Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Six Months

It's hard to believe, but Jake and I celebrated our six month anniversary last week. We didn't really do anything on the day (we were with ten teenagers on a weekend mission trip), but we did look back on the past six months and realized how very fast it's gone. I absolutely love being married to him. I am looking forward to celebrating many many more milestones like this one.

In honor of the occasion, here are a few (ok, more than a few) of my favorite shots from our wedding. What an awesome day to look back on. Jenn from LuvBug Photo did a wonderful job.  Plus, our wedding is ALL OVER her portfolio, so take a look. :)








































Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Rise, Fall, and Return From Death of Five Iron Frenzy

Hello friends.  Mr. Jake here.

Everyone has THAT band.  That band who, no matter how much you have changed, will always be your favorite band.  You might not have listened to any of their albums in months (or maybe even years), but if you heard one of their songs playing you could sing every single word.  If someone even utters part of their name, you would freak out and start talking about them for hours on end.  They are that band who affected you so deeply they are more than simply a band to you.  They are more like a mentor - navigating you through the trials and pitfalls of life, giving you the exact advice and words of wisdom you need for the phase of life you are dealing with.  THAT band.

Five Iron Frenzy is that band to me.  They were the first outspokenly Christian band I really got in to.  I had never heard anyone sing about Jesus so passionately, or even talk about Jesus so passionately before.  It made me yearn for something like that.  I remember laying on the floor of my room while in high school, and listening to the song "Every New Day" by them.  After it was over and the last note rang out and slowly faded away, I continued to lay there and think about what it means to truly worship and love God.  That deep, spiritual, and life-changing moment quickly went away when "The Godzilla Song" started blaring through my speakers.

That's another thing I love about this band.  They can be so deep and passionate, but they can also be insane, off the wall, and goofy.  They don't take themselves so seriously they seem unattainable, or that their level of faith and devotion can't be reached by us "normal" people.  Plus, if you know me at all you know I have a slight crazy side, so I loved it when they would just be completely ridiculous.  Their live album is a great example of how nuts it can get.

I can sit here and talk about how much they mean to me all day, but I always regret never seeing them live.  They broke up during my senior year of high school, and I was pretty upset about it for a while.  I mourned the loss of FIF for quite some time.  Eight years later, they've returned from the dead, and now I'm going with one of my best friends who I went to high school with (and just as avid of a Five Iron Frenzy fan as me) to Colorado to see their reunion show.  I wouldn't want my first time seeing them to be any other way.  I just hope I get a chance at some point in my life to tell them what kind of impact they had on me.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for them next.  They are going to do some great things.

Now, I leave you with a video of "Every New Day" by Five Iron Frenzy.  The very last song they played live eight years ago.  God bless.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Instagrams Of Our Month

Golden Harvest with Nate/ Dogwoods in bloom/ Bookstore in Grand Rapids/ Our Bronner's purchases/ VanDyke street in Holland, MI/ Nightly bike rides/ Vera Bradley outlet sale/ New Life International retreat center/ Lunch with Grandpa/ Aud and Em at Emily's bachelorette 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

New Life International

This past weekend, I headed to New Life International with Jake and the youth from Anderson First UMC. New Life makes water purifiers that are sent all over the world to provide safe drinking water to villages in need. They also have an amazing retreat center out in Underwood, Indiana where we spent our weekend. The McGuires who started New Life are an amazing family and it is a joy to visit with them. I always leave feeling refreshed and inspired. Jake and I had a great time with his youth group. I really enjoyed getting to know all of them a little better through this weekend.

Added bonus, we got to meet with our friend, Brad, who works at New Life! We spent our time putting labels on purifier parts and cleaning up a camp ground on the Underwood property.






Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Lindsey's Going Away Party

My very good friend, Lindsey, was given an amazing job opportunity in New Hampshire. Van and I threw her a little gnome-themed going away party on Sunday in Indy. I will miss this girl terribly, but am SO happy and proud of her accomplishment! Now I just have a great excuse to head out to the Boston area for a vacation sometime soon...







Monday, April 16, 2012

Chili Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Hi strangers! Last week was crazy busy in our neck of the woods, thus my blog posting was a little spotty. But, I'm back, and with a really yummy recipe. Lately, Jake and I are trying to be more conscious and proactive about what we eat. Switching out candy for fruit, that kind of thing. Sometimes you just want something crunchy and salty, so this is a great alternative to chips. I found this recipe from one of my very favorite blogs, Today's Letters.

Chili Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:
2 Cups Pumpkin Seeds
4 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Chili Powder
2 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:
1. Put pumpkin seeds into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
2. Stir frequently over 4-5 minutes (the seeds will crack and pop, kind of like Pop Rocks but healthier).
3. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil, chili powder and sea salt.
4. Let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Enjoy!