board game at home, it might be going to a play at the Rep. But we want to continue to date while we are married an build a strong foundation for our married and family.

Any suggestions for future date night activities?

One month and wedding pictures

Brett and I have been married for one month today! Here are some things I would like to share about my wonderful husband . . .
1) He forgives me quickly and easily.
2) He makes me laugh.
3) He has some quirks that I didn't know about until we lived together.
4) He is my best friends and I am blessed to have him as my husband.

Also, we have gotten our wedding pictures. Grant and Kim did a wonderful job. I'll post some favorites later.

So I learning how to post a picture. I think I got it!

Another Saturday

This week flew by. I felt bad on Monday, Brett felt bad on Tuesday, we had friends over for dinner on Wed., we cleaned and cooked on Thursday, had a shower for a co-worker on Friday and ended with a Christmas dinner with Kristyn and Stacey. December is going to be over before I know it!

I hate that we didn't get a picture last night. If I figure out how to do pictures, I'll get one posted from last year's Kris, Stacey and Jill Christmas dinner.

Well another Saturday is here. It is noon, we are still in PJ's and not moving very fast. There is list of things to do that is a mile long. Such is the story of my life. And the ever looming task of thank you notes. I am under 70 left to do!!!!

Rachel and Joie will be married tonight. We are so happy for them. This will be our first wedding to go to after Brett and I have gotten married. We are looking forward to enjoying it and not being the ones who are the center of attention.

Speaking of weddings, we have been married for four weeks. We plan on eating our cake topper this weekend. We can't wait a year to eat it for two reasons 1) it takes up half of our freezer 2) it is so good we can't stand to go 365 days of not eating it. However, we are going to save two small pieces for our 1 year. That will take up less room in the freezer.

PS Laura left for the other side of the world. I haven't heard from her so I am guessing that no news is good news. Wishing you a wonderful time with your hubby!

The Thank You note battle

Well Saturday was not so successful with Thank You notes. Brett got a virus on his computer first thing Saturday morning so we (really he) spent most of the day fighting that. But the good news is that we got a new external hard drive and Brett backed up all his files. He reformatted his computer and we are back to normal. Next we hope to back up my lap top.

We are getting ready for a busy Christmas season. We have parties and weddings coming up. But more than gifts and food this time of year is about Christ. Epoch (our church) has been focused on the season of Advent. It helps to keep me focused on the reason for the season, Christ and his first coming and look forward to his second coming.

Finally, a shout out to Laura!! She leaves tomorrow to go see her best friend and husband on the other side of the world. I pray for a safe flight and wonderful time with her hubby!

A Fun Saturday

Brett and I like to have fun on our Saturdays and we try to limit our chores and stuff that we do over the weekend. However today I MUST finish up thank you notes! Brett says that he will reward me with some fun stuff if I get thank you notes written. So if I write three thank you notes we get to go work out. Then if write ten more we can go geo-cashing. Ten more and we can play Monopoly.

Also, because we try to not do chores on Saturday we have to do more through out the week. I made a chore chart this week to help me stay on track. I'll see if I am successful at this all.

I'm new at this thing . . .

So this my first post on my new blog. As the title says, I am new at this. I have been saying that a lot lately. I am new a being a wife. I am new at cooking seven meals a day. I am new at doing laundry for two people (one being a boy!). I am new at being a daughter-in-law and having a new sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

I am learning and growing a lot. I hope to share the adventures that Brett and I will have for the years to come.

Jill