Joanna Praise

I have another adorable little niece!!

Congratulations to the happy parents!!

(and don't grow too fast, Joanna! Our plane tickets to fly home and see you aren't scheduled until April!)

Our honeymoon

We spent the first few days at a beautiful condo at the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.

Then to Branson for December 23

to celebrate Christmas with my family!
Pool party!!

December 24 found us at the Beasley house to celebrate Christmas!

Reading the Christmas story
(our niece, Elise, sitting on Dan's lap)

Due to a huge blizzard, we were snowed in with Dan's family until December 26.
Popped popcorn, played games, shoveled snow...good times!

On December 27 we all gathered at my family's home for the opening of wedding presents. We are so blessed by every ones generosity! It was also Mom Beasley's birthday, so we sang to her and celebrated that joyous occasion as well!

Taking a little break from unwrapping presents... [smile]

Monday, December 28, saw us loading up a small moving truck and saying goodbye to Nebraska...and beginning the long drive out to Virginia.

We stopped in Kentucky for a day,

spending December 29 at the Creation Museum

...where we enjoyed the many displays and things they had to offer.

Enjoying the petting zoo!

Dan feeding Gomer, the camel.

Smiles!

...and kisses!!

Wednesday, December 30, found us pulling into Round Hill, Virginia. Home sweet home! And though we're back to 'real life' with work and school, the honeymoon continues! Stay tuned for more pictures as life continues...

One Single Day

Dressing up for a date. Holding hands. Roses. A love note. Chocolate. Sweet 'everythings' whispered in my ear. (Why do people call them sweet nothings? They totally melt my heart and make my day!!!)

Valentine's Day was incredibly wonderful for me this year. My man spoiled me! [smile]

You all know that the past year has been an amazing one in my life, and I've enjoyed sharing tidbits with you all and am thankful to have so many rejoice with me. There aren't words to describe the joy of being Dan's wife! God truly does things exceedingly and abundantly above what we can imagine!

Around the time Dan and I began our relationship, a friend sent me an article that was such a blessing to me during the following days, weeks, and months of beginning a relationship. Knowing from your comments that many of you, my readers, are still single, I thought I'd share a few excerpts with you during this Valentine season. Remember -- true love only comes from truly knowing Christ!!

"In HIM our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in HIS holy name!"

Psalms 33:21

...The area of romance is not outside the realm of discipleship: God will use it to test me and refine me and bring me joy, just as He does with every other facet of my life.

...Waiting won't stop when I enter a relationship. At each stage of friendship, courtship, and marriage, the future is still God's business. Mine is to habitually counter my imagination with the truth: Who this person really belongs to, what our true relationship is — today — and what true love will do for him as a result.

...regardless of its romantic potential, each relationship is an excuse for prayer.

...I can glorify God by seeking His Kingdom FIRST, and marriage second.

...When Mary anointed Jesus' feet with pure spikenard, she gave something costly, something precious to her, something irreplaceable. It was others who said "Why this waste?" To the one who gave and the One who received, it was pure joy. He never wastes what is precious to us! Not one single day.

...read the full article here...

A few more pictures

Rachel put together this incredible slide show of wedding pictures and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you! The song playing in the background is a very special one -- the one she wrote for our wedding ceremony, "We'll Walk Together".

Vocals by Rachel Wissmann

& Ben Stangl

Comments...

Due to receiving an increasing amount of spam comments, I have changed my blog settings and enabled word verification. I hope this will be a temporary change and that the extra hassle won't keep you from commenting!

The view from my window

...and beyond!!

We received around 30 inches of snow last weekend...and had a blast! Getting snowed in, sipping hot chocolate and playing games; we had a marvelous time!

(The little speck showing is the rear view mirror of a car...)
I have never seen so much snow come in one storm!

Now the sun is shining, the snow is beginning to melt, and people are digging themselves out.


The snow covered countryside!

And yes, we had to get out and play in it a little bit...
[smile]

Money Matters

...The normal image of wealth in our society is someone with a surplus of money, large cars, maybe a large business, certainly a large home. That is what we typically visualize. But when God's Word describes a wealthy person, it never makes reference to the amount of money he has.

...Money is never going to make you happy!!

...The way we handle our money is the best outside reflection of our true inner values. You can tell more about the spiritual lives of a couple by looking at their checkbook than by anything else. People can say anything they think others want to hear, and many people are great at faking their true attitudes, but the way they handle their finances is usually a dead giveaway to what is really going on. The way we handle our money is nothing more than the outward expression of what's going on spiritually inside.

...GOD OWNS EVERYTHING.

And once you accept the fact that God owns everything, its important to manage all you have according to His rules. It's how you manage money that determines how you will manage great things.

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

Luke 16:10-11

Just a few excerpts from:
The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples

by Larry Burkett

Cooking for two

...has been a fun adjustment!

A gallon of milk lasts us more than 1 meal [grin].
A quart of yogurt lasts a whole week.
Bake a batch of banana bread and instead of it all getting devoured for supper, half of it has to go in the freezer so it doesn't spoil before we can eat it!
One pizza provides us with supper and a lunch for Dan.
The trash only needs taken out once a week -- imagine that!
And laundry -- two batches a week keeps us all caught up.

I'm halving recipes like crazy, learning lots, and having fun while doing it!

The last few weeks I've been working at organizing my kitchen and now I'm working at organizing my meal plans. My goal is to write out the menu every week and since I finally succeeded this week, I thought I'd share with you what we'll be eating!

Breakfast:
baked oatmeal (2x)
waffles
malt o'meal
eggs and banana bread

w/ fruit and milk or yogurt

Lunch: (Typically its leftovers from last week - works great for packing lunches!)
chili
BBQ chicken sandwiches
beef enchiladas
homemade pizza
taco stew

Dinner:
chicken tetrazinni, cooked carrots, bread
Mexican lasagna and salad
chicken, mashed potatoes, beets
stir-fry veggies and chicken with rice
roast beef, baked sweet potatoes, beans, rolls

Snacks: muffins, yogurt, Hershey kisses, pears, carrot sticks