Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Thanksgiving, for me, is just one of those holidays that usually come and go for me. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE spending the day with the Johnson's... my mother-in-law goes all out for dinner! My personal favorite is her Mac and Cheese...yes...we have it for thanksgiving. Some would say it's a bit non traditional, but it is the Johnson favorite.
This year the whole Thanksgiving experiance has just been so different for me. Maybe it was the fact that I have been talking about it for a week and a half now with my kids, or the fact that the Shipmans are here to enjoy this season with us, or maybe it's the fact that we are having Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. In fact, as i type denis is busy in the kitchen getting things ready :). Maybe it is a combination of all these things and more...it is just that this year...things feel different.
I decided at the beginning of this week that i wanted to take this holiday season to gain perspective. To REALLY stop and think about what i am thankful for. In order to do that, i removed some things from my life for a season (like myspace and facebook that always seem to be calling my name) and use my down time to try and take in the big picture. I have come to the conclusion that i am so incredibly lucky. I have an loving husband, wonderful friends, and i am a part of the greatest family ever. So i would like to take the opportunity to say Thank you...
To my Family:
I look back on my life and i see a house that was filled with laughter. Laughing with all of you is my favorite thing. Whether its when we are playing games, or dad telling his silly jokes, or when someone says something completely ridiculous and we can't contain the urge to make fun of them for it! (90% of the time, it is rachel or i saying the ridiculous thing...shocking i know!) I look forward to the holidays when all of us can be in the same house. I love what our house sounds like when all of us are there. I love the way mom will cook all of our favorite foods. I love the way dad sit at the table just a little longer than usual to be with his kids. I love the way Allison loves to organize our big outings and our games. I love the way Josh just shakes his head at this giggling sisters. I love the way Denis and Mike will hide downstairs because being around the Freer woman just seems a bit overwhelming. I love the way Rachel tells stories from our childhood like they just happened and laughs as if it is the first time she has told it. I love harmony and they way she expanded all of our hearts. We love her in a way we never thought we could love. So to my family. Love isn't a strong enough word to express what my heart feels toward each of you. I am so thankful to call you mine.
To my Friends:
Each of you are my living, breathing treasures. Each and every one of you hold a very significant part of my heart. I love that i can be myself with you and that you love me just the same. Flawed and all. I used to think that the more friends i had, the better i would feel. So i tried to maintain all these friendships because i thought i would find purpose in that, but i never did. These past few years i have learned that it is about quality, not quantity. I consider myself so lucky to have each of you in my life. To amy and john-- for always making me laugh, even when i don't feel like it. John, you are like a brother to me. thank you for always bringing me back to reality. Amy, thank you for all my "free refills!" Your timing is always perfect. To Jaime-- thank you for giving me the excuse to escape life and revert to my childhood. To Heather-- thank you for a continual shoulder to lean on, cry on, and laugh on. may our quote book continue to grow. To Finer Things-- We declared that 2008 would be best yet! Thank you for all the many meals we have shared, for our conversations and our inside jokes. I love you all!!! To Leandra-- i don't deserve all the love you give me. I hope to someday return to you all the love you deserve. To Kelly-- May God continue to show His faithfulness. I stand firm believing that your best is yet to come. To Christy-- i'm not even sure where to begin...thank you for being the best listener i know. i don't know where i would be without you. To Aimee and Shane-- COME BACK! I miss you terribly...
To my Pastors:
Pierre and Marlize-- For so long i dreamed of being a part of the Fathers House. I consider it a privaledge to not only serve with you, but to call you friend. Here's to many many many more years of ministry and friendship together. We love you both!
and last but certainly not least...
To my Husband:
You are my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, my toughest critic, and my greatest treasure. Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you THANK YOU for choosing me. Being your wife is such an honor. I love you more today than ever. Thank you for sharing your life with me.
** when i started writing this blog, it was early this morning, and i had to put it aside to prepare for the day. I am currently ready for bed after a very successful thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Transformation?
Two years ago exactly i posted a blog titled "how much have i changed in 10 years" I answered a series of questions as though it was 10 years earlier, and then i answered the same questions for what was then, present day. I thought it might be interesting to see if much has changed in just two years. Here we go....
*** i have left the answers from two years ago for comparison purposes :)
How old are you?: 25 1/2
--- 27 1/2
Where do you work?: Pearce 4 Kids
--- Pearce 4 Kids, The Father's House, RachelAnn Photography :)
Where do you go to school?: NO WHERE! I actually teach school now....look how the tables have turned!
--- I still don't go to school, even though i practically live on RWC campus.
Where do you live?: North Chili NY
--- North Chili, but I've lived two other places in the past two years...
Where do you hang out?: church mostly. and applebees! :) and at home with my hubby
--- I'm still at church quite a bit, but at least we aren't doing six services a weekend anymore :) other than that, you can find me at Mike and Rachel's playing hide and seek with Harmony.
Do you wear glasses? still don't wear them...don't even have a clue where they would be....
--- i have come to the conclusion that i need glasses... i have a hard time seeing the menu on my TV....and seeing street signs... i wasn't a licenced driver two years ago!
What is your hairstyle?: semi-long, and brown....not by my choice though...just the way it turned out when i colored it myself.
--- jut below the shoulders, newly brown, done by a professional :)
Still talk to any of your old friends?: Just a few of them. I guess only a few decided to stick around! :)
--- facebook and myspace are a wonderful thing (mostly just facebook these days), but they have really helped me stay in contact with alot of my high school friends. We have our 10 year high school reunion this summer...wowsers...
How many piercings?: just my ears still....but if you ask John, my voice is piercing as well...whatever!
--- still just my ears...but not my voice :)
How many tattoos: none!
--- still a big no!
What is your biggest fear?: Losing someone I love
--- still my number one fear....
Has your heart been broken?: Yes
--- yep
Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: MARRIED!!!!!!!!! to the most wonderful man alive. we are coming up on our 4 year anniversary!!!! I am so lucky....
--- proud to say i am still married to my best friend. My love for him grows everyday. I am still So lucky....
*** i have left the answers from two years ago for comparison purposes :)
How old are you?: 25 1/2
--- 27 1/2
Where do you work?: Pearce 4 Kids
--- Pearce 4 Kids, The Father's House, RachelAnn Photography :)
Where do you go to school?: NO WHERE! I actually teach school now....look how the tables have turned!
--- I still don't go to school, even though i practically live on RWC campus.
Where do you live?: North Chili NY
--- North Chili, but I've lived two other places in the past two years...
Where do you hang out?: church mostly. and applebees! :) and at home with my hubby
--- I'm still at church quite a bit, but at least we aren't doing six services a weekend anymore :) other than that, you can find me at Mike and Rachel's playing hide and seek with Harmony.
Do you wear glasses? still don't wear them...don't even have a clue where they would be....
--- i have come to the conclusion that i need glasses... i have a hard time seeing the menu on my TV....and seeing street signs... i wasn't a licenced driver two years ago!
What is your hairstyle?: semi-long, and brown....not by my choice though...just the way it turned out when i colored it myself.
--- jut below the shoulders, newly brown, done by a professional :)
Still talk to any of your old friends?: Just a few of them. I guess only a few decided to stick around! :)
--- facebook and myspace are a wonderful thing (mostly just facebook these days), but they have really helped me stay in contact with alot of my high school friends. We have our 10 year high school reunion this summer...wowsers...
How many piercings?: just my ears still....but if you ask John, my voice is piercing as well...whatever!
--- still just my ears...but not my voice :)
How many tattoos: none!
--- still a big no!
What is your biggest fear?: Losing someone I love
--- still my number one fear....
Has your heart been broken?: Yes
--- yep
Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: MARRIED!!!!!!!!! to the most wonderful man alive. we are coming up on our 4 year anniversary!!!! I am so lucky....
--- proud to say i am still married to my best friend. My love for him grows everyday. I am still So lucky....
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
You are the love of my life...
Because he just had a birthday and our 6 year anniversary is rapidly approaching, here are a few things about my husband.
1) Where did you meet? Roberts. He was my choir director :) but quickly became one of my best friends.
2) How long did you date before you got married? We dated for a year and we were engaged for a year.
3) How long have you been married? Coming up on six years!
4) What is your favorite feature of his? his smile and his eyes. i pray our kids get them.
5) What is your favorite quality of his? i love how calming he is. I tend to be high strung so he evens me out.
6) Does he have a nickname for you? yes.--babe
7) What is his favorite food? chicken or steak
8) What is his favorite sport? football
9) When and where was your first kiss? It was new years day on my parents couch :) (Ashley, you and i have that i common! What rebels we are)
10) What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? steal a weekend away together. We don't do it very often, but when we do, it is so incredible. we are due for one here soon!
11) Do you have any children? no, but we have 4 incredible Godkids and the cutest niece EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12) Does he have a hidden talent? not many people know that he can play the guitar. He taught himself to play. Also, he loves making any worship song sound country. don't know if that is necessarily a talent, but boy it is funny
13) How old is he? He just turned 28
14) Who said "I love you" first? He did.
15) What is his favorite type of music? Jazz
16) What do you admire the most about him? He love for the Lord and his passion for ministry
17) Do you think he will read this? no he won't. he checks everyone else's blog but mine.
1) Where did you meet? Roberts. He was my choir director :) but quickly became one of my best friends.
2) How long did you date before you got married? We dated for a year and we were engaged for a year.
3) How long have you been married? Coming up on six years!
4) What is your favorite feature of his? his smile and his eyes. i pray our kids get them.
5) What is your favorite quality of his? i love how calming he is. I tend to be high strung so he evens me out.
6) Does he have a nickname for you? yes.--babe
7) What is his favorite food? chicken or steak
8) What is his favorite sport? football
9) When and where was your first kiss? It was new years day on my parents couch :) (Ashley, you and i have that i common! What rebels we are)
10) What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? steal a weekend away together. We don't do it very often, but when we do, it is so incredible. we are due for one here soon!
11) Do you have any children? no, but we have 4 incredible Godkids and the cutest niece EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12) Does he have a hidden talent? not many people know that he can play the guitar. He taught himself to play. Also, he loves making any worship song sound country. don't know if that is necessarily a talent, but boy it is funny
13) How old is he? He just turned 28
14) Who said "I love you" first? He did.
15) What is his favorite type of music? Jazz
16) What do you admire the most about him? He love for the Lord and his passion for ministry
17) Do you think he will read this? no he won't. he checks everyone else's blog but mine.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Snapple Facts
Today i went out to lunch with Heather, and we both had Snapple Iced Tea with our meal. For those of you who may not know, on the bottom of every Snapple cap is a random fact. My fact for the day was: shrimp can only swim backwards. Fascinating huh :) well i think so. So i decided to learn more so i checked the Snapple website. Here are some more facts i learned today!
Mosquitoes are attracted to people who just ate bananas
Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp
The world’s termites outweigh the world’s humans 10-1
Children grow faster in the spring
Alaska has the highest percentage of people who walk to work
On average, a person will spend up to two weeks kissing in their lifetime
Termites eat through wood two times faster when listening to rock music
Giraffe’s have no vocal chords
An average woman consumes six pounds of lipstick in her lifetime
A sneeze travels out your nose at 100mph
The tongue is the fastest healing part of your body
No word in the English dictionary rhymes with month
The average person spends two weeks of its life waiting for the traffic light to change
If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will turn white
No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times
Oysters can change genders back and forth
Fish can drown
You would have to play ping pong for 12 hours to lose 1 pound
Colors like red, orange and yellow make you hungry
A polar bears fur is transparent, not white
You can tell what day a loaf of bread was baked by looking at the color of it’s twist tag
To keep an ice cream cone from dripping, put a mini marshmallow in the bottom of the cone
It is against the law to put pretzels in a bag in Philadelphia
When the moon is directly over you, you weigh less
A goldfish’s attention span is 3 seconds
Kermit the Frog is left handed
hope you have all learned something new today! How about you...do you know any random facts you would like to share?
Mosquitoes are attracted to people who just ate bananas
Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp
The world’s termites outweigh the world’s humans 10-1
Children grow faster in the spring
Alaska has the highest percentage of people who walk to work
On average, a person will spend up to two weeks kissing in their lifetime
Termites eat through wood two times faster when listening to rock music
Giraffe’s have no vocal chords
An average woman consumes six pounds of lipstick in her lifetime
A sneeze travels out your nose at 100mph
The tongue is the fastest healing part of your body
No word in the English dictionary rhymes with month
The average person spends two weeks of its life waiting for the traffic light to change
If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will turn white
No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times
Oysters can change genders back and forth
Fish can drown
You would have to play ping pong for 12 hours to lose 1 pound
Colors like red, orange and yellow make you hungry
A polar bears fur is transparent, not white
You can tell what day a loaf of bread was baked by looking at the color of it’s twist tag
To keep an ice cream cone from dripping, put a mini marshmallow in the bottom of the cone
It is against the law to put pretzels in a bag in Philadelphia
When the moon is directly over you, you weigh less
A goldfish’s attention span is 3 seconds
Kermit the Frog is left handed
hope you have all learned something new today! How about you...do you know any random facts you would like to share?
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Update
I am doing my best to try and keep up with my blog again. I always feel like there is never anything of real importance, or even of interest for that matter, to blog about these days. Denis and I are just trying to keep our head above water these days... which hasn't always been easy given the million things we feel like we are juggling. But even in the craziness of it all, we find that we are so blessed. We attended a big church-wide volunteer training at our church a few weekends ago and our pastor talked about how God honor's us with "moments" in the midst of our "task." Sometimes the task at hand is hard or frustrating, and in my case, it seems to be beyond me, but just when we question if we can see it through or if we just feel like giving up, God lets us experience a "moment." A moment when we realize exactly why it is we do what we do. I live for those moments because it is like water to my soul.
In the midst of all the craziness, this past week has been packed full of fun and excitement! First up was the Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith concert! It was so wild! we had incredible seats. We sat in the 5th row! A big thanks to Steve and Amy Otto for our unforgettable evening. Here are just a few pics of our night. For those of you who have facebook, many more can be seen there :)
Next up was trunk-n-treat at our church. It was a wild and crazy event at our church. Alot of hard work and planning was put into this incredible evening. Kudos to our very own Mike Shipman for diving into this event planning just moments after his feel touched down here in Rochester. Welcome to the Father's House Mike! :)
I hosted a car with my "moon" buddy (inside joke...just for you matt) Matt D'Angelo. We trunk and treated Hawaiian style! Also, Harry Potter was there! We had such a great time! Check out rachel's blog to see the kid with the cutest costume there!
Last, but certainly not least. Today is my baby's birthday... I took a half day off today to spend with him. Our lives have been tugging us in so many different directions, so today we decided to take a moment and steal away time together. We layed around all afternoon, had some birthday visitors, and then we were off to a nice dinner in the city. We went to a place called Two Vine. The food was amazing. We talked about life and about or future and we just sat and dreamed. Even now as i type i am overwhelmed with love for Denis. I am absolutely honored that he chose me as his wife. I love this man more everyday. I love the silly side that he only allows me to see. I love his passion for the Lord and his dedication to the ministry. Happy birthday babe. I will love you forever and ever.
In the midst of all the craziness, this past week has been packed full of fun and excitement! First up was the Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith concert! It was so wild! we had incredible seats. We sat in the 5th row! A big thanks to Steve and Amy Otto for our unforgettable evening. Here are just a few pics of our night. For those of you who have facebook, many more can be seen there :)
Next up was trunk-n-treat at our church. It was a wild and crazy event at our church. Alot of hard work and planning was put into this incredible evening. Kudos to our very own Mike Shipman for diving into this event planning just moments after his feel touched down here in Rochester. Welcome to the Father's House Mike! :)
I hosted a car with my "moon" buddy (inside joke...just for you matt) Matt D'Angelo. We trunk and treated Hawaiian style! Also, Harry Potter was there! We had such a great time! Check out rachel's blog to see the kid with the cutest costume there!
Last, but certainly not least. Today is my baby's birthday... I took a half day off today to spend with him. Our lives have been tugging us in so many different directions, so today we decided to take a moment and steal away time together. We layed around all afternoon, had some birthday visitors, and then we were off to a nice dinner in the city. We went to a place called Two Vine. The food was amazing. We talked about life and about or future and we just sat and dreamed. Even now as i type i am overwhelmed with love for Denis. I am absolutely honored that he chose me as his wife. I love this man more everyday. I love the silly side that he only allows me to see. I love his passion for the Lord and his dedication to the ministry. Happy birthday babe. I will love you forever and ever.
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