Good Times

I need to study, but I really want to blog before Thanksgiving because I am sure I will have a lot to say, but I have things to talk about NOW that I don't want to get lost!

Okay, first of all... I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS! I love that Thanksgiving is this week and that Christmas is right around the corner. I love the decorations going up and the Christmas and black Friday commercials on TV. Thanksgiving food and company are my favorite. I never let myself listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving... oh but Friday is coming fast! I am so, so excited about doing these holidays married to my best friend for the first time. And of course, I cannot wait to celebrate the Lord's birth with family and friends.

Now, I have to tell you about a few weeks ago. So a few weeks ago, there was a Tech football game that Tom and I went to. We have a friend on the team that we know from RUF, soooo Tom and some other guys painted up for him! It was tons-o-fun. Here are some picks...

I have more to tell but have to go... the rest will have to wait until after THANKSGIVING!!!

Thank the Lord that I am not in control...
I am one of those people who has been convinced that most of her worth is in her grades. However, this semester, by God's grace, I am learning the hard way that this is not true. School is hard this semester. I am way below average in a class, which is a completely new experience for me. My first reaction was to panic and to think my transcript and chances of getting a future job were ruined. But then, I realized I wasn't trusting the One who gave me the ability to as well as I have in the past and who is deciding my future and decides my present. God knows just how well I need to do in school in order to do what He has in mind for me in the future, so I have nothing to worry about.

For my Birthday...
A week and a half ago, I turned 22. Whew hew! I love birthdays. The week before I had the honor of spending some time with my good friends Ellie and Audrey. They drove down here from Chattanooga and brought with them a presents from my family and a cake that my mother made for me. So, we had a little celebration with them. The day of my actual brithday, Tom gave me some beautiful flowers, but we had a bridal shower to go to in the evening. A couple days later though, we slept in, Tom made pancakes, I went for a run while Tom went to the store, and then we made Chicken Parmagiana from scratch! Oh man oh man it was sooo good. We even peeled fresh tomatoes and made the tomato sauce. Here's what it looked like...

Okay, it may not look like much in this picture, but it tasted AMAZING.

Fun Stuff...
Lately Tom and I have been shopping on Shop4Freebies.com! It's so much fun and we are actually getting stuff in the mail! For free!!! We've gotten some cereal, granola bars, vitamins, instant coffee... and there's more to come. Check it out!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,

Selah

that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations."

-Psalm 67: 1,2

Fall break Real quick

So, last weekend was fall break and Tom and I went BACKPACKING! I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Since before we were married.

We went with our good friends Philip and Erin (who got married the day after us). I don't have any pictures because the other couple had a lighter camera and we only took one.

So, highlights:

• Driving for over an hour on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere-alabama
• Getting lost in nowhere-alabama on the way home
• Loving the water from the river until we saw a dead deer lying in it the last day
• Good coffee in the morning thanks to Tom's backpacking coffee filter
• PERFECT weather
• Sleeping/squirming in one hammock both nights with my husband under the stars
• Good company on the trail
• Watching Philip poke at a water moccasin with a stick
  
• Watching a water moccasin strike at Philip's stick
  
• Watching Philip jump and scream as a pine cone almost hit him from above
• Eating way too much waffle house on the way home
  

Help!

I am calling out to all you bloggers out there who have cute blogs! How do you do it? Tips? Advice? Rules of thumb?

All I can do is find a website with layouts/templates and copy the html code. Do I need to learn html?

Please HELP!

My First Post as Mrs. Zylstra

Hello all, however many or few you may be. So far it's a relaxing Saturday morning. Tom and I are sitting on our couch, ahem love seat, checking out what's going on in the world. For Tom this involves espn and dvice. For me, it's checking facebook, friends' blogs, and cnn.

So far, marriage has been bliss. I absolutely love hanging out with my best friend all day long. We went on a cruise in the Caribbean for the honeymoon and it was amazing. The water was so blue, the food was delicious, and the entertainment was much fun.

Our ship...

Oh yes, a frog and chocolates. Our maid, Marson, made a different animal every day.



This is where we sat every night for dinner. I should have taken a picture of our view! We were looking straight out the back of the ship, at the sea. Beautiful. It was definitely the fanciest restaurant I have ever been to, but the price was included in our ticket cost!



Now I have to change gears and get ready for school. We start Monday! Though I'm dreading it, I know that my first job is now to be a godly wife, then a student. So, hopefully this semester won't be as stressful as in the past.

Within the noise and chaos

Tom and I had our second to last marriage counseling session yesterday, the invitations are out and rsvp's are flooding in, most of the details are decided we just have to finalize, gifts are starting to come and thank-you notes are heading out, Tom and I are packing all of our belongings, getting ready to move, today I have my final gown fitting. We are preparing to get married.

The next three weeks of my life are going to be a busy blur, then Tom and I will hop on a cruise and learn to relax again. Before we get to the cruise though, this week will be a scramble to get my room packed and the wedding plans mostly finished. Saturday, Tom, our parents and I will be moving things into our apartment. Sunday, my brother and I are getting baptized. Next week we will be preparing for family and finishing last minute wedding details. On Thursday of next week, family begins to come. The week before the wedding is packed with bachelorette party, family outings, bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I can't wait.

Within all the noise and commotion, Tom and I are preparing to BE married. We are praying and reading and learning about what it is to be a godly couple and wife and husband. We are trying to spend time alone with one another to discuss roles and expectations and to learn who the other person is and how they need to be loved.

Please pray for us. Pray that God would fill us with his Holy Spirit, would guide us and give us His wisdom. That He would use us for His glory and for reaching others and spreading the kingdom. Pray that the wedding itself would be a witness to our unbelieving friends and family. Pray that our marriage would be an example for years to come of Christ and the church.

So excited!

32 Days

I've been tired. Really really tired. I sleep 9 to 11 hours every single night. I try to run more days out of the week than I don't and when I do, it's been hard. Harder than running has ever been. I'm eating a balanced diet, getting exercise, getting rest, but trying to not sleep too much, just enough. I've been praying about it and have decided my body just needed it. Maybe it's healing, or maybe God's preparing me for my first semester as a student-wife.

This morning, after sleeping 9 hours, waking up was a little less painful than usual. Running was a bit easier, and so far I don't feel like I need a nap. Praise God.

Maggie is here and being cute. I'll take a picture.

If anyone's pondering upon the name of this post, there are 32 days until Tom and I begin a life together. Whew hew!

Praise God for he is good! My soul yearns to know Him and radically obey Him.

Make me know your ways O Lord
Lead me in your truth and teach me
for you are the God of my salvation
for you I wait all the day long
-Psalm 25: 4,5