Full of Joy

So what do I DO all day?! Easy. I follow my heart's desire and that is to take care of my husband! Obviously that can look a million different ways for a million different people. For me, I enjoy planning, creating, preparing, and administrating our home. A friend gave me this awesome calendar and I write out chores, meals, activities, our schedules and fun stuff on there. Then during the week I pretty much follow the calendar. I love To-Do lists! I love keeping our home organized, cleaned and feeling homey. I love having every thing in it's place so that when Chuck comes home from work he feels that he can sit down, relax and enjoy our home. During the day I get to spend time with God, journal, read, study, prepare lessons (Youth Group Shepherd group I'll be leading), and pray! I work out as well, which is amazing since last year I often was not able to. I enjoy planning meals, preparing dinner, making treats, you name it! It's especially fun when we have f...

It has been one of the biggest joys of my life to be Chuck's wife, and to stay at home. I was greatly reminded of this passion the other day when a good friend of mine announced, "I just want to be a wife and a mom!" (This coming from a woman with an amazing career!) She uttered the EXACT sentence I have said for countless years. And now ladies and gentlemen, I am a wife! I keep announcing it because it's still hard to fathom. Staying home hasn't come without difficulty though. I did not expect the intangible pressure that is out there for a young married woman to be working. I did not expect the funny looks, the confused glances, or the silence that would follow. I can understand though in our Nation's Capitol, with hard-working women driven in their careers all over the place, I am not the norm (any more). Staying home hasn't come without sacrifice either. It is not easy financially. I'm certainly not a Desperate Housewife of DC. Because ...

This Sunday marks 3 months of marriage for us! I do believe it's been the fastest 3 months of my life. Though in some ways, our wedding still feels like yesterday. At any rate, I now have 3 months as being a wife under my belt. Not a day goes by where I am not in wonder at my new life. Chuck and I have been surrounded by brand new people and situations. We've officially joined a new church together. We had prayed very specifically about what we believe a church should be and this church has certainly proved to be God's answer. Through our new church, we've joined a shepherd group (small group) that meets in a home. It's a multi-generational group that we both have come to thoroughly love. We're also volunteering in the youth group together. I've already attended my first Girl's Night Out event. It made me excited to continue volunteering! On top of a new church, Chuck has a new job. Seems every where we turn, new people are around the corner. ...

I've been missing our Jamaican honeymoon lately! We visited The Grand Palladium Resort and Spa near Montego Bay. Our honeymoon vacation was a gift from God. People ask us if we would go back and we always say, "We'd recommend YOU go, but if we're gonna travel like that again, it would be fun to try something new!" I do think we had the best trip either of us has ever taken! We went for 8 nights and 9 days of bliss morning, noon, and night! The resort was all inclusive which made us feel like royalty! We went on a "date" for every single meal! In between meals, we lived in the sun- either next to their enormous pool, or right on the beach! This is our very own balcony off of our fabulous room! We were on the third floor of a Villa. You can see the other Villas in the background, along with one of the pools. Ocean magic! This was our view from the majority of the scrumptious restaurants. We loved hanging out on the very top balcony. Welcome to ...