Moving!!!

We no longer live in a One Bedroom Apartment...so does that mean I need to change the title of my blog? I'm not really sure....I'll think about it. Anyway, we moved into a two bedroom duplex! Whoopeee!! It's so pretty and lovely and wonderful and fun! We love it. We moved in this weekend, and there is still stuff everywhere, but it will all come together eventually. I hope:) I can't wait to have people over and all that fun jazz! I don't have pictures yet, but I will work on it. Maybe I'll do it room by room as I get things put together...that's the blog way of doing it, right? Well, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Here's a pretty picture of my mom and I when we went home for my birthday:)

Isn't she so pretty??

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Here is a fun, fairly easy cookie recipe that is just plain cute! I'll try to give credit where it is due but I kind of mix and matched a couple recipes. I used this recipe but I followed these directions on preparing the actual cookies. But they turned out wonderful! I'm sure there is a mixture of these two recipes somewhere but I couldn't find it so I made it work. This link has a good picture tutorial for the process. I forgot to take pictures as I was doing it or I would have been all creative-like and put a picture story here. Oh well, maybe next time. I'll get better:) Well, here are how my cookies turned out.

It's a not-so-good iphone picture because I had already put a lot of them in baggies when I remembered I should take a picture! The recipe made a ton of cookies so I've been giving them away all week! It's been so much fun!! You should try it. The hardest part was probably putting the food coloring paste in because my hands got messy, but other than that it is easy-peasy. My next big endeavor will be pumpkin!! Pumpkin cheesecake...pumpkin bread...pumpkin muffins(?)....who knows!!

Good Word. Good Reminder.

John Piper from 1995:
 

Test yourself. What is your mindset? Do you begin with God and his rights and goals? Or do you begin with yourself and your rights and wishes?

And when you look at the death of Christ, what happens? Does your joy really come from translating this awesome divine work into a boost for self-esteem? Or are you drawn up out of yourself and filled with wonder and reverence and worship that here in the death of Jesus is the deepest, clearest declaration of the infinite esteem of God for his glory and for his Son?

Here is a great objective foundation for the full assurance of hope: the forgiveness of sins is grounded, finally, not in my finite worth or work, but in the infinite worth of the righteousness of God — God's unswerving allegiance to uphold and vindicate the glory of his name.

I appeal to you with all my heart, take your stand on this. Base your life on this. Ground your hope in this. You will be free from the futile mindset of the world. And you will never fall. When God's exaltation of God in Christ is your joy, it can never fail.

Excerpted from Did Christ Die for Us or for God?

(via desiringgod.org)

Check it Out!

I just thought I'd share some things that make me smile these days:)

We have a new frozen yogurt place here in Macon! I thought the day would never come. I found out about it last week, and have been there 3 times since then! I love it! La Berry!

Boots. I'm ready for fall. I want some brown boots. You know, the "go with everything" kind. They are just so dang pricey; I guess you pay for what you get....These or these or these

Headbands. You see, I like headbands. They have just always made my head hurt, but I've discovered I can wear the "stretchy" kind. My mom got me one a few weeks ago that I love, and I would love a few more styles. This one isn't really a headband, but isn't it lovely! But this is what I'm really talking about.

Minesweeper. I know, weird, but I've been kind of addicted to it on my phone, except I can't beat my time anymore so it's not as much fun.

McDonald's Smoothies! Have you tried them? They're so good! I love the Mango Pineapple ones. I have to restrain myself from going like EVERY morning!

Jared. He probably makes me smile the most these days:) He's such a cutie, and I love laughing with him!



Hope you have a few things to make you smile too!

My new favorite thing!

I have a new favorite thing. You see, I like coffee. But, for some reason it hasn't really been too appetizing lately. And, I've found that I need coffee if I am to wake up and accomplish anything in the mornings. So, I've started drinking Iced coffee. It is working fabulously! It's not like the best iced coffee I've ever had or anything, and I know there are better ways to make it, but it works for me!

I simply brew a double pot of coffee. Fill a glass up with ice. Pour milk over the ice. Pour coffee in the cup. Sprinkle a little bit of Vanilla Sugar on top. Stir. Enjoy! I leave the rest of coffee in the pot until the next morning. And, the next morning, it's even better because it doesn't melt all the ice. 

Again, I know it's not the best, but it gets the job done in the morning!

Have a good Monday!

Labor Day!

We get a day off! Yippee! What to do with a whole day off....hah! I'll probably try to work on this paper due Friday, and well, maybe we'll go do something exciting this afternoon. What, you ask? Maybe go to the pool, or to the park, or to a movie, or maybe we'll just rent a movie. Whatever we do, we'll enjoy it:) Hope you have a fantastic Labor Day Holiday!! Thank you Lord for teaching me how to rest.

We have a Birthday Boy!

I know I am so very late, but Jared's birthday was last month. It wasn't anything crazy and exciting, but we did our best:) We had balloons, signs, cake, gifts, and friends! I love Jared so so much! He means the world to me! I'm so blessed to have him as a husband and a friend. I pray that God continues to grow, challenge, and encourage him as he begins another year of life. I pray that I can be his help, his encouragement, and his support. Thank you Lord for blessing Jared with another year of life; I pray that it is used to lift up His name in Macon and in the world.

Happy Birthday Jared!!

(via Instagram)

I've got some post ideas, so hopefully there will be more to come!

Adrienne

Week at a Glance

Last week we went to the 'ol Birmingham to see family and friends. It was a refreshing visit. I forgot my fancy camera, so I resorted to Instagram, which worked quite well I think. The pictures may be a little more random but that is OK. So here we go:

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This kept us going on the way over there; it always does :)

 On Tuesday, we went to the McWane Center, which is like a hands-on science center for kids. We went with my sister-in-law, Anna, my mom, and our two nephews. It was a lot of fun! 

Jared is in a smoke tornado with Jordan-I think. 

Later, we went to eat at a local pizza place with them and my brother joined.

 This is their whole family; even baby Asa made it in the picture:)

This is what most of the rest of the week looked like- 

playing "Hanging with friends" on the iPhone or...

reading my new book. So far it is very good. It's really making me think, and changing my perspective on a lot of things. I may give a further review once I've finished it. 

On Friday and Saturday, Jared was in a wedding in Mississippi, so we went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday, and this is my hair-do. I don't normally take pictures of my hair, but I finally bought bobby pins and was able to pin my hair up (I was actually taking the picture to see if it looked good or not). I thought it was rather pretty:)

And this was the best part of the whole week- well maybe not the best but the most adventurous- we stayed in a real life cabin in the deep country of Mississippi. It was so cute, as you can see. It was literally one big room with a kitchen and bathroom. It was fun for one night, not sure I would do it for much longer than that, but it really was nice. The people were extremely kind to let us stay there for the night, seeing that we had no where else to stay:) 

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And that is all the pictures from the week. I wish I had thought to take pictures with people. It'll happen one of these days. I didn't even take a picture of one of the most exciting parts of the weekend. Two of our good friends got engaged Sunday night, and we had a big surprise party. It was so much fun; I love it! I'm so excited for the two of them; I can't wait to see how God uses them together to spread His name.  

Well, now we're back to normal life. We jumped right into a busy week this week. And we're into a nice relaxing weekend now. I start school on Monday, so that'll definitely be keeping me busy for a while. 

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Now, I have one more picture to share as I close:

Thank you, Lord, for cool summer rains. 

Have a good weekend!

It's been such a long time...

It's been a while, but I haven't really had much to write about. All I've been doing is school. Really. But now I'm finished for a couple weeks, so maybe something exciting will happen:) Well, what do ya know...something exciting is happening! We're going to Birmingham!!! Yay Yay Yay! We're going for a whole week! It'll be so good to see friends and family. Well, I'll leave you with two things. A list from Desiring God that I would love to just hang up in my home because it is such a good reminder. And some pictures from our phones that is just a glimpse into our boring lives. hah! Enjoy!

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Jesus is not naive in how he deals with our anxiety. He knows what he is doing. It seems simple, but it's actually grace. So we should trust him, and believe it, and preach it to our souls. 

1. Life is more than food and the body more than clothing (Matthew 6:25).
2. God feeds the birds and you are more valuable than they are (Matthew 6:26).
3. It's pointless. It adds not one hour to your life (Matthew 6:27).
4. If God clothes ephemeral grass, he will clothe eternal you (Matthew 6:28-30).
5. Unbelievers are anxious about stuff. And you are not an unbelieve r(Matthew 6:32a).
6. Your father (!) knows that you need all these things you're anxious about (Matthew 6:32b).
7. When you seek first God's kingdom and righteousness, what you need is added to you.
8. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Tomorrow's trouble stays there (Matthew 6:34).

(Read the whole post here)

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This has been my life for the past...summer.

 Free Tea Day! I missed it, but Jared got some:)

 My sweet little C. She sure does keep me busy whenever I keep her, 

but she always manages to turn around and win my heart again!

This is our Friday night:) 

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies, a glass of milk, and a movie:)

Soooo Good!

Have a good weekend!!

6 Months!

It's hard to believe it's already been 6 months! It has been the best 6 months too! I'm so thankful for Jared and the love he has for me, for people, and for his God. It has been so much fun learning to live together, and just getting to enjoy one another, whether we're taking a spontaneous trip to Atlanta, or sitting on the couch watching Lost episodes. I grow so much more in love with him every day. I am so looking forward to our life together, each day. 

Our 6 months was actually on July 1, so this is a little late but oh well. We were gifted a gift certificate to Natalia's, so we decided to use it to celebrate our 6 months of marriage:) It was fun! We dressed up and ate nice food; then we came home and put on our pajamas and sat on the couch! (I made him take pictures first though)

(our apartment has awful lighting, and I haven't figured it all out on this camera)

That's it! Have a good weekend! It's storming here all weekend. I guess we'll be trying to stay dry, and using our new rain jackets, finally!

Cupcakes...

Well, I deemed tonight's adventure to be blog-worthy. I've recently been on a new food/recipe kick. I find much happiness from making good food. So far, it has been fairly successful. UNTIL, tonight. Tonight, I took a stab at some baking. So far, in my married life, my baking successes have been slim, but I do like to bake. I saw these cupcakes at A Beautiful Mess (she has lots of pretty things to write about!). I thought they sounded yummy, but I'm not a huge raspberry person. So I decided to do strawberry instead. I had most of the ingredients minus this and that. So tonight, the adventure began(dun dun dun). And, surprisingly, it went well. Everything tasted good, and looked good up until I told Jared he could finally have one......no one told me I have to spray cupcake liners!!!!....they are all stuck:( So....These strawberry-creme filled cupcakes fall apart when you try to eat them. What a bummer! Oh well, at least I know they taste good. I don't really know what to do with them now. I can't really give them away...maybe some good friends will indulge in the delicious messiness. Oh well, one good thing is I got to use my cake decorator contraption:) It was fun. Well, here are the pretty, deceitful cupcakes.

This is them with the creme-filling, before the icing. 

 And, this is the finished product!

And, this is the best part.....

So sad, but yummy...

Sweet Fellowship with the Father

I have found that it takes a firm commitment to make daily devotions consistent. However, I have often felt guilty if this time isn't as long as I think it should be or if I don't cover all the disciplines I think are important. It has taken years for me to realize that God doesn't love me because I have a quiet time--He just loves me! This knowledge alone has increased my desire to be with Him.

How important it is to come to our quiet time, not with the fear that God will punish us if we miss, but eager to meet Him--to learn, to grow and to find sweet fellowship with a Father who loves us far more than we could ever imagine. 

-Sandy Smith from A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

(via The Macs)

Week at a Glance + Beach Time!

Well last week flew by! I wanted to get a post in with pictures this weekend but it didn't happen. School is starting to keep me a bit busy. The beach was so much fun! We met Jared's family down there and spent the weekend with them. It was short, but we had a wonderful time! Anyway, here are some pictures from last week along with our beach pictures. Some of them are from instagr.am.

Slip n' Slide!!! So much fun:)

 We went on our walk, and it proceeded to rain on our way back...

 I made these delicious cookies...Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies!! Yes:)  I will definitely be making these again.

And now for some beach pictures...

On our 6 hour drive to Destin...we woke up REALLY early....

Our awesome broken tv in our hotel room...wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't taken 30 min to not be able to find our reservation. Oh the joys of traveling...

 They played in the waves the whole time...

(Nathan-Jared's brother, Jared, Don-Jared's dad, and Caleb-Jared's brother)

Jared's parents. I think this is such a great picture!

Well, that's it! I'm still trying to get into the habit of taking more pictures. It's taking time. I may or may not be back this week... I've got a few tests coming up!!

Fun things:)

Well, this has ended up being a decently busy week. Two tests, and I have a paper due next Monday...PLUS we're going to the beach!!! I'm so excited, even though it is only for like a day. I'll take it though. Well, here are some fun things I've come across recently...

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I think these backpacks are perfect. I wish I had a reason to get one:)

I love this website. I got my last purse here, and I think it's about that time again. I want this one!

Oh if only Anthropologie wasn't so pretty. This dress makes me smile.

I want to make this.

Aren't these so fun!

(www.cutestfood.com)

This store has the best prints. I want this one.

I like these.

I want to make this.

 (diyideas.com)

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Well, we're making the big trip to the beach here soon! I can't wait!!

Thoughts...

I had a whole other post picked out to write for today until I read this. It really hit home so I decided to share. This an aspect of saving grace that I don't think about so often. I think this affected me especially because of what I love to do. I love to think, and discover, and create. So often, I forget that it is my Savior who makes all of that possible. 

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(via Desiring God blog)


Jesus, Help Us Think
Throughout the history of ideas there have been sprouts of thought that claim the mind to have a naturally transcendent capacity, dwarfing the commonality of our other faculties, never leading us astray.

This is not so, though its persuasion is terribly subtle. Thinking can be easy and regular such that we often drift from one project to the next, presuming we'll gather all the data and start down the right path every time.

We think a lot, but we don't always think rightly. The effects of sin taint our ability to reason as much as our ability to choose — yes, we are that broken.

John Webster writes,

Like all other aspects of human life, reason is a field of God's sanctifying work. Reason, too — along with conscience, the will and the affections — must be reconciled to the holy God if it is to do its work well (Holiness, [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003], 10).

We're going to think today and unless we remember that our thinking is fallen we're going to operate in some mode that functions as if it doesn't really need the blood and victory of Jesus, naively entrenching ourselves in the mire of self-sufficiency.

So let us pause for a moment — stop and think — and let us be overwhelmed that our thinking has never produced one good thing in and of ourselves. . . . (see, even that thought about our thinking is not from us). "What have we thought right that we have not received? If then we received it, how can we boast as if we did not receive it and go on thinking like we're not desperate for grace?"

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I have to  remember that every good thought or idea is not because of anything I do, it is only possible through Jesus Christ. 

Foto Friday

I am going to try this blog thing out, and see where it goes.

We'll start with some fun photos from our week; not exciting, but it is what it is. 

It rained this afternoon. It was pretty. 

 My sad-looking plants are getting some fresh rain 

(if you look hard you can see my two red tomatoes!)

 School is so much fun...not.

 He loves Xbox:)

 These are two very different shirts ( I thought they were the same shirt when I opened the package; I am apparently very wrong).

And that's our week. I think we're going to a movie this weekend! Maybe some X-men....:)