Last year at this time...

I married my best friend and the man of my dreams! On August 29, 2009, I said “I do” to my husband. It was a wonderful day! Here are some pictures of us from our wedding day.

"I have found the one whom my soul loves." - Song of Songs 3:4

This place

This is where my husband and I began dating—where he and I would flirt from afar as I sang in the choir loft. It is the place that kept us rooted during college. It is where we vowed to love and honor each other forever. It is the place where our relationships with Christ, both together and apart, have been strengthened.

And it is the place we will miss the most when we move.

We are both so grateful for the amazing time we’ve had at Watkinsville First Baptist Church. We truly feel like we are part of a family there. I have never been at a church like this before—where scripture is taught as the inspired word of God, where worship is passionate, and where people are authentic and welcoming. 

We have had so many older couples pour into us over and over—the Rattis, the Heards, the Freeses, and others... And Tim has had the guidance of several strong Christian men like college pastor Vic Doss, discipleship minister David Holt, and Sunday School teacher Lat Heard. Seeing Tim grow and mature in his walk has been so inspiring and I am forever grateful to these men for encouraging him regularly. They have helped him become a wonderful spiritual leader for our family.

We recently started a small group with some couples from our Sunday School class for newlyweds and we have had such a good time getting to know them better. I regret that we have to leave them behind. We will miss you Drakes, Hussains, and Williamses.

We will miss it all so much.

Bottom line, though, I trust God is sending us somewhere because He has big plans for us. Wherever we are sent, God is there.

Menu Monday

Because I like to have a plan for what we have going on during the week, for the past several months I have been planning our dinners for the entire week before I go to the grocery store.

When I am planning meals, I get my recipe book and my latest Cooking Light magazine so I can skim through them at the dining room table. I also use my laptop so I can search for new recipes on some of my favorite sites like Eating Well and Real Simple.

Normally I plan out our meals on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Here is our menu for this week.

Monday night: Cumin-spiced chicken with chunky tomato sauce, black beans and rice, and fresh corn on the cob. This is a new recipe that I’ve never tried before. I found it on Cooking Light’s website.

Tuesday night: I generally work until 10 or 11 o’clock at night on Tuesdays so we actually eat dinner with my parents because their house is about 2 miles away from my office and I can get there really quick on my dinner breaks. Also, it pretty much makes my parents’ week to get to see us.

Wednesday night: Creamy shrimp with corn and bacon and a tossed salad. This is one of our favorite recipes. I found it in Real Simple magazine a couple of years ago. It is our version of comfort food.

Thursday night: Eating Well tacos with sautéed bell peppers and onions and fruit salad. I love Mexican food, but this recipe is supposedly a healthier version of your average taco. We’ll see….

Friday night: Lemon pepper shrimp scampi with sautéed fresh green beans. This is one of Tim’s favorite meals. He used to be really picky about eating, but since we’ve been married he has been a lot more adventurous. We eat shrimp at least once a week now. This recipe is from Cooking Light. 

Saturday night: Grilled pork tenderloin with spicy soy sauce, brown rice, and steamed broccoli. This is a new recipe from Eating Well’s website. I discovered the website recently and I really love their recipes because they’re healthy and tasty. 

Sunday night: Mango baked chicken, cous cous, and steamed broccoli. This is a recipe from Publix.

Get a job...check!

So yesterday Tim officially accepted the job with the NRCS. His first day on the job will be Sept. 13 in Griffin, Ga. We’re still trying to figure out the logistics of when I should put in my resignation and when we should move and where and all that, but we feel beyond blessed right now. Tim has been trying to find a job in the engineering field for more than a year, so this is definitely an answered prayer. Some other things are seeming to work together as well at the moment so we can definitely see God’s hand in this. But we’ll talk more about that another time. 

Saturday we had planned to go to Griffin to look for somewhere to live, but my boss sent an e-mail out today saying that we would have to work this weekend. So Tim will probably go by himself. I have instructed him to take pictures of the places and keep notes on their features, price, etc. and that way we can narrow them down and I can go look at places with him another time. 

A little about us…

So I’ll start off this blog by telling a little about my husband and me.

My name is Jessica and I’m 25. I will celebrate my first wedding anniversary with my husband at the end of the month. We met in high school in a French class, but didn’t officially date until we met again at church while we were both attending the University of Georgia. I have a degree in journalism, which I have so far used as a reporter and writer at two small-town newspapers in Madison, Ga., and Watkinsville, Ga. Due to my husband’s new job in another town though, I am about to be unemployed for the first time in 8 years! I grew up in the Watkinsville/Athens area and this will be the first time I’ve ever lived anywhere else. I enjoy cooking, reading, and photography and I love being a wife.

My husband is fantastic. He makes me laugh, gives great backrubs, and always washes the dishes after I make dinner. It’s a rule. He gets irritated if I try to help. Otherwise, Tim loves sports, particularly football and ultimate Frisbee, camping and the outdoors, grilling, and hanging out with me. He is a wonderful spiritual leader for our family and watching him mature in his walk with God has been really exciting. Tim has a degree in engineering from UGA and will soon work for the Natural Resources Conservation Service as a soil conservation technician.

I invite you to read along with our family’s highs and lows, our joys and our sorrows. There are some big changes ahead and the journey has just begun!