Catching up

               2015 came and went without much activity on this little space, which I'm okay with. My life has kind of been a whirlwind and I don't think it will let up anytime soon!

So, here are some of the things that have happened. 

~ We officially started building our house! After quite a few delays because of the slow building department and the weather we are all set to get our foundation poured (as long as the weather stays nice long enough!). It might seem like we haven't gotten very far, I mean isn't the foundation the first step? Well, I have learned that a lot happens before you can pour and when the weather isn't cooperating, it takes a very long time to reach this point. Here is what has gotten done -

1. The lot was cleared and a lot of dirt brought in to raise our house up to the required level for drainage and stuff like that.
2. The area was formed so the concrete stays in the right place! 
3. Footers (a 20 inch deep, 12 inch wide trench around the outside of the house for where the walls will sit) were dug and re-dug and then re-dug after rain messed them up. 
4. All the underground plumbing for septic and hot and cold water was put in. I can now put plumber on my resume ;)
5. The shower was formed, plastic put down, and rebar was put in the footers.

We passed our inspection Monday, woohoo! So hopefully the slab will be poured this week.

~ I am 18 weeks and 5 days pregnant with the greatest blessing of our lives! I have had two appointments with our midwives and so far everything is going great. I've heard the little ones heartbeat both times and have officially passed morning sickness. The next huge step is our ultrasound! Which is scheduled for February 10th, just one week from tomorrow. Nathan and I can't wait to see Baby Frook and also as long as the baby cooperates find out if it is a little Eleanor or Abram, so excited! My gut feeling is girl, but I think 90% of that feeling comes from the fact that both Nathan and I really want one. Either way it will be amazing and exactly what we want!

I have started to feel the baby move which is amazing. I felt like I started feeling it around 16 weeks but it would be so random and only one little thing each time that I wasn't really ready to confidently say that I had. This past week it has definitely become more noticeable and usually I'll feel a couple little jabs in a row. It will be kind of nice once it is less random, but I am enjoying what I can feel for the moment. 

One thing I will say is that I really haven't had the pregnancy "glow" and most ladies I've said that to have agreed that they never did. My body just doesn't ever feel normal and I've had a lot of stretching out pain/discomfort, which doesn't really help my peace of mind. I feel like I am getting more used to the feeling and dumping all my worries on my midwife last appointment helped to reassure me that all these feelings are normal and has helped me worry less. So thankfully, the past week or so it has been easier. 

~ We have a new little niece in the family! Little Aubrey made her appearance January 27th and she is just the sweetest thing ever. We love having another little girl in the family!

~ At the end of this month Nathan and I are actually leaving our little apartment and moving in with his parents until our house is done. It might seem a little funny, but it really makes sense for us right now and we are both excited for the change.

It also means that I will be quitting my receptionist job in a week or so and I am definitely ready to close this chapter of my life. My mom did a little too good of a job raising me to be content at home =P (a great thing for wife and mommy-hood if you plan to be at home, which has always been our long term plan) and I am ready to be a stay at home wife and soon, mommy! 

So we are in the midst of packing everything up, kind of a big job! Although I think we've got a pretty good start on it. The hard part is finding time to move our furniture and other things we won't be needing to our storage unit when every weekend is already jammed pack with working on our house. It will all work out though =)

Well, I feel like those are all the big things at the moment. Maybe I will work on writing more often, I do still enjoy it! And it will be great for documenting my pregnancy and our new little baby. 

Until next time,

Jessica

Why?

So, I don't really know what happened to this blog. I had such plans for it and enjoyed writing here so very much. I told myself when I was kind of lagging before marriage that I just needed a break. That once I was married and settled in I would love writing again - you can probably tell, that hasn't happened. It's not that I don't want to write. Everyday I think, I really feel like blogging, and everyday I can't think of a thing to say.  

But, maybe it is because I have forgotten why I started blogging in the first place. So, let me begin once more - with my mission statement! 

“The mission of this blog is to be a memorial of what the Lord has done and is doing in mine and my husbands lives through the remembering of events and feelings to do with: marriage, family, joy, hardships and everything in-between. Firstly, so that we may be encouraged by and remember what has happened, and that our children can see what our lives have held. 

Secondly, that through this memorial others will be pointed to the Anchor of our souls, who holds us tightly through all the ups and downs of life - namely Jesus and His good news. And that those who know Jesus will be encouraged and uplifted to continue to glorify Him through their lives - in their own marriages, families, joys, and hardships. {Joshua 4:5-7, Isaiah 63:7, Hebrews 6:13-20}”

The most important reason why I blog, is for myself. I want to remember what I went through; the happiness, the struggles, the adventures! And I think I lost that. I was too caught up in the fact that I didn't have much to share that others would like and that no one really visited this little place. But, this is for me, period. And if it can encourage others then great, wonderful - but I can't be so focused on that part of it. So, I'm going to share posts about things that I want to remember, because this blog isn't to make money or promote myself, or get page views, its a memorial so that I can remember.

Until next time...

Jessica

Seasons... {Community Brew}

I am so thankful for Rachel and Madison hosting this link up! It is such a joy for me to blog and to read all the posts everyone else has written. Since I have been so busy with life lately, I haven't had the chance to join in for a while - thankful that I'm here today!

Today we are talking about seasons of life. Right now I just moved out of one season and am in the most amazing, new, crazy, and a little overwhelming season I have ever experienced. Nathan and I will have been married for 2 months tomorrow, and I am in the middle of my third week of my new job. 

Desert song - Hillsong

In some ways when I think about seasons, they make me sad. There are so many that will never come back. Childhood, teenage years, singleness, being engaged, newlyweds... No matter what happens throughout, all of those are beautiful seasons, each with their own wonderful (and maybe hard) memories. And each one only gets a certain amount of time. As I am just leaving the engaged/single season, it has me thinking about how many times I 'pulled the string' of life, wishing for a season to move on and how now, I miss all of them deeply. Not in a holding onto, won't let go, won't live in the present, type of way; I'm just starting to realize how wonderful they all were and how fast they went. I am learning how important it is to be present in each one, enjoying them as a gift from God, and letting Him work through you in every one. Then when one is over, may I be able to say "Thank you, Lord for that season and for everything you did in my life through it. I am ready for this new season, with you."

Like I said this season I am in is new - like, everything is! It's crazy. Figuring out married life, wife-y life, working at a real "out in the world" job for the first time in my life, balancing my new church and family with mine in St. Pete, and so many other things. 

Sometimes it seems normal, and like it has been this way forever; sometimes I stop in amazement that my new life is real - the life I have dreamed about for so long, and it's actually happening; and then sometimes I completely breakdown as I start to think of all the things that are different: not going to the same church every Sunday/Wednesday, not seeing all my friends that I grew up with, not living with/seeing my family, my dog. I am being stretched and pulled in ways I never have before. I am experiencing things, confusing, hard things, that I have no clue about. And it's good. I love it! But it's also hard, and a little scary. 

Not only do we have physical seasons of life, but there are also spiritual and emotional. Those can change even more often and can be even harder, but also even more amazing! Right now I am having a hard time figuring out what season I am in, and how to thrive in it. That is a huge prayer of mine right now, to learn how to thrive in this season God has put me in. The Desert song by Hillsong has been a wonderful way for me to express my feelings right now and I love the reminder that no matter what season I am in, spiritually, emotionally, physically, He is God and He is good and I have a reason to worship...

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me, Lord, through the flame

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

I am so glad that God brings new seasons into our lives and that He is control of them and is working in every single one. So, even though right now I am in a season that I am still figuring out, I have that comfort. God is with me, God is for me, God is working for my eternal good and His eternal glory. 

Is. 40:31 -

"but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

    they shall walk and not faint."

Esther 4:14

"For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

What about you? What has God taught you about seasons in life? How have you learned to move from one season to another? What is your current season in life and how are you learning to grow in that season?

No matter what season you are in, wait on the Lord and remember, he has placed you there for a reason.

{Linking up with Rachel and Madison for community brew}

Until next time...

Our Honeymoon - Michigan, 2014

Well, since I'm not supposed to get my wedding pictures until next week, I figured I'd go ahead and share some other things with you - specifically our honeymoon! 

My first plane ride! (except as a baby, which doesn't count ;)

Nathan's Grandparents and Aunt, own a cute little "cottage" on the banks of Maston Lake, Michigan - about 40 minutes from Grand Rapids. It was definitely our top pick for honeymoon spots, and it was just perfect! The weather was pretty chilly when we were first there, perfect for night time fires! And then slowly warmed up into the high 70's. 

For most of the time we just hung around the cottage, enjoying being with each other. When you have a chaperone around you all the time, just being alone is pretty amazing! We still talk about how crazy it is just to be riding around in the car without anyone else there! We also enjoyed exploring the area around us. 

We played games, ate pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls (yum!), saw a movie in a little theater, explored cute little towns, Amish country, had dinner with Nathan's cousin, and drove around just to drive around. It was absolutely perfect.

Until next time...

  

I'm married!!

Last time I posted here, I was still Ms. Jessica Amanda Sowers. It was the beginning of my wedding month. Things were starting to get crazy and real. 

Now, as I write, I am Mrs. Jessica Amanda Frook (For real guys! =O). It has been a month since our wedding. I am now a wife and am in the midst of settling into my new routine and setting up a home for my husband (Yay!!) and I. 

If you would have talked with me a month ago, I would have told you I was worried, stressed, and most of all impatient! But also kind of starting to realize that a time in my life was almost over - a time I would never get back. Now? I almost can't remember when Nathan and I weren't married, funny how that works. Nathan and I were just talking about how it seemed to take forever for our wedding day to come, and now that it's over and we're married, it seems like it happened so fast and we feel like we've been married forever. People assured me that's how it would be - wish I would have believed them ;)

I am hoping to get back into blogging and soon there will definitely be some posts about our wedding (We get all our pictures soon!!), our honeymoon, and how our lives are going in this transition period. But for now, I just wanted to say hi and let you know that Mrs. Frook is still alive ;) and very very happy and blessed!

Until next time...