Liebster Award

A few days ago I got nominated by the lovely Nicole for the Liebster Award! At first I had no idea what this meant and just hoped this was a compliment and not like the secret "kick me" sign on the back of the new girl that didn't know better. For reals ya'll-I wouldn't know the difference. But turns out, it's pretty fun and great and I'm so excited to be taking part. So without further ado (or embarrassment using the "ya'll" phrase), let's get started!

Rules are:
•Acknowledge the blog that nominated you
•Tell 11 facts about yourself
•Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger(s) created
•List 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you believe deserve some recognition
•Post 11 questions for them to answer
•Notify them that they've been nominated
•You can't nominate the blog that nominated you


11 Facts about Stephanie @ New Mrs. Adventures

1.) I bruise like a peach. (Odd to start with but let's just get it out there in the open.)

2.) I'm such a girly girl. I grew up in a house full of girls except for my dad who learned early on that he was very outnumbered. So learning to live with Mr. was a shock to my system to say the least. The Lord has been gracious, we have transitioned well, and the blessing of separate bathrooms might have saved us thousands in couple's counseling in the years to come. But there are still moment's where I just shake my head and wonder...example: A couple days ago Mr. got into my bag of nail stuff to find some nail clippers. He pulled out a couple orange sticks and said, babe...why do you use chopsticks to do your nails?? ...speechless...

3.) A few years ago I went through a season of tremendous pain, I finally walked away from a very long, very abusive relationship. A week later my best friend since junior high, who's more like my sister, got diagnosed with cancer. I dropped out of college that semester to help care for her. Praise God, she recovered. But in the end, I think the "world crashing down on me" kind of year it had been caught up with me and I found myself in a pit of depression and anxiety you wouldn't believe. I literally ate, breathed, and lived on Scripture and prayer those days. I hardly slept at night, and vividly remember taking walks in the middle of the night that I would gaze up at the stars with tears streaming down my face saying to God-if I ever get through this, I know I'll never be the same person I was going into this. And I wasn't. Praise God. Sometimes He has to burn the "junk" out of us, and while those flames sure do hurt to a depth we can hardly put words to, we come out pure and refined. Thank You Lord, forever humbly grateful. Anyone else been there?

4.) I'm borderline obsessed with holidays/birthdays/special occasions/totally made up holidays/anniversaries. Basically any excuse for a party with decorations-specifically with a "theme" (because that's when I really shine)-I'm there. Looking back, I've been this way since childhood. I was the kid who always insisted on celebrating everyone's half-birthday's in the family and tried to come up with a "first day of the month party" for each month, running around all day yelling Happy March!! Happy September! Let's make a fancy dinner tonight to celebrate! Weirdo-I know. (For the record, the "first of the month parties" never really took off. Shocking, I know)

5.) My husband's kind of my hero. Really. He loves me in a way there are no words to express it, I'll never understand it. I consider it one of the highest honor's of my life to be considered his.

6.) Sunday's are my favorite. Absolute favorite. Most Sunday nights this convo goes on in our house:
Mr: What's wrong?
Me: Oh nothing. Sunday's just almost over. Not another one for a whole week.
I love church. I love ministry. Those people just aren't my church friends or fellow church members, they're my family too. And every Sunday we gather at my parent's house for a big Sunday family lunch, which I'm always in charge of dessert for. We eat and linger around the table talking and laughing for what seems like never long enough before returning to our own homes for long naps before going back for evening services.

7.) I like caramel. With a side of caramel. (P.s. I've been spelling it carmel my entire life until 2 seconds ago when I just typed it and spell check told me it was wrong. It's like a whole new world over here. How did I go 26 years not knowing this?? Mind. Blown.)

8.) I have a thing for make-up, perfume, and skin care products. It's a terrible habit of mine, and Sephora is my worst enemy in this battle. Now I'm tempted to swing over to their website and browse awhile.

9.) I cannot handle seeing people eat alone. Like in restaurants and such? If I see someone sitting alone it's a fact that I'm either heading over to ask them to join us or I'm going to be miserable the rest of our meal. Though the Mr. tells me some people actually prefer this, I can't wrap my mind around that concept. In high school I had the best group of girlfriends who did everything together, but our table at lunch was always growing by a few people each month because of this issue of mine. We eventually ran out of room and my bff and I had to share a teeny-tiny seat most days.

10.) The Mr.and I's relationship was a crazy whirlwind, that nobody but the good Lord could've seen coming. A few weeks into dating he had to fulfill a speaking engagement with his ministry that took him hundreds of miles away for 2 months. Long distance relationships are always hard, but just baby-less-than-a-month-old long distance relationships seemed impossible. However, we both made a ton of sacrifices that summer, traveling for weekend visits and staying up all night skyping because sleep-time was the only free time available. But on a hot day in August that man of mine finally returned home for good, little did I know he came with a ring in his glove box. And the rest was history.

11.) I've never been to the beach, am bound and determined to change this someday.



11 Questions from Nicole!

1.What's your favorite color?
Pink. Any form, any fashion.

2.What is your favorite place in the world?
Honest? Dork central over here but it would have to in Mr's arms. Nothing safer or sweeter. Specifically under the stars because it takes me back to the days of dating when we were broke college kids who couldn't afford anything but a blanket under the stars talking until we couldn't stay awake any longer. The best.

3.What is your favorite childhood memory (or one that really sticks out)?
Oh man, I was kind of a nutty kid. I think one of my best shining moments was when I was very young, think 3 or 4 years old, and was covered in pink ruffles going up to older gentleman in our church throwing my tiny fist at them saying, "wanna a knuckle sandwich?" Nobody knows where I learned it. My mother is a saint for not giving up on me right then and there.

4.Would you rather cook or eat out?
I love going out because I love an excuse to get dressed up. But I'd have to say cooking.

5.What's your favorite cheat food?
Caramel. And coffee in unhealthy amounts. Sometimes together.

6.What's your guilty pleasure?
See #5.

7.What's your favorite sport?
I kind of giggled when I read this as did any of my friends reading this and picturing me answering this. But if I had to pick one, I'd say tennis. I do love playing tennis. However the way I play probably can't be considered actually playing tennis.

8.Where is your favorite place to shop?
Sephora.

9.What is your biggest regret in life?
I thought about this way too long. But I really don't have any? Not to say I haven't made my mistakes-far, far too many. But I've been shown such grace over my messes of life, and God has been so faithful to use them to further His work in my life and allow me to minister to others out of them, that I couldn't really call them a regret. Mistakes though? Plenty upon plenty. Biggest mistakes would probably be my worry and scaredy-cat tendencies.

10.Who is the one person you can tell anything to?
Mr.

11.Who do you look up to in life?
My mom. Easy peasy. If I could handle half of life with the kind of grace and integrity that she has, I'd consider it a victory.
And goodness the countless ways that God has worked through her in my life.

I'm nominating:
Katy
Saxon
Lauren
Kendra
Francesca
Lauren
Casey
Deanne




My 11 Questions for you Lovely Nominee's:
1.) What made you want to start blogging?
2.) Describe yourself in 3 words
3.) Favorite movie?
4.) What's your #1 most replayed song on your iPod?
5.) What's the hardest thing you've ever done?
6.) What's the best gift you've ever been given?
7.) What story does your family re-tell the most about you being a kid?
8.) Best part about waking up?
9.) Were you named after anyone?
10.) Mountains or beach?
11.) Any special hidden talents?

Have fun ladies! Also-I know I'm adding in an extra rule here-and I'm probably not allowed to do that? But I really want to see your responses!! SO please let me know when/if you participate by answering these questions! Comment or email me so I'm sure to head over and read your response!