TOP TEN #8 Have a Must Have List!!

Just because you shop on a budget doesn't mean you have to sacrifice what you want. (well, all of what you want). Zack and I really thought through things that we knew we wanted out of a house.

Here's an idea of what we wanted:
- community (church, friends, opportunities for ministry) where we live
- good schools, neighborhood
- NO SUBDIVISION
- a yard
- enough bedrooms for guests
- a space large enough to comfortably entertain
- a space for Zack to 'play' :)
- a home close enough to each of our jobs
- more than 1 bathroom. Ideally one with a double sink. I hate sharing sinks.

Don't get me wrong, our house is not perfect by any means, but it did meet most of the criteria we had set.We found that finding a house that meets a majority of your "wants" and is in your budget is doing pretty good :)
Our house did pass the checklist for us... (well, mostly)...
- We are in a great community and have already met some new friends. We host a small group at our houses weekly and hope for our home to continue to be a "hub" for hanging out.  
Check. 

- The house in in Johnston County, which by default means good schools. We are right across from one Elementary School and in the same district as Cleveland (where Zack teaches). We feel great about the neighborhood around us and the district for schools our house is in.  
Check.  

- We proudly DO NOT LIVE IN A SUBDIVISION. There's absolutely nothing wrong with subdivisions at all, but we just didn't picture us living in one. We thought for certain that with our budget, we'd be sort of forced to live in a cul-de-sac. But, lo and behold, we found our gem of a house outside the fences of a subdivision. Along with that, we did start off saying we wanted to have a yard. We do, indeed, have a yard. An acre of yard. Still haven't quite figured out what to do with an acre of yard yet, but it's ours.
Check. 

- When we found the listing for our house online, it said there were 3 bedrooms. Ohhhh why were they so modest?! Our house has a refinished attic that has 2 additional rooms (bedrooms). In total, we have 5 potential bedrooms in our house. These more than cover my want for enough rooms to have guests over.
Check. Check. Check. 

- Our house is perfect for entertaining- whooohooo!! It's in a great area, with a ton of potential for community and ministry (already finding it). The house was a parsonage (owned by a church for the pastor and his family to live in). This means that our house was literally built to have a lot of people in it! It's perfect for entertaining y'all. For reals, even down to the layout of the driveway, it's designed for guests. This is perfect for the Carscaddons!!
Praise Jesus this was a HUGE CHECK CHECK CHECK!!! 

-Zack needs space to roam. The apartment we lived in for a year and a half was nice, but he didn't have a space to call his. Now, he has his own little slice of heaven in his garage and workshop. This was an enormous perk to this house! Him having a yard and his own space to work on his hobbies is wonderful! Well played, Parsonage, well played.  
Check. 

- I was adamant that we move somewhere that wasn't painfully far away from either of our jobs. It's a fact that we couldn't afford to live in the city, or even in Wake County for that matter. So we cast our net towards the perimeters of the Capital County. What we found was living was considerably cheaper outside the city (and Wake Co.) limits, and we could get more bang for our buck in JoCo. So, we agreed that the location of our house was ideal. I have about a 35 minute commute. It's taking some getting used to, but I don't hate it. Anytime I feel the slightest annoyed I remember that I'm driving HOME (that we own. that's right. that is all ours. that we can do whatever we want with). That always remedies my attitude real quick.  
So, reluctantly, yes, check. 

- This last one is kind of a kicker. I did want a big, spacious bathroom, with double sinks and a perfect shower. Instead we got a small, very small, tiny, one sink bathroom. This is one of those areas that we didn't get exactly what we wanted, but the list above speaks for itself that we're more than satisfied with all we did get with our house. Re-doing the bathroom is in our 15-20 year plan.
So, semi-check.

All this to say, that it's totally possible to get what you want out of buying a house, while staying in a realistic budget :) The Lord was SO GOOD to us in blessing us with a wonderful home that really is what we both dreamed of (for the most part)! Be encouraged that it's worth hunting for the perfect house and that there is one out there that's perfect for you!

TOP TEN #9: Shop Smart

9. Shop well- have a budget, an idea of what you want, and be on the same page with your spouse!!

There are ways to be a thrifty shopper even when buying a house.  After going to the bank and getting pre-approved for a loan, we decided that it was best for us not to shop for what we were pre-approved for. NOTE: Just because you're pre-approved for a certain amount DOES NOT mean you have to spend that much on a house. All that means is you CAN get a loan worth $x amount. We knew that didn't want to be house poor (i.e. buy a house but then not have any money to buy furniture, groceries, pay the bills, etc.). So, with that, we chose to shop a little lower than our pre-approval amount. Doing this really helped us be realistic about what we could afford.
**Please note: I hate hate hate to be such a stiff neck over money, but for real, aside from Jesus, it's the MOST IMPORTANT piece to thinking about buying.**

Another key that really helped us through what was a turbulent process at times was being on the same page with each other. Zack and I made sure we talked about any unsaid or unmet expectations for our first home together. We were on the same page from day 1 of the process (back to #10 in going to the bank first)!

Despite this post being short, I think it packs a good punch of VITAL information for moving forward in purchasing a home. We did not live above our means buying our house (we had a budget that we stuck to) and we were (and still are) on the same page when making decisions about our future/home/finances.

It's really a lot of fun to dream with each other about what you'd like to have in a home. We had a good time deciding what we wanted in a house and how to proceed forward in finding the home that'd be perfect for us :)

Stay tuned for next week's post about having a MUST HAVE LIST and a CAN LIVE WITHOUT LIST!

Until then,
the cleanaholic housewife (all I want to these days is clean our house!)

Top 10 Things You NEED to Know About Buying a House (#10)

Like I promised, I'm going to follow through and write a "Top 10 List of Things You NEED To Know To Buy a House". I'm really excited to share our ups and downs, our advice, our shortcomings, our successes, and just basic things to hopefully help someone else who's in the process or considering taking the plunge into buying a house. Buying our first home was a HUGE learning experience and test for us and we feel like we passed and came out more informed about how the world works.

I hope this blog and list can serve as some solid truth and advice for you :)

"The Top 10 Things You NEED 

to Know About Buying a House"

10. Get a Realtor.

This was foundational for us. We got our Realtor's information from friends and this was the groundwork for deciding to buy a house. Even before we knew that we wanted to buy a house, we contacted Judy, our Realtor, to get an idea of how the whole process works. Just and FYI- Realtors get paid off the seller's side's closing money, so having one to buy a house is FREE to the buyers. They make commission off the purchase of the home and get paid from the closing, so it's of no expense to you to get a Realtor :) (don't quote me on every bit of this, but it was definitely our experience!)

My first phonecall to Judy was a shot in the dark. I called her and asked her for instructions on what to do every. step. of. the. way. My controlling, Type A personality wanted to know EXACTLY what to do to get the process going. 

Judy instructed us to set up a meeting with the bank/lender to get Pre-Qualified for a housing loan. From there, we knew what our budget was, so looking at homes was realistic for what we could afford. She also told us some of the upfront costs we could expect (I'll talk more on that later) and gave us a thorough timeline of what the process of purchasing looks like.
Judy was a key piece of our home-buying process and I'm so thankful we chose to have a realtor to work on our behalf to make our house ours!

Stay tuned for #9 (SHOP SMART)...

A New Normal!

Since our last blog post, we've entered into the world of home ownership. Holy Moly it's a whole new world!

December 2013 was a complete whirlwind that began with a call on December 5 saying our loan was approved and we were set to close. So, we rushed rushed rushed to pack up the Tryon Village and prepare for a big move to JoCo...

Zack and I closed on our very first home on December 10, 2013. What a glorious and terrifying feeling, knowing that you're selling your soul for a home!!

We were aptly warned about how hectic moving at Christmas can be, and boy were those folks right! We were so happy to be "Home for Christmas" but it really was stressful, hard, and chaotic. So so so glad to be through the moving part!!

Just hours after signing the papers over into our names, I began cleaning. This process started December 10 and is still going. Now that I have ownership of something I really care about, cleaning has become my hobby. I can't get enough cleaning. With the help of several close friends and family, were were able to get a ton of work done within a couple of weeks and close up our time at our apartment in Raleigh. Here are pictures from turning in our keys and telling the Tryon Village "goodbye".

After we had our  moment and moved on (literally), we came home to this chaos...

 This right here, folks, is what makes a Type A, OCD, organized person C-R-A-Z-Y!!! The  days weeks of our new home looking like this mess above about put me over the edge. Plus the time ticking on Christmas coming made for a nutty Nat!! Ohhhh but it does get better, my friends!!

By Christmas Eve, Zack and I had worked hard enough to have our ENTIRE home set up and feeling like home. Talk about feeling accomplished and empowered?! We were so happy to spend our first Christmas in our new home resting, watching movies, eating, and spending quality time together.

From the end of July to December we waited for this home. We got it and are now loving being there and working together to make it perfect for us. What a blessing!

(From a previous post a while back, I had mentioned doing a "Top 10 List of Things to Know for New Homebuyers". I still feel very called to share our experiences. Stay tuned... I'll get going on that once I slow down cleaning and planning times to have family and friends over to cook for them and welcome them "home"!!

Until then,
New Homeowner Nataleigh

Hand-Tied Freedom

Have you ever had something on your mind that wouldn't go away unless you got it out?? Here's mine these days...

Throughout the Bible we hear the stream of thought that we are free in Christ, right? See Exodus 20, Romans 6 and Galatians 5 below: 

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.¹⁹ I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

God's up to something in our life right now with these verses. The backstory: we were set to close on our FIRST HOME on October 31. Everything was going perfectly; we were submitting all documents organized, on time, and even numerically coded. Perfect. Too easy. 

Then, on Friday, October 4 we get a call from the bank that the government shutdown has halted our loan processing. We are currently on hold until the folks who lead our country decide to behave. (Essentially we're hog-tied to the government right now)The ramifications of this for us is a hefty penalty every 2 weeks that our loan goes past "activity". A hit to the Carscaddons is an understatement.

Here's where God's working. You see, up until that phonecall on Oct. 4, I have felt like this was too easy of a process, that I've got it.  That's just the problem. I seemed to think I was in control of this house buying process. Boy was I WRONG. 

Through this process of realizing just how little I do control and how this whole process is out of my hands, Jesus has reminded me that when we find our hands tied, with nothing left to do, that's just when He gives us freedom. Yes, our hands are tied right now, according to the world. But I have experienced unexplainable freedom from knowing the Christ is ahead of us in this process (and throughout our lives) and He doesn't want us to be bound by [the government]  or by the world. 

With all this, it's been beautiful to see that despite our hands being tied by the world that Christ has set us free and gives us freedom in Him daily. Right now and especially up until this home is officially ours, I'm walking in the Spirit and knowing the freedom of Christ is what really sets us free.

 

Being engaged > #engaged

As I sit here beginning the day at work, I always take a few minutes to catch up on the world and what's going on in it. Today, amidst the chaos of the government and its ridiculousness, I came across a refreshing article on the topic of engagement and marriage.

Let me start by saying this. I am in no way perfect and am guilty of idolizing a wedding more than a marriage at times. However, at the end of the day, I can confidently say that throughout mine and Z's engagement, I focused on the end goal: MARRIAGE more than I did a 16 hour day of fun and partying.

When I was a little girl my mom was a florist. I grew up sitting in on weekly meetings with brides for my mom to discuss the flowers for numerous couples' big day. Something that has always stuck with me is how my mom approached the first meeting with the brides. She would always ask them, "Are you more excited for a wedding or for a marriage?" As a child I never knew what that meant, but boy do I now!

That's where this article comes in. READ THIS!!  Talk about hitting the nail on the head of my thoughts of how our culture has made marriage a mockery and getting engaged the highlight of your 20's.

I write this as a reminder to myself why we got married. Yes, of course, I wanted the magical engagement, big party that's all about me and hubby, dancing all night, beautiful dress, and all the pink puffy heart things associated with being engaged and wedding planning. BUT I also wanted a marriage that's more beautiful than our wedding.

As we get further away from the day when I became a Mrs., I am seeing more and more that the gift of marriage is far more than just one day of celebrating, it's creating a life together that glorifies God, and shows the world a tangible example of Christ's love for us. As any girl does, I do miss the fun and exciting time of wedding planning and anticipation of becoming a wife, but I find comfort knowing that we are now really living out what God calls us to and the example we're to follow as husband and wife.

The Power of Christ is Alive in Us.

Well, it's the end of September and I haven't blogged since June. Bad me. Sheesh.

Here goes the crash course on what's happened with the Carscaddon's since June:
- camp has come and gone. A wonderful summer was had by all :) Being thankful for my job is an understatement.
- Zack got hired at Cleveland High School in JoCo. We are THRILLED with his new job; so far, so good :) Go God!!
- We both went from 23 ->24 years old since my last post. So far, year 24 is shaping up to be transitional for sure.
- My dad got married/we had Vegas Vacation in August. We enjoyed celebrating my dad's new marriage, all the while enjoying ALL that Las Vegas has to offer
- A few beach trips sprinkled in here and there, and that brings us to now...

Our current little project is BUYING A HOUSE. We started looking around in late July, right after camp. God willing, we are closing on our perfect little first home on October 31.

I told a very close friend today that once all this is said and done, I think I should write a blog on how to buy a house. Maybe call it "10 Things You NEED to Know About Buying a House for 20 Somethings". We'll see how this all pans out for us; there's still a lot to happen, but we are faithfully praying about it and eager to see God work in providing our first home together :)

I recently got a life motto that ties all this together with a pretty bow. I used this motto to get me through flying on a plane for the first time to go to Vegas. It's now getting me through this crazy, fun, exciting, and stressful time of buying a house and preparing for a HUGE transition. Who knew words that gave me peace when scared or flying could really keep me grounded during the process of buying a house?!

"THE SAME POWER THAT ROSE JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD IS ALIVE IN US."


Wow y'all. This is comfort and peace like no other. And it's really helped me face fears and tackle what first time home ownership looks like too :)

Can't wait to see what God's going to do next.

Eager, excited, and blessed,
Nataleigh

Thoughts About Moving On

Someone told me to get used to change; it's around to stay. I couldn't agree more. It seems like just yesterday we were packing up, moving, and settling in to our apartment in Raleigh. Now we're already starting to look for another place to move along to.

Yes, a physical move is on the horizon in the coming months. Yes, that's more change. But the "moving on" I'm talking about right now is something deeper. I feel like Zack and I are finally in a stage where we're both okay with "moving on". I've been fighting it for  months years; ask anyone who knows me well. The thought of leaving the "community" I have tore my heart out. The idea of not living in the middle of everything made me nervous and skeptical about the future.Oh but my heart is changing for the better...

For the first time, definitely since we got married, I'm so okay with "moving on". Let me rephrase that; I'm EXCITED to move on! Zack and I both are giddy at the thought of having a home (not a townhouse), living in a small community, and most importantly, finding a church and community that we can settle in to for a while.

Y'all Jesus has been working on my heart for a long time to get me to a point that I can say that I'm excited and anticipating moving on from what I know right now. I can't wait and am amazed at this change of heart (that I had nothing to do with; God's done it all). We are eager for the next step of our life together and are excited about things to come!!

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.- Psalm 16:11

Abundant Life

I can't even believe I'm typing this right now, but it's gametime y'all! Camp kicks off in less than 4 days for the Summer. I seriously cannot wrap my mind around the fact that we have been diligently praying over these next several weeks since last August and now they're here!

Last week when I left Camp after a long, hot day outside painting rotation awards, I had the most surreal and one of a kind feeling; I didn't really want to leave. My heart is eagerly awaiting the Summer to watch this plan we've been working on for months play out. I'm invested. And I can say it's not by my own might, but God's. Zack and I both are so excited about the summer and all that's coming up with Camp.

A verse that's been on my heart for a few weeks now aptly sums up my "job": Psalm 145:3-4

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom. 

 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.

I consider  myself blessed beyond words to say that I'm part of a ministry that is centered on this verse and focused on telling the next generation about how great our God is. 

'Til next time folks, the Carscaddons will be at Camp! 

1 Year

Today marks a year that I've been with Camp Oak Hill as the Business Manager. Wow wow wow. What a blessing this past year has been! The Lord has used me, stretched me, challenged, and grown me SO MUCH over the past year. I came into the job on Monday, May 21, 2012, just one day home from my honeymoon and 2 days after finding out my childhood puppydog passed away (this was life-altering for me). I was nervous, excited and hesitant to take on yet another change (as if getting married, quitting one job, moving, dog dying, and Zack graduating in 2 weeks time wasn't enough change). Last summer's camp is really just a blur to me since it was such a HUGE time of transition in so many facets of my life, but now this year I'm ready!!! I can't wait to watch this summer play out. Months and months of planning, marketing, praying, and heart have gone into what will unfold in a couple of weeks. To say I'm invested in this place is an understatement. I just know that God's going to show up this summer and I can't wait to be a part of it!

Camp Oak Hill has turned out to be one of the biggest blessings in my life. I can only pray that I'll return the blessing to "Make Christ Known" to those who come to camp.

My current "work verse" is Psalm 145:

"I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷ They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness."

 I am so honored to be a part of the generation telling the next about Christ's love. Camp Oak Hill has blessed me this year; I couldn't be more thankful for God's provision over my life, even when I'm scared and don't like change; He knows what's best for us. 

His plan is so so good y'all! 

P.S.- just for the record, I did receive the "Change Doesn't Scare Me" Award last August at our Staff Beach Retreat- boy I've got them fooled ;) 

Reflections on a Year!

Some days it feels like just yesterday we were celebrating saying our "I do's", then other days it seems like we've been married 20 years. Nonetheless, we rejoiced over our 1 year of marriage this past weekend. What a beautiful of celebrating God's provision in our lives and marriage over the past year!

   The photographer asked us right before our wedding how we were feeling- here's our visual responses.

For our anniversary, Zack got me a gift perfectly unique to him :) A gun and a bracelet. I love them both. I'm honestly enjoying my little .22 handgun- it's exhilarating shooting something you're not too afraid of!!

I gave Zack a gift that I like as well :) I found some inspiration on Pinterest to print and frame our wedding vows, so I set out on a project. The very talented Kristin Fowler designed these babies for me and then I took them to a local printer to get them printed. A trip to Michael's for some frames and this project was D-O-N-E! I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out :) They are now hanging on each side of our bed as a daily reminder of the heartfelt words we said on May 5, 2012.

This past year has been a good mix of the following:

good, hard, fun, difficult, trying, hilarious, learning to adjust, a lesson on grace, selflessness, and love and the list goes on. I'm so thankful to have spent the last year with my best friend. I can't wait for many more to come!

Where is Time Going?

Oh my lands it's been over a MONTH since I've been on here!! I initially asked where is the time going, but then I remember that's a silly question- it's flying by!

Since the end of March we have:
-survived teaching high school
-had a successful and fun COH Spring Fundraiser
-celebrated 1 year of marriage
-celebrated 1 year since Zack's graduation
-reminisced about the fact the I'm 2 years out of MC
-continued to plan Camp...still a work in progress


Whoa whoa whoa y'all- this season of the year is insane and we are just buckling our seatbelts and enjoying the ride :) It's been a fabulous time of celebrating and remembering all those steps that we took to be where we are now.

Until next time,
Nataleigh

Learning to Shoot...

During the first part of March, Zack taught me how to shoot a gun. Talk about a fun day! I was so hesitant at first (with good reason-guns are scary), but I loved learning how to shoot and actually hit a target. Here's our documentation of a good day :) 

I don't have the best form yet...

...but I sure did have some fun!

Not a huge fan of this gun- it scared me!!

Zack helped me so much!

I shot. Then I got scared. Really scared.

We're so tough. Yea, we shoot guns :)

This was my favorite part of the day. I hit the target every time with this gun. Zack thought I'd had practice beforehand!

 We're heading to the beach for Easter and the fist part of next week. Can't wait to have a few days away to rest and reconnect with hubs. Happy Easter, y'all!

Refinement.

It's safe to say the month of February was an entire month devoted to God refining my heart. Just as coal is refined to remove it's impurities, God used February to refine my heart. Several notable things happened in the second month to make me examine my heart in a deep, honest way.

1- Joy. Zack's sweet grandfather's sickness and passing away was nothing short of a beautiful picture of Christ's love for us and our nature to long for Him. In Bill's last days with us, we left him one night praying. His prayer was a simple one of thanksgiving. Even in his final days, Bill was still thanking God for His faithfulness on his life- what an encouragement. The picture of Bill just talking to God will be one I never forget. This was one of those defining moments of my life; you know the ones you just can't get over?! Since that night in the hospital, my mind and heart have just been drawn in the blessings of God. If Bill could praise Jesus in his final days, why can't I do it everyday, all the time?! This picture of God's people praising Him has convicted me that I am simply not thankful enough. I have EVERY REASON IN THE WORLD to be joyful, yet sometimes (more often than I like to admit), I simply am not. Lesson one of February was simply to be thankful.

2- Refine. The month of love proved to be a month of acknowledgement of sin in marriage. While most people associate February with sappy romance, this month has been the toughest since we've been married. But in a good way. Jesus has softened my heart to acknowledge my sin and work on it. Once again, He's taking my heart of coal and refining me. Zack has been so faithful to me throughout the ugliness of working on my sin. It's been tough. There's been a lot of crying. But it's been good. Jesus has made me more aware than ever of specific sin and already forgiven me, so now it's my job to work on it. It amazes me just how absent-minded I have a tendency to be and this month has been tough/great in really digging deep into my struggles that I've been hiding/fighting for months/years.

3- Frailty. In the middle of my little pitty pot of sinfulness and shame of said sins, an acquaintance from NCSU, who happened to teach me a thing or two about shagging, passed away from cancer in the second month. His passing sort of came as a shock; how can it not when you're talking about a 21 year old man losing his life? Ian's passing was and still is a ministry to me. Life is frail. Life is short. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, not sizing up to others. I realized just how much of my time I spend worrying about what others are doing, where they're going, etc. It's CONSUMING. But I'm pretty sure that if I were in Ian's shoes, I would not want to look back at my life and say that I spend my early 20s (a great time of my life) focused more on other people business than I was my own life, marriage, job, family, etc. I took his death hard. Calling it a wake-up call is an understatement. Jesus has a message with every circumstance, and His message was loud and clear to me through this situation. The frailty of life is evident and I don't want to be so caught up that I miss out on this life I've been given and the gifts God's given me.

All in all, Jesus is good. He's so good. He loves me and gently teaches me daily and I'm thankful February was a time to draw closer to Him. Yes, spiritually exhausting, but so worth it!

Boyfriend Cookies My Husband Loves

I have hit the baking jackpot in finding a perfect cookie recipe. Several friends have asked for the recipe so here it goes :) 

(disclaimer- I can take absolutely no credit for this creative recipe. Thank you, Pinterest!) 

Ingredients (the amount of chocolate can vary, depending on what you like):

• One softened cup of butter
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 1/2 ounces of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• one teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• one teaspoon of baking soda
• One cup of milk chocolate chips
• One cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips (I didn't add these in)
• 1/2 cup of M&M’s, any kind you like
• 1/2 cup of Reese’s Pieces

How To:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugars
3. Add the pudding mix (don't add milk like pudding calls for), eggs, and vanilla into the mix and stir well
4. Next add the flour and baking soda to the mixture, and continue to mix well
5. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips and the rest of the candy
6. With a regular spoon or a scooper, drop a spoonful of the dough onto regular ungreased baking sheets
7. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown
8. Remove and cool before indulging :)

And I give you absolute deliciousness to enjoy with your boyfriend, husband, or girlfriends!!

A Time to Rest

This past week I told my dad that I think this is the 'least busy' I've been in about 5 years. This is not an exaggeration at all. For real. For the first time since 2007, I feel like I actually have time to "take time and smell the roses". Since the new year began, I have found myself with more time to spend with my hunny, more time to rest, more time to cook, more time for quiet times, and more time to do things just for me. It's amazing! No joke, I didn't even realize just how busy life has been, but gosh it feels so good to not have a ton of commitments in the coming days, weeks, or months.

The past 2 weekends have been restful for both hubby and I! Last weekend we each went shopping (me to the Smithfield Outlets and Zack to the Gun & Knife Show), and we enjoyed church, along with some good eating out using gift cards we got for Christmas. This weekend has been lovely as well; the weather sort of stuck us at home Friday and the first part of Saturday, but we enjoyed spending time with the Brice's while watching that incredibly stressful, but good NCSU game :) Today we helped a sweet friend move into her first apartment and have been relaxing at home since. I am thoroughly enjoying this season of "calmness", as I know it's a season. "For everything there is a season; and a time for every matter under heaven"- Ecc. 3:1

Preparing for Summer at Camp Oak Hill is about to really crank up- we're heading to Richmond next Saturday for a Camp Fair, so that's super exciting! I am simply thankful for the opportunity to be a part of God working at COH!

Until next time, I'm going to enjoy piddle-paddling around with projects I've been putting off for way too long :)

Commit to Commit in 2013

I've decided to jump on the goals bandwagon and write out what we'd like to see happen in this upcoming year. I read somewhere the other day to, above all else, commit to commit your goals to God. I like this. I do want to make it my very first goal to rely on God to provide and take care of us. There are a few more things that Zack and I would like to work on/do in 2013...

I want to make a goal to cook dinner at least 3 nights a week. When I say cook dinner I DO NOT mean throw a frozen pizza in the oven. I want to deliberately plan out a grocery list, cook a meal, and have leftovers for the next days lunch. You may think 3x/week isn't a lot at all to cook, but when you live 5 minutes away from a ton of restaurants, it takes a conscious effort to stay in and cook. This week's menu has been chicken, rice, and veggie casserole, baked salmon, homemade mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and broccoli, potato, and cheese soup. I'm LOVING all the recipes I'm finding on Pinterest (and I think it's safe to say Zack is too :D!!)

I also want to exercise more. Post-wedding life has been great, but not too forgiving on my body. Zack and I both want to integrate healthier food and exercise more. (For what it's worth, I've reached my goal this week for cooking healthier meals!)

I asked Zack what his goals were for the year and I got the following response:

hunt more.
go on a vacation.
be happy.
Man I love his simple thinking. The above goals are legitimate reasons why I married him :)

As husband and wife, we are trying to really strengthen our prayer life together in 2013. We have made a weekly prayer schedule for things we want be in prayer for throughout the week and put it on our fridge as a reminder first thing in the morning to be in prayer for our friends and families. What an encouragement this has already been to us! Feel free to join us as we pray throughout the week:

Catching Up from Christmas!

We had a fantastic first married Christmas! I'll tell about our time together through some pictures...

Our First Christmas Tree. The most notable thing about our first tree together is that we couldn't agree on a tree topper. So, our tree remained with a topper until after Christmas, when we finally agreed on a punched tin star.

Just some of our decorations :)

More kitchen decorations

The Star Wars pancake molds were a hit!

My Corn gift, in honor of good ol' MC

Zack was drawn in to the Dark Knight Rises :) We enjoyed watching lots of movies during our time off work!

Christmas morning picture :)

We decided to head downtown on Christmas night to see the lights- it was, as always, beautiful!

The WRAL tower is a staple from my childhood- I was happy for Zack to see it in real life!

Shannon and John had the idea to take a day trip to Busch Gardens to see the Christmas Festivities the park offers- what a great day it was!!

We got to see penguins swimming- so much fun!

The Island of Pompeii ride was completely covered in lights- it was gorgeous to be there during Christmas, despite it being freezing!! 

Lastly, our break consisted of a lot of cooking, baking, and of course, eating! This was my pride and joy of the Holiday season- caramel apple cheesecake. From scratch folks. It was nothing short of sinful, but ohhh so good!! 

All this to say, we had a wonderful, restful, yet fun first Married Merry Christmas! We are so blessed to have spent time with our families, and also with friends! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect December and Holiday Season!

Christ is More

Whew y'all-
We have been living in the real, dirty, messy, and far from perfect real world lately folks. From busyness with jobs, to schedules rarely lining up with each other, to an unexpected case of the flu, I have felt plain out attacked by our enemy lately. But, there is hope. Always.

Just when I start to feel overwhelmed and just about to sink, Christ comes swooping in to save me from myself. With the Advent season, I have really been trying to focus on the fact that Christ sent His son to save us from the everyday mess of the world. Last week's tragedy in CT drew me in and I couldn't look away from the news. I got angry. I was upset that someone's sin ruined so many other people's lives. I got mad that the "man" responsible died.

BUT- then I remembered it's Christmastime and that God sent His son for us. "Christ is more" has been my motto for the past week or so and I just can't get it out of my head. Christ is more than a nationally heartbreaking tragedy. Christ is more than the stress I'm feeling with holidays approaching. Christ is more than the flu virus that made Zack so sick. Christ is more than last-minute shopping, cooking, baking, traveling, and preparations for Christmas. Christ is so much more than my little bitty, miniscule problems. And what's most comforting to me is that Christ is more than my sin. That's why God gave us His Son, miraculously born, to save the WHOLE WORLD of its ugliness and dirtiness.

This is my prayer through the holiday season. To remember that Christ is more and that He really is the reason for this joyous season.

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”- Matthew 1:21

Thanksgiving Recap

I'm only a week behind, but boy did we have a great Thanksgiving!

(at Zack's grandparents)

We started off the long holiday weekend by heading to Salisbury to spend time with Zack's family. We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the fixins', including crock pot mac-n-cheese, creamed corn, and peanut butter kissy cookies :)

After a fun night of talking, laughing, and spending time with family, we headed out to brave the Black Friday folks at Belks... see below...

(the line to get in Belks...)

Belks was C-R-A-Z-Y and we managed to get in and out in about an hour, but without the one item we were really going for- a Christmas tree.

While we were in Salisbury, I met a new feline friend. Zack and I named him Zazzles from an episode of "The Big Bang Theory", where Sheldon gets a cat and names him Zazzles, because he's so "Zazzy" :) I hope to see Zazzles on future visits!!



(me and Zazzles. He looks like a "Zazzles", doesn't he?!)

After we returned from Salisbury, we had a hang out night with Brices and that was all kinds of fun! Watching Elf, NC State Basketball, and the boys build legos made for such a fun night with the sweetest friends!

(so much fun playing with Star Wars legos)



We spent the rest of the holiday together and with my family. We had a nice time both my dad and my mom at Thanksgiving dinners and we also finally got to go see the new James Bond movie. It's so great- if you like Bond, GO SEE IT!!

From the fun night at the Brices, to the good food with all the family, to going to see Bond, to watching mulitple Christmas movies, all in all, we had a perfect first Thanksgiving as married folks :)

Looking forward to all Christmas has in store!!