Hunkering down for winter

A brief update of all that's been going on, on our side of the world-

• Busy season: Ministry is in full swing with meeting new freshmen girls, investing in 9 amazing sophomore girls that I love, having a football tailgate, recruiting for a women's retreat, having the retreat this past weekend, having multiple meetings, with lots of lunches, dinners, dorm visits and hanging out with students in between.
• My fabulous husband: also in a busy season, but turn it up oh 20 notches. He loves this job and is built for it and for fun likes to dream and think of new ministry ideas. Weird. Awesome, but weird. I have a shut off in my brain and need to zone out, but he's like the energizer bunny (I have to remind him to take rest and sometimes force him to!). All in all, I feel like God has His hand on us and I LOVE being married and married to this man! It really is so wonderful

I'm hunkering down for winter.

October you say? Yes, I know. I live in Minnesota.

The weather has been increasing yucky and reminds me that I can't forget that winter is coming. Yesterday it was 60-something but it had that dreary, grayish gloom that accompanies the winter. I've pulled out the boots and coat. They're predicting...ah I can't say it. S-n-o-w on Thursday. I'm praying it holds off for a few more weeks. Ok, so one perk of winter is cute boots...I'm eyeing some cute brown riding boots. We'll see (you know I don't need them, but they're cute and versatile!) I've gotten to wear by black ones and I've resisted the Uggs until it really is cold.

Today its in the 40s and rainy. But this also means good winter food.

Yesterday I got a rotisserie chicken, made this basalmic brown butter asparagus recipe and double. baked. potatoes. yum!

I used the Pioneer Woman's double baked potato recipe because I couldn't find my mother's to-die-for recipe. But Pioneer Woman isn't all about being healthy so I made a few changes- I used 6 potatoes not 8 because it's just the two of us. Then I more than halved all that unnecessary butter and used 1/2 stick, only 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream, and baked some turkey bacon instead of the "picnic" processed stuff she used. (Let's be honest though as a kid my sister and I used to down that "bacon product" stuff- I just wanted to be a little healthier and I had the time)

And later this week I'm planning to make a tasty potato soup. Another hooray for colder weather. It's my goal to find things I like about the cold...so here's to cute boots and potato soup :)

thankfulness

Whew. It's only Thursday and it's been a long week. Sweet though.

Last weekend Andrew's wonderful parents and Mimi came to visit. We went down to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard up in White Bear. It was so good! The apple turnovers and apple-pecan pie we got were super tasty!

It felt like the peak of autumn here as all the trees were changing and reds and golds came out.

Then this week it was a lot of meeting with girls, meeting new ones, following up with some, challenging others. And today, Thursday was our day of prayer and planning. Also sweet, but long. I tend to feed off time with people so a long day of silence and prayer and writing alone can be just as draining.

I really was convicted though about how much I fail to thank God. I mean there are tons of mercies, blessings, gifts that I don't even recognize as such. I was so glad hubs built in a portion of thanksgiving to our staff team's day. So, here are some of the things I'm most thankful for (no specific order):

1. My wonderful husband- thoughtful, compassionate, loving, godly, handsome and lots of fun!

2. Our sweet families- we can't get over how much we enjoy both sides of our families. we're so grateful for their encouragement and love and that we have fun with them!

3. God's faithfulness and care!- I over and over again fail as a Christian and don't get things right, I forget other things easily and so easily wander, BUT God is so sweet that He won't let me leave His hand. And when I am faithless and living out of self-sufficiency, He draws me back and reminds me to rely only upon Him.

4. Ministry- that God's opened doors to get to know sweet freshmen girls and invest more into some amazing sophomores. They are dear. And it's only by His mercy that I get to see them grow in beholding Christ (and that they do at all!).

5. Health- ah, so much that could be going wrong. Each cell, nerve, bone, ligament, organ has a billion things going on and God keeps us together. Wow. Though this could change, we know for now God's mercy and grace looks like good health.

6. Sweet friends- our staff team up here in Minnesota and my former team in Atlanta, college girlfriends in Georgia, sisters in Christ all over- are such an important part of my heart! I am so grateful for the girls who get me and love the Lord

7. Material conveniences and luxuries- Our well running cars, our great apartment that we got to decorate, we get to work together, we live near our "work", getting to cook often, etc. the list could go on

8. God's provision for our support- yes, we're so grateful for this!

9. Our salvation- we did nothing for it, but would be pretty hopeless without it! Really, I think to when I didn't know Christ and I'm humbled to have a hope that never moves, never leaves and a God who never stops accepting me and stops at nothing to love me.

i heart fall

It's fall break for us, so my wonderfully foresightful, thoughtful and overall fabulous husband planned a weekend away. We went up to Silver Bay, MN just north of Two Harbors and about an hour north of Duluth. We've got lots of pics (a win!) but they're all from the iphone (fail!) so the quality isn't great.

We spent the day in Duluth on Thursday and ate at some great restaurants: At Sara's Table for lunch and Lake Ave Cafe for dinner. So worth it. Then we drove on up to our lovely little B&B for the night. Despite some rain and colder temps we hiked the Oberg Loop and it was breathtaking! The fall colors, the views of the autumn hills and Lake Superior (which looks more ocean than lake), the crisp air! Ah! So great!

Walking around Duluth on one of the most gorgeous days we've had in a while

The bright colors that I LOVE about this season!

Andrew and I mid-hike. The leaves were unbelievable!

The drive up to the mountain we just as breathtaking

The Baptism River, which we heard from our window at the B&B

My car post hike, post rain, post 30 minute drive on muddy gravel roads. Our car looked so hard-core! This was pre-gas station car wash :)

Just a view on the way to dinner!

One of the seven lookout points at Oberg

Ow Ow! What a cutie...and so photogenic!

More pictures to come, but I've got to unpack and clean up the house