Life Update.

I feel such a need to write and record everything that is happening in our lives right now, but everything that I have typed thus far seems like worthless garbage, so I’ll just word-vomit everywhere and wipe my mouth when I’m finished.

Kevin has a new job, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to us.

We have known that Kevin has had a call to ministry on his life for quite some time, but we didn’t know what it would look like. It wasn’t until this summer when our good friend and pastor brought up the “potential” of Kevin working at our church that we realized this was the right fit for him. After seeking the counsel of the Lord and of our family, we understood that Kevin was called to leave Target to become the Connections Director at our church.

The fact that I just received a text from Kevin that read, “Man I love my job…” is enough proof that we have been so blessed by this job transition. Every time he says this, which is often, my heart is filled with gratitude. Our schedules are more normal, we can actually hang out with our friends together past 8:30pm, we go to bed and wake up at the same time, we drink coffee together in the morning, and we have so much more time to play games and do fun things! Yes, our income has drastically changed, but at what cost is this measured? The blessings and freedom this job has brought are absolutely priceless.

We bought a ping-pong table when my family was in town a couple of months ago, and it is quite possibly one of our favorite activities, along with watching Parks & Rec, of course. We usually play a few games a night, depending on what time I get home from coaching. I feel it is extremely necessary to publicly document that Kevin has yet to beat me in a game; however, this is only necessary because he is increasingly improving in his ping-pong abilities, and I know that this season of winning will be short lived.  He can beat me in just about everything else in life, but for now--I’m the champ.

We are painting the outside of our house. Holy cats, we are painting our house! So long, nasty old paint! This has been a month-long project that is nearly finished. Kevin’s parents came to visit and helped us get an amazing start as we finished the front of the house. Kevin had some time off between his job transition, so he worked tirelessly to paint the trim and the peaks of the house. (He only took one 30ft. ride down the ladder.) I try to help when I got home from school and can get about six boards painted in a night. We only have one side left, but it just happens to be the biggest side. (yuck.) It’s either been too cold, raining, or too windy to finish it up, so hopefully we will get that finished before the snow comes. I absolutely love the color that we chose. We went with a Grizzled Gray from Sherwin Williams. It seems to take on more of a bluish tint rather than pure gray, but it looks so rich and bold against our fresh white trim.

I only have one week left of coaching 7th grade volleyball for the season, and there is one week left in the first quarter. It’s always tough to get back into the routine of school, coaching, and life in general after summertime, but this year has been going really fast and really well. Things get pretty hectic and crazy, especially when I hang out with 7th graders all day, but I wouldn’t change one thing about my job! (Unless there was a way to do what I do without all of the papers to grade…) Speaking of grading papers, that is exactly how I am going to spend the rest of this beautiful Sunday. or not. Chances are I’ll grade about five papers, get bored, and decide that I need a snack, decide I should dust our filthy book case, empty the dishwasher, make a blueberry crisp, go for a walk, or finish my book… Then maybe I’ll grade a few more papers. or maybe not. my toenails need a second coat.

(insert wiping of mouth here.)

 

Three Cups of Coffee

It’s midnight.

I’ve had three cups of coffee within the last three hours. And this, my friends, is a recipe for disaster for a girl who can’t consume caffeine after the noon hour because she will lie awake in a quandary wanting so badly to go to sleep but whose body refuses to let her…  (gasping breath)

Hello, crazy.

Why did I consume three cups of coffee so foolishly late in the evening?

Because whenever you pair freshly ground Caribou Coffee with Cold Stone’s Sweet Cream creamer, you are morally obligated to partake indulge.

Tonight, the unbelievably amazing team I had the opportunity to serve with in Rwanda met for a fellowship of reflection, and I had the opportunity to really talk with my people.

There is something significant and sacred about doing life with a group of people during a special season. 

You know what I’m talking about. 

Whether it be a really joyful, happy experience like the birth of a new child; or a dark, mournful experience like the death of a close friend, there is certainly something in our human nature about experiencing things with other people.

When you walk through an intimate season so closely with a person, it’s easy to relate and communicate with one another because you both walked through the same thing—you may handle or react to the events differently, but you were there together. You experienced the same things together. A bond is formed. 

You just get it.

I love these people. We all get one another because we walked through this special season together. When people ask me, "How was your trip?" It's almost threatening. It's not supposed to be, but it is. There are so many intricate things that we experienced as a body that can never be replicated or explained. It's as if putting certain aspects of our trip into words wouldn't do justice to the beauty and sacredness of our experiences. But when we are together, we don't have to explain details or talk logistics, we already know all of that. So being together, we had the opportunity to really reflect on the spiritual influence that Jesus had on our hearts.

I know this sounds dramatic, but it's the best way I can describe it. Maybe you can relate?

Regardless, my heart is filled to the brim hearing about the reflection of each of my team members’ experiences and how it is affecting their every day lives. 

You wouldn’t believe the impact that this trip has had on each one of us, but what is even more crazy is the impact this trip has had on entire communities! People are eagerly seeking out my team members to hear about their experiences. People are longing to hear about the miraculous things that God did on our trip. People are longing to fellowship with the members of our group—they want to partake in the experiences that we had. That is awesome. That is God.

I’m trying to write a letter to my supporters explaining the things that God did on this trip and thanking them for their generosity. I want to tell them how overly grateful I am for their prayerful and financial support on this trip, and I want to explain how God showed His favor on this trip. I want to show them all of my pictures, my videos, and physical evidence of God's reality. I want to pour out my heart and share with them the dreams, visions, and prophecies that were shared on this trip, but it is hard. It is hard to decipher what to share with people. How much is too much? How much is too weird? How much is too spiritually crazy? 

But then I remember the last post I just wrote. 

I care.  

Guys, be patient with me.

(I once had a professor who told me I couldn’t refer to my class as “guys” because it isn’t gender appropriate, and I realize that a majority of ya’ll are female, but I am going to refer to you as “guys” because I can—please don’t be offended. I can also use the term “ya’ll” with confidence because I lived in Nashville for a summer, so I’m practically 1/3 southern.) I digress.

Eventually, I am going to share those things on this blog, but I need to write through them, first. This is how I best process things. I need to rediscover just how BIG our awesome God is, and just how PRESENT He was on that trip, and just how REAL He is with us today. here. now.

Reflecting and debriefing with my people tonight gave me such encouragement and motivation—even though a lot of us have felt spiritually attacked in the area of motivation since our return; I am confident that through the power of Jesus, the chains of that spiritual stronghold were broken tonight, and I can feel the freedom already.

Satan doesn’t want us to share the mighty feats of God we experienced first hand with our neighbors and communities. Satan wants to inhibit the things that we experienced on this trip, and he wants to downplay the power of God in order to eliminate our capability of sharing. This isn't surprising. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. 

By withholding my experience from others (both intentionally and unintentionally), I am allowing Satan to steal my voice. I’m allowing Satan to hinder the sharing of God’s amazing healing, grace, and glory. That just can't happen. I need to speak. I need to share.

Forgive me, Lord, for being impartial, for being unmotivated, and for being selfish. Encourage me, Lord, to use this trip as an extended mission field to speak of your power; and help me, Holy Spirit, to share about the mighty ways you moved through our team in Rwanda. Give me the words to speak, and establish my steps as I share your gospel through this experience.

And help me, sweet Jesus, to go to sleep before 3:00 am.

Amen.

A picture of our incredible team (minus Charlie), three sweet volunteers, and our beloved Rwandan gems!

A Half-Mowed Lawn

Let’s chat.

I have avoided writing (once again) because I haven’t taken the time to invest into this blog or what I really want it to be. The truth is, I don't know what I want it to be.

I literally debate writing on a daily basis, but too many things have taken precedence to my writing lately. What things you may ask? 

Probably unpacking (or probably not since I have avoided it like the plague…) It turns out I’m pretty much a hoarder, and I am really awful at throwing things away.  It also turns out that moving three days before you leave the country for two weeks,  and then unpacking from that trip as well can be quite challenging. I’ll be lucky if I can find my nice clothes by August. 

Or maybe I’ve been too busy refinishing old furniture, divulging in good conversation, decorating our living room and kitchen, playing sand volleyball, and buying front porch plants with my mama. 

Or maybe instead of writing I’ve been wrestling with my trip to Rwanda and everything I saw and everything the Lord taught me while I was there and is still teaching me now. I’ve dabbled in writing about this experience, but I just can’t articulate what is going through my heart quite yet… 

Or maybe I’ve been too busy playing golf, rollerblading, washing cars, playing soccer and volleyball, eating a lot, and relishing in the precious time spent with my best friend, Andrea.

Or maybe instead of writing, I’ve been mowing our ridiculously long, thick grass with our beloved lawn mower that absolutely hates my guts. I seriously pray the entire time I’m mowing in hopes that the Lord will show His sweet mercy and grace and allow me to cut for a mere 15 minutes before the thing stops working altogether. Phew. No resentment built up in that relationship at all... Especially since I've mowed a whopping ONE time which happened to stretch its duration over three grueling days. Three days that felt like ten.

**on a side note—I may or may not have a habit of giving too many pumps to prime the engine and flood it every time I try to start it--Praise Jesus for husbands and fathers!! 

Or maybe I’ve just been living life with my man—grilling everything possible on our new grill, eating dinner every night on our front porch, attending weekend weddings, catching up with old friends, playing sand volleyball, eating popsicles, and enjoying our new, partially unpacked home together!

(I am also painfully aware of my annoying tendency to remain consistent in tense and phrasing when writing in lists… Kevin will probably make fun of me later.) I also feel it necessary to include that since moving in, Kevin has taken over the role of "baker" and has used our oven more than I have in our home! Hello, brownies!

And now that I have drug you through a not-so-brief update on everything I’ve been doing BESIDES writing. Here are a few of the conversations that go on inside this sweet little head of mine any time I even ponder the idea of writing for this blog:

Who cares. Who cares about the things I have to say, and why does it matter? 

You care. And Kevin cares. You’ll look back on this time and you’ll want to remember the lessons you are learning about being a wife, a teacher, a new home owner, and a child of God. 

How personal should I really get? How much should I share? How vulnerable can I be in front of an invisible audience? Or worse yet—a tangible audience?

No one has to read your blog. This is your space. You can make it what you want. Four people actually follow your blog. You aren't a super star.

What if it’s stupid? What if I become too “preachy”? What if other people judge me for what I write?

Well. I don’t really have answers for these questions that resound in my mind, and I guess this is where I am at. I am going to write stupid stuff. I am going to write about silly things that happen to me at school and in our marriage, and I’m going to write about the things the Holy Spirit is teaching me. And realistically, I probably won't write at all when I get busy.

I don’t have gluten free, dairy free, or calorie free recipes.
I don’t know how to sew, or craft, or DIY anything.
I don’t have any workout tips or tricks.
I don’t have cute kids to write about.
I procrastinate and can be rather hypocritical.
I can’t even spell correctly.

I have honestly feared this space because I get embarrassed when people talk about it. I don't know why I do. When people say, “I read your blog!” I get all sorts of twisted up because rather than appreciating the time they took to read the words I have written, I get super goofy and wonder what they thought, or why they said something, or whatever crazy, weirdo stuff I can concoct in my head. 

I'm insecure about my writing. My ideas. This space.

But I’m here, people. This is me. I think I’ve just accepted that I am a crazy, weirdo. So, deal with it. Don’t bring any expectations or anticipation when visiting this blog—because you will be let down. Just like a kid on Christmas. (okay, maybe I am being a little dramatic)

“Assumptions suck. They’re like expectations. Assumptions and expectations will kill any relationship, so let’s you and me not go there, okay?”

          –A Tale for the Time Being

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

 I just had to shoot things straight--not for you, but for me. If we're really going to get to know one another, and if I'm really going to open up, then you need to know that a I'm a verbal processor and extremely selfish. Most of the things I say and do are for my own selfish sanity. I hope and pray that you, like my husband, will give me grace as we walk this journey together.  

And what better way to start a journey than with a half-mowed lawn?

The struggle is REAL.

Our neighbors judge us. You can, too.

making a house a home...

Hi friends!!

Spring is finally here!!!! We have so many exciting things going on in our life that I've struggled to find the time to sit down and write! With 16 school days left, my planner looks like a coloring book, and I can't decide if I want to cheer or cry. What a fantastic first year it's been! Besides school coming to an end, the change that spring has brought this year simply puts a pep in my walk and a grin on my face. This song certainly helps… : )

Here are a few of the exciting things that have been happening lately:

Our sweet nephew, Max, was born on April 17th, and we can't get enough of him. We got to go down to Iowa and meet the little guy this weekend, and it was such a perfect time.  Lucky for us, our brother and sister keep us updated with daily photo streams of our sweet Max!

Along with the arrival of our first nephew, we have some more exciting news to share… 
I am going to Africa at the end of May! (this will be a whole post in itself sometime soon!) I will be traveling on a short-term missions trip to Rwanda from May 27th through June 9th with the most amazing team ever! God has blessed each of us with this opportunity to partner with New Mercies Ministries (www.newmercies.org) and the local Rwandan partners at Faith Victory Association (http://faith-victory.org) to serve the community of Kigali. Please pray for the preparation of our trip and the people of Rwanda. I will give more details in my next post!

So, not only have we welcomed our first nephew into the world, and not only am I preparing for a trip of a lifetime, but we have officially closed on our first home this week!

If you've been reading along with our blog this year, one of our goals was to save up for a down payment for our first home. Kevin marked off a mason jar with price check-points, and we filled it with sugar as we saved… We didn't quite make the 20% mark to nix the mortgage insurance, but you better believe Kev has been crunching numbers trying to figure out the fastest way to get rid of it!

We have been praying for our first home for a long time, and we know that God has blessed us with this home for a reason. We cannot wait to get moved in and actually live in a HOUSE, but there are many things that we are planning to do before we actually live in our house. In fact, if you haven't picked up on the context clues I've been dropping over the past few months, we have slowly accumulated a plethora of amenities to add to our new home, and now it's finally time to add them!!!

…but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord

-Joshua 24:15

A few things about our home. We absolutely love the neighborhood it's located in. The yard is huge and fenced in (so much room for activities and fires!); however, the fence needs a little love. We love that the house has a lot of potential and room to make it our own. Kevin loves this challenging aspect and is eager to start projects and fix things. We also love the high ceilings and open floor plan the multi-level offers us. The house has four bedrooms (although two are smaller) and two baths. The lowest level is perfect for a ping-pong table and DDR, so get your game face on and come visit us!!!  

Thankfully the snow is now melted, the sun is out, and our grass is turning green!!

Our Home:

We are excited to put rocking chairs on our front porch! 

From the living room looking toward the kitchen.

Master (left), Bedroom (right), Bath (right)

 

Lowest Level (stained concrete) & Utility Room

Downstairs Bathroom & Upstairs Bathroom

please excuse the poor picture quality taken with my phone

(the bedrooms are not pictured--more to come!)

There are a lot of projects that we are excited to get started on… In fact, we've already begun!

More updates will be coming very soon with the rest of our life and our house. We are so excited to serve the Lord with this house, and we cannot wait to make this house a home! 

We're ready to tear things up!

but first….

let me take a selfie.

Parmesan Chicken Tenders & Sweet Potato Fries

A couple days ago, Kevin asked what my last post in March was going to be about, and I had no idea! As I thought about what I wanted to post, it finally hit me when we were sitting down for one of our favorite meals tonight--Parmesan Chicken Tenders & Sweet Potato Fries!

At one of our wedding showers, one piece of advice that we were given was to do chores together—shovel together, clean together, cook together, do yard work together, etc. It seems silly, but it has made a world of difference in our first year of marriage.

Kevin and I have found that we really enjoy cooking together in our tiny little apartment. We have set off the fire alarm 20+ times over the course of the year, screwed up a ton of recipes, and made gigantic messes; but when we’re doing it together, it makes it so much more fun and memorable! (When I do these things on my own, it’s pretty much awful.)

Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs & Sweet Potato Fries

This meal is so perfect and so easy, and it works perfectly when you have two chefs in the kitchen!

Sweet Potato Fries:

 Kevin is, and will forever be, in charge of the sweet potatoes. He is amazing at peeling and chopping them into cube fries. (I have almost lost whole limbs trying to cut those suckers! It’s for the well being of everyone if he assumes this role.) We like our fries salty rather than sweet, so after lightly coating them with extra virgin olive oil in a bowl, Kevin lays them out in a single layer across a foil-lined cookie sheet. Laying down a layer of tinfoil makes cleanup SUPER easy. (Please note that parchment paper is not the same thing as tinfoil and is not a good lining choice… Yes, this happened and so did a mini-fire in our oven). Once the potatoes are spread out, this is when Kevin goes crazy adding the sea salt, garlic salt, and pepper. 

similar recipe found here

Ingredients: 

2-3 small organic sweet potatoes or yams 

or

1-2 giant organic sweet potato or yam (you've seen 'em)

a whole lot of sea salt

a lot of garlic salt

a little bit of pepper

3+ Tbs of extra virgin olive oil

Clearly we are not experts when it comes to measurements, but it really is Kevin's art form, and he makes them perfectly every time. Experiment and have fun discovering what you like! We have added cinnamon a few times for a mix of flavor and cumin and cayenne pepper a few times, but we prefer the salty mixture best.

Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs:

            I found this recipe on Pinterest, and I absolutely love it! There is a lot of room for error, which is why I love it so much! It's really easy to adapt to make more or less servings depending on how many mouths you're feeding, too!

Find the original Recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen here.

Here are a few adaptations & faux-pas of my own:

--Buy fresh chicken that has already been cut into tender size in order to save prep-time

--There have been times where I didn’t warm the ingredients for the marinade before marinating the chicken in a zip-lock baggie.

--I’ve actually never marinated the chicken all day (poor planning on my part). The slits in the chicken, however, are definitely helpful for allowing the flavor to penetrate quickly (good enough reason?) and to help the chicken cook thoroughly.

--I bake our sweet potatoes and chicken at the same time at 425 for 25 minutes

--I use a glass 13x9 baking dish

--I use ½ cup of whole wheat breadcrumbs and ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese and pulse them in our Ninja blender (I don’t have a food processor). The recipe calls for ¼ cup, but I find it annoying to have to go back and make more, so I make more the first time and usually end up using it all anyway.

 Click here for Printer Friendly Recipe

I love that most of theses ingredients are in our kitchen at all times, but I also love that it is seriously so tasty and satisfying; it's an awesome go-to recipe that is relatively quick even if you don't plan ahead like me! Pair this recipe with your favorite dipping sauce, the sweet potato fries, and some fruit and you're set to go for an amazing meal! 

Give this meal a whirl and let us know what you think!

Kevin & Kelly

Lately...

Lately.

Lately, life has been crazy. And being crazy people, this is usually the norm for us, but lately it’s been like a cray-cray kind of crazy. 

Lately, Kevin and I have been thanking the Lord for his faithfulness as we look forward to a major milestone in our marriage—can you believe it’s been almost a year?! As we wait on the Lord and pray for his provisions as we look into the future, we are reminded that His ways are greater than our ways, and we trust the things he is preparing for our family.

Lately, the change of weather and time has taken a toll on my middle school students and their sanity.  Middle schoolers go though enough changes as it is in 7^th grade, why must we suffer the wrath of their sleep deprivation, too?? We have been focusing on state testing and preparing our kids for a change in format along with the wacky class schedules every day in order to accommodate for test times. Pray for me.

Lately, the movie Catching Fire has been playing non-stop at our house; Kevin used our March Entertainment Fund to buy the three-disk extended edition at Target the first day it came out--obsessed much? Yes. Yes we are.

Lately, I have been jamming to this song on repeat in my classroom.

Lately, we have been jamming to this song on repeat at home.

Lately, we have made trips out of town almost every weekend—you should see my planner. Between meetings, teacher trainings, holidays, volleyball tournaments, and celebrating and anticipating our first baby nephew, I have been and will be gone almost every weekend of March and April. Let’s hope gas prices go down, or I might have to start siphoning gas from my fellow teachers… 

Lately, Kevin has experienced a schedule change that has us working very similar hours—yay!! (For those of you who don't know, my man would go to bed around 7:00pm and wake up at 2:30am for work) It’s been amazing having him home and being able stay up later and to go to bed around the same time and wake up at the same time. Errr.. wait. Ideally we would wake up about the same time, but this girl has been flirting with her alarm WAY too much lately. Starting next week (or maybe the next) I will start waking up at the same time as Kevin… 4:45 hold me accountable, people!

Lately, 1 Timothy has been on my heart, especially chapter 4 and especially this: “…train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come”

Let’s be honest. When life gets crazy (which it currently is), the first two things to get bumped to the back burner would be my time spent in the Word and my time spent in the gym. Lately I’ve allowed myself to slack off in both of these areas, and I am definitely noticing the effect they are having on my already chaotic life.

Without reading my Bible in the morning and throughout my day, I’m a monstar (why yes, that was a shameless Space Jam reference).  Kevin and my students could probably both attest to this. When I go a day, or two, or three without a solid fix of God’s Word, I start transforming into this vein popping, tongue-lashing, malicious disaster of a person. Dramatic? Probably not. When crazy, foreign things start to slip out of my mouth, my eyes immediately bulge out of shock—did that really just leave my mouth in that tone?! Oh my.

“Train yourself to be Godly” This is not something I can really do on my own; I can’t make myself do good things or say the right thing. I can try, but I know I’ll fail miserably. I do, however, believe that this verse is commanding me to coach my heart, my mind, my mouth, and my body to seek and delight in God’s ways and His righteousness. It’s allowing the Holy Spirit to convict me when my words cut my neighbor, when my mind wanders to idle thoughts, or when I find myself engrossed in fruitless activities. It’s responding to that prompting, and it’s actively learning to turn my eyes to Jesus. I know I will never achieve a godly demeanor, but through the continual process of  seeking Jesus and undergoing sanctification, I know that it will hold true value in this life and the life to come if I train myself to be godly.

This is what I’m learning lately.

I found Kevin in Mendards like this--dreaming...
I love his dreams and his spontaneity.

101 in 1001

I am clearly obsessed with making lists—no secret there! The idea of a "101 in 1001" list is to complete 101 things in 1001 days… If you’re like me, the first thing I did was get out my calculator to figure out how long this actually was. It’s approximately 2.75 years. It’s a good thing I double checked my math because apparently our years consist of 365 days and not 350 days … Whoops : )

(This tool helped get me on the right track)

Lauren's 101 List

I have seen a few different lists made by different bloggers like here and here, and I thought it was such a fun idea! Coming up with the 101 things wasn’t the hard part for me, but at first it seemed daunting. (101 is a big number!) I certainly had to search a few lists to gather some ideas to find things that were appealing to me, but once I got on a roll, I ended up with more than 101 things and kept finding things to add!

When I told Kevin what I was doing and what some of the things on my list were, he gave me a puzzled look and asked why? I don’t know if I have a reason for that why other than the fact that I want to make the absolute most out of the next few years! I know some of the things on my list are super silly and maybe even stupid, but I look forward to crossing off as many activities and things as possible in the time allotted! I think Kev’s more concerned about me roping him into these crazy things, but that’s a regular thing around here, so he’s used to it by now!

101 in 1001

Start Date: January 18, 2014

End Date: November, 15, 2016

1.Come up with 101 things (January 18, 2014)

2.Catch fifteen fish in one day

3.Fill all of our empty picture frames

4.Go to the One Thing Conference in Kansas City

5.Read through the Bible in a year

6.Go skiing with Kevin in Colorado

7.Go on a missions trip (Rwanda: May 27-June 8, 2014)

8.Wake up before Kevin and make him breakfast

9.Run a 5k

10.Run a half-marathon

11.Run a marathon

12.Buy a house (April 15, 2014).

13.Go “treasure hunting” in Norwalk with my mama (Scored some major finds! May 3, 2014)

14.See a movie outdoors

15.Complete Beth Moore’s 70 days of prayer

16.Go through the Experiencing God study

17.Throw a dinner party

18.Host a game night

19.Get a manicure/pedicure just for fun

20.Create our wedding book

21.Find the “perfect” lip color

22.Start a gratitude journal

23.Start my masters degree

24.Knit/Crochet a cowl/scarf

25.Understand the difference between knitting and crocheting

26.Ride a roller coaster with Kevin

27.Redesign our blog

28.Take a cooking class

29.Refinish a piece of furniture

30.Learn how to spell the word “restaurant” My mama taught me a trick! (February 15, 2014)

31.Go to the Farmer’s Market

32.Perfect an easy chicken recipe and make it a “go-to” meal

33.Write a Thank You note for every nice thing/gift I receive

34.Read a book before I watch the movie (I read The Fault in Our Stars in one shot on June 7, 2014)

35.Watch a Broadway production with Kevin

36.Memorize the books of the Bible in order

37.Really treat my parents to something nice

38.Visit my brother and sister in Nashville for a long weekend

39.Attend at least three South Dakota festivals

40.Take a pottery class

41.Babysit for our friends so they can enjoy a date night

42.Wake up every morning at 5:00/5:30 for two weeks straight (hopefully more)

43.Send fifty handwritten notes

44.Write a sweet note to every one of my advisory students (each year)

45.Establish a family tradition for every holiday

46.Pay for a stranger’s meal/drink

47.Create a cool frame of our home state, Iowa

48.Take a camera tutorial/class

49.Actually use our fabulous camera

50.Fill our couple’s journal with memories and love notes

51.Give away one item of clothing every month

52.Read twenty “classic” books

53.Try a Kosama Class

54.Try a Barre Class

55.Learn to sew again with my mother

56.Make another quilt

57.Speak with my mother at two or more Christian women’s events

58.Have a real Christmas tree

59.Go to an apple orchard and pick apples

60.Make cookies for our neighbors

61.Go an entire weekend technology free

62.Send Birthday Cards ON TIME to my family members and friends

63.Organize my scarves

64.Buy a large, beautiful, and warm throw for our couch

65.Buy Photoshop

66.Learn how to use Photoshop

67.Create fun, fancy things in Photoshop

68.Create a video montage of our married life

69.Create an address book

70.Go camping

71.Get my bike to South Dakota (it’s somewhere in Minnesota)

72.Bike the Sioux Falls bike trail

73.Set up a surprise date night

74.Get a massage

75.Give the Lord of the Rings a chance…

76.Climb a rock-wall

77.Go hiking

78.Get dessert at a restaurant (that word again!)

79.Kiss my man in the rain

80.Vlog at least once

81.Inspire someone else to write a 101 in 1001 list

82.Retake a Spiritual Gifts test

83.Retake the Meyers-Brigg test

84.Start an FCA chapter at HNMS

85.Learn how to properly swing a forehand tennis shot

86.Buy a plant for our home (I'm pretty sure impatiens & ferns on my front porch count!)

87.Keep the plant alive

88.Welcome my first baby nephew into the world!! (April 17th, 2014 at 5:12 am)

89.Spend a weekend pampering my sister and nephew

90.Actually make par on a golf course

91.Plan a wedding shower

92.Make homemade bread from scratch

93.Go dancing with Kevin (and our fabulous friends)

94.Treat myself to flowers at least once

95.Visit a national park

96.Go on a sugar cleanse

97.Back up my computer

98.Sing karaoke

99.Get a new (used) car

100.Create a memento for our first apartment

101.Go to a local estate sale… and score something sweet

Ridiculous or not, I am looking forward to the many adventures that will be had in pursuit of crossing things off my list, which just happens to be one of the most satisfying feelings in the world—am I right?!

Let me know if there are any goals that you want to join in and accomplish with me, or if you decide to create your own list! I will continue to update my progress as I go!

P.s. Kevin and I are starting to look at houses… Eeeek!!! (One more thing I'll get to cross off my list in due time!)