Wednesday, April 11, 2012

10 Things I love about my Birthday Man!

Today is Alex's 25th Birthday. It hit him hard last night when he was pondering how long until we turn 50 and he said, " So, in 30 years, when we are like 50... NO, oh my gosh,  IN 25 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
   So in honor of my sweet husband turning a quarter of a century, I would like to share just 10 of the many things I love about him.




1. He loves Jesus humbly. Alex steadily and humbly follows Jesus in a way that always amazes me. My favorite moments are when I walk into his office and he is sitting with the Bible wide open, writing down prayers and thoughts in his journal.


2. He is growing into a Man. I think this is a perk of marrying young, like we did. Of course, Alex was a grown man when we got married, but over the last 2 years, and especially in the last 9 months, I have seen him grow so much into adulthood. Watching him lead us in support raising, watching him give talks in front of 250 students, watching him take initiative in ministry. He is just growing up. :)

3. He still can make me laugh like no one else. This was one of the reasons I fell in love with him and its still true today. He is just so funny.


4. He is right in all the places I am wrong. He is still the clean one and I am the messy one. He is my "rest coordinator" when I work too much. He is my "technology minimizer" when I am surrounded by my phone, kindle, laptop, and ipad doing work on all of them. He isn't afraid of what people think about him, when I am struggling to seek approval from others.... oh the list could go on and on.


5. He still lets me tease him. Teasing is my love language. I love to tease and I love to be teased. Maybe its the youngest child in me. :) Anyways, Alex is always a good sport when I tease him, which is almost everyday. He just has a few quirks that can't go by un-teased.

6. He has great taste in music. I think it is rare to marry someone where you barely have to compromise on any music choices with. We have seen a few great concerts in our time together, but my favorites are our own personal concerts when I'm crazily dancing around the room and he is just reading or something chill.

7. He is FINALLY figuring out things he loves. When we first got married he had no favorites. He was pretty "middle of the road" about everything. Well this does not fly around me, the creator of annual "100 things I love" lists. Alex is now really starting to love things!  He loves Manchego cheese, collecting Starbucks mugs, grilling, Fantasy Basketball, and Spikeball. I love encouraging his new loves and jumping on every bandwagon he wants to jump onto.


8. He is always up for one of my adventures. He lets me get excited about new places to visit or new restaurants to try out. I planned our summer vacation for this July, and he still barely knows where we are going.

9. He is actively fighting sin. I remember before marrying him someone asked, "Is he humble and teachable?" This was important because he would never be perfect, but if he was humble and teachable to the Lord, he would actively fight sin. I love seeing him do this. A great example is that he is fighting passivity in marriage, by intentionally thinking of a question to get to know me everyday. Obviously, this is serving me, but his heart behind it is what means the most.



 10. He breathes freedom into everything I do.  Whenever I am feeling unsure, insecure, or stressed, Alex is so quick to breathe freedom into whatever I am doing! I see this most in finances. Alex trusts God so much with our money, so when I start to get worried or want to buy a new shirt, he is quick to breathe freedom by showing me the budget, reminding me of how God provides, and encouraging me to buy the shirt.


Well, that is my wonderful husband.  I think I love his birthday more than he does, because without his birthday, I wouldn't have gotten to spend my life with him!

Friday, April 6, 2012

My Favorite Photographer


Jasmine, the photographer, and Jason, the fiance.

My good friend Jasmine, has been there for so many of my big life events, and most of them she has been behind the lens of a camera. She helped with our engagement photo shoot; we were one of the first weddings she shot; she captured the beauty of my sister's wedding, and last weekend she asked if we wanted to have a few pictures taken, just for fun. I have looked through them 100 times because she is just soooooo talented!!!! (and my hubby looks super cute in them too. hehe)

Not only is Jasmine my favorite photographer, but she is one of our closest friends! She is creative, genuine, passionate, and follows Jesus with a faith that has led to her many countries and more recently a move across the US. Another thing we love about Jasmine, is that she is marrying a great friend of ours. Alex will be a groomsman for Jason in their wedding in July.

Jasmine is going to be super embarrassed by this post, but when I love something, I have to tell people about it. (Maybe that is why I am in full time ministry...) If you are looking for someone to shoot your wedding, family pics, baby pics, senior pics, etc. check out her website: JasmineNicolePhoto.com. You actually might stumble upon her by accident too since she is going to be featured in the Style Me Pretty Wedding blog this month! (a HUGE deal in the wedding photography world!) Also, don't worry about her needing to travel from her current home in New Mexico to do a photoshoot. She travels all the time to do photo sessions and visit family, so she is very flexible. In fact, she will be in Illinois almost the entire summer.

Here are some of my favorite life moments that Jasmine has captured over the years.

October 31, 2009

Our Giant Bridal Party

My sister and Doug's Wedding- April 2011
Isn't my nephew adorable!?!?!




April 2012 in Gibson City