Easter Baking

This year I have found a love for baking... I love trying out new stuff, working to make it look better and of course enjoying the eating of those scrumptious items.  In the fall, I began to learn pies and supplied the family Thanksgiving celebration with pies.  I may have went overboard wanted to make sure there were plenty of options so there were 7 pies for 20 people.  Christmas was a repeat but with less pies (due to the amount of teasing I got for so many) and then of course someone said, "but you didn't make the pie I wanted!" Really? Than no more harassing me! Lately cupcakes and home-made cakes have been what I have been dabbling in and I can't quite decide what to take to Easter (I'm in charge of desserts again!)

Although I have no idea what to make, so I've been scouring my favorite foodie/baking blogs and have found some fun ideas....

Candied Easter Popcorn (I think the kiddos will love this one!)

http://www.heatherchristo.com/cooks/2011/04/17/candied-popcorn-for-easter/

Easter Candy Bark

http://gingerbreadcake.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/easter-candy-bark/

And of course I love a good white cup-cake... there's just something about it, with home-made buttercream of course...

http://www.joyofbaking.com/WhiteCupcakes.html

Oh and I found this Funfetti Cake Batter recipe... Yes Please!


http://gingerbreadcake.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/funfetti-cake-batter-pie/

So anywho's I better decide today what I'm making so I can stock up on ingredients and get to baking Thursday AM!

What to Blog About?

I have remained rather silent on the blog front and have mainly read other's blogs (which I greatly enjoy). Lately, I have really been wanting to get to actually blogging, in the past I struggled because as my Dad used to say I sometimes get diarrhea of the mouth (crude right?).  Nonetheless, its pretty true.  The only problem with this is I don't want my thoughtlessness to affect my Hubs.  So I will be blogging and trying to slightly (only slightly) monitor/edit my thoughts/writings.

So now the thought is, what in the world do I do with this blog?  Well, currently I'm about 4 weeks from graduating from Grad school, about to look for a new job, doggie paddlin' to keep my head above water and trying to loose weight.  I have already lost 11lbs. While that is exciting, I have not lost much weight over the last few weeks, thus I am looking to spur on my weight loss and will take you along in my journey.  More to come later, Hope you're all having a Wonderful Wednesday!

the Lottery

We're members of a Baptist church & the lottery is not socially acceptable... Hubs & I don't ever play the lotter but sometimes we drive by the huge billboards that tell about how much money they're giving away, you know the ones THOSE ones the ones that make you say, "If we won the lottery I'd (fill in the blank with w/e your heart desires).

So we have this conversation oh every month or so since we've gotten married.  They're lots of giving it away, thoughts of having lots of babies and staying at home and then of course the analytical Mr. that I have will say, "but you know we have to work through the first year after we win, thats where everyone messes up, they don't work" to which I normally respond to in this fashion, "you can continue working? We don't need both of our incomes & the lotter" lol

Today, we were talking about the desire to be at home together quicker than what we will be tonight with both of us having to work 12 + hours today (fairly normal) and the lottery conversation comes up b/c we want to not have to be slaves to our jobs today (blah blah blah we both LOVE our jobs, just not always the crazy hours & schedules!) and the lottery conversation came up and I said, we should play so we could win...  The Mr. gave his normal response (see above) to which I decided that w/o the instant gratification there wasn't much chance of either of us running out to buy a lottery ticket.

26/M/Tulsa, OK-- My brother!

Okay so it has been forever since I've posted on my own blog and instead I've just been reading others.  One of the encouraging blogs I have been reading is called Kelly's Korner http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ and this week on SUYL she's doing a show us your singles and thus I introduce to you one of my dearest friends since birth... My brother.  I didn't ask his permission to do this, but he's always teasing me that I need to help him get married, so here goes nothing!

That's my brother, Randle, myself and our Momma at my wedding! Randle is a 26 year old teacher (agriculture/FFA).  He lives and teaches in the Tulsa area; he loves the Lord and loves learning more about him.  Randle loves his jobs and enjoys getting to help mold the young lives of his students (they LOVE him!)

There he is in the middle, being goofy with his students on a FFA trip. Randle has a great sense of humor, loves his OSU Cowboys (graduated 2006, Magna Cumme Laude (he's smart too!)) He loves to watch sports. Randle is extremely loyal and loves his family and friends.  Randle helps out our widowed grandmother by making sure all the extra "man stuff" is taken care of.

Here's Randle as the best man, at his friend Cody's wedding!  Randle can be a little reserved until you get to know him, but he has a wonderful personality, he's super funny oh and ladies... He can DANCE! He'll burn up a dance floor like its nothin' (especially if its two-stepping).  And I would be amiss if I didn't mention what a great husband and father Randle will make one very special lady.  Randle is responsible and cares about providing a good future for his family.  Little kids love my brother! He just attracts them like no-one else I've ever met.

There he is w/ my best friends little boy!  So ladies don't miss out on my wonderful brother who loves the Lord and is just what you're looking for.  If you're interested in meeting my brother please email me @ rendyjanssen@gmail.com and I'll send your info on over to him...

Washed by the Water

Washed by the Water is a wonderful song that was suggested to me by my dear friend Kelli months ago when things were rather rough for Mike & I.  I have been wanting to share this with others, but for months, anytime I heard the song, I would bawl like a baby get slightly emotional.  So here's the link to a the video for this song that was so impactful to me.  Sometimes we are affected by the bad decisions that others make, and there are times where others are going to say things that are not true.  But one thing we knew was that even when the storms come, I am still washed by the water and I am still called to love. And that's the hardest lesson to ever learn, and while I went through that class extensively, I don't know that I still have it down pat, but I know that no matter what He who washed all my sins away, will continue to provide. And He has... Glory to Him!
Need to Breathe, "Washed by the Water"

New Church, New House... and hopefully a New Home

So I've haven't posted on blogger in so long because I have a big mouth and can't keep a secret er... I've been so busy!  Mike and I are no longer at CCY!  We had been praying for quite some time about whether or not that was were God wanted us.  While we were seeing kids come to know the Lord and grow deeper in their faith, it was not necessarily a healthy place for our family.  And God has worked his magic and taken us to a wonderful place where there is no doubt we have been called to serve....

So Mike is now the new youth/singles pastor at Village Baptist Church!  Everyone has been so super sweet to us since our first visit (people were amazingly nice before they even knew who we were!).  It is truly a blessing from God.  So there's the new church part.  As for the new home part, we'll be renting our home out and living in a parsonage close to the church... and its bigger : ) and it has the most wonderfully amazing backyard with two trees that will be spectacular for hanging a hammock

As for as the new home part... Mike and I are so excited to not only be serving at Village, but to be able to make it a home for our family.  As much as I love ALL of our students at CCY and many of the families we got to know, CCY was never home.  Unfortunately, it felt like a place that I served, sometimes a 2nd job, lol, but I never got that home feeling.  This could be due to the fact that we never got the opportunity to participate in many of the over-all church functions.  Regardless it wasn't and that was a really big deal to me, and in taking this new job, I definitely stressed the importance of being able to plug-in not just in the youth ministry, but in the church as a whole. And so far we've gotten to do that a little bit.  We attended our first SS class together in nearly 3 years (and it was awesome!); I've already been to a women's ministry event, and tonight Mike & I were invited to the Adult 2 get together! Yes! They have an Adult 2 class! There are people our age! So needless to say I'm pretty stinkin' pumped.

For those of you who have been praying for Mike & I for so long, I just want you to know how much we appreciate all of your prayers and support.  Please keep them coming, as we know God has big things in store for VBC, the Village and the surrounding area.

Change, Change, Change

I am so excited for all the new opportunities God has in store for Mike & I! There is so much going on in our lives... but I can't spread the good news on blogger just yet... But I can talk about some of the emotions I'm struggling with through the transitions in our life.

God has a reason for everything. I truly believe that. It is not always easy to believe, but I know it must be true.  With that being said, we have definitely gone through the ringer the past 2 years.  For me, I have had some major changes that take much adapting to, moving to a new town farther away from my college friends, Mike's first full time youth ministry job, graduating from OBU, starting my first big kid job, and having to try to balance all the relationships in between.

Relationships change as people change, and their lives around them change.  There has been one relationship for me that has been very difficult to watch the change.  Mainly, because I desire it to be a closer relationship and that's not the case.  There are people that we feel we have shared our lives with, who know (or at least knew) our hearts and the fact that they are less interested in fostering a friendship is very difficult.  It's not from lack of me trying, there was a time where I was messaging this said friend on a weekly basis for about four months trying to get together.  Once it finally happened, but was more because I insisted.  I know that lives are busy, I totally get that.  I'm working on my masters, I'm working full time and I'm volunteering at the church about 10 hrs or so a week.  Believe me I understand busy, the kind of busy that makes you wanna sit and cry some days because you don't know how you can do it all.  And yet I still make time for my friends, and so does this old friend of mine.  The time being made just doesn't happen to be for me.  And that does hurt.  I being avoided, I get that. I don't get why, although I am suspect to think its due to the fact that there is a big life event coming up that I have not been asked to be actively involved in (I'm trying to be vague here, forgive me) and she doesn't know how to deal with that.  I'm okay w/ not having a large place in your event.  I don't need a title.  I'm not about people looking at me.  That's not who I am. I am about relationships.  And that is a relationship that I do miss.  I don't care if I'm the go to person, I don't care if we can't share everything, but wouldn't it be nice to share something?  I have mourned the relationship that used to be... It will not be that way again, too much has changed, too much has happened, life took place and we missed it! that's how life is sometimes, that doesn't mean that we still can't continue to be friends on some level, or does it?  My hubs tends to tell me how some of my friends are shallow and self-centered.  I used to think he was just a pessimist, but now I understand.  He's not saying that what we shared was not friendship and was not real.  But he is saying that maybe they're not healthy for me.  He's saying that it's time I accept them as who they are now, and maybe that is flaky.

But what about me what do I say?

I say life happens, and will continue to happen.  God understands changing times and schedules and I know that he will no doubt continue to place newer friendships in my life that are healthy. Where I can be me, and they can be them.  He has already blessed me greatly, the Lord has given me a wonderful best friend, a woman who allows me to vent, complain and cry.  She often serves as a Barnabas and as well as the one who will help me to see if from someone else's point of view rather than my own.  Five years ago had you asked me if this person would be my bestie, I would have had no clue who they were!  But after four years of knowing her and her family, who have in fact become an extension of the family Mike & I have created together, I know that the Lord knows exactly what I need in life.  And He is the supplier of all things great. And while some things look different and may have been difficult to walk through. I know I have been blessed with a great and wonderful life, exactly as God has always had planned!