Thankful

What a lovely weekend. I hope all of you had a blessed weekend as well. With the holiday of Thanksgiving upon us I want to share things I was thankful for this weekend!

Friday we had some friends over. I am VERY thankful for my friends. They are all so loving, caring, and generous. Happy news! We got the invites out for the ugly sweater party. I am SO excited!

{In advanced, sorry for all the cell phone pics! I kept forgetting my camera this weekend!}

Saturday morning Sean, my mom, and I volunteered at the new church. I am thankful to be a part of such a wonderful experience. It is an amazing feeling to be helping to bring a place of worship to our community.

Saturday also brought Minnesota our first snow fall. I am not a fan of driving in it, or the extreme cold..however it is SO beautiful, which I am thankful for. This was Remi's first snow fall, and she loved it! She bounced around in it and just had a blast!

I was just LOVING her puppy paw prints :)

OH! and my mom got me a new center piece for my table! Thanks mom! Love you and I am SO very thankful for you!

Saturday evening we had a little date night in our cozy home. We ordered some dinner, and cuddled in to watch Water for Elephants which was SO good! This movie made showed me how lucky I am to have an amazing husband. I am incredibly thankful for Sean!

Sunday we went to church, grocery shopped,then spent the rest of the day doing stuff around the house, which I am thankful to have accomplished!

-Laundry

-Cleaning

-Baked Cookies

-Made ham, pickle, and cream cheese rolls (YUM)

-Listened to Christmas music

-Cooked dinner

-Endulged in my favortite Christmas candy!

One last thing I am thankful for today...a 3 day work week and a 4 day weekend!

Happy Monday Wednesday friends :)

Jamie Leigh

It's FRIDAY Friends!!

We have finally made it! I feel like with the Holidays right around the corner, these dreadful week days drag by!! This weekend we have a variety of things planned. Tonight we are having some of our amazing friends over. I am excited to hang out, have some yummy food and catch up. A couple of us girls are also going to be planning our first ever ugly sweater party! Have any of you hosted on of these before? ANY ideas or advice would be awesome! All I know is I want the UGLIEST sweater possible...maybe something like this... 

Or this bad boy...

 Saturday we are starting our day with some volunteer work. Our church is opening up a new campus called Northern Lights. We have volunteered to be part of the booster team to help get this church up and running! Now that we have a site (which is right across the street. YAY!) there is a lot to get done before opening day! Our tasks tomorrow are washing all the windows, and replacing the damages ceiling tiles!  

It has been very cool to be part of something like this...seeing a community grow and develop from the ground up. Prayers that all goes successfully!

The rest of the weekend I am dedicating to cleaning, some Christmas shopping, and of course relaxing!  SIDE NOTE: Did anyone see Breaking Dawn last night? I have been really excited to see it ( I know I am a nerd) but have so far heard it's horrible! Let me know :)
What are you looking forward to this weekend? Hope yours is FABULOUS! Jamie Leigh

The Essence of Faith

It feel like forever since I have blogged! It really has only been a couple days but it feels much longer! Heres a little weekend rewind!

 

Saturday Sean and I went shopping with my family at the Mall of America! It was so much fun spending time with all my loved ones! Sean got some new clothes for when the warm weather finally decides to join us, and my mom tried no some dresses for the wedding :) Saturday night we got to spend time with Sean's family that was in town from South Dakota! There's nothing better than a weekend full of family time!

Sunday we had brunch at Granite City which was delicious! Then we ran a couple errands, and finally retired into some comfy clothes to watch the series The Walking Dead! Very very good!

 

Now for today...

 

At church on Sunday the message really stuck with me. We had a visiting Paster join us and share her ideas about changes in the church. She strongly believed that people would get bored with church if there weren't changes made to the way the message of Jesus is shared. In Indianapolis she started a very unique worshiping community that meets in a dinner theater. It has taken off and is now grown to 3 worships each Sunday. Amazing huh?

 

Since our church is expanding to a new location they are welcoming the new ideas and vision to create a unique new ministry. This is very exicting to me! Things like contemorary music, discussions, and more interaction within the fellowship will be implemented. Everyone seems to think it will attract a younger generation..what do you think?

 

The message that really stuck with me is this: "The essence of faith is risk." Faith=Risk...do you agree with that? I definitely do. Having the faith in Jesus doesn't mean you know the future events or outcomes...but you just rely on the fact that Jesus will take care of you and lead you down the path your meant for.

 

This reading fits perfectley with this post:

 

"But the Lord says, Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already-you can see it now!" ~Isaiah 43:18-19b

 

Jamie Leigh

 



Northern Lights

If you remember yesterday I mentioned our church branching out into a multi campus congregation. Later this year they will be opening a campus in Ramsey MN that will be more contemporary. It will be called Northern Lights.  Sunday we were able to get a little taste of what a service will be like when this new church opens. The music was upbeat, contemporary, lots of instruments were being played, and the service was interactive. I really enjoyed it! I am excited because if Sean and I get the house we want, it will be close to the new church! They sang a song that really stuck with me that I wanted to share today!

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus 
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus 
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus 
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live! 

Jamie Leigh

Winter Wonderland Weekend!

What a weekend!! This is what I woke up to Saturday morning...

Yeah thats my truck...thank goodness for four wheel drive! Sean definitely had a fun time playing around in the snow. Most of the back roads hadn't even been plowed, so the snow flew up higher than the truck stood. It was pretty fun to drive through! We ended up with a little under 18 inches....plus blustery winds! There was so much snow the Vikings stadium's roof collapsed! 

After doing some Christmas shopping in the blizzard, we went home to warm up and make some dinner. We made one of our favorites, spaghetti. Its easy and delicious!

Sunday we were honored to read a scripture and light the Advent wreath at church. It went REALLY well, so fun! The second half of church was a Christmas program...it was hilarious to say the least, but very cute!

What a wonderful winter weekend...
What did you do this weekend?! Share with me :-)
Jamie Leigh

Let it Snow!

YAY for Friday, and all I have to say is LET IT SNOW! Here in MN we are suppose to be getting 8-12 more inches of snow this weekend, along with very high winds....which equals BLIZZARD like conditions! I definitely don't want to be going out in this:

Don't get me wrong, I love MN, and I love the snow..It really is beautiful. I would just rather enjoy its beauty from inside my cozy home :-)
Considering the weather, Sean and I haven't planned much. We just need some time to relax, and be together. Since he graduated he has been working A LOT! Our Saturday will consist of movies, cuddling, cooking, and just being together! Sounds perfect to me :-)
Sunday we are very excited about church, and a little nervous! We had been invited by the Pastor to do a reading and light the candles on the Advent Wreath! We will be reading a section from The New Testament, Letter of James. We are honored we were invited to do this, however a bit nervous. I have never liked public speaking....I'm sure it will all go well! 
What are you doing this weekend? 
Jamie Leigh

Weekend Recap!

Well another wonderful weekend has come and gone! I am okay with that this week because I only have 2 days of work! So technically it is Thursday today!! WAHOO!!
So Friday night I spent with my sweetheart! We just relax, talked, and as I like to say fell in love even more! Not seeing Sean as much lately really has made me cherish our time together, and every time I DO get to spend with him, I fall in love all over again :)
Saturday we did a TON of Christmas shopping! They had some really great "before black Friday" sales....weird I know, it kind of defeats the purpose of black Friday, but we saved a LOT of money! My wonderful dad bought Sean and I a dining room table! This year we decided to start collecting stuff for when we move out! So exciting! We also got a TV stand from Sean's mom. They are matching real wood, its called Espresso, so beautiful! Here is the TV stand we got...isn't it great? I love the dark rich wood! 

My  kitty Oliver doesn't know what to think of all the furniture boxes....look at him being so silly! He flattens his ears to try to hide, he has such a personality!

My mom also finished up getting gifts for my two little sisters Jaclyn and Jodell. It was fun helping her pick out things for them! Saturday night we went over to our dear friends Jessie and Justin's house! We cooked some delicious wild rice soup (dying to get the recipe), and played some Wii, it was a great time! 

Sunday we officially became members of the church Sean and I are getting married in! It was such a great service, and afterwards they hosted cake and coffee to welcome us! Besides church, we pretty much stayed inside and had another relaxing day. The weather here in MN has been gross....the roads are like ice rinks! We took the truck out of park Sunday morning and it slid all the way down the driveway, so slippery! Today isn't much better either.....Please send us your prayers that weather will be okay for travel Thursday morning. We are suppose to head up to Duluth MN to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I will be really disappointed if the weather prevents us from going :( 

Have a happy Monday everyone!! 

Jamie Leigh 

 

TGIF! & Sweet Treats!

I am SOO unbelievably happy it is Friday! AND even better, next week is only a 3 day work week! I cannot tell you how excited I am to get up north and see my wonderful family! Last Thanksgiving we spent with Sean's, so this year its my families turn! 
I am definitely looking forward to a weekend of relaxing again. Now that we are waiting on this house, we are definitely saving our money, so this leaves us with a lot of time at home doing nothing! This is actually a good thing since we had been SO incredibly busy lately. Saturday my mom asked us to help her get some Christmas shopping done. She likes the company, and I like to help her pick stuff out for my sisters! 
Sunday we finally get to become official members of the church Sean and I will be getting married in!! After church, Sean's brother and his wife are hosting a small Thanksgiving for the immediate family. It will be nice to see them, haven't since they got married October 2nd! 
The last thing I wanted to share today was a holiday tradition! My amazing friend Ashley (check out her cute blog!)  tagged me asking me to share a sweet story from the holidays. Every year my family decorates the tree while listening to Christmas music. Then we make a bunch of delicious treats!! We melt chocolate and almond bark to dunk pretzels in and to make "ice cream cones." We also bake a ton of cookies. We put together little bags for everyone to take with them! 
So these "ice cream cones" I mentioned are the best, I highly recommend making them. They are easy, and delicious! You take bugles, and fill them with melted almond bark, then place a Christmas colored M&M on top. It gives you the sweet and salty taste...one of my favs!! My other favorite treat is also super easy! You place a rolo on a pretzel. Put them in the oven just long enough to get the rolo to get soft. They you push an M&M into the rolo! SOOOO YUMMY! Sweet and salty again!

What are you doing this weekend?! Are you in the Holiday spirit as much as I am?! 
Enjoy your weekend!
Jamie Leigh