Life is not always fair...

We are all told at a very early age that life is not always fair.  Oh my!  As I have gone through my almost 27 years of life, I have learned...THIS IS SO TRUE. 

I have always struggled with seeing people with bad attitude get praise, because they have people in power fooled.

I have to constantly remind myself to live my own life, and live a life that would make God proud of me...I don't need or even want the praise these other people get, because I don't want to be two-faced and manipulative, but also...I don't need praise from man.  As Christians, we were told life won't be easy, living a God-pleasing Christian life won't be easy, but our reward is not on this earth...our reward is in Heaven!

For those of you who may be like me, and get wrapped up in the rewards of this world, I want to encourage you today.  I want you to know that God will reward us if we continue to follow Him and share His love with everyone around us!  Yes...even those who are snotty and hateful towards us.  This is a challenge.  A daily challenge.  I know we can do it.  Let's remind ourselves daily that this world is not our home...and our reward is definitely not here.  The things in our Earthly lives don't matter.

I want to be pleasing to God and encourage and help others to know Him and invite Him to lead their paths.

I used to be so good...

So, when we were dating, actually even before we were dating...I used to do creative, Pinterest-worthy things for David all the time...and this was BEFORE Pinterest!  I know it may be hard to believe, but I was actually creative on my own!  I used to do such cute things for David!  I used to make cards, write cheesy poems, and do all kinds of other cute things to remind him that I appreciated and cared for him.

I still appreciate him and care for him SO much, but somewhere along the way, I slacked off on doing the cute things.  I don't know exactly why, but I just haven't been able to get myself together and organized enough to continue to do the cute things I used to do.  This makes me extremely sad, and I am actually embarrassed for people to know I have slacked off so much.  I mean, I have still created a few things for him, but nothing like I used to do.

I want to do better.  I want to do what I used to do.  I want to make sure David knows he means just as much to me as the olden days...actually, I love him more and more each day.  I love our journey together and want him to remember the little things along the way.

I will leave you with an example of what I am talking about...things I used to do...

The way I told David, I love you, was one of my all time favorite projects.  I created a puzzle out of cardboard, painted the pieces, and on each piece I wrote something I liked about him.  The next to last piece of the puzzle said, "these are all reasons why..." and the last piece was a heart that fit in the middle that said, "I love you."  I already knew that he was the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I knew from the beginning that he was super special, so I wanted to have a cute way to remember this special time for us!

Lifeway Kefir...YUM.

Me with my complimentary voucher
to try Lifeway Kefir product!

I am a member of the Influenster program.  (You can read more about Influenster:  HERE)

I was chosen to try a new product for them and review it on their website, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media...because after all, social media is more advertisement than an actual commercial these days!





Blueberry...YUM!

The product I tried was Lifeway Kefir (View their website:  HERE):  it is a probiotic, smoothie drink (they have other products, I just tried the drink).  It is 99% lactose-free, gluten-free, yummy, and good for you!
I highly recommend this product...and would purchase it in the future.



I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

 

4th of July FUN!

I know I'm late with this post, but I wanted to share some pictures of our 4th of July fun! 

Depoister/Hose Picture

This year we watched the Vincennes Parade with the Depoisters and even got to sit with my sister and her family!  Unfortunately we sat close to the end of the parade so the kids didn't get much candy, but it was still fun to sit and relax with some friends and family. 



Courtney, Addie, and I enjoying
the Vincennes parade!

A not-so-pleasant surprise was that a rotten egg fell from the building and splattered all over the sidewalk right in front of some of our group...oh my word!  It smelled SO bad.  Yuck!  (It was definitely a smell we will all remember!)  Jason (my bro-in-law) sprayed some Lysol on the sidewalk where the egg was, and that helped tremendously!  Yay!  Jason, our hero!

David and the Swanks waiting for the
Vincennes fireworks to begin!

Next, we went to a new pizza place in Vincennes and met up with our friends, the Swanks!  This was the first time we have gotten together with the Depoisters and the Swanks!  It was so nice to hang out with both sets of friends at the same time!  Isn't it great that God sends us so many good friendships in life.  I am super thankful for the time David and I get to spend with friends.  I think it is important for young married couples to have good friends.

David and his little buddy, enjoying
the fireworks...she kept saying, "wow!"

After supper we all went to the river-front to watch the fireworks!  David's family met us there so we could all watch the fireworks together, like we try to do every year!  It was so nice getting to hang out with so many people this 4th of July!

I know it doesn't sound like our day was very glamorous, but we really enjoyed the day (minus the stinky egg) with our friends and family!

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5 Years.

So, here it is...Our 5 year Anniversary Date!  Normally, we don't get to do anything on our anniversary because it usually falls during the week of Bible Quiz Nationals. This is the first year, since the year we got married that our wedding date wasn't during nationals.

What David did for me:

My Choose Your Own Adventure
Story envelopes!

After work, on our way towards Evansville, David pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. It was labeled, "The Choice is Yours." The paper inside was titled, "A Choose Your Own Adventure Story" (You know?  Like those story books where you choose your own adventure?  Well, it is that concept.) and it was a history of our five years together and the decisions we have made along the way (we hate making decisions like where to eat, what to do, etc...it's too much pressure)...the note said that I was a good choice...and almost made me happy cry (David has always been a good writer, he always knows just what to say!)...the end asked if I wanted to continue and of course, I said yes!
 

Baklava...DELISH!

The next envelope was labeled , "Choice of Empire." It included a short history of Greek food and a short history of Italian food. Followed by my options: Acropolis or Angelo's. I decided to be different than normal and chose Acropolis! It was such a nice change from the normal places we go, we tried a couple of new things, and fell in love with baklava...yum!  Plus, I had a Groupon (read more about Groupons > here<)  so our bill was very small and we got a ton of food, including leftovers! Win-win!

Miniature Golf!

The next envelope was titled, "Choice of Sport."  This one included a short history of golf and walking in the Olympics.  Then my two options were:  Miniature Golf or River Walk.  So, because I didn't choose the restaurant that was down town, near the river, I chose mini-golf.  I threatened to beat David at mini-golf, but of course I didn't come close (he IS a golfer, you know?), although I did get a hole-in-one and he didn't...that should count for something, right?!

Us with our Starbucks drinks!

My last envelope was "Choice of Dessert."  It included history of ice cream and a history of iced coffee.  My choices were:  Cold Stone Creamery or Starbucks.  This was a tough decision, because I had a gift card for both places...yay for free dessert!  I chose Starbucks and we both got a delicious Frappuccino!

 What I did for David:

It was so fun to watch him find my face all over our apartment!
PS...that is ALE8 in the fridge!

I took a picture of myself with a sign that said, "Happy, Happy, Happy Anniversary!"  I printed it (four to a page), cut them out, and hid them around our apartment for David to find throughout the day! 

Also, I created a replica of something I found on Pinterest...it is a timeline of years, months, days, hours, etc. that we have been together.  I framed it and it is now in our apartment...I don't think I'm going to remake one each year, but maybe I'll make a new one in a few years...who knows. 

You probably saw our anniversary picture that I posted <here>.  Well, I discovered Pinterest after we had already been married a couple years.  One of the first things I found there was a picture of a couple holding a framed picture of them holding a framed picture of them.  Did you follow that?  I was so sad, because I thought this was a great anniversary idea, but I didn't want to start it randomly at year three.  SO, we both decided we could start it at year five and instead of taking a new picture every year, we would take one every 5 years instead!

We had a great anniversary,  I am so thankful for David.  He is such a kind, caring, fun, & loving husband.  I am so glad he married me five years ago...I am so excited for what God has in store for year six!