Europe 2013: Germany

I'm determined to get up the rest of our Europe trip pictures before 2014! First up were the photos from Austria, and now from our trip through southern Germany.

After spending a couple days in Vienna and Salzburg, we began our road trip through Germany. This was an especially meaningful part for Paul and I since we got to visit the towns where our family was from. The first night we stayed in Heilbronn, which is where my Oma was born. We visited her neighborhood of Böckingen and the church where she was baptized. It was so sweet! On our return drive we stayed in the beautiful city of Heidelberg which is where Paul's ancestors originated from. We even got to stay at the "Schmitt Hotel!" Although as far as we know there's no connection. On our last afternoon, we took a tour at the concentration camp memorial site in Dachau. It was a very sobering and well taught tour that we will always remember. Overall Germany was beautiful and we hope we can spend more time there someday!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today we celebrated two years of marriage!! So much has changed in two years. Some of the learning and growing has been hard. But it has all worked together for good and I love how through the joys and through the trials, our two lives have become one. I am so thankful.

I'll love you forever, Paul. All glory to God!

2 Years Ago

On August 26, 2011 I was:

waking up next to my future sister-in-law

enjoying a slow morning at Mary Jo's with the Jumps and Mom & Dad

getting a manicure and pedicure

checking into The Westin

assisting Kirstie with the flowers (she's a pro)

welcoming friends from out of town

visiting with Mom, bridesmaids, cousins and my aunt in my hotel room

setting up the centerpieces for our reception (and putting the groomsman to work)

wearing my pink dress with one shoulder and ruffles

walking down the aisle with Dad for the first time

rehearsing for our wedding

eating (hardly!) at Maggiano's

smiling big for lots of pictures

listening to sweet toasts from family

laughing and tearing up at my favorite toast from my brother

handing out gifts that I put a lot of thought into to the most important people in our lives

kissing Paul goodnight in the parking lot before he ran off to play whirlyball

having a sleepover with my favorite people at a super nice hotel

going to sleep for the last time as Mariel Unverricht

I can still remember so many moments from that day. I was so excited when I woke up I jumped out of bed to start the day. I felt like I couldn't wait for the moments to happen but also never wanted them to pass! I can picture myself sitting in the chair at the nail salon with the biggest secret, I was getting married tomorrow! I remember the smell of the hotel as I walked in that afternoon. Even now, any time we've walked into a Westin hotel (once or twice) it brings me right back to that weekend. I love how smells can do that! I remember sunlight streaming in the window as I floated around the hotel room doing my hair and getting ready for the rehearsal surrounded by some of my favorite women. I remember goofing off with Paul and his friends as we set up the tables for the reception and I remember hugging my grandma as she walked into the room. And I remember sitting next to Paul at dinner as we had probably 100 times before. It felt familiar and normal, but yet we knew it was different than any other meal we had shared and our lives were about to change forever. I remember giggling in the car with friends after dinner. I was light, and carefree, and peaceful, and giddy all at once! I remember not feeling at all nervous, which surprised me. I always figured I'd be nervous! The day was just full of joy and hope and love. Tomorrow I would marry Paul Schmitt! I would be his!

On Lynx Lake

One of our new favorite activities when we visit Mom and Dad is to kayak! We got to go out one evening this week and had such a blast. The sun was warm, the air was cool and the water was smooth as glass. We played kayak catch, had a race across the lake (Paul and I won!) and explored all the coves. It was exactly the type of evening I picture as the perfect summer night.

I've been feeling so thankful for this life that we live.

Falling in Love with Paul

Probably from the time I was 15 until Paul came into my life just before I turned 24, I spent a lot of time thinking about falling in love. What would it feel like? Would it feel like the butterflies I got when the cute guy in my study hall passed me a note? Or maybe I would know it by the fancy romantic gestures we would do for one another. I just didn't know! I knew what it sounded like in the love songs and what it looked like in the movies. And as I got older I saw my friends fall in love. But I wasn't sure what it would look like in my life.

Falling in love with Paul was not at all what I thought it would be. I didn't know on our very first date that I wanted to marry him. I actually didn't even really get butterflies. I was so incredibly nervous to go out with him and I really struggled with fear in the beginning of our relationship. Paul was so very patient with me though, and I knew the Holy Spirit was gently and lovingly turning my heart towards his. We were blessed with a season of romance, adventurous dates, love notes, talks on the phone late into the night, evening walks, flirting and butterflies. After about 6 months, I was head over heels. Was this love? I thought it definitely could be.

When heartache and tragedy struck Paul's life after we'd been dating 8 months, we entered into a trial like I have never experienced. Our relationship had to take a backseat to more pressing and important circumstances. But underneath the ash, God was doing something beautiful in us. It was through that period of sadness and pain, that Paul and I discovered true love for one another. We learned that our hearts were drawn to one another, that we enjoy each other and that we wanted the same things out of life. But even more important than any of those things, we learned that we must make a decision to love each other, and that sometimes we'd have to fight for that love.

A year and a half later, we were married. I loved our wedding day and cannot imagine reflecting on any other day with such affection and joy (although I'm sure the days we add children into our family will be up there too!). I was so so so happy to marry Paul and I knew from experience that he was a man of honor, noble character, loyalty, trust-worthy and that he would cherish, protect and love me all the days of his life. I was so in love with Paul on that day. Looking back, it was everything I had hoped for when I dreamed of falling in love.

And yet, here I sit, with two years passed our wedding day and lately I've been struck with how deeply in love with Paul I feel. A love even more real and raw than on our wedding day. Sometimes it almost overwhelms me and I feel as if my heart my explode! I had sort of pictured that falling in love ends when you get married. Like that's it! You're done falling. But I'm beginning to realize that I am still falling in love with Paul. This season of our love is not necessarily lavished with romance, nor is it being refined in fire. But these days it grows slow and steady – almost without notice. It's a love deepening by our lives being woven together. We are learning to live as a team, to grow together, to serve one another as well as people around us. We're learning to ask for forgiveness when we're wrong, and to outdo one another in kindness and to love and know Jesus together. These small daily acts, these moments of plain old regular life are cultivating a love in us so strong and deep.

I'm so glad that falling in love isn't what I imagined it would be. I'm so thankful that it's more than a song or a movie, and more than a mysterious butterfly in my stomach. What a joy it is that I'm not done falling in love with Paul and I hope, by God's grace, that I never will. 

The Meat Fight

That Paul. My sweet and incredibly handsome husband. I love this picture of him because he's in his element. Heading down the highway lookin' hot in his sunglasses with a super cool expression and the mountains lingering in the background. And I like it because this is often times my view of him. He always drives because he likes to and I don't. I'm thankful for how we fit together like that. But you know what, we don't always fit together just right. Sometimes we clash. And sometimes that happens on beautiful days like this when I'm riding next to him in the car. In fact, just this week we had one of our clashes in the car and it was about meat. What I like to call, the Meat Fight.

You see, as I'm learning about good and whole foods, I'm wanting to make changes. And sometimes those changes will make a hit on our budget in ways that Paul doesn't want it to. He likes to buy cheap meat. Actually, he likes to buy cheap most things and finds value in something when he can get a good deal. I greatly appreciate this about my man. He's a provider and he doesn't like to waste or be foolish with the resources God has given us. I respect that, and truly I am so so thankful he is like this. However, it can be hard when we disagree about what's "worth it" as far as spending the extra dollars for better quality.

I feel strongly that it would be good for us both to make a transition to better quality meats. I am specifically alarmed by the hormones and antibiotics given to chickens and also the negative effects that grain based diets (as opposed to grass fed) have on cows meat. As we start to think about adding little ones to our family, my "Mama-instincts" flare up and I want to bring my babies into a home with eating habits that are healthy and helpful to their little growing bodies.

But Paul doesn't agree with me. Not about the part of raising healthy kids, but he doesn't agree that buying better meat would be worth it. He believes this is just a fad that I'm going through (and really just a "hot topic" right now) and not something that's actually important or makes a difference.

So where do I go with this? I love my husband and I know that God has called me to follow him and to ultimately submit to his discernment for the decisions in our household. I agree with this plan, and I believe that Paul is ultimately responsible to the Lord in this matter. And I trust him. But it starts to get difficult to live out when I really believe that Paul is wrong and I'm right. What then? My instinct is to rebel and to pull away from my husband. To withdraw emotionally, physically and even financially. Can I be honest? My first thought was to say (in anger) "Fine, eat whatever junk you want, I will use the money I earn to live this other way." Isn't that horrid? And do you know what? That is my sin. That is my ugly selfish pride taking over. It is no longer about whether or not Paul is wronging me, it is about how I am sinning against the man I love more than anyone in the world.

First I must repent. This means to stop sinning, and to turn the other way! I must humble myself and ask Paul for forgiveness. And I will acknowledge the fact that although this issue is so important to me, my marriage is more important, more sacred and more precious than meat. And second, I will pray. I will ask God to make our hearts right, to renew our minds that we would not be conformed to the patterns of this world. And I will ask him to help us, both Paul and me, to discern what is true and good for our bodies and what is not.

There are so many other things I can do to promote health in our home, and although this is still an important issue to me, for now I will focus on other habits and things I can change while loving and honoring Paul, my precious gift of a husband. I am so thankful I get to be right beside him all the days of our life – a true blessing from the Lord!

Home Tour Part 2

Yesterday I did the first part of our home tour and showed you what it would look like as you walk into our house. Today I'm excited to welcome you back into the main living area – really the heart of our home!

As you'd walk through the foyer, you'd come into the great room! I would tell you how much we love having all this open space and suggest that you sit on one of our kitchen stools while I pour you a beverage and finish up our meal. I absolutely love having friends sit and chat while I buzz around the kitchen. It's one of my favorite feelings! 

As we catch up I might point out that pretty blue stand mixer. The one I got for my birthday from my sweet sister-in-law and father-in-law. Aren't they generous? I've been using it all the time. In fact, I would probably be pulling a loaf of my favorite rosemary bread out of the oven as our conversation flows. It smells awesome. We might start moving past our surface conversation and getting into some real heart chats right about now. I find that friends like to get real around the kitchen island. There's just something safe about gathering here. After a while, I might set the table and suggest that we sit down to eat.

Just off the kitchen we'd settle at our little table. Paul will say a pray and thank God for our meal and for you, our guest. We'd pass the plates and laugh and tell stories. It's not a big table, but it's round, and it cultivates good conversations. Round tables have a way of doing that. After dinner I might glance around the room and ask you what you think I should do about all the blank walls. I'll explain that the wall on the right is actually painted gray, and Paul will tease me because he says he can't even tell the difference between that wall and the white walls. I'll sigh and genuinely ask you what you would suggest? Shelves? A mirror? A gallery wall? A chalkboard?

As I clear the table I'll urge you to please make yourself comfortable in the family room! I'll turn on the coffee (if that's your drink of choice) and make sure we have something sweet to serve soon. We might chat about plans for this room. We're still in the brainstorming stage, but for now I like how it feels collected and cozy. I'll tell you that my mom has generously offered to have slipcovers made for our wingback chairs, and how I used to snuggle up in those same chairs with a good book as a little girl. What fabric do you think I should choose? Would you paint the TV cabinet? What would you put on the walls? These are the questions I'd ask you. Because you just have the best taste!

I hope we'd settle in here the rest of the evening, and that you'd stay as long as you like. Maybe we'd play a game, or talk about the issues that interest us. As our time comes to a close I'll feel so full in my heart. I just loved having you over and it was so good to connect. Before you leave I'll already be asking when you can come again, or making plans to meet for coffee this weekend. Paul and I would walk you to the door and give you another big hug. We'd probably linger out to the car and wave from the driveway. Because we love our friends, so that's just how we do things around here.

Thanks for viewing my home tour! Hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

Our Hearts Are Here: Home Tour Part 1

Happy Thursday! Today is my "Friday" and it's always sweet :) Hope yours is too!

Because so many of my dear friends and family are far away, and since dear Kate requested it, today I'm going to take you on a little tour of my house! We moved in almost 3 months ago and we love it. On Sunday night when we returned from my parent's house after being gone the whole day, I walked in and had this overwhelming sense of peace and thankfulness to be home. Paul and me. This is our little home and we feel so blessed.

One of our favorite things about our house is having people over! Seriously, we've absolutely loved filling our home with voices and laughter and stories and games and food and people. And if you lived nearby, we'd probably invite you over tonight. Not kidding, I'd text you our address and insist you come on over for dinner this very evening.

You'd probably have to look up our address the first time you came, and you might even give me a call to make sure you're heading the right direction. Because our house is a little bit country, and it can take a few extra minutes to get here than you might think. But we'll make it worth it once you get here! And I just know you're gonna love the awesome mountain views as you drive into our neighborhood. Feel free to knock on our door or maybe ring the bell (either is okay, because we'll be anticipating your arrival!). And Paul might answer the door since I'm probably putting the finishing touches on our meal. But I'll run to the door as quick as I can rinse off my hands and give you a big hug! It's so good to see you, I'll say.



You're welcome to sit down and take off your shoes if you'd like. Need some slippers? I have some
extras! Or maybe you want to leave your shoes on since they look so cute with your outfit. You do look so nice today. You know, we don't have much art on the walls yet, but I've hung these special pieces here in the entryway to welcome everyone right away. The middle says Home Sweet Home and the cross-stitch on the right is a favorite saying of mine. Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. Perhaps you are our new friend or maybe even a friend who goes way back? Both kinds are precious to us.

To the right here you can see my little light-filled office space. I feel rich in blessing when I think about how I get to have this special place to work and create. I'll probably tell you about my days spent here and what project I'm up to these days. Paul will point out the bookshelves and explain how we found those at the secondhand store and painted them that color ourselves. And I will show you the pink quilt I found at the antique market for a steal. I might go on a little too long because these things get me excited. But you're so kind I bet you just let me chatter a little. That makes me feel loved :)

I bet we'd stand here in the entryway for a little while because we're just so glad to see you. We'll ask about your day and how you're doing. And after a short time we'll remember our manners and usher you in so we can offer you a drink.

Come back tomorrow for the second part of my home tour!

A Trip to Remember

Excitement is buzzing around here! Tickets have been purchased and plans are being made. This Fall, Paul and I will embark on the trip of our dreams. We're going to Europe!

Ever since Pia and Johannes visited us last year, we've been just wishing and chatting and whispering our hopes to visit them too. We started following flight prices a little while ago, and found it was just SO expensive to travel. But then this past weekend, my mom suggested a reroute of our flights and we figured out a way to save hundreds of dollars from the original flights! So we jumped on it! Hooray! Thank the good Lord for moms :)

So just shortly after our 2nd wedding anniversary, we'll spend almost two weeks city and country hopping around with our two very dear friends. I can't believe it's real! At night after dinner we've been tossing around which places we'd like to see and the best ways to travel. Our home base will be Vienna, so we'll definitely do visits to bordering countries. But we kind of want to do maybe one bigger trip too. My pick is to Paris and Paul's pick is Rome. I have visited Rome before and absolutely loved it, so I just know we can't go wrong. So much of the fun is in the planning and anticipation!

Run, Reunite & Relax

I've been a bad blogger recently, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been lots going on! Here's a little recap of some of our favorite events in the past two months.

In January, Paul ran his very first marathon! He somehow convinced our friend Brent to run as well, although neither of them had trained very much. But they did awesome and we had a really fun weekend with our family and friends!

At the beginning of February, my lifelong friend Annie and her husband came for a "babymoon" to Arizona! It was such a fun evening with them and their sister & brother-in-law and am so thankful that I got to see my dear Annie pregnant! She was just gorgeous like always. And when I learned they would be in town, I quick got my act together and completed my first ever baby quilt for them. I'm so excited for their little girl to arrive this spring :)

And just after Valentines Day, Paul and I got to use some hotel points that were about to expire for a little staycation. We read by the pool, walked around town, went out to dinner, slept in late, went out to breakfast, did a little shopping and enjoyed our 24 hours of luxurious city living!

Getting Settled

We are so overjoyed to be officially moved in to our new home. What a gift! We're still trying to get the hang of the new space. And I think with time, it'll feel more comfortable, and things will start to make sense. But for now I'm still in the stage of figuring out where things should go, what will work well with our natural living habits, and how to start making this place cozy.

It isn't really ready for a proper room tour yet, but I did want to capture a few moments so I can always remember these first few days. Above you can see:

1. I was so super super giddy as we began bringing in our bags and boxes from our car. It was so surreal!
2. I'm still getting used to the tile floors all over. It makes the ground super chilly, which I am sure we will love come July. But for now I'm wearing slippers all the time.
3. Deciding if I like the lamp base and shade combo. The bases I got from the Habitat Re-store, and the shades are from Home Goods and I added the black trim last week. What do you think?
4. Our little dining nook. This is probably the most "put together" spot in our house right now. I love the fixture and rug Mom got us for Christmas! (both from Overstock.com)
5. Putting together the shelves in my office space! They recently had a makeover and I find myself glancing over at them while I work throughout the day, just to take a peak. That's when you know you really like something.
6. Paul, Brent and our first out of town visitor, Ben, were working hard to put up the pendant lights over our kitchen island. They did an awesome job. I'm so thankful.
7. Our first minutes in the house together!
8. Sampling a few paint colors. For some reason choosing colors is really stressing me out. I wish I was more decisive.
9. Just a little glimpse of the many piles of boxes still scattered throughout our home!

Part of me wants everything to already be unpacked and settled, but then I try to remind myself how precious these beginning days are, even with all their chaos and confusion. I hope we will always look back and remember how very sweet it was these first moments in our first home together. And someday soon this place will feel so familiar – I'll know the little spots on the walls, and all the little nooks and corners and quirks like the back of my hand. And that will be so nice and comfortable. But for now, it's still new, and we're still getting to know each other, this house and I. So for now I may not know which drawer I stuck the scissors in, or where my favorite sweater is, or what's the best spot for the dinner plates, but I think we're going to get along just fine. This house feels like just the right fit for my Paul and me (and hopefully a few more someday too!).

What were you doing

...when the clock said 12:12 on 12.12.12?! I was calling my dear husband to tell him I love him. I didn't have any plans really, but thanks to the idea of my sweet friend Lindsay who said the only thing she wanted to remember doing at 12:12 is talking to her man. And lucky for me, she's in a time zone an hour ahead of mine :) Love you PDS!

365 Days as Mrs. Schmitt

Yesterday was our 1st Wedding Anniversary! What a blessing it has been to be married to Paul Schmitt. I've loved every single day that I have gotten to be his wife!  Last night we were able to go out to dinner and we had a really sweet time reflecting on our favorite memories of the past year. We talked about moments from our wedding weekend, holidays together, our first apartment, our big move to the west, never having to say "goodbye," and just the joys of living and sharing life together! I told Paul that even though I love to remember back on all those sweet first days as husband and wife, I am so happy about where we are one year into marriage. We have learned so much about each other...how to love each other better, how to "fight" well, how to serve one another selflessly...what a gift.  Today is the first day of year two and I am so excited for the next 365 days ahead.

Our Day At The Design Center

Oh my. When we bought our house, the first thing the builder did (after happily collecting our earnest money of course) was make us an appointment at their design center. They set us up with a 9am – 3pm time slot, and we seriously laughed aloud. I mean, our house isn't that big, and we already knew we didn't want to go crazy on upgrades, so how long could it really take? We. were. wrong. It ended up taking us 5 hours to go through everything and make our selections. Yeowza.

Thankfully, we had made a lot of decisions beforehand, so we knew where we were going to spend our money, and we didn't sway too much from that. We both chose a couple things we wanted but didn't need, and Paul was sweet to let me make the major choices for the flooring and cabinets. He admitted that he couldn't tell me what any cabinets had looked like any place he'd ever lived, so his "in the moment opinion" probably shouldn't weigh too much. I was glad.

ANYWAYS, I fear this post is getting boring. But it's fun for me to record these little steps in our new home! Here are some pictures of what we've chosen. Can you picture it now?!  I can't really, but I'm hoping hoping hoping it all comes together well :)

First up, here is some of our flooring. I had shown some inspiration for my flooring a week or so ago, and we went ahead and chose a slate looking gray tile, with a pale "bone" grout. I'm excited about the contrast. If I remember correctly, it's a little darker than it looks in these pictures, and it definitely has a more olive tint, not a blue tint like I'm seeing here. Anyways, you get the picture :)  On the right is the carpet color we chose for bedroom 2 and bedroom 3. These will be the only places in the house with carpet (Master continues the tile).

I hinted a little while ago that I was trying to see if we could sneak some wood into our house and I DID IT!!!  I'm so excited!  I know that we'll enjoy our tile, especially in the heat of the summer. But any time I want some beautiful cozy hardwoods, all I have to do is take a little trip to our living room (my office!). Right when you walk in the front door, this is the first room you'll see (other than the entryway) so I'm super pumped about these!

I really wanted white cabinets in the kitchen. Every kitchen inspiration picture I looked at I kept gravitating towards light cabinets. It was a splurge, but I convinced Paul they would look good and keep the space nice and bright and airy. We went with the standard granite countertops – a simple gray, black and white and I really like them.

In the bathrooms we'll have white cabinets and these quite neutral countertops. They were Paul's favorite and I think they'll be just fine. None of the choices "wowed" me, so I'm mostly just hoping they'll hide the toothpaste spots well ;)

So that's a little tour of our future home!  We're even more excited than ever to watch it be built and eventually live there!  What a sweet blessing. And we hope all our dearly loved friends and family will plan a visit out to see us. Soon we'll have more than enough room!

Happy Birthday PDS!

Happiest Birthday to the best guy I know. I love you more and more all the time, it's crazy! May your next year be filled with the blessing of drawing nearer to the Lord and knowing Him more.

(photo by T & S Hughes Photography)

Oh. And we have a date tomorrow night at 5:45pm sharp. Hope you're ready to celebrate!

Celebrate!

We're celebrating over here in the Schmitt household! The Lord has been so very faithful and true throughout our whole moving across the country experience. We have seen His hand in so many of the details the last few months. And once again He has provided for us with not one, but TWO job offers for Paul! I am so proud of my hard working husband who spent the past couple months pouring himself into this job search, but also trusting that God would reveal in His timing the paths He lay before us. He never worried or was afraid – such a strong example to me of integrity and faith. I love that Paul :)

So we've been happily expressing our excitement with mexican food, dairy queen, Chick-fil-A, and a baseball game – all in the name of celebrating! (You really can't too much, can you?)

Here we are at the Angels and Rangers spring training game over the weekend. It was such a beautiful day, even I enjoyed it ;)

so bright! go team! I was confused for about 4 innings which team we were cheering for.

hottie with the new job!

we get pretty pumped about our Chick-fil-A around here.

And so, another chapter in our journey begins! Yay!

Saturday Hike

This weekend we took a really fun hike up to Tom's Thumb. It's this funny boulder at the top of a mountain that looks like a thumb. I found myself thinking "hey, I really like this hike" more than once during the 3 hours we were on the trail. I think I might be turning into a real hiker! It makes you feel so alive and refreshed! My parents got me trail shoes for my birthday which were a great help compared to the slippery soled gym shoes I'd been hiking in before. There were all these big beautiful boulder rocks along the way, not to mention the incredible views. My mom says hiking is like a big playground for adults, and I agree! I felt 10 again as Paul and I climbed around the rocks, exploring different paths. At one point we stopped in this little area that had walls of rocks all around and I told Paul it would make a really awesome spot to play house. So fun! Moving to a new state has been hard for me sometimes, but on Saturday I was sooo thankful for this beautiful place, and that I get to live here and experience God's amazing creation. And I'm so glad that Paul and I have found another hobby that we really enjoy doing together.

Be Careful What You Wish For

See this girl?

This girl is so happy because it's Friday afternoon, she just went on a lunch date to the Olive Garden with her dashing husband, and she's now off to gather supplies for her birthday DIY project. It was, after all, her wish.

But what she doesn't know, is that what lies ahead is a day and a half of sore fingers, disappointments, frustrations, stressful "conversations" with said dashing husband in Lowes, a couple stray tears, back aches, and finally, a headboard that isn't quite as lovely as Jenny Komenda's, but still a welcomed addition to our cozy bedroom.

Oh no, that girl up there has no idea what's ahead. But it sure isn't the dreamy, easy, breezy, romantic DIY project she's picturing in her head.

Ok, ok, so in hindsight, it wasn't as dramatic as I'm making it out to be. But it seriously was a lot harder than I thought it would be! And I don't know who these couples are who tackle DIY projects with love and adoration for one another oozing from their pores. But that was not us. It was definitely a growing experience for us as a couple. We argued and had to ask each other for forgiveness more than once. He thought I had some bad ideas, and I thought he had some bad ideas, and we weren't always on the same page. And I think that's life. It's tricky sometimes, and it's tricky to be married. It's not all kisses and rainbows, but it's also sin, and mean, and ugly. I don't like that that's true, I really wanted to report on here how it was such a wonderful experience to do this with Paul, and we just were the perfect team. But  instead we had to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones into something unfamiliar to us both. And I think we were both humbled by it and the fact that we weren't always kind to one another. So in a different way than I was hoping, it was really good for us to do this together, and we did grow closer, and it wasn't easy, and I'm okay with that.

So here we go!  Check out our first major married DIY!

Jenny does a great step by step post on her blog, so be sure to click over to that. But here is a rough outline of what we did. Make lots of buttons. Then, when you realize your fabric is too thick, go back to the store, find thinner fabric in the exact same color, and start over. Woop woop!

Have pegboard cut to size at your local home improvement store. Ours was 61" wide by 38" high. We have a queen bed, and the 38" was because that's what we could fit in our car. Then we mapped out where we wanted our tufts to be and circled those holes on the board on both sides.

Jenny recommends 3" foam, and we ended up getting a piece of 2" and a piece of 1" and adhering  them together to make 3" (we found this to be the cheapest option because we had a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby and they didn't have anything thicker than 3", but you can get 3" yardage cut at Joann's). We used the pegboard to map out our dots on the foam, and then cut out holes in those spots for the buttons to tuft.

We then set up the whole operation on four chairs, so that Paul could work from underneath (like he was working on the underneath of a car) and I could work from the top. We set up the foam on top of the pegboard, then a layer of batting, and finally the 2 yards of velvet.  From the top, I threaded the button through the first hole (starting in the middle and moving outward), and Paul stapled each thread 5 or 6 times zig zagging it around. Here I am with our FIRST tuft completed. Yay!

Then we just got to work! We mapped out 22 tufts total; 7 in the top row, 8 in the middle, and 7 on the bottom. It took about 2 hours I think for us to do them all. We also watched the Duke game during this step. This was upsetting for my dear husband.

At the end I was honestly so tired of the whole operation. I kind of half heartedly finished up the edges and almost lost it when one of the tufts came loose (not my finest moment). We still need to fix the far right tuft, but for now, it is finished! It's currently propped up on two boxes under our bed, but I think once we figure out how we want to secure it's position, we'll raise it a little higher so you can see more of the tufts with the pillows on the bed. Sorry I made the bed so sloppy, but here's the best photo I have!

Overall, we're really happy with it! I must say, it looks better in person. And I'm really happy I went with the olive green. I was really tempted to choose a neutral beige or cream color, but I scolded myself since neutral is my safe tendency. I said "Mariel, NO! Choose something with some color! You MUST!" and so I did. And I'm so happy I listened to me.

See the loose tuft on the right? Grrrrr!

So that's it! I think next year I'm going to ask for a new purse or something less stressful.

Homesick.

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Lately I've been feeling homesick for Illinois. For the most part, Paul and I have completely loved our new home here in Arizona. It's beautiful weather, we have a beautiful apartment, my parents are nearby...the best you could hope for 4 weeks in. But over the past few days I've been having such strong memory flashbacks to times in Illinois – growing up in my parent's home, my 4 years at U of I, being 20 something single living life with dear friends, and then dating and marrying Paul there. And then this morning I woke up with such a strong desire to go "home." I've been weepy all day. I feel ready for this "vacation" to be over and to go back to where I am comfortable, to what I know.

But you know what? I don't really think that God meant for us to always be comfortable. He never promised me that I would always be totally thrilled with exactly where I am, and that I would always have my close friends around me. He didn't say I should just do whatever makes me feel good in life. In fact, many of the times I have drawn the nearest to the Lord have been transition times – periods of my life when I felt nervous or uncomfortable. Like when I went away to college, or worked at a summer camp where I knew no one, or the year I lived in East Asia and even the months that I was back home in the U.S. And I can't imagine that Jesus felt really comfortable living here on earth. So in all honesty, I think this time of mourning or feeling a loss of "home" is a really good reality check for me. Because I don't want to feel too comfortable here on earth. I want to long for eternity with God, for the day I will finally, truly, be home. And until then, I want to choose to be thankful for the uncomfortable times when I think a different situation would make me more happy, and remember that the only one who can fill me with joy is the Lord!

And of course I want to be thankful for my precious husband who has held me today when I cried, brought me flowers and chipotle for lunch, and spoiled me with (heart healthy!) dark chocolate and lots of sweetness. He is the best life partner for me and my favorite person to walk these days of life with.

PDS: My Valentine

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My Valentine. My smile-making, care-giving, sports-loving, selfless-serving, considerate, handsome, jokester, loving, positive, God-honoring husband. Thank you for filling up my cup when it's getting close to empty, for offering me ice-cream every time I get sad, for covering me with blankets when I'm cold, for always flipping to HGTV even if there's a game on, for reminding me everyday that you think I'm beautiful, for working so hard so you can provide for me and for our future family, for fixing my shoe rack and the blinds I broke in our old apartment, for encouraging me in my dreams even when I feel shy about them, for turning off the power bars at night so we can save on our electric bill, for reading your Bible, for keeping the Brita full, and for letting me buy candy at the grocery store. You are the sweetest they come and I'm so thankful to have you in my corner. I love you even more now than when I started writing this post. Happy Valentines Day, my love!