happy valentine's day!

1 john 4:8

⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.  God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day... a week late...

jake and i had a low-key evening.  i hate going out of valentine's day.  our evening consisted of homemade cards, breakfast for supper, and sharing a candy bar all while watching dexter.  probably not the most romantic show to watch, but it was nice to have an excuse to relax and do nothing other than hang out with each other.

i made this overnight paula deen baked french toast.  it's seriously more like dessert.  it was so good.  you can find the recipe here.

ok, seriously... i didn't get a single photo of us on valentine's day.  i fail.  hope your day was full of love and thankfulness.

psalms 32:8

i was doing my devotions yesterday and read psalms 32:8

"the Lord says, "i will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  i will advise you and watch over you." -new living translation

i also liked the new international translation.

"i will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; i will counsel you with my loving eye on you."

i've been contemplating applying for a teaching position in my current town.  this would be no more daily 2 hour commutes, but it would also mean i would leave a school i adore.  i'm torn.  i know that i am meant to be a teacher and i can't live without teaching, but where does God want me?  i will be meditating on this verse this semester.  Lord Jesus, guide me on the best pathway you have ready for me.

our weekend

this weekend was busy.  i've almost completed my to-do list!

10:00 pm saturday night i decided to make those 2 ingredient banana-oatmeal cookies i've been seeing on pinterest.  jake was at work and it was rainy.  i added some chocolate chunks and cinnamon to the mixture.  i like them.  they're different, but curb my sweet tooth.

every week i contemplate if i should get groceries at target or wal-mart.  and every week it seems that whatever location i choose, i end up having to go to the other store for one or two more items.  this week was the same.  i went to wal-mart for our groceries. they were out of french bread and quinoa to i had to go to target.  and yes, i got out of target without buying anything unnecessary - score!

this year i'm taking the easy route and giving soda to my students for valentine's day.  we have our party on thursday.

oops, i guess i did get these adorable stamps at target - but they were in the $1.00 section so that counts for something, right?  i have some valentine's cards i would like to make with these stamps.

my sunday school work time partner.  i work in bed and dug is always ready to join me.  he naps.  i grade papers and catch up on school work.  it's a good system, but sometimes i would like to switch roles.

i hope the weekend was ultra-productive and relaxing for you.  i know i'm not ready to go back to work, but it should be a good week.

friday night

love you swore, john mark mcmillan

i'm typically behind the times when it comes to music.  i have a few artists i follow and love and i mostly just stick to listening to them.  pandora also makes it easier for me to just listen to artists i like and similar artists without having to pay attention to when a new album comes out.  

i have a john mark mcmillan station on pandora, but last week a friend in our Bible study loaned us one of mcmillan's albums, economy.  it played in our car for the whole week.  i loved it.  this song, love you swore really spoke to me.

here are the lyrics:

Chase me down like a lion
Like a bird of prey
Lift me up from the ashes
Of my hearts own shallow grave

Cause I know that I love you
But sometimes I’m afraid
Whoa oh…

Spare my body from the wolves, God
That crouch down at my door
Lift me up above the waters
And the sharks that guard your shore

Cause I know that I need you
But sometimes I know it more
Whoa oh…

Harbor me in the eye of the storm
I’m holding on to love you swore

the lyrics cause i know that i need you, but sometimes i know it more are so true of my life.  it's almost convicting.  there are times in my life where i haven't had a close relationship with God because my life was going well and what i thought, according to plan.  and when troubles would arise i would be there begging to God.  what an awesome remember to always be in need of God.

here's the song if you're interested.

saturday

just a couple of snapshots from today.  it was spent snuggling with a sun-tanning beagle and making heart garlands for valentine's day.  i also rearranged our teeny-tiny kitchen, but that was a disaster i did not feel like documenting!

suzy homemaker in the works

is it just me, or does decorating your home make you nervous, sweaty, and overly anxious?  anyone? ...ok i'm probably one of the only ones, but decorating our space can be difficult for me.  i typically can make decisions quickly and with no regret... except for when it comes to picking out a pillow for the couch.  i've made a lot of progress the past few months years (who am i kidding here?!) but i'm starting to feel like giving up.  i feel like sharing this will motivate me to continue decorating our apartment.

a lot of my struggles come within spending money or DIY-ing things i see and like.  i'm also the most impatient person when it comes to completing projects.  above, you can see my nightstand.  we use vintage orange crates propped on one end.  the lamp was thrifted and i added twine around the lampshade.

i used burlap, white acrylic paint, and stencils to add some details to the above frames.  the album is bright eyes' first day of my life.  early on when jake and i started dating he gifted me the framed album - which is my favorite.  now, go listen to first day of my life by bright eyes.  i hope it makes you smile like i do every time i listen to it.

this is jake's side of the dresser.  he loves his tolkien.  the giant clothespin was a gift.  the camera was thrifted, and the mushrooms are from target.

this would be my side of the dresser.  the bowl is part of a set i was gifted at one of my bridal showers.  the shell ring holder was something that once belonged to my grandma and the earring crate is something i thrifted.

i'm sure plenty of you have seen tutorials on many blogs on this project.  i simply found a picture at a thrift store (the frame is what sold me!) and added the saying "such great heights".  it was our wedding song (iron & wine's version) and has a lot of special meaning to us.  it's hanging above our dresser.

ok, i think i'm off to finally decide on that pillow... or maybe i'll just try to make one myself...

Christmas

we kicked off our first Christmas celebration early on december 15th when my sister was in the state.  we went up to my mom's for the weekend and had a great time just relaxing and visiting with each other.  dug is pretty spoiled at my mom's and got extra blankets for naps and a nice, long walk.

it's a two man woman job to clean out dug's ears.  the dog has the smelliest ears ever!  it must be a beagle thing since they are so long and perfect for trapping scents and moisture.

jake had to work Christmas eve so when he got off at 5pm we headed to western Nebraska to celebrate with his family.  he worked the day after Christmas so it was a quick trip.  i wish we could have spent more time celebrating with his family.  we didn't even get to attend the yearly Christmas day movie that we typically go to the theaters to watch.

our adorable niece used her favorite dora box and picked out some of her own books to give me as a Christmas present.  what a sweet heart!  she was so much fun this Christmas.  she was so excited.  she woke jake and me up by knocking on our door and declaring "SANTA COME, SANTA COME!!!"

even dug got a squeak toy for Christmas!  he loved it!

i made luke a creeper minecraft pillow for Christmas.  i think he liked it! :)

i made our niece this t-shirt that said "my cousin is a beagle".

songs of the season

charlie brown Christmas is one of my all time favorite holiday specials.  it snowed all day yesterday and today school was cancelled!  it's a rarity for my school district to cancel school so it really does feel like Christmastime is here!  we have one more day of school and then it's break time!  i still need to get a ton of baking done and a few presents to wrap!