April In Our Home

                April  2013

     April was a pretty typical month for our little life together. The weather has finally caught up to spring, and it is wonderful! I have our windows up as much as possible, even if that means wearing a light jacket inside. I'm absolutely loving seeing new blooms and green leaves on trees each time we go for a walk. Oh, and there are so many tulips here that are absolutely beautiful! It's rather neat to see everything now after the cold and gray winter. 

     That's kind of like the seasons of life. When we're in the colder, harder season all we wish for is to be on to the next. Yet, if it weren't for the winter rest the spring wouldn't be quite as enjoyable. Yet, even with that acknowledgement of the purposefulness of seasons I still struggle with the acceptance in certain areas. The greater the struggle the greater the need for full reliance on God. I know that He has a purpose for this season, and it's my heart that needs to be resolved to trust Him and follow Him while waiting. I'm reminded of a passage in The Resolution for Women in which the author, Priscilla Shirer says:

      Whatever He's given or not given, He's done for a specific reason -- a reason know only

      to Him perhaps but one you can trust with full confidence, sight unseen. Every decision  

      you need to make, every task you need to accomplish, every relationship you need to 

      navigate, every element of daily life you need to traverse, God has already perfectly 

      matched up with an equivalent-to-overflowing supply of His grace. (pg. 21)

      One blessing of this season is the attentiveness we are able to show our marriage. One of my creative-person delights is to plan fun little date nights for us.We try to have at least two designated date nights a month. Sometimes I plan things, and sometimes David surprises me with an idea of his own. This month, I planned a "Cooking Challenge Date Night" that was inspired by the Food Network show- "Chopped." (I'll have more details, pictures and some video clips in another post later). Essentially, we each had $10 to purchase three ingredients each. The ingredients were kept a secret and each person had to select one food item at random for the meal occasion. Our secret ingredients were: steak, celery root, canned pumpkin, coconut soda, fennel, and brie cheese. So, we had to make an appetizer, entree, or dessert dish around each one of those ingredients. Oh man, I was so thankful that steak was not selected for dessert! The only wild one was David selected celery root for the dessert round. He came up with a celery root pudding (in the style of rice pudding). It was...interesting. haha! The entire Cooking Challenge date night was so much fun! I love simple and creative dates!

     April also saw a lot of hobby projects. I have had a lot of fun creating a spring wreath for the front door (source). I also took a DIY approach to decorating our dining room. I made some burlap placemats, menu board, chair cushions, a tablecloth and a centerpiece. I still have to come up with some curtains before calling the room complete. I have material picked out, and am waiting for it to go on sale. Then, of course, I turn make the curtain rod and curtain panels into DIY projects. In the meanwhile, I finally found material that would work well in our living room. I gathered my craft store coupons to purchase the material. However, I was only able to get two yards for the curtains and lacked six more. One benefit to having friends and family elsewhere in the country is that I could make a call to ask for the material to be purchased there and shipped to me. In the end, it took three stores and two states to get the full amount. I've got quite a lot of sewing to do for May!

       David has finished his drum project. He removed the silver wraps off and stained the wood. They look amazing! He's also taken advantage of the warmer weather by getting out to the driving range. I've joined him a couple of times. I'm trying to learn, so golf can be an activity we can enjoy together. I can see some benefits from having previously been a tennis player. The hard part for me is keeping the club closer to the ground, but not too close. I made too much of an effort to bring the club down on one swing and whacked the club onto the concrete pretty hard. Timing our driving range trips for when no one else is around is essential. haha! I guess we'll just have to keep at it!

      
     Lastly, what would a peek inside our home be without some food pictures? haha. We spend a significant amount of time in the kitchen. We both love to cook. It's also a great delight to come together over a meal. 

      We've extended this idea to our small group gatherings. We've hosted twice this month, and thoroughly enjoyed opening our home in hospitality. God has really blessed us with this wonderful group of friends. We are so excited for the future of this group. Next month, others have offered to host. I love the idea of gathering with friendship within each others' homes. There is just something beautiful about extending friendships and gathering together to be a part of everyday life. 

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