I miss Wyatt...

My nephew Wyatt and my sister Carrie and her husband Chris were in town for Christmas. They left this morning and I'm already missing them. I got to spend a lot of time with them but its so bittersweet since they live so far away. Enjoy a few pics of my boy with my new digital camera! We got a bunch of Best Buy gift cards for our wedding and for Christmas so I was able to get one and I only spent $9 of my own. Now I start saving for the big camera (Canon 40D). Enjoy! I'll post more soon!

Wyatt eating a lemon

New Delaware sweatshirt from Aunt Katie

Fudge for friends

Last night I made my homemade fudge for the people in my office. I placed 3 chunks of PB and chocolate fudge (easiest recipe in the world, honest!) into a cellophane bag with a cute handmade tag wrapped around each one. People were delighted to get them this morning. Here is a REAL picture I took with my cellphone. The next best thing while we wait to get a camera.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fudge bags!

Christmas cookies

I'm sorry this has taken me so long to post. I can't stay caught up with life right now so your patience is greatly appreciated. This weekend my sister-in-law, Kayte, came over to make Christmas cookies and to watch movies. It was fun to hang out and share some of our Christmas traditions with eachother.

This is "us" making the cookies.

These are "the cookies".

Here is my husband, "Matt," enjoying the finished product.

So, are you catching on to my creative posting?

In the meantime...

Well, most of you know that I've been going crazy not having a camera to capture most of the fun events in my life for the last 4 months. And, during the youth of this blog, the desire to post pictures makes me even crazier. I've been thinking of a way to make my blog unique to keep readers comin' back until I can post some real photos. So, in the meantime, I will be having a little bit of fun with my entries to help illustrate (in pictures) the everyday occurrences in my life. I hope you enjoy them...and I hope you laugh a little.

Check back soon for an update!

Wedding in Saratoga Springs

Here's are some pictures of the wedding this weekend. Enjoy!

Bridesmaids with Melissa before the rehearsal.
(Julie, Danielle, Kelly, Melissa, Kim, Me, Rachel)

Melissa, Danielle and Me in the limo!

Matt and I after the ceremony

Mr. & Mrs. Sloop

This past weekend, Matt and I made the trek to Saratoga Springs, NY for the wedding of my dear friend Melissa and her new husband, Dave. The winter wedding was beautiful and I had a great time seeing old college friends and those I worked with in Young Life. You can see a few pictures of the wedding here. Melissa had an AMAZING photographer (Rae Barnes) who also did photos of their engagement too, so I'm sure you'll enjoy the pictures. Melissa was my maid of honor and has been a friend for a long time and it was a pleasure to see her marry her best friend. I had a privilege to see their relationship from the beginning.

I hope you enjoy seeing some of these pics!

All I want for Christmas...

I noticed that my posts are becoming more and more sporadic–I apologize for my lack of posting. I think when I started this blog I was anticipating being able to post pictures...then my camera died. So this is on my wish list. A Canon 40D. I've always loved taking pictures, and now, with my family growing, I'll have a lot of people and events to document. So, bear with me until I get my camera, hopefully in the next couple of months. I'm saving diligently. I hope to make it worth your wait. In the meantime, I'll continue posting about life's events.

This past weekend Matt and I got our very first Christmas tree! We braved the freezing rain and drove down the street and got a beautiful tree. Tall and thin...so beautiful. Matt is in DC this week so it's been fun using the time alone to get the house all decked out in Christmas garb! I'll figure out a way to get some pictures up soon!

To all of my faithful readers, keep the posts coming. I check almost everyday!

next steps...

Although some of you have already heard it from me, I thought I'd write about to gather more prayer partners...I've been faced with some unfortunate events at my current job and I don't feel this is where God would have me remain much longer. I have been very unhappy with my work load and the company as a whole seems to be a major step below my initial impression and expectations. My job description has changed drastically since I started and I'm not finding nearly the satisfaction as I have had in any of my previous jobs.

As I explore other options, I hope that you will pray with me about these next steps and that God will open and close doors to guide me in His plan. I will not quit my current job until I find a new position for please pray for perseverance to get through each day.

Any employment ideas are more than welcome!

A Philly Champion...

Yesterday, my husband, Matt ran in the Philadelphia Half-Marathon. Even thought he only trained a small amount, he finished in the top 25% of the half-marathoners! He finshed 13.1 miles in 1:47:21. You can see his complete results here. I was a very proud wife. I would post photos, but like I said before, my camera is broken. I got to record some pretty cool video on my phone at the start. It was very motivating watching people from all ages and shapes and sizes achieve such a great accomplishment. Hopefully it will be me in that pack next year!

256

"What is that number," you ask? My cholesterol. I know, I know–I'm only 24! Well, I love cheese–in any form....cheesesteaks, pizza, by the block, grilled cheese, and most of all, parmesan.

Not sure what spurred on my desire to get it checked. I saw dad's numbers the other night and knew I am not so disciplined when it comes to eating right. So, I went into CardioKinetics (My husband's family's company) and all of the siblings checked it for me.

It was eerily quiet in the room when they first read the number. And I burst into laughter. But, I did leave there with more than just a bruised finger. I got great advice from my brother-and-sister-in-laws...

So, no more eating cheese by the block, and more veggies (ick).

my girls...

Before I moved to Delaware, I babysat for a little girl named Lilly on a regular basis. Paul and Kathy, Lilly's parents became fast friends of mine. My roommate, Melissa, and I went from just babysitting to going over to their house for dinner, and they even took us on vacation with them! (picture to the right-Lilly and me on the beach) We became part of the family very quickly. I taught Lilly how to curl her tongue (picture to the right-Lilly when she was about a year old) and she was also the flower girl in our wedding. This Spring, Kate became a new addition to the Bruder family. I only got to watch Kate a couple of times before I moved home.


Anyway, Kathy sent me these pictures yesterday and I thought they were appropriate to share. These are my girls, growing up quickly. For those of you who know Lilly and Kate, you'll appreciate these.

visiting with sisters...

So I've been home alone this week as Matt is in Kansas City for work. I've taken advantage of my independence and done things like stay at Decorative Distributors (my favorite decorating store) for hours, visiting friends far away, and eating Taco Bell and Grotto's pizza for dinner.
Last night Amy and I (Carrie, you were totally missed-love you) drove down to Towson to visit Laura and Shawn and see their renovation in progress. They bought an awesome and old bungalow style house built in the 1920's in a really cool neighborhood. Since Shawn owns a remodeling business, he took on this project shortly after they got married and hasn't stopped since. They're living in Laura's apartment for now until the house is livable. Shawn was asking about paint color and various design choices. I'm really excited to see it in its more finished stages. It will be a pleasure to visit Laura and Shawn in their new house! Next time I go I'll take pictures so you can see it!

I know I already posted photos of the fuzzy dice costumes but here are a couple that Kristy sent to me that are hilarious. We went to a costume party in Lancaster a few weekends ago and since we didn't have our camera Kristy took some and just sent them. Enjoy :)Happily Married Dice! & Matt not looking too thrilled with the costumes I made :)

Lynchburg, football and family

This weekend, Matt and I drove down to Lynchburg, VA to visit Matt's cousin Brandon and his wife, Ashleigh. Brandon is the Quarterbacks coach/Passing game coordinator for the Liberty University football team. We arrived late friday night and stayed up until about 1am talking with Bran and Ash. We did a little shopping saturday then to the game in the afternoon. Liberty games are fun because the fans/students have a lot of spirit and energy. Sunday we woke up and started the drive back home. The car trip was fun....Virginia is beautiful in the fall...but we were glad when we got to take a pit-stop at Matt's other cousins' houses in Northern VA near DC. It was fun to catch up with the Streeters and the Wivells and of course get a kiss from almost 2-year-old Braden. Here he is in his Pirate costume for Halloween with his dad Jason. He kept saying "ARRRRRGG" and "walk the plank."


We left Ashburn to take Matt to the airport after that. Matt is in Kansas City this week until friday morning. I have plans to visit Laura in Baltimore, go shopping with friends, and do some projects around the house. The bed was very big last night....

fuzzy what?

That's right, I made my husband suck it up and put on a pink fuzzy dice costume. And, although we didn't win "best costume" it was a proud accomplishment for me as the wife of an all-star athlete to actually get Matt to wear something so goofy.....I mean, cool. I had to go big this year since previous years I was an over-sized pumpkin and a whoopie cushion. It was nice to have a pair this year–it makes the costumes more interesting sometimes.

The Halls- our "no leg" shot

Me and Sarah...I mean Thelma

remember when?

My digital camera is broken right now so any photos I post are old....like this one.

Hi, my name is Peter

Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Peter's denial of Christ in Mark. We talked about what would cause the change in Peter to be adamantly committed to being a follower of Christ then turning around and doing exactly what Christ predicted–denying Him three times.

Then I pictured myself as Peter, and pictured my workplace and community as the courtyard of the high priest. And I thought to myself, "how many times do I get totally empowered to be bold for Christ while I'm sitting in church on Sunday, and how many times do I enter my office with the purpose of representing Christ, like Peter did as he entered the courtyard...and most of the time I just keep to myself and my boldness becomes a little dimmer. How many times do I say "I'm sorry you're fighting with your husband. I'm sure it will work out." When I should be saying "I'm sorry you're fighting with your husband, but God has a purpose for this and I'll be praying for you." I may not deny Him, but the reflection is blurry.

Once.
Twice.
Three times.

I'm no different.

funny conversation

I was reading some of my blog to Matt tonight and I got to "my favorite things" list. When I finished reading, Matt exclaimed, "You like hiking."

I have never claimed that hiking is one of my favorite things. I like it, yes, but it's not list-worthy.

Well, Matt thinks so.

I chuckled. I hope you did too.

embracing accusation...

Matt and I went to a Shane&Shane concert a couple weeks ago and we purchased their new Pages CD. They sang a song called "Embracing Accusation." I've been playing it for the last two weeks straight. It's based off a passage in Galatians 3 where Paul talks about the law as opposed to faith in Christ.
The song talks about how the devil, so many times, tries to remind us that we don't measure up–and that we are cursed if we cannot abide by the laws and obey them. Then, in the second part of the passage he explains that our shortcomings should remind us that faith in Christ and His righteousness is the righteousness that saves us–NOT our ability to abide by the law.

Hallelujah.

You should listen to the song but here are the words:

The father of lies coming to steal, kill and destroy all my hopes of being good enough

I hear him say, "cursed are the ones who can't abide."
He's right.
Halleluja!
He's right.
The devil is preaching the song of the Redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray, I cannot gain salvation.
Embracing accusation.

Could the father of lies be telling the truth of God to me tonight.
If the penalty of sin is death then death is mine
I hear him say, "cursed are the ones that can't abide"
He's right.
Hallelujah!
He's right!
The devil is preaching the song of the Redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray, I cannot gain salvation.

The devil's singing over me an age-old song,
that I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me He's forgotten the refrain...

Jesus saves.

"But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith."

newly wed...

fingers on keys....hmmm

Since my life as a blogger is still in its infancy, I find myself wanting to write about 10 million things. I worry about other, more novice bloggers passing judgment and criticism on my blog (ahem, and my grammar–dulcimer.hope). Or, even more terrible, I risk losing (or NOT gaining) readers. I hope to be so "up-to-date" with my blogging that the things I share don't seem to be random or out of place.

So...where to start.

I'll give you a summary of my life in the past 2 years or so.

Since graduating from Messiah, I worked as the designer for Seek magazine, affiliated with the Brethren in Christ Church. I also worked as a volunteer Young Life leader at Cumberland Valley High School where I also coached girls volleyball. After a year and a half there, my time in South Central Pennsylvania ended. In January, Matt and I got engaged, and I became a "Delawarian" again this past May (2007). On August 25, 2007 we were married! Now, Matt and I live in Newark, DE where he works for his family's company, CardioKinetics Inc., and I work as a Marketing Specialist/Graphic Designer for The CBI Group, both here in Newark.

There's the boring details....

one

Well, even though I created my blog months ago, this is my first entry. I'm not sure what the purpose of it will be—I have no children so I wont be publishing new photos of them. Maybe I could post pictures of Matt growing up? I hope I can use it for an outlet of my thoughts and what I'm learning, and of course, as an update for my family and friends away from me...or sitting near me who just want to see. read.