At Last....

Baby Girl and Wrightsville Beach

2011-05-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, since I'm in the habit of updating our blog every 5 months we haven't announced that we are expecting a baby in late September. IT'S A GIRL! Above is my 23 week picture--taken at Wrightsville Beach where we have been enjoying a week of vacation with the Love Family.

Here is a favorite picture from today at the beach. Jacob (almost 18 months) is enjoying his first oatmeal creme pie fed to him from Grandy. Such a sweet face!

Jacob's First Birthday....really late

2011-02-01T13:37:00.001-08:00

We were so excited to celebrate our little man's 1st birthday on in early December. I'm operating under the "better late than never" plan about posting pictures and updating the blog. Please forgive the lateness :)

11 months old!

2010-11-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

How is Jacob already 11 months old? He's chattering and crawling all over the place and is so much fun! We're thanking the Lord for this sweet baby boy!

Happy Fall Y'all!

2010-10-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since our last post, but we have been enjoying life and this sweet baby the Lord has blessed us with. He is growing up so fast! Jacob is 10 months, and is walking while holding onto furniture and crawling all over the place. It's really fun!

New York City!

2010-06-21T18:06:00.001-07:00

In New Yoooork... it's been really different having Jacob here in the city with us! Instead of staying out in the city all day and night, we're planning around naps, feedings and 7pm bedtimes! We aren't experiencing much of "the city that never sleeps" other than getting up at 5:30 with sweet baby Jacob :) It's great though! Here is a little bit of what we've been up to these past 2 weeks.Packing!!! LOTS AND LOTS of packing! Here is Stephanie and Jacob packing some of his clothes :)Riding the Subway. We both LOVE the subway. We usually get home and wish that there was a subway system at home. Jacob loves to squeel (not to be confused with screaming) while on the subway. Thankfully people are really sweet and don't give us too many weird looks.

A highlight for me was checking out the Madison Square Garden Playground! I never considered that taking Jacob to the park would even be fun since he can't sit up by himself, crawl or anything like that. But we found a double swing and Jacob joined Savannah Pezzoli in it! It was the most precious thing ever. Here I am taking Jacob down his first slide!

Jacob has been such a trooper. It's been hard figuring out what our whole family can be a part of and what just can't work with a 6 month old. Already, I have left many restaurants with a fussy baby...which hasn't been fun, but it's been an adventure for sure!

So as for ministry in the city, the students arrived last Tuesday! There were a few days where we helped them get settled in and learn their way around. But today was the first full day on campus for the students and staff! Reece spent the better part of his afternoon at Columbia University where he met 2 international students...one from South Korea and one from Taiwan. Other staff met students from Albania, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and the Middle East! One of our favorite things about NYC is that the world truly is here! Please pray for us as step out to influence college students for Christ! Pray that we would show love to this GREAT city!

5 months!

2010-05-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by...

In less than 2 weeks Jacob will be 6 months old! This month has been really fun as he is much more expressive and interested in everything...especially his feet! He LOVES to put his feet in his mouth..and really anything he gets his hands on. It's hilarious!

A week ago, we also started giving him a little bit of rice cereal once a day. He isn't super excited about it, but most days he will eat a little bit. It's hard to believe that he's old enough to be eating now! It will be fun to experience him trying all different kinds of foods very soon.

(Great) Grandma Love

2010-04-20T15:28:00.001-07:00

Last week we had the treat of visiting with my grandma Love for a few days. She lives out in Wyoming, and we don't get to see her often enough unfortunately. Grandma hadn't met Jacob yet, so we introduced the little man to his Great Grandmother! It was also special to have her in town for my 27th birthday! So sweet!
Look at that fire! Being 27 is dangerous!

Grandma and Jacob :)

March was a busy Month!

2010-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

So I was just noticing our blog was missing something....Somehow I totally forgot to write anything in March. I've had great intentions, but nothing to show for it. March was certainly a busy month and there are lots of pictures to prove it! Jacob is getting bigger....lots bigger! For any mom whose baby has struggled to gain weight, its a welcome change to see them grow big! I'm not sure how long he is or how much he weighs yet, but I'm so looking forward to his 4 month check up! Now, just a few days before Jacob is 4 months old, he is definitely starting to teeth. He's a big drooler, chews on his fingers, and everything else! Here are some shots of what's been up with us and Jacob this month:
Jacob has started sitting in his high chair at meals...it's so much better this way! Before, we felt more rushed during meals because he was in his bouncy seat or on his playmat. He is much more content now that he can see us!
We visited JP and Mallory at the beginning of the month and took some cute shots of Jacob and Savannah! It's fun to think that they'll soon be able to play! For now, Jacob just looks at her and smiles...still very cute!
After visiting the Pezzoli's in Spartanburg, SC we headed down to Clemson for Brooke and Tyker Miller's wedding! This was Jacob's first wedding and it made him very sleepy! I just realized that I didn't get a picture with the lovely bride and groom...but the wedding was so fun! Congrats Millers! Throughout March, Jacob continued to grow up before our eyes! He's turning into a little boy instead of such a baby! He is doing lots of new things. Jacob is sitting up in his Bumbo really well now!

...and enjoying tummy time more!

At the end of the month we had UNCW's men's and womens' retreats in March, and Jacob joined me at the women's retreat....the girls didn't seem to mind at all :)

SO, it's on to April...hopefully I'll document it more regularly!

Jacob's first STATE game!

2010-02-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Reece and I brought Jacob to his first NC State basketball game! Thanks to my sister Jen, who gave the tickets to Reece for his Christmas present :) We played my hometown team, Wake Forest and we WON! The Pack isn't doing so great these days, so that was a very happy surprise. What's even happier is this baby!

That smile is just precious!

As a very special treat, we were even able to spend some time with Kathryn and Brandon Guy, who opened their beautiful home to us. Thanks! Also, we were able to see Jeremy, Caryn and my sister Jen! It was a great little trip to Raleigh :)

Snow in Wilmington

2010-02-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

So, it snowed in Wilmington!!!! Here a few pics!

Reece and Jacob snapping a quick pic in the front yard

We thought...what is better than snow? Snow on the beach! We, along with the Treece's, went to Carolina and Kure Beach to check it out and it was BEAUTIFUL!

We went to Bojangles to get their heart-shaped BoBerry biscuits to enjoy on the beach...Mmmm!

The trees at Kure Beach were gorgeous!

We love snow days :)

6 week pictures!

2010-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

We are so thankful to Kyle Runner for taking Jacob's 6 week photos! He did a fabulous job and Jacob was so alert and sweet the entire time. I often think how spoiled we are to have such a good baby. Now, these pictures are rediculously cute. Thank you so much Kyle for the amazing work!!

Jacob in a basket....I think we should have taken this one when he was a little bit smaller, but it's still cute.

I am in LOVE with this little man...

playing on his jungle mat!

I mean, I know I'm his mom, but I don't think there could be anyone cuter than this baby!

Where has the time gone?

2010-01-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

Friends told us that the first weeks after Jacob was born would fly by, and I believe it now! Jacob is 6 weeks old today and so much has happened in the last 6 weeks and our lives are forever changed. I never thought that after waking up throughout the night, changing diapers as my job and being the "milk lady" as Reece calls it would still allow me to enjoy my son so much....despite all the hard things about these past few weeks, the sweet moments have overshadowed them all! We look at Jacob multiple times each day and well over with happiness...he is so cute and sweet! There have been a few hard things that we're glad to be past now--Jacob had a hard time putting weight on in the first weeks and didn't regain his birth weight until his 4th week of life. He also had to have minor surgery on his mouth because he was "tongue tied" and that was keeping him from eating what he needed. It was a really easy procedure that happened when he was 9 days old and we're so glad we did it! OK, now for what everyone wants to see... I want to share a few of my favorite pictures from recently:

Jacob's first REAL bath!

Jacob just hanging out in his bouncy seat :)

So excited to be 1-month old!

baby Jacob!

2010-01-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Jacob with Grammy and Grandy Love at the hospital

Reece, Jacob and Grandma and Papa Johnson

Reece, Jacob and I when we arrived home from the hospital! Jacob wore the outfit Reece wore home when he was a baby...so sweet!

So, Jacob is 1 month old and I'm just now getting on our blog to announce that he has arrived! Jacob Cameron Johnson was born on December 9th, 2009....7 lbs and 14 oz! He is the most precious baby we've ever met! (...of course we're pretty partial!) It's hard to believe that he is already 1 month old....he has already changed quite a bit and looks just like Reece! What a lucky little guy!

Since coming home from the hospital we have been so thankful to get to be home, getting adjusted to life for the past month. Jacob is amazing and lets us sleep a good bit...we are really thankful for that! I'll update more pictures and news as it happens!

Week 37--come on out baby!!

2009-11-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

This week has been filled with getting ready for Baby J's arrival! Come on out sweet baby J!

New York City!

2009-11-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

We found out yesterday that we will be spending this summer in New York City!! As many of you know, we spent the summer of 2008 in NYC and absolutely LOVED it!!! We are really pumped that we get to go back to this wonderful city to serve the Lord! We'll give you more details in the months to come but for now, would you just pray that LOTS of students would give up this summer to go to NYC with us!?

Also, we will be heading up to New York City on Sunday for a week long ministry opportunity called Cross 09. Basically we will be engaging in cross-cultural ministry in Brooklyn all week alongside the other Campus Crusade staff who work in the city. We are excited! Our one hesitation all along has been that Stephanie is 35 weeks (as of today) and we were nervous about her traveling so late in pregnancy. Would you pray that she would stay healthy and that for now Baby Johnson would stay right where he is? Thanks so much!

Sweden Summer Project Reunion!

2009-11-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we headed up to Black Mountain, NC to reunite with some of the GREAT people we served alongside in Sweden this summer! Not only did we get time to catch up and have fun, we also took time to be reminded of God's heart for the world, and how He can continue to use us in what He is doing there. It was a really motivating and encouraging time! Quite a few of the people who went this past summer are considering going back to serve there again at some point in life....in fact, our friends Ben and Jen are leading the team again next summer! If you want more info on summer projects, check out: www.gosummerproject.com

Halloween costumes :)

2009-10-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you've seen the movie Juno, you'll recognize our Halloween costumes for this year.....

Less than 6 weeks to go!

2009-10-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday...Friday Oct 30th...we only have 6 more weeks until Baby Johnson is due! Still no names decided upon but I've also still been feeling really well for being 34 weeks pregnant!

In about a week, Reece and I along with the rest of our staff team will fly up to New York City for a week of cross-cultural ministry in Brooklyn! This will be the very last trip we'll get to make before the month of waiting at home for Baby Johnson to arrive.

We'll post pictures and stories as soon as we get back!

Baby showers and Babymoon

2009-10-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

We are a little less than 8 weeks from our due date of Dec 11th! The past month has been filled with lots of celebration and preparations for Baby Johnson. A few weeks ago, some of my greatest friends threw me a baby shower, which was so fun! Not only did I feel so celebrated and blessed with their gifts and prayers, it was also amazing to reunite with so many special friends. Thanks to Amalie, Brandi and Amy for planning it!

All the girls at the baby shower with their hands on Baby J!!

Here I am with Amalie and Amy....we're leaving a spot for Brandi who couldn't make it to the shower...we missed you Brandi!

Last week Momma Love came to Wilmington for a cooking day in preparation for baby's arrival. after a day of cooking, we had 13 days worth of dinners prepared! That really made me feel a sigh of relief just knowing that some meals were already made, since I hear that the first 2 months are especially tiring and draining. Thanks Mom!

And last, this past weekend, Reece and I went on our long awaited BABYMOON! You may be wondering what that is--it was basically our last getaway together before the baby arrives. It's crazy to think about it like that! We're so used to life just me and him...it'll be quite the adjustment! We went to Myrtle Beach for the weekend and had a relaxing time just being together. We walked on the beach, ate good food, and had important talks about what life will be like when baby arrives. We tried to decide a name for him, but we're still stuck.

Reece and I the last day of our Babymoon!

My 32 week picture

Baby's room!!

2009-09-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about our baby's room! Craigslist.com has been a lifesaver....we found this dresser and a matching changing table on there, as well as his crib bedding!

We also had our first baby shower over Labor Day weekend, and many sweet friends and family helped fill baby's room with all kinds of goodies, clothes, diapers and other great items! Here is a picture of his closet so far:It's so fun preparing for him to arrive. I can't believe that he will be here in around 3 months!!

Here is the most recent picture of baby boy in my belly....this is 27 weeks and 3 days:

Yuki

2009-09-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

If you get our newsletters, you'll hear this story again, but I couldn't wait to tell this wonderful story about a Japanese exchange student here at UNC-W....ENJOY!

Mary, there are no pictures in the Bible...but this makes sense to me! Mary Ann sat quietly studying when Japanese exchange student Yuki stopped by to tell her about the life changing lunch he just had.

Yuki came to UNC-Wilmington for 5 weeks last spring with the English as a Second Language program,. While in Wilmington, many students involved with Campus Crusade befriended him including Mary Ann. One day over dinner, Mary Ann asked Yuki what he believed about God. Everyone Yuki knew back home in Japan was Buddhist, so he told her that’s what he believed as well. Yuki continued to come to CRU events throughout his short 5 weeks stay in America, and after going home he bought a Bible corresponded with Mary Ann about his studies of Christianity . Over the summer, Yuki decided to come back to Wilmington, and emailed Mary Ann to tell her he would return as an exchange student for the whole fall semester! Mary Ann remembers Yuki emailing and asking “Can I join Campus Crusade when I return to Wilmington? I am not a Christian, but I am really into it!.” Of course, Mary Ann invited him to come back, and he was reunited with his American friends.

On August 31st, Yuki sat down over lunch with his Campus Crusade Bible study leader, Riley and staff member Chad. Throughout their lunch conversation Riley and Chad were able to clearly communicate the gospel message to Yuki. They explained and drew diagrams that would bridge the communication barriers, and over lunch Yuki understood Jesus and the gospel for the first time! He decided right there that he wanted to become a Christian!

Yuki is excited about his newfound faith. He even asked Mary Ann to take a picture with him on the day he gave his life to Christ. As the picture snapped, Yuki held up the picture diagram Riley and Chad used to explain Jesus to him. It was evident that Yuki wanted to remember what his friends had done to point him to Jesus.

Belly!

2009-08-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are at 25 weeks, but it's been hard getting pictures up to date and on the blog. So, here is a week 23 picture in the meantime :)

First week at UNC-W and the Swine Flu :(

2009-08-26T19:59:00.001-07:00

It's the second week of school, but it feels like we've been going for months now! We love Wilmington, and it's been a fun and tiring transition to a new campus with new students and a new way of doing ministry! We've already begun our freshman Bible Studies in Graham and Hewlett dorms (we both were assigned to reach out to the same dorm!) and it's been so fun meeting with freshmen!

Here are a few pictures of a way we tried to meet freshmen---we did a raffle for FREE rainbows! It was so fun and funny to see how students reacted to our larger than life Rainbows we displayed at our raffle table. (thanks to Hot Wax Surf Shop!)
Brittany (my Bible study co-leader) and I at the giveaway table in Graham-Hewlett dorm!

Reece with his Rainbow next to the BIG Rainbows :)

Another fun thing the first week of school was we threw a Pig Pickin out at Carolina Beach State Park. The first weekend of school, freshmen are always looking for something to do, and people to meet. We wanted to offer some fun, games and pig for those sweet freshmen...and upperclassmen too! Here are some pics of the preparation:
How ironic that just days after we were eating delicious pig, the swine flu rolls onto the scene here in Wilmington. I don't know many people at UNC-Wilmington yet but I know at least 6 people who have come down with the swine flu in the past 48 hours...no joke. And somehow I've managed to be with 3 of them the day before they found out they had it. YIKES!

Please pray for us....and baby Johnson...that we won't get sick!!! It's a big deal getting the swine flu while you're pregnant and I'm praying that I will somehow avoid it. thanks!!

We're in our house and the belly is growing!

2009-08-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

We have been in our house for over a week now! The paint is on the walls and the boxes are mostly unpacked....thanks to our wonderful family and friends down here in Wilmington! Tomorrow we head off to our leaders retreat with the student leaders with Cru at UNC-Wilmington...please pray that it would be a refreshing time for the students and that we would train and equip these students to reach out to their peers this year.

We'll leave you with a recent pregnancy picture... I'm currently 22 weeks, but this is from week 20!

Baby Boy Belly

2009-07-27T10:01:00.001-07:00

Week 9!

Week 12!

Week 17!

Week 18!

I'm at 20 weeks now, so I'll add more pictures as we go!

It's a BOY!!!!

2009-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

That's right....we're PREGNANT! Sorry for the lateness of this news, but life has certainly been crazy lately. On Easter, we found out that we were expecting and now we are almost halfway through with the pregnancy. Last week we went to our doctor's appointment and found out that we'll be having a baby boy around December 11th! It's going to be a CRAZY Christmas this year!!

So far everything has been great...I really couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy. People tell you that you'll have a pregnancy like your mom and my mom was sick the whole pregnancy. So, obviously I was pretty nervous finding out that I was pregnant before our summer in Sweden. It would have been so difficult to be sick while being overseas, but God really protected me from that. I'm so thankful!

We also have other changes in the works as well...we're moving to Wilmington! In August, we will begin working at UNC-Wilmington with Campus Crusade. We are really excited about this new adventure, but also pretty nervous about moving to a new location during this crazy time of life change. Here is a picture of our new house that we'll be moving into next week:

2009-06-03T00:33:00.000-07:00

"I want to believe in something...but I just can't," said Emil. Josh, a student from Duke, and I met Emil, Jonatan and Eric at Stockholms nation (think co-ed fraternity that everyone has to join with a restaurant) during lunch. When the conversation turned to spiritual things, we learned that Emil is an atheist, "but not a belligerent atheist like Dawkins," Jonatan and Eric are agnostics; they have belief in some sort of higher power, mainly just to "cover their bases." The lawyers, as Josh and I refer to them, are great fun, but with their strong personalities, its hard to keep the conversation on spiritual things when they decide to take it elsewhere. We had a great time hanging out and cutting up with them. When it was time for them to go study, they expressed a lot of interest in hanging out again.

Since then, we've been able to hang out with them again and with Jonatan. We were able to ask him a lot of spiritual questions and dialogue quite a bit about his beliefs. Near the end of our conversation Jonatan said that no one is asking these types of questions, but they need to be asked. Please pray for Jonatan and the rest of the law students as they think about spiritual issues for one of the first times in their lives.

2 1/2 wonderful years!!!

2009-06-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Today (June 2, 2009) Reece and I celebrated 2 1/2 GREAT years of being married! We both really enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the time God has allowed us to enjoy each other...it's been amazing! We worked on campus all day-which I'll talk about later- and then enjoyed a nice meal out to eat by the river that runs right through downtown Uppsala!

Here is Stephanie posing on a bridge that runs across the river in downtown Uppsala!

In other news, SO much has been happening with our ministry here! The first two weeks were pretty discouraging because most people you talk to here don't even have the desire to know God at all. It's been challenging and we've needed to cling to the Lord to keep stepping out on campus everyday to bring the Gospel to a people who seem like they really don't want it.

We're starting to see that there are people who want to know God--and we've been privileged to walk alongside some of these students in their journey to know more...here is just one snapshot of what God is doing here in Sweden...there are seriously so many more stories so we'll keep posting! Please keep praying because we are seeing God really do cool stuff in the lives of students who have never ever considered God before!

Stephanie met Sophie, a self proclaimed agnostic the first day we stepped foot on Uppsala University's campus. Through various conversations and getting to know Sophie, she has expressed that she believes something is "out there" but she doesn't think it's necessarily God. One night at dinner, Stephanie was able to share how she had experienced the reality of God in her life, which launched into a long conversation about how Jesus impacted her life. Sophie initiated asking her questions about "Why Jesus had to die?" and "how is God's love shown in Jesus' death." It was so obvious that God had been at work in Sophie's life even though she didn't even aknowledge Him as God. It's been great seeing God at work in Sophie's life! We are continuing to meet up with Sophie to talk through her questions and she is really considering this faith in Jesus that we profess...please pray for her...that God will help her see the reality of His love for her in Jesus!!I'll end with this really pretty random picture of the Domkyrkan viewed from the river. We wish you could be here to see how beautiful this city is!

Saturday in Stockholm

2009-05-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

After a long week here in Uppsala, we all headed out for a Saturday adventure in Stockholm! It was a great and exhausting day....tons to fun, and TONS of walking. Here are some of our favorite shots from our day in that beautiful city. Enjoy!

Stephanie enjoying a huge coffee at a famous cafe in Old Stockholm....they take coffee very serious here!

The staff women in front of the famous red and yellow buildings in Old Stockholm (called Gamla Stockholm) The cafe was in the first floor of the red building.

Reece enjoying one of his favorite Swedish foods--KORV! ...from a street vendor of course!

This is a pretty view looking over the Stockholm bay...the architecture here is so beautiful!

Uppsala student life

2009-05-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

It's day 9 here in Sweden, and already we've seen God do cool things.

This week we've jumped right into ministry which means ALOT of initiating with students and building relationships. Everyday we go out to different "nations" which is basically where everyone hangs out all the time-- at the nations we eat lunch and meet different people. It's so easy to meet new people here because you just tell them you're an American who has only been here a week, and they want to know about why you're here and what you're doing.

Through eating lunch at the nations I've met 4 friends who I've gotten to have significant talks with about Jesus, their beliefs (of lack thereof) about God, and so much more! It's been great. There is a great cultural thing called Fika, which helps us build relationships with the friends we meet here. Basically Fika is something friends meeting up for coffee/tea and pasteries. It's anytime you meet up to eat and hang out outside of a normal meal time. Someone going to Fika with you is a big deal because they commit to spending at least 2 hours with you when they plan to fika.

2 days ago I had my first Fika with a student here, and it was GREAT. It actually was a student from Finland, who is here studying in Sweden. Her English is beautiful and she also fluently speaks Swedish, Finnish, and Spanish. The students here are amazing. Uppsala University is comprable to the Harvard of Scandanavia if that gives you any idea who we're dealing with.
here are a few of us at our very first fika at a local coffee shop

....so back to Fika. My Finnish friend Nadia hung out with me for fika the other day and we had a 2 hour conversation about who Jesus is to her and how that can and does transform our lives. Nadia is unusual for most students in Uppsala--she calls herself religious, which is very taboo here. There is a terrible stereotype here with being a person of faith. People assume you are brainwashed and stupid really. It was so interesting talking with her, and I'm excited that I was able to introduce the truth that not only is Jesus a good person, but he is God and Savior. Please pray for Nadia--that these essential truths would become real to her in the coming weeks.

Learning the City

2009-05-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

It's our 2nd full day here and we are surprised to have seen much of Uppsala and learned a lot about this great city! Already, today we have moved out of one housing location and into our more permanent residence. The picture above is an attempt to capture the hilarity involved in our move. Imagine 20 people walking with all their stuff to the bus stop, loading onto a public bus and moving across the city together....it was a highlight of my day today.

Another really fun highlight has been seeing this beautiful city we're living in! Above, is Reece and I in front of Domkyrkan (pronounced: Dom Shirkin-- it is the HUGE church in the middle of Uppsala). It's amazing and really helpful for us as we try to navigate throughout the city--you can see the awesome steeple from almost any part of the city!

In the last couple of days we've also gotten to tour the campus of Uppsala University, where we will spend so much of our time. We visited the Economikum building (Economics) where Agape Sverige (the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry here in Sweden) had a poster where students could tell what their thoughts of God were. It was an encouragement to the local missionaries that anyone even wrote on the poster...let alone filling it up!

Tomorrow we will experience our first church service here...It'll be interesting considering it'll be in Swedish. We'll let you know how it goes!

We made it!

2009-05-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's 10pm our time here in Uppsala, Sweden and we're finally nestled in our beds at the hostel! After a whopping 12 hours on the plane and numerous layovers we are exhausted and very ready to sleep!

When we arrived, some local missionaries with Campus Crusade here in Sweden invited us to their apartment for dinner--which was such a blessing on so many levels. We were sick of airport food over the past few days and also needed some company to stay up so we could adjust to the new time zone. Above is a picture of me (stephanie) and some of the girls! ...And yes, those are scarfs we're wearing. The high was in the 50's today here, so we were bundled up as soon as we got here....quite a surprise to me. I quickly noted that I didn't pack nearly enough "wintery" clothes, so I'll have to grab a warmer coat in the next few days.

It was great hanging out with the local missionaries and picking their brains about what ministry is like here. We can't wait to tell you about that firsthand in the next few days!

Thanks for the prayers...we are SOOO glad to be here finally!!!

Heading to Sweden tomorrow!!!!!!

2009-05-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow at around 3 pm our team (pictured above) boards the plane to Sweden! For the past 2 days, we have been in Greensboro getting to know our team and the country we'll be serving in this summer. It's been so exciting and we're thrilled to finally leave tomorrow! The picture above is from tonight, at the commissioning service we had. Teams heading to locations all over the globe gathered to pray and celebrate with anticipation what the Lord will do in and through us this summer. It was awesome!

For me (Stephanie) this will be my first overseas mission trip and also my first time overseas! I'm a little nervous--especially about the plane flight because I tend to get a bit motion sick when I fly, so please pray for me tomorrow.

Just FYI, our blog will be the main way we keep in touch throughout the summer since we won't have access to phones. We'll probably get sporadic internet access as well, so we'll update as soon as we can! Thanks so much for your prayers and for keeping up with us this summer!

Babies and Showers

2009-04-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

April Showers bring may flowers, or may babies...

A few weekends ago we had a baby filled weekend! Not only did we throw a joint baby shower, we also went to our youngest nieces' Christening. In the words of Reece it was "BABIES, BABIES, BABIES!"

The picture to the left is us with sweet Lily...our youngest niece. She is so sweet!

Above is my co-host Ashley and I with the two mommies to be--Mallory and Sarah! It was so fun showering them with love and teenie little baby gifts :)

Big Break!!

2009-03-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

The first week of March, we did something we've never done since joining staff with Campus Crusade for Christ--we took a group of students down to Big Break down in Panama City Beach! For the past few years, we've never had enough interest to plan a Spring Break trip, but this year we were so excited that our students at Western Carolina University wanted to go.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Big Break, it's a week-long conference that exists to train college students how to share their faith in Jesus, and give them opportunities to reach out to Spring Breakers on the beach. Our students were really excited for an opportunity to step out and introduce their peers to the transforming message of the gospel. One of the students who came with us to PCB went on spring break there in 2008 to party and drink the week away. This time he wanted to come with us to come alongside students who were confused and desiring more in life...it was cool to see him use his past to bring glory to God on spring break!

One of our favorite parts of the week was spending so much time with our students. Since we work on multiple campuses, it was a treat getting to spend a whole week with the students we work with. Getting to "do life" with students is something we love, so it was a great opportunity for us! We cooked meals, hung out on the beach, and shared our faith with those we met...it was a great week!

In other news, our summer project in Sweden is approaching fast! Two months from now we'll be in Uppsala, Sweden! We leave Mid-May, and will spend 5 weeks ministering to college students in that great Scandinavian country! As one of the directors, Reece has been very busy planning and getting details for the summer project worked out. Please pray for him as he gets all of these necessary details together. Thanks friends!

Fun reunions with family and friends over Christmas!

2009-01-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Loves
Jen, Reece and Stephanie

One of the fun things about working with college students is getting college sized Christmas breaks! It is one of the perks we have in our job, and we really love it! We were able to visit both Reece's and my family for a few days over Christmas, and enjoyed getting some extended time with them. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Christmas at the Johnsons
Stephanie, Reece, Jeremy, Caryn and baby Ava

5th annual Girls Christmas party!

High school reunion!

Meghan, Gwen, Brandi & Stephanie

There are so many more fun things we did, and reunions we had and we're so thankful for that! We hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well!

International Justice Mission

2008-10-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Our church--Missio Dei Church-- is joining up with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Montreat College to bring in Victor Butros of International Justice Mission to present his work.
We are also taking a look at the domestic problem of Human Slavery and Sex Trafficing by inviting Susan Hinz of the Hope House Project to present ways that we can get involved in assisting those who have been devastated by this horror.

Come out to learn more and find out how you can help!!

Lily Elizabeth Matthews!!!

2008-10-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Look at this cutie!! Lily was born last Wednesday, and Reece and I are so excited to finally meet her this weekend! Getting 2 new nieces in a month is an exciting thing! Please pray for Lily and her family as they adjust to her arrival.

Here is Lily with her mom Kelly, and siblings Lindsey and Luke!

Fall Getaway 2008!!!

2008-10-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Fall Getaway is our first conference of the year, and is an exciting time of spending a weekend with our students from different colleges. After a super busy first 6 weeks, both we and the students couldn't wait to get away to learn about the Lord, and spend time growing! An exciting part of the conference this year was being on the team that put the conference on this year. For the past 2 years, Reece and I were learning and just lending help in random places, but this year we were able to help plan and lead the conference...it was lots of fun!

God is so good to use our efforts in this conference each year. This morning when we met with the students to debrief what they learned this weekend, it was awesome to hear students experiencing the Lord and considering how to bring the Gospel to their campuses. Above is me with Heather, a senior at Western Carolina University at Fall Getaway. She has been so faithful, and is excited about growing in her faith. She's been especially teachable, which has been so encouraging!! It's so special to see God at work in our students.

Above are almost all of our students who came with us to Fall Getaway. We had students from Western Carolina, UNC-Asheville and Montreat! Thanks for praying for us as we do ministry. It's been such a blessing!!

Gas Shortage in Asheville

2008-09-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Reece and I came down the mountain for a fun weekend...One thing we took for granted somewhat was having gas to drive around on our merry little way. Gas in Asheville has been expensive...a few gas stations raking in $4.75 per gallon...but we had gas nonetheless.

Fast forward to this Monday. We were on the way home from Western Carolina in Cullowhee. We were running a little low on gas, but we had enough to make it home. Reece was on the phone with a friend from church back in Asheville who had gotten off work early and was driving to get gas before heading home. He went to 11 gas stations and still couldn't find a station that had ANY gas....that's right friends, 11. So, on the way home we looked at each station we passed to try to get gas, and none had any either.

So, Wednesday morning when the gas stations up the street from us...one in the morning, one in the evening...had a shipment of gas come in, it was a madhouse. We took pictures at the massive lines in front of the stations....we couldn't capture how crazy it was, but people were literally lined up for about 1/4 mile on the main road just to get gas. Here's what we saw:

So, hopefully that made you thankful for having a full tank back home!

The whole earth is full of His glory

2008-09-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6:3)

Recently I was thinking about this passage and how when the seraphim see the earth, they see that it reflects both God's presence but also His glory. Just seeing what God has created is a testimony that He lives and is good. It was awesome to think about how much more I would be able to see God in the world if only I wasn't sinful. It makes me really excited to meet God face to face...what we're experiencing here is only a shadow of His goodness and greatness.

I was on campus a few days later, and was meeting up with a freshman at UNC-A. She was interested in talking through a few of her questions about Jesus and Christianity. Growing up in Raleigh, she wasn't used to seeing the beautiful mountains every day (we really do live in an awesome part of the state) and since moving to Asheville has really been moved my how awesome creation is here. Because she had never sought out God and connected with Him personally, proof of His existence in creation really began to open her desire to check out who He is when she came to college. What I had been reading about and thinking about was taking place in her life!! She saw that the whole earth is full of God's glory! In fact she said that she desired to know God in a personal way more than she ever had. When I talked to her about the Gospel--that Jesus is God in the flesh who came to live on earth to die the death we deserve so we can know God for all eternity, it totally made sense to her. She saw that God's love led Him to make that type of sacrifice for her...that He cared for her intimately and personally. I walked away from that awesome conversation so amazed at the Lord. He allowed me to step into her experience for the privilege of seeing what He had done in her life. It was so humbling to remember that although I am trusting God to use me to bring people into relationship with Him. He really doesn't need me at all. Thank God that He is all powerful and able to do exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine. Amen!

Our beautiful niece Ava Kathryn!!!

2008-09-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we celebrated our little niece being born...her name is Ava Kathryn Johnson, and she is a heart-breaker already. She is so beautiful!

Reece with sweet Ava.

this is me realizing how hot babies are....I was burning up while holding her!

Look at that face....seriously, she's the cutest ever!

Another highlight to our weekend was spending time with our other niece Elizabeth. One of the things we hate about living in Asheville is being so far away from Reece's family...his mom, dad, brother and sister (along with their spouses and kids) all live at least 4 hours from us. So, having a whole weekend to play with our little niece was such a sweet surprise! Here are some pictures of her:Yep, that's right...she's a cutie too! Jeremy will have his hands full with these two beauties!

We're so thankful for a special weekend with family. Thanks for letting us dote on our nieces as well :)

Olympics....aka Shawn and Nastia's show

2008-08-19T21:10:00.001-07:00

Reece and I are in love with the Olympics! In fact, we decided to get basic cable for the purpose of having NBC for this momentous occasion, and it's been well worth it! Our highlight has been watching Nastia and Shawn rack up the medal count every night. We've been on the edge of our seat as we await the scores for our two favorite gymnasts...it's been a blast.

In the midst of all the Olympic hype, I've enjoyed hearing athletes giving glory to God in their post-gold interviews. It's incredible to see God using this occasion to make himself known. If you're interested in hearing stories of Olympic athletes whose lives have been touched by Christ check out:

Happy Olympics!

Ready...Set...Campus!

2008-08-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

It's campus time-- summer is over. The first day of classes for colleges in western North Carolina has come and gone, and now begins the rush of the first few weeks on campus! Today, Reece and I spent our whole day at club fairs-- 4 hours at UNC-Asheville this morning, then 3 hours at Western Carolina this afternoon. At one point, I was at Western Carolina talking about going to work out at UNC-A...this being on 2 campuses in one day was a little confusing for me. We definitely had a great time hanging out with out student leaders, and working together to welcome the freshmen and new students checking out what to invest their time it. Please pray that students would prioritize Jesus as a worthy investment. Here we are with our student leaders at Western Carolina:

Pray for us that we would have energy while being on campus, and that God would allow us to connect students to Jesus through the new relationships we form this semester!

Redeeming Love

2008-08-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from our hike to Big Bradley Falls....

JP, Mallory, Me and Reece in front of Big Bradley

Reece and JP playing

Isn't summer the best? I've really enjoyed getting to spend time with friends, and take time for things I don't normally do during the semester...like reading! I just finished Redeeming Love last night, and it was so awesome. I had heard about this book for a long time, and Katie let me borrow her copy because she said I had to read it. Lately I've needed something to refresh me in my relationship with the Lord, and reading this book has grown my understanding of what God's love looks like. If you've never heard about this book, its about a Christian man who feels God tell him to marry a prostitute. He goes to the brothel (a place where you'd never expect this man to be) and tries to convince her to let him buy her freedom so he can marry her. I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it was so touching. It really made me think about God's love and how we as people are so like the stubborn prostitute. She didn't want to leave the brothel...she thought there was no way she could change or trust this man who wanted to give her a better life. Aren't we all that same way with God? Jesus died to pay for all our indifference and rebellion towards Him, but then we doubt his goodness and don't trust Him with our lives. This story was so great, and I recommend it to everyone!

My arms are Jello

2008-08-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever started working out hardcore after being lazy for a few weeks?

Well that's what Reece and I have been doing lately. Although we walked about 6 mile per day in New York City, our arms have been lazy for a long time now. Thanks to Ben, we're now doing the Hundred Push-Up challenge which has been so fun ( http://www.hundredpushups.com/). Check it out.

In addition to our new arm work-out, we went to Big Bradley Waterfall with JP and Mallory a few days ago, which further added to our fitness. I had no clue what we were getting into when we arrived to the trailhead that day, but about 20 minutes into our hike to see Big Bradley, the trail ended and there was a rope that led down about 15-20 feet of rock. JP told us that we had to rapel down using the rope. Thankfully, he made a harness for us to put on, because Mallory and I were pretty concerned about this adventure. But I'm glad to say that we were brave and went down, and back up on the way home! I'll post some pictures of the beautiful falls soon. It was definitely worth all the work!

Looking back on NYC

2008-07-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

The Tribeca summer project ended 2 weeks ago. In some ways it seems like it was another lifetime ago. Since then, we’ve gotten re-acclimated to life in the South, visited family and friends, spent a week at the beach and gotten back to Asheville to unpack and get ready for the semester. Through all of this I’ve been trying to wrap my head around our NYC experience this summer.

Stephanie and I both feel like the Lord used us in spite of us this summer. We had a great team of staff and students to lead. I feel like God pushed us to the limits this summer and taught us so much (a lot of which I’m still figuring out).

He taught me a lot about leading others, about speaking truth and sharing my faith. Our team was able to share the Gospel with over 100 people and saw 2 people make the decision to begin following Jesus!

God taught me a lot about relying on Him and not on myself and about finding significance in Him and not in the job I’m doing or in what others think about me. It was such a temptation to base my self worth on the popularity of my decisions and not on the fact that I’ve been adopted in to the family of God.

We learned a lot about seeking the shalom of the city (Jeremiah 29) this summer and what it should look like for a Christian to be a part of a community. In Jeremiah 29 God calls the Israelites to not set up a camp outside the city of Babylon and to separate themselves, but to move in to the city, to marry, have children, plant gardens and become a part of the city, not use it only for what they could get out of it, but to seek the prosperity of it and add to it. This is how God’s people were to be a blessing to the city of Babylon. I learned a lot about how God calls us as Christians today to do the same thing, not to separate ourselves from the culture of our communities and set up our own separate communities, but to cause change within the culture of the communities we live in and to be a blessing to them as we seek to show them Jesus.

These are some of the things that have been on my mind since NYC. Please pray for us and our students as we all continue to process through what God taught us this summer and how to bring it back with us. Here are a couple more pictures from NYC.

Yeah we ate at the original Nathan's on Coney Island. I'd still rather have a Bright Leaf hotdog with mustard, chili and slaw any day!

This is in front of the Queensboro Bridge on a double date with the Woods.
This is the view we had from the roof of our apartment building (Carl's), not bad at all. Thanks for the memories Carl!

July 4th--a rainy day of waiting around on a pier

2008-07-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July in the city is strange day. In order for us to get seats for the Macy's Fireworks show, we arrived at the pier on the East River at 2pm that afternoon! We all reserved our spots, and around 5pm the pier was blocked off so no one else could get on. It's pretty serious business! Here is our group hanging out at the end of the pier:

Around an hour before the fireworks, it started to pour down raining...thankfully Reece and some of the other guys had purchased HUGE tarps that were 30 ft X 10 ft. We had a few extra that we were even able to share with our fellow firework watchers. We created a big tent above our heads using the tarps and successfully kept ourselves dry...and had LOTS of fun in the process. Here are some shots of us enjoying it:
Reece holding the tarp up with an umbrella balanced on his head...
I married a pretty talented guy.

The rain can't get Eden and Heyward down!!

It was pretty stuffy in there, so we stuck our heads out. We realized that we looked pretty funny in the process.

Hope you all had a very happy 4th!!

Hello World, Welcome to New York City

2008-07-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

First I want to apologize for the large gap since the last post. Life has been particularly busy this past 2 weeks. Ministry has been great, and strangely enough we'll only be here for a little over a week more. Each week in New York City, we've focused on a different area of ministry. This past week our focus was international ministry. You may have heard us talk about the Queens borough of New York City being the most diverse place on the planet according to a recent census poll--well we've certainly experience the great diversity in our backyard here.

...on the campus of Columbia University

This week we went through training on how to do ministry with international students who are studying in the US. One thing that really excited me is the idea of the world literally coming here. Jesus desires for every tribe, tongue and nation to know Him, which is a high calling for us. We have many friends who are overseas helping to fulfill that calling even this summer. But reaching the international students who have come to our country makes so much sense when we actually live here! They have provided the money for the flight here, they are the ones who desire to learn our beliefs and culture, and many times they are never befriended by a Christian American during their time in the US. All of these reasons made our week of learning how to do international ministry very necessary and exciting.

On Monday of this week, I met a girl named Celia (that was her American name...I can't pronounce her Chinese name) who is an international student who came to study 1 1/2 ago from China. Celia was so sweet, and was so open to talking about her home country and the values and beliefs she was brought up with. She told be that in her country she had never learned that their was a spiritual part of life, and had no idea who God is or how to know Him. In fact, she has only one Christian friend in China, but Celia was confused by her beliefs because she didn't know who God was. It was amazing to see her openness to talking about Jesus and our belief that He is the only way to know God personally because of His sacrifice for us on the cross. Celia walked away saying that I had given her a lot to think about. Would you please pray that our conversation would be used in her life to bring her to know Jesus?

It's been awesome seeing our students stepping out to love people in the city. They've amazed us with how they're committed to meeting people where they're at and trusting God to make Himself known. Would you also pray for these 9 students to have endurance to finish well in this last week on campus before heading home? Here is a picture of these awesome students:

Brooklyn College and WICKED

2008-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 hours and 27 subway stops was the time it took us to get to our campus today. We traveled from the student housing in Queens to Brooklyn College. I never imagined that it would take that long to get around this city! Although it was a long commute, the rewards of being on campus were great. Like yesterday, I experienced so much diversity. When we arrived on campus, we paired up to do different surveys to help us learn about the campus...what things students care about, what people enjoy being involved in, and why they chose to come to Brooklyn College. Although the surveys are structured to provide practical information to help us do what we call "decoding a campus," almost always the conversation turns to spiritual things. It's so interesting how that happens, and the conversations we've had with people the last two days has been eye-opening.

The first guy we talked to on campus today was named Admar. He is an international student from Croatia, in his last classes before graduating this summer. As a philosophy major, he's a deep thinker and it was awesome to walk with him as he pondered God's love in the midst of an imperfect world. He is agnostic, acknowledging that a "higher being" must exist, but not really desiring to worship or know him. Our hour long conversation didn't bring Admar to faith in Christ, but we walked away encouraged that God had moved in his heart...perhaps bringing him one step closer to trust Christ with his life.

Thank you so much for praying for us, and for our students as we minister on these campuses...please keep praying that God will bring us into divine appointments with people who are searching for spiritual truth about God.

On a much lighter note, I was able to go to the Broadway Musical WICKED on Sunday!! We entered a lottery at Gershwin Theatre and 2 of our students won the right to buy 2 FRONT ROW tickets for only $26.50 each! Each of the students could take a friend, and Sarah asked me to come with her. It was such a great show...if you're ever in the city you should totally see it! Here is a picture of the whole group (minus me) waiting for the lucky winners to be announced:

Here are the 4 girls that went to WICKED:

NYC is fun...and very tiring!

2008-06-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Our New York Experience has been so fun. We've already seen more things, and been more places than I thought we would all summer. Life in the city is fast-paced, and is pretty tiring. We leave in the morning...around 9 and don't get home until 10 most nights! It's hard to get used to. Here are some pictures of the fun we've had:

Here we are eating Gimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here is us at the Top of the Rockafeller Center...the view of Central Park was my favorite!

You might be wondering what else we've been doing in addition to all the sight-seeing...well today was the first day of ministry on the college campuses here. Up until this point there has been lots of preparation, and getting students adjusted to life in the city (navigating the subways, building relationships within their team, learning about their campuses, etc) Today my ministry team spent most of our time at Hunter College, where my friend Jon and I were able to talk to 4 students who were soooo different than us. Out of the 4 students we just happened to strike up conversations with, 3 were Jewish. It was awesome...I love the diversity here, and it's awesome to see how the Gospel transcends all those unique differences. It was a great day, and we were able to talk about Jesus alot! I'm excited to tell you more as we're on campus much more frequently for the next 4 straight weeks.

Team Bonding

2008-06-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been great. Our staff team arrived on Wednesday, so since then we've spent lots of time getting to know each other in hopes that we'll lead well together this summer. I'm so excited about the fun group of people God has brought together. On Friday evening and all day Saturday, we spent time sight-seeing and also learning about the campuses we'll be ministering on this summer. We also spent 5 hours telling each other about our stories in an exercise we call "Soul to Soul". It was so fun hearing how different we each are, but how we are all here for the same purpose. Here are the FUN staff we'll be spending the summer with--these pictures are from the BBQ festival in Madison Square Park!: From left to right: Eden-- on staff at University of Tennessee, Erik--on staff at Syracuse University and Jonathan--on staff in Albany, NY

Above are Hobie and Hannah Wood, who are on staff at Appalachian State University. We also spent last summer with this WONDERFUL couple, and are sharing our apartment in Queens this summer with them.

The students arrive this Tuesday! I'm so thankful for this past week--I've been able to get used to the fast-paced city life, and get to know our staff team before welcoming our students. Please pray that the students would have a safe, relatively easy transition here to NYC and getting used to the culture shock that can happen. Thanks for praying!

We finally have a place to live!

2008-06-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, we finally moved into our home for the summer...a cozy little apartment in Queens. We're sharing the 2 bedroom apt with our friends Hobie and Hannah Wood, who are also doing ministry with us this summer. The housing we found for students this summer doesn't have accommodation for couples or families, so each had to sublease various different apartments in the city. Our apartment was particularly hard to find for some reason, and we actually took the train up to NYC not knowing where we would spend the next night...it's been quite the faith stretching experience! Here are some pictures of our apartment--that kitchen picture was after extensive cleaning by Hannah and myself...It's a bachelor pad, so as you could imagine, it wasn't as clean as we would have hoped (no offense guys). Along those lines, the guy we're subleasing from was in a hurry leaving for Chicago that day, so he left lots of random things out that we had to clean up--dirty dishes in the sink (with no dishwasher other than us), dirty towels hanging in the bathroom, and--as shown in the picture-- shoes on the floor! After getting our apartment ready for someone to live in it while we were gone, this was definitely a surprise...but, needless to say cleaning up a little bit didn't kill us, so we'll be ok.

One thing that's been pretty fun lately is getting used to the subway system. I imagined that it would be tough to learn, but I had no idea there were so many routes and lines to navigate. It's like a big puzzle for me. Well one really fun subway memory was made tonight. Reece and I were coming home from the Campus Crusade office, and were bringing a rolling shelf with us back to our apartment (because we have basically no drawers or closet space in our room). We walked from the office to Grand Central Station and had to roll the shelves to take the train. Well it was late, and we were tired so we started doing acrobatics in the middle of Grand Central Station using our shelves...here are some pictures:

Our first day in the city!

2008-06-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

We were so glad to finally be in New York City today. After 13 hours sitting on a train yesterday, we both were happy to be out walking around....and boy did we walk A LOT today! Reece had a pedometer in his pocket throughout the day, and it reads that we walked 15991 steps (6.7 miles) today. Whew! It makes me thankful to be sitting down again :)

Our apartment is not available until Wednesday so we've been staying in a hotel in Queens. We had meetings this morning in Manhattan, so we had our first subway ride of the summer this morning. We waited for 20 minutes for it to arrive which we didn't expect...thank goodness we learned yesterday to be early!!

After our meeting, all of the directors went up to the Bronx to the Bronx Zoo! It was really fun, and amazing to see all the animals. We saw some pretty strange things as well. A gorilla threw up in his hands twice and proceeded to eat his own throw up both times. I know I'm probably weird, but that was my favorite part.

After the zoo, Reece and I went to Bryant Park in Manhattan to have a little date for our 1 1/2 year anniversary! We got sandwiches and brought them to a little table in the park....so cute. From the park you can see the Empire State Building on one side, the Chrysler Building to another side, and lots of pretty grass which is an endangered species here. It was very nice...oh, and we were able to sit again. I liked that.

Here is Reece with the sandwich shop in the background...it was named 'Wich Craft. I definitely recommend it. We're excited for another day tomorrow!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles…

2008-06-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

“Love, we’re gonna be late, its quarter till 3!” Yeah, that would be am. I never thought that getting up at 2:45AM would make me late for anything.

So yeah we woke up late to catch our train to New York City for summer project. We hurried up and to leave by a little after 3 or so. As we walked in to the Amtrak station in Greensboro, the ultra-calm ticket agent said to us that we should have been there long ago if we were going to check our bags…thanks a lot. Stephanie and I ran to get our luggage, not fully aware of how close we were to scheduled departure, causing a commotion that we wish was captured on film. Seriously, it probably looked like something from a movie.

As we started running from our car I was dragging 2 large rolling suitcases, a backpack, a duffle bag, 2 squishy pillows, a back roll, and a bottle of aloe vera (we got a little too much sun at the lake yesterday) and Love with a large rolling suitcase, backpack, 2 Nalgenes, a blanket, and food for the trip. At this moment, I thought, “I survived a much worse fiasco getting on a train in China than this, we’ll be alright and we’ll make it on the train; they won’t leave.” The next moment everything was falling; the pillows, the duffle bag that I had on top of the rolling suitcase, the aloe vera; everything. Stephanie bursts in to tears over how pathetic the situation is and over how tired she is. Seriously, at this moment I’m thinking that this is just like a TV show or a movie and then I remembered that they always make the train, plane or whatever on TV and the movies; we’ll be alright, they won’t leave us.

A few steps later and I’m on the sidewalk, I have dropped the red squishy pillow and run over it with one of the suitcases. It’s a casualty at this point, I’m not going back to get it. The ticket agent helps us to get on to an escalator to get up to the train. As soon as we get off the escalator and step on the platform, the train blows its whistle and begins rolling. The porter on the side of the train shook her head and said that it was too late.

The stages of mourning presented themselves quickly. Immediate disbelief, following quickly by rage, made me want to hurl my Nalgene bottle as hard as I could at the wall. Then followed a long period of strategy. I turned to the ticket agent to ask where the next stop was and if we could drive there and beat the train. He said we couldn’t make it and told us the next train to NYC left at 9:21. It was 4am.

Back downstairs in the ticket office, we found out that we would have to pay $180 extra to take that 9:21 train on top of the $160 that the tickets to NYC already cost us. After my awesome wife called Amtrak “customer service” (she said she would be more determined than me and not back down) without really getting much service, we decided to try to see if we could get a cheap flight. Going to the airport ticket counter was the wrong thing to do because the agent at the Greensboro airport noted that we were walking up to the ticket count to buy tickets, apparently that’s the most expensive way, and then told us tickets would be $900…per person!

Then we called Mrs. Love (sorry we kept you up!) and she looked on discount airline sites and bus sites for alternatives while we drove to Panera to use their internet connection to do the same.

After seeing nothing for less than $400, the next mourning phase set in, acceptance followed by delirium (due to the lack of sleep). We drove back toward the train station to check in wait for the 9:21 train. The same ticket agent was there, bless his heart. He checked our bags in for us, 3 hours early and then wisely asked if we were going to hang around there or if we were going to go anywhere and then told us what time we should be there to not miss the train. The following events including quite an excursion in downtown Greensboro will come in a later blog post.

We have made it to New York now though and are chillin at the La Quinta (Queens).

Max Patch

2008-05-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering about the picture behind our title. One of us (can't remember) took it on a hike last fall. Max Patch is a completely clear grassy bald west of Asheville near the Tenn. border with an amazing 360 view. Its been my favorite spot that we've found so far in the Asheville area.

Besides the breathtaking views, the drive to the trailhead is a dream for someone like me. Off the interstate, you take about a 3-mile steep winding gravel road that is a blast to drive!

Last fall when we hiked it, it was around 55 degrees or so in Asheville, so we dressed for that weather. Being low-landers most of our lives, we forgot that the temperature would drop as we got to higher elevations. Add in the fact that the wind blows there like it does at the beach and you've got a recipe for a miserably freezing hike. I thought my ears were going to fall off (no toboggan) and Love had a thin scarf around her head...it was quite a site as you can see in the picture. I'm definitely looking forward to going again without being miserably cold.

My forgetful life in the kitchen

2008-05-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of buying seasoning packets. Lately it seems that lots of my favorite things to make have required be buying these handy little helpers...chili, enchiladas, guacamole...you name it, they probably have a packet out there to help you make it. Well, lately I've been pretty forgetful--I get everything out to make my meal, and realize that I forgot that little packet! I've been very impressed with myself lately though, because I've decided to actually learn to figure out how to make my meals without them. I wanted to share a recipe I just tried and really liked. So save $1 and a trip to the grocery store, and try it!

TACO SEASONING

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Enjoy!

Weddings and Babies

2008-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

We are officially in the heat of the wedding and baby season of life. We've been amazed at how many weddings we've gone to in the past year, and how many of our friends who are already married are starting to have babies. Also, Reece's sister Kelly and sister-in-law Caryn are both pregnant too! I understand now why people start getting baby fever when their friends start having babies. Mom says I need to babysit to ward the fever off.

Above is a shot of Reece holding baby Ben Meredith. Reece was sure to wear his Wolfpack red to balance out all of the Carolina gear baby Ben was already wearing. I'm not too sure Jacq and Ben liked that one :) We also celebrated at two weddings this month: Laura and David Sloan as well as Nik and Lindsay Franks. Here are some fun shots from their weddings:

David and Laura driving away in their sweet ride!

Nik and Lindsay during their vows!

I love getting to celebrate at these fun occasions!

1 week left!

2008-05-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

We can't believe that in 1 week we'll begin our summer adventure in New York City! Since we'll be enjoying city life for about 7 weeks this summer, Reece and I have been trying to get out and appreciate mountain life until we leave. The picture above is taken at the top of Rocky Head Trail in Montreat, NC last week. It was either a tough trail, or we've gotten more out of shape than we'd like to admit! I found out the other day that Asheville was rated "Best Place to Live" a few years ago, and I really understand why. I wish all the people who I love and care about who aren't here would move here!

Another thing we have enjoyed lately is a certain little baby...Ben and Jacqueline Meredith welcomed their precious little cutie into the world on Thursday. He's so sweet, and I've enjoyed getting to see him a couple of times this week. Ben says that he gives parenting a 10 out of a 10...they are going to be such great parents.

Today I was thinking that this blog would be a great way to keep everyone updated on our travels and adventures this summer, so check back to keep up with what's going on with us!
We're excited, but still nervous...you're prayers are so appreciated!

The past two years

2008-05-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today (May 13th) Reece asked me to be his wife. As I look back at that day, it's one of the most memorable days of my life thus far. I'll recount the story here:

I went to bed on Friday, May 12, 2006 sad to be in Indianapolis. Just 2 weeks earlier I had packed my bags and driven up to Indy from my parents' house in North Carolina. I had just begun my ministry with high school students with Student Venture. Although I really enjoyed ministry and exploring this new place, I had the looming feeling that I was supposed to be with Reece. Any girl knows that waiting for the guy's next move is hard, and yet exciting. So that's where I was. I planned to get my mind off of things by visiting my childhood friend Will, who lived up in Chicago--about 3 hours from Indianapolis. I planned to get up early...around 6am.

At 4:30 on Saturday morning, my roommate woke me up. She told me to get a bag packed...not to worry about showering. Reece was flying me back to North Carolina because he missed me. What?! First, why was Reece flying me back? He doesn't have that kind of money to fly me back just because he misses me. Maybe he has something else up his sleeve...I tried not to let my mind go there, even though I hoped that he would propose to me so bad! Secondly, don't take a shower?! I haven't seen my boyfriend in 2 weeks...I'm taking a shower.

So, I did and I arrived late to the airport...I was so thankful that something made me pack to carry on. I arrived at the airport in Raleigh to see that my friend Kathryn was there to pick me up. So strange...He flew me all the way there and didn't even pick me up. This was turning out to be such a strange and exciting day. Kathryn took me back to her house, where Reece had planned for me to have time to take a shower and get ready for the day....OHHH so that's why I wasn't supposed to take a shower. He's a smart one. So, since I had taken a shower, Kathryn and I just hung out until Reece came to pick me up. I found out that he had actually been at the urgent care all morning with Toncilitus. He was really in no shape to be having this exciting of a day.

Reece picked me up around noon and took me to the place where we ate lunch on our second date. We enjoyed our BBQ...nervously that is. As we walked up to the register to pay, I saw that Reece had a yellow receipt in his wallet, which read:

Ring Deposit: $500

Whaaaaaaaaaaat???? I was not supposed to see that! I pretty much knew he bought the ring at that point, but still tried not to get my hopes up that he would propose today. A few hours later Reece took me to Lake Johnson...which was the location of lots of hanging out our first few months of dating. We walked slowly around the lake, ending up at a bench overlooking the water. We talked while I looked at pictures on Reece's camera. Suddenly I realized that he wasn't paying attention to the pictures or really anything I was saying, and instead was looking up in a nearby tree. I followed his line of vision, and there I saw I big camera up in the tree. I was so surprised, and asked Reece why there was a camera in the tree. At that point it was so obvious that he put it there, and that I should probably not probe any further. Like a good little girlfriend I played along the rest of the way, and acted like I didn't know what he was about to do....He told me much earlier that if he sensed his girlfriend knew he was about to propose, then he wouldn't do it. Obviously, I didn't want this to be postponed.

To my excitement, he did propose that day and it was wonderful. He brought an i-pod with sweet, special songs on it and we danced for about 30 minutes right there by the lake. It was really the greatest day, and I'm so happy to be Reece's wife.

Beach Bums

2008-04-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ben, Reece and JP sporting their wetsuits.

I love the beach. This past weekend, the Pezzolis, Reece and I went to visit the Treeces in Wilmington...it was the vacation that we all needed! Basically Jen and Ben have it made and are living the dream. We spent long days at the beach watching Ben teach Reece and JP how to surf, the ate dinner together and hung out until late at night. It was great fun...thanks so much to Jen and Ben for having us!

Jen, me and Mallory vegging out on the beach.

Quarter Century Crisis

2008-04-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Turning 25 was hard. I wasn't sad, or dreading my birthday but it ended up unexpectedly being a pretty hard day for me. Although birthdays are supposed to be fun days where you feel celebrated, it was actually good for me to have a low birthday. Why do we feel like we're entitled to being celebrated on our birthday anyway? I never have understood that...we didn't do anything to bring ourselves into the world. We were completely passive in the process. If anything we should bake a cake and shower our mother with gifts. Yet, every year I expect to feel honored on April 14th. So strange. I think it reveals a lot about our self-centeredness as people.

Another thought on that topic is part of the reason I had a hard birthday--lack of community. It wasn't that I didn't have people celebrate me on my birthday, it's just that none of them (except for Reece) were in Asheville to celebrate with me on that day. In college I was so used to being around my friends...going out to a fun dinner, and making the day really special. My birthday uncovered my desire to feel connected to people in Asheville, and it saddened me that it hasn't really happened yet. I've talked to lots of my friends who moved to various places after college, and are struggling with this very same thing. It's such a shock to move from an intense community of friends and family to isolation in a new place. And it's crazy that we're ending our second school year here, and we still somewhat feel that way.

It's hard to go through realizations like this, but I'm so thankful to realize that I haven't arrived yet. Transitions are so hard, but I'm excited to see how God provides for that community that Reece and I so desire here. And I believe He already has in many ways even recently. I'm thankful that God is in control and I'm not.

Contentment

2008-01-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Exams, papers, classes...I knew about halfway through college that I was ready to get out of there. Come to think of it, it was the same way when I was in high school....and middle school...and probably before that. Really, my whole life has been me waiting for the next thing to come along. I'm addicted to living in the future. But what happens when you get out of school, and become the "adult" you've been waiting to be this whole time-- It's then that you come face to face with the heart of the problem. And I'm there...I'm discontent.

I know that I "shouldn't" feel like that. I know better than anybody how blessed I am. I have the greatest husband ever, a relationship with Christ that gives my life meaning and satisfaction, family who would do anything for me, and friends who I love so much. But, don't we all come to those points in our life where we become sick of where we're at?? How many of us have spent hours daydreaming about a life that is foreign to our current existance--longing for a life without the worries we deal with everyday; of working so much and playing so little.

It was so much easier being in college dreaming of the place that today is reality for me. In my daydreams, today seemed so much more carefree and easy. As I've thought about this today, I think that's the danger of living in the future...wollowing in discontentment. We don't ever run into the wall of reality--real life is hard...not like the idealistic easy life we dream about.

I'm thankful in this time that I can trust the Lord, and His plan for me in this time. Although I'm discontent, He is very content. He knows the plans He has for me, and He's not surprised by my frustration...in fact He plans to use it for His good.

Tribute to my egg..

2008-01-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

Many knew and loved my little egg over the 8+ years of her life with me. She blinded many people with her "egg yolk" fog lights and her sweet hatchback was her most admirable feature. In a bittersweet moment, we said goodbye to her...today, another family adopted my sweet little egg (**single tear**)

As I drove her for the last time today, I was surprised at how memories flooded back, and I actually was kinda sad. It's strange how I've had the egg through so many stages of life. As I think back to the person I was when my parents bought me this car when I was 15--I was a different person! Since getting that car, I've experienced my first "real" date, numerous speeding tickets, driving back and forth to college, meeting the man of my dreams, getting married...it's amazing that this car has seen more important times with me than even Reece has! What a sad thing to say goodbye...

When we arrived at the State Employees Credit Union to meet Cindy (Egg's new mom), we were surprised to hear her say she had decide a name for Egg. A new name?? I told her that no one had ever called my egg anything other than "the Egg." Cindy didn't seem to have the same love for that name, and had decided to name my egg Honeysuckle.

SO, in memory of the car formerly known as "Egg", I write this post. So long.

Intro

2008-01-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well, as you can see, Stephanie, who will be posting as "Love", and I have decided to start a blog. I have never blogged until now and have alway been intrigued and have secretly want to join the blogging world. I'll have to admit that I'm a little nervous about it because I'm not much of a writer and because I'm not sure if I'm going to have a lot to talk about. But, we hope this blog will serve has a place to post stories, ponderings we have, pictures of our experiences, and of course to keep you up to date on what we're up to. There may even be the occaisional soapbox. So thanks for reading and we hope you'll check this out every now and then.