Random Thoughts...

Re-washing already clean laundry because I have left them in the washer too long is one of my biggest pet peeves. Happened twice this week. Really?!

Lately if I feel like a good cry I just pull up Ron Pope's "You're the Reason I Come Home" on YouTube and think of the Mr and boo-hoo. Beautiful.

I've been afraid to speak this out loud-I know a lot of passionate people about this one (including my sister). But the Mr and I had the time of our lives putting up the Christmas tree a couple of Saturday's ago. It was like we were kids sneaking cookies out of the cookie jar or something-wrong...but not so bad...you know? In no means does this mean I am skipping over Thanksgiving! Since we don't really celebrate Halloween in our home, we focus on Thanksgiving the entire Fall season (because it's very important to us). I just have a pretty Christmas tree to add to my "Thankful List".
Still be my friend??

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this is my first Thanksgiving at my parents house to get to contribute something to the meal and I'm thrilled! I'm not at all providing the whole she-bang. Just a side or dessert and maybe an appetizer for before the meal. I've been trying out different recipes on the Mr. for the past few weeks to try to find just the perfect ones.
Any ideas?? I'd love your input! Think random side that you can't live without/unique dessert/favorite appetizer?

Almost finished with our 2012 Family Book.
Almost 2 years to complete that project is normal, right??

Back to the Christmas topic-I am attempting to make a lot of our decorations this year, so I'm starting early so that they are ready to go in Decemember. Things I'm attempting: stockings out of heirloom family blankets (no pressure there right?), our family Advent calendar that we can use for many years to come, a unique twist on garland, and an ornament chandelier out of some beautiful ornaments I found in the back of an antique store in the middle of Spring. Watch out for some diy posts coming up on some of these projects!
Especially if they actually work!!

Tasty Tuesday-Best Chicken Ever {Crockpot Edition!}

Ok friends-I almost didn't share this recipe, because it doesn't really feel like a recipe? I thought about doing the normal "Tasty Tuesday" thing on here with the pics and full write up. But it felt too similar to snapping pics and writing up a recipe for "The Best Glass of Ice Water You've Ever Had". Not so much, you know?

But then my first bite into this dish the other night and I thought dang it why didn't I get pics of this? I've got to share this one!! So sadly there are no pictures for this one, nor a "recipe" as one would know a recipe to look like. But I do think this is the best, moistest, most tender, and easiest (ok enough adjectives there) chicken I've ever had.

Roughly chop up a yellow onion and place this in the bottom of your crockpot. (No science here to the size you want to chop your onion pieces. I had Mr do this for me while I got ready in a hurry that morning, so that gives you an idea of how mine looked. Just whatever you know.)

Next take a whole fryer chicken, mine was roughly a little over 5lbs. Place it on top of your onions in the crockpot and season however you want. If you want to make this into some mexican dishes, throw on some taco seasoning. Italian dishes-garlic powder and italian seasoning. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with mine, so I kept it pretty basic with salt, pepper, and a tad of all-purpose seasoning salt (which I later realized was over a year old. Clearly it's time to clean out the spice cabinet.)

Pop the lid on and set the crockpot on high for 6-7 hours or until the chicken is completely done and falling apart.

That's it. So even though I still feel a little silly for sharing a recipe that feels as easy as sharing how to make ice water, I hope you try it and love it. We enjoyed it that night paired with some veggies on the side, and today I made delicious homemade chicken noodle soup out of the leftovers. A crockpot recipe + leftovers that can be turned into a million different dishes=the best.



Linking up with: Emily and Mandy.

The Marriage Mission Field (Part 2)

{part 1 here}

There is no fear in love.- 1 John 4:18
Before I had opened my eyes, my mind(worries) had already taken off. The weight of the anxiety of marriage combined with the normal stress of wedding planning was weighing on me to say the very least. It all just seemed too much and this particular day I remember feeling like the move from the bed to the floor was akin to walking to China. Impossible.

With eyes still closed, tears started escaping and the cry of my heart was more a desperate plea than a simple prayer. God...I HAVE TO KNOW. Can I really do this? Can I really be a wife? Can I leave my family? Can I let down every single wall, let go of every single reservation I've ever had of marriage and devote myself completely? All of my doubt fears came from me-not the Mr. My love for him was sincere and huge, in fact if I didn't have that love for him I probably wouldn't have made it this far in our relationship. I couldn't bear to think of a life without him. But I also couldn't bear to think of giving him a half-hearted life with a half-there wife. It was all or nothing. That's what he deserved.

As I cried out in desperation this verse slowly and quietly began to circle my mind...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love...There is no fear in love.

And that was the day I knew. Not the day my fears went away, I still struggled with the fears of what if I wouldn't be enough/do marriage "well enough", but deep down that verse kept resounding in my head and that was enough to remind me...keep going...keep trying...this is right.

Marriage isn't about me anyways. I believe it to be the greatest demonstration of God's love towards us on this earth. We are called to die to self and become one with our spouse, which is not always easy, but in complete honesty-its the been biggest blast.

I'm not sure what most brides think during that moment on their wedding day right before they walk down the aisle. You know what I mean? The moment where all of the pre-ceremony/getting ready hullabaloo dies down, in front of you is your family in their prospective seats, your smiling bridal party, and that darned cute groom of yours. All that's left is you. A part of me thinks that most brides think of something more profound than I did. But I distinctly remember a prayer I simply whispered. It was something of repentance of my lack of trust in Him the past few months, combined with a plea to help me do this right. Not the walking down the aisle thing (although I'm sure my bridesmaids had some kind of bet as to at which point this klutz was going to wipe out) but the becoming the wife I knew I had been called to be.

And even though it's a day by day (sometimes hour by hour) process, He has been faithful to do just that.

Scripture Sunday