Snow Camp, Six Month Anniversary, and Various Other Adventures

Well hey there! It has been less than a month since I last blogged, so I feel very proud of myself for already writing again :)
The past week and a half have been, you guessed it...BUSY! But lots of fun. Titus and I had the opportunity to go up to snow camp for three days with the WCS teens. I was in the cabin with the middle school girls, and it was a ton of fun!!

It was an awesome opportunity to get the know some of the basketball girls better, and also a grwat chance to get to know some of the other girls that I haven't interacted with much yet. Some of my favorite times were the random one on one conversations as I got to ask them what God was teaching them, what some of their greatest struggles are, and how I can pray for them or help them. 

Titus helped me stay warm, even though we only saw each other a few times throughout the day...he thought ahead and bought me a giant pack of hand & foot warmers!! Love that thoughtful guy if mine :) 

It was such a beautiful setting to be able to have a renewed focus on God; not that a geographical location makes God any more accessible or whatever, it was just nice to take a few days off of daycare & renew my focus on discipling those that God has given me opportunity to invest into their lives, & also to soak myself in God's word, so I can know & enjoy, & point others to Him. 

We returned to Wixom at around 4 pm, & then Titus & I went out for dinner (sushi!!) to celebrate our six month anniversary. It is crazy to think we have already been married for six months, but it also feel like I have been with Titus forever!! He is exactly my God-given match, & I am so thankful for his patient, consistent, thoughtful, self-sacrificing, kind, goofy, sweet love. God is so kind to give me an earthly mirror of His own love for me. 

It has been a very long winter, but God has taught me so much while I've been burrowing into blankets all of these cold, snowy days: contentment, not whining, loving and serving despite emotions, using my down time wisely. Not perfect in any of these, but thankful that God is working!! 

End of the Year Blessings

Well, once again, I am blogging at the encouragement of my beautiful sister :)
Thanks to having two weeks off of our crazy schedule at school, we have been able to enjoy several days with my family. At this very moment, I am sitting next to Amber, watching The Blind Side, & just enjoying being able to chat, catch up, & share how God has worked & what He is teaching both of us.

This Christmas break came just in time!  Titus & I have had such a crazy time since Thanksgiving. We started coaching the girl's basketball team at WCS. That has been a really great opportunity to get to know the girls better & to helpTitus; it has also given us an even fuller schedule! We are typically gone from about 7:30 in the morning until 6 at night. & game nights are much later! But it has been a wonderful opportunity, & I am thankful to be involved. However, once you add in all the Christmas programs, parties, shopping, & baking, normal life can seem like too much to fit in! So the last few weeks were quite a blur, & it has been so nice to have several weeks to catch our breath & to see my family again. I missed them SO much! Being 8-12 hours away, I sometimes just wish I could go visit for a weekend. But the distance is too much.

We started our vacation with an evening in Marshall with Titus' family. It was his aunt's birthday, & we were able to spend a fun time together & enjoy the time we had on the farm =)
After a quick overnight stop at my sister's house in the Dells, Titus & I were able to spend a few days. I am so thankful for my mom & how hard she works, & also that Dad got to come home from North Dakota to spend Christmas with his family. I know it is difficult for him to be so far away from home, & he is working such difficult, long hours, so it was good to be able to see him. We also discovered a game we all like...Yahtzee!! I won mostly. Kidding!! It was pretty evenly spread out, but there was one especially memorable game when all four of us got Yahtzees right in a row!! =) Unfortunately, Titus also got he flu & was down for all of Christmas Eve. He was a trooper & had such a good attitude though.  Christmas Day was beautiful & refreshing; it was great to spend the day with my parents & then visit the Tomas family later in the evening. During our time in Chetek I also got to catch up with a few friends from Northland, which is always a blessing!

A few days after Christmas, we traveled down to the dells & were able to spend a day with our extended family, and then Titus & I also had 4 days with the Poppenga family, which was soooo much fun! It is always special to spend some time catching up with my sister, and Titus & I really enjoyed playing with Blake & Bri. Bri kicked both of our butts in chutes & ladders though, haha! I always learn so much about hospitality when I am with Amber; she is so gifted! She is also such a great mother & gets more accomplished in one morning an a lot of people do in a week! The weather was frigid, and we had to suffer through a Badger loss & a packer loss, along with half of the family getting the flu (first time I have thrown up in over ten years! Yuck!!) but we thoroughly enjoyed our time & can't wait to visit again soon, and meet Poppenga baby. #3!!