Monday, February 27, 2012

Cooking

This week I tried a couple of new recipes!

The first was banana bread, but instead of using oil and sugar the recipe uses honey and applesauce. It was an excellent Pinterest find!


Jason and I both liked it a lot! It went pretty fast :)

Then today after church I tried a Southern Living recipe for Eggplant Parmesan.
It was good too! Jason really liked it :)



This week I'm going to try my family's lasagna recipe. Hopefully it will turn out as good as when my brother makes it!!

Here are my photo challenge pictures for the week:
22. Where you work
I was off from the hospital this week, so my work was cleaning house!
23. Your shoes
 24. Inside your bathroom cabinet
Towels!
 25. Green
My favorite hair products :)
 26. Night
Tonight Jason and I went with some friends to Passion City Church. 
This hand represents the 27 million people who are slaves right now and the campaign to end their bondage!
For more information click here!

Only a couple more days left in the February Photo Challenge! 
Can you believe it's already almost March?
Time is certainly flying!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

He Has Done Great Things

Yesterday during my quiet time I thanked God for all the great things He has done and will continue to do. When I opened my Bible, I came across a perfect verse to illustrate this! I love the way God works! Here is the verse:

Isaiah 25:1 (NLT)
"O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them."

Don't forget to thank God for all the wonderful things He does everyday!


It's been awhile since I have shared from my photo a day challenge!
Here's the list again:

13. Blue. 
I used this butter to make Jason's Valentine's Day Strawberry Cupcakes.
 14. Heart
From a homemade Valentine
 15. Phone
 16. Something New
New flour and honey for a Pinterest recipe!
 17. Time
Seems to be going by fast!
 18. Drink
Water is my drink of choice!
 19. Something I hate to do.
I hate making my lunch. Especially by the 7th day in a row!
20. Handwriting
21. A fave photo of me
First kiss as a married couple :)

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Biltmore

Our weekend in Asheville was a fun getaway! 
We were able to take a long weekend with some close friends to relax and visit the Biltmore Estate.

We headed out on Friday around lunch time and got to Asheville just before dinner. After checking out our villa, we decided to get some dinner. 
We went to Luella's Barbecue


Waiting on our table!
The food was really good!
After dinner we checked out the mall and rented a movie for the house. 

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Biltmore Estate. It was snowing a little bit when we left the house, but by the time we got to the Biltmore it had picked up and was starting to accumulate on the grass. It was gorgeous!

 Traveling down the 3 mile driveway to the house!
When we arrived at the house, we started the audio tour. It fascinates me that when he built this house, Mr. Vanderbilt was only 33 years old! And single! I can't imagine building such a huge house just for myself!

We got to hear a lot of interesting information on the tour, and the inside of the house is beautiful as well! Of course they don't let you take pictures inside though!

After the tour we took some pictures and decided to go get something to eat before checking out the rest of the property.



The whole house!
We went into town for lunch and ate at this awesome place, the Village Wayside Bar and Grille.
The food was great!
While we were in town, we also drove by the church that the Vanderbilt's supported, All Souls Church. They are still holding services.

After lunch we headed back to the Bilmore Estates to check out the winery and the farm area.
Beautiful views
Cows!

Inside the winery 
Statue
They even had John Deere tractors back then!
 Jason liked the John Deere tractors!
 They had a carpentry shop and this man was making a leaf from an iron rod!
We even stopped to see the animals at the petting zoo. They were just as cold as we were, so we didn't stay long!!

After the busy day of touring, we had dinner at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. Then came back to the house to relax and watch another movie!

On Sunday morning it was time to head home. Since we didn't have to be back at any certain time, we took the scenic route. We drove some of the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped in Bryson City. We saw a lot of ice on the rocks and a lot of beautiful views!


We would definitely recommend Asheville as a getaway spot. I would love to go back to the Biltmore in the spring or fall just to see all the gardens and walk some of the trails on the property!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Long Weekend

This weekend we took a trip up to Asheville, North Carolina.
It was a Valentine's Day Getaway!
We had so much just getting away and spending time with sweet friends. 
I will share pictures and details in a later post.
For now, here are my photo challenge photos from the weekend:

 10. Self portrait

 11. Makes you happy.
Snow falling at the Biltmore House with my husband and friends made me very happy!

12. Inside your closet.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Deutoronomy 7:9

I have a twitter account but don't use it very often. This morning I checked it out and saw a tweet from Perry Noble, the pastor of NewSprings Church. It said, "Deuteronomy 7:9 = a GREAT way to begin your day!!!"

Of course I had to check out Deuteronomy 7:9. This is what I found...

"Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands."

This verse is a great way to start the day! What encouragement! I needed this reminder today.
God is God.
God is Faithful.
God keeps EVERY promise.
God loves with an unfailing love.
All we have to do is love Him and follow His commands.

I hope this verse brings you encouragement today!

Photo Challenge Update:

Day 6: Dinner
I was so sick on Monday. My dinner was this water and 6 ritz crackers. Thankfully I'm feeling better now.

Day 7: Button

Day 8: Sun
Sunset last night. Gorgeous!

Day 9: Front Door
Door to our little apartment

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Change

Last year I considered 2011 the year of change. So many new things were happening- graduating from school, getting married, etc.

Now it's 2012 and already there are a lot of changes happening in our lives. 
It was so silly of me to think that there would be one year of change.
Isn't change one of the few things that actually is consistent?
Things are always changing.

God has used this time of change to remind me that while everything else may be changing, He is NOT. God is constant. His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and faithfulness will never change. 
For this I am so very thankful.

Hebrews 13:8 (NLT)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Nicaragua Wrap Up

To finish up the Nicaragua posts I want to share the reflections Jason and I wrote on our last night of the trip.

"This is my first time coming to a third world country, so I was very nervous about this trip. My verse coming into this trip was Isaiah 41:10 'Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.' God has certainly kept these promises to us this week. He has been with us every step of the way, and it has been amazing to see how His plan has worked out even when it didn't seem right to us. He has encouraged us through His word, each other, and the people of Nicaragua. He has given us strength and endurance even through long days and not much sleep. He has given us victory with a successful trip to Nicaragua to help his people. This trip was not about us. It was all about God and His love for His people. Psalm 115:1 'Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.'"
Kristen

"This week was really all about humbling ourselves and moving outside of our comfort zones. I believe God calls us not to settle or remain complacent in our walk. This week has really brought to my attention, even as a minister, that we forget the glory of God because we become so busy and overlook the great things he has done for us. The verses that have been my verses for the week are Romans 12:3-5, 'For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.' We have all worked together using our different talents and abilities all for the glory of God during this trip. This week has shown me that we often sit around waiting for God to show up in our circumstances, but He is really always there. We just get distracted by our personal agendas sometimes."
Jason

The whole group

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Blog-iversary

Yesterday marks one year since I started this blog!
I hope this year I will be better about blogging more often!

I am still continuing my February photo challenge.


Day 3: Hands
The hands of my sweet, hard working hubby


Day 4: A stranger
This little guy has been a stranger since our wedding!


Day 5: 10 am
I'm working night shift this week, so my 10 am was spent in my cozy bed!
Just one more night and I will be on my week off. I'm very excited!

Happy Sunday!