Abundant

So many blessings in this life. So, so many.  

Sure, life isn't just a walk in the park without trials. There's hard, hard, hard stuff. You might think something's unfair. There's hard stuff, man! Sad stuff, gross stuff, frustrating, tiring stuff, I-don't-know-how-I'll-make-it-through stuff.  All of us have some of these things. I just might not know what you're going through, and you might not know what I'm going through.

All of us have our battles to fight. 

But...

Why focus on those? We deal with them on a daily basis, but they don't have to (and shouldn't) consume us. Fight your battles, but leave them on the battlefield, so to speak. 

Everyday do your best to walk away from pity-poor-me, sadness, anger...whatever you're dealing with. Our problems don't disappear, but to a great degree we can choose our outlook. So come with me - today I'm going to choose a bright one!

~

it's a blessing to make breakfast in the morning for my Ox, and kiss him goodbye. 

it's a blessing to sing and do the laundry

it's a blessing to look at the pretty flower in a vase on the kitchen table

it's a blessing to plan out weekly menus so we can have nourishing food 

it's a blessing to have my hands in warm, soapy water washing the breakfast dishes and saying prayers of thanks

it's a blessing to teach Bible class, and after giving hugs and kisses have a cutie say, "I need them again!"

it's a blessing to run around the house with the husband, just being crazy

it's a blessing to sweat and feel those muscles burn

it's a blessing to sit and study the Bible together at night with my best friend

it's a blessing just to talk. It's funny how conversations become so different...what do we want to accomplish? How can we better ourselves? What kind of parents do we want to be? What are our goals? When should we have babies? How many babies should we have? How much do we have in our budget?...

So many blessings. Those are just a few of mine. 

What are some of yours?

Life is a treasure. 

Moving

We're moving! 

Alex got a preaching job in Denison, TX.  We went down twice to try out, and we got the job.  I appreciate everyone who has been keeping us in their prayers!

This is the church building, and our house next door. So thankful that we have a home to move into right away.

The house is cute. :)

We're moving in two weeks, so we'll be running around like chickens with their head cut off.  More pictures to come!

Happy weekend!

To meet a husband, pt. 2

(read pt. 1 here)

My family and I were driving to the Samford's house for supper, where we would meet the guests. I'd taken time to freshen up and try to look somewhat cute, because seriously peoples, let me tell you that having any visitors was a huge deal. These were our first to have in our time in Iringa, so I was excited.  Were they going to be fun, uptight, friendly?

We walked in, and everyone started meeting each other.  To make sure I didn't appear too eager, I set down the food we brought, then made my way over. Everyone shuffled around, taking turns shaking hands; they were polite and nice, and you could tell immediately that they were just great people.  Alex and I reached across and shook hands - "Hi, I'm Alex", "...Lindsey, hi!".  Everyone makes a first impression; Our brain gathers bits of info while we're not even realizing it. Mine went "boop beep boop boop. hands that are used to work. beep boop. eyes: brown. beep beep. eyes: brown. beep. eyes:brown. beep boop."

Even though I wasn't going to be at all dumb about Alex, since people thought that we'd go well together, I couldn't help but watch him some and see what the person was like.  Out of curiosity!

He kept mostly to himself, and hardly said a word.  He seemed to be more interested in his food than in the conversation around him.  Occasionally he'd look up and glance around,  then return back to quietly munching his food.  His two brothers were talkative and hilarious, and it was easy to talk to them.  Somehow though, Alex's silence didn't come across as rude or stuck up, but just what it was - silence.  He did make a short comment or two throughout the evening, and when he did, "boop beep boop. voice much is deeper than expected. beep beep."

The next morning, my brothers and I walked over to the Samfords to see what was up, and we all headed out for a walk around our neighborhood.  Jake grabbed a soccer ball because the kids wanted to play at a nearby field.  Alex and I ended up walking sortof by each other, though we were on opposite sides of the road.  Within a few minutes of this picture being taken, an old lady walked by us, and she and I greeted each other. Aubrie Samford loved riding on Alex's shoulders, and you can see her riding there in the picture. After the old woman passed by Aubrie said, "Aunt Linz! She probably thinks you and Alex are married!".  "Aaaargh, Aubrie! He's already not talking to me, don't say that!!!" I thought.  Instead, I awkwardly said, "Heh heh, you're siiiiilly." 

I did quite a bit of the talking, because it felt awkward to just walk along in silence.  I thought he didn't like me.  Not just "like like" me, but I thought he just plain ol' didn't like me.  Ya see, by this time I'd seen enough of him through facebook and such to know that he was normally be perkier.  Do you know how a guy acts when he's making it clear he doesn't like you, but at the same time is being the perfect gentleman? I don't want to make it out to sound like he was being awful and rude, because he wasn't.  Ox was always polite and gentlemanly! 

And I liked this guy. He was most concerned about being prepared for the classes he was teaching than anything else. We would be playing games and he would be preparing for his lessons. As the days went on, when he would open up just a bit, I saw that he was hilarious. And in comes the trying not to laugh too much at his hilarity so he wouldn't be able to tell that I liked him. I was still determined that I would not be dumb about the whole thing.

Apparently, about this time Alex's resolve was crumbling. :)

One night we went to play football, and I went along to play, because that's what I would've done normally.  It was fun, and we decided to play again the next night.  My Dad, our translator, and Alex were on a study, so were going to be there a little late.  They pulled up, and ran over to where we were, except no Alex.  I brain started whirring at high speed. "Huh? I know he doesn't like me, but he doesn't have to not come just because I'm here! I know how much he likes sports, and he would be here. I can't believe that! I've been staying out of the way! Is he so offended by my presence??"...right at that moment he steps out from behind the car - he had been changing his shoes! "Oh....okay."

What I didn't know at this time, was that Anthony and Andrew were trying to convince Alex to just talking to me some. "Just talk to her some, you never know!"...

I guess it worked, because a few days before they left we'd talk some. A success! We spoke! Heh heh.

The day before they left, we took them on a safari, and we happened to sit by each other.

I had never met a guy like him and thought he was awesome in every way.  That feeling is a million times stronger now; I thank God every day for Alex.  I believe with all my heart that God worked to put us together, and I am so humbled and thankful for that. 

To meet a husband, pt. 1

Oh February, the month of looove.  It can be the month to love anybody! (or everybody) - a husband, a sister, a friend, family...  But in honor of this month, and the new changes around here, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and tell the story of how Ox and I met.

[Rewind to approx. 2010]

My mom and Laura Warnes had a connection through a homeschool emailing list. Our families had both gone to Roundhouse, but had missed each other the years we went. Since both of our families lived far away from where the camp was, we went every other year. What they realized was that the years the Jensens went, the Warnes had their "off year".  To make a long story short, they started writing back and forth and became good friends. They would even skype every so often. 

Somewhere around this time, I grajeeated from highschool, and Laura saw my senior pictures. She was looking through them and thought, "I really like her...I think this girl would be good for Alex. I mean, she even makes his faces!"...

...and I loved Mrs. Laura! I would sit and listen to her and my mom skype, and couldn't help but talk to her.  At this point, I didn't even know my husband to be existed...I'd never even heard his name.  Also, what I didn't know was that the whole family (besides him) were keeping their eye on me!  His little sister Abby and I started talking some on facebook, and then eventually skyping. She was the sweetest thing, and I loved her to death. I heard about her brothers Andrew, Aaron, Ashton and Adam, and even met her little sister Anna on skype, but still never heard about a brother named Alex. 

Uuuuuuntil......some of the Warnes brothers were going to come to Tanzania for a mission trip. *Drum roll* then I got a friend request on facebook from an Alex. "Huh, I've never heard of this one before", I thought to myself.  Like always when I confirm a friend, I started looking through his pictures and info.  Suddenly, I realized that I was going through way too many of his pictures than my normal confirm-a-facebook-friend-protocol called for, and got off. I was being ridiculous, and I vowed not to think about it again. And it worked! 

Uuuuuuntil.....about 8 months until they were due to arrive, word somehow reached my ears that I was being thought of as a hopeful possibility for Alex.  I *happened* (hey, maybe I just passed by!) to come across his profile again.  I'm pretty sure my thoughts went something like this, "Hmmmm...*snort* Nah, like that would ever happen! I've never even met him. He wouldn't even be interested in me. I wouldn't even be interested in him. I'm going to forget about it."...

...and I did. I really did.  Whenever it came up, I'd shrug my shoulders and say "nah".  And I meant it.  My family and I were due to move back to the States just a few short weeks after the Warnes boys' visit, and I even was going to leave early to go visit my grandparents until the rest of my family moved back. It was almost a done deal when it fell through.  You see, the airport was about 10 hours away from our house, so we couldn't just pop up there to drop me off. Our plan was for me to ride up there and fly out when the guys flew in. That way, we'd only have to make that same, one trip to the airport! It was perfect!  I was truly disappointed when it didn't work out for me to go back early.  We found out that a friend of the Warnes was coming along with them, and that meant that my spot for the trip was taken.  I had to be bumped.  You know, the one that fell out when they all rolled over?  I wasn't too terribly bummed, though, because it was still always exciting to have visitors come. 

So they came, but there was still that one thing.  I was determined.  Determined that I would not think of any of them in any funny or even wondering way.  I was going to treat them all the exact same - even in my head - and I was not going to do something dumb like think of this Alex as a possibility.  The funny thing was, word had gotten to back to him about people thinking we'd go well together, and boy that did not go over well!  He wasn't going to Africa to get a girl, he was going on a mission trip and that was all. That was ALL.  So in his mind, this Alex-person was determined that he would not not NOT like or think about this Lindsey-person, and that's just all there would be to it. 

We had no idea that we'd be making our faces together!

Be ready for Part 11, the part where I thought he despised me!

happy weekend, everyone!

Changes

Well hello, friends! 

There have been alot of changes going on around here, and I'd like to get back to blogging a bit. (It might make y'all smile to know that I just accidentally typed, "pit".  Blogging about a pit isn't what I'm planning on doing, but hey- you never know, right?)

The blog desperately needed updating...the look, the names, and the family members, too! I've been messing with it as I have time, so it's still a work in progress. 

Hopefully I can get a wedding post up before too long *warm fuzzies*

I haven't posted in 6 months. This means big news...

...I know you all are probably thinking, "Humph. She hasn't posted or commented on a blog in 6 months. Why is she suddenly rolling out of her blogging stupor?" Well I've give you the honest answer. I probably won't be out of my stupor for long - I just wanted to pop out and give you all some news. 

What news could that be, you ask?

 Only the news that I'm getting married!

Meet Alex... 

Remember this post? 

"...Yay for new friends!", I said. 

Heh heh. That handsome guy in the plaid shirt right there in front really was my new friend....we've been writing each other ever since they left in March. 

We're getting married, Lord willing, on December 29th of this year. 

I can't fathom how God has blessed me. I truly believe with all my heart that God has provided me with this man.

He's the godliest, funniest, cutest, most considerate person. He makes me better than I am on my own, and is completely beyond everything I ever even imagined and wished for in a mate.

God is good. 

a mug shot

Some things just make me smile. Even the little things add up and make a whole lotta happy.

Like this mug...

...it was a birthday present from Julia a few years ago. Almost every morning I fill it with coffee or tea. It either hangs out on the table as I do my morning chores, waiting for me to pass by and take a sip, or sits next to me as I read a note or two from friends.

Isn't it funny how something as small as a special coffee mug can help make your day that much better?

It has a spot in my suitcase...it's comin' with me!

_________

We leave in 2 1\2 weeks! We have to be out of the house next weekend - how weird is that??

:)

Blog designs

This is such old news by now, sorry lovely people! :) Thanks so much to all who entered my blog design giveaway - I truly enjoyed messing with y'alls blogs. All of you were so wonderful! The perfect blend of knowing what you want, and working with my inefficiencies.

Here are the blogs I was able to work on!

This is the lovely Bonnie's blog

The wonderful Marie

The precious Marli

The sweet Melissa

And last, but not least, the cute Naomi

So there you have it! Giveaways are so fun. :)

happy weekend!

It's true

I think it's time for a liittle update on what's been happening around here! :) I still plan on doing a post on showing you the blog designs I've been working on, even though that's old news by now.

Let's see....

We had these guys here for two weeks. They helped teach classes, we passed out fliers, talked, laughed, ate, played football, and just had a great ol time! Yay for new friends!

~~~

We also...............booked our tickets.Yes, to move back to the States. 

We leave on April 25th. Four weeks, 5 days.

I thought I was so ready for this, and I am...but it's much more bittersweet than I even thought it would be.

I'm so excited to get out and be "back"...around people and being able to do things. At the same time, I'm a bit nervous. We've been here for so long, we each have out little comfort zone, and the thought of starting completely over somewhere is a little intimidating, I have to admit. 

~

I'm so excited to see what God has planned for us. There are good things in our future, I'm sure.  Please keep us in your prayers as we move!

AtE: Episode 4

Sorry for the delay in getting this up!

This episode is the "What would Luke look for in a girl" episode...enjoy!

We'll get to the rest of your questions in the next installment. 

:)

A {very} good life

Most times I don't post very often because my days are exactly the same. I'm not just saying this, I really do. I get up, shower, eat breakfast, clean up breakfast, clean the house. Do laundry. Bible study. Lunch, clean up lunch. Work on some project or something until I exercise in the afternoon. Clean up from the workout. Cook\help with supper. Clean up supper. Free time, then go to bed. Wake up and repeat.

While I like to write articles sometimes to help myself and others, that's not what my blog is really for. I use it for the unimportant little things of my everyday life - not for serious articles or topics. But since my days are always the same, often times I don't feel like I have anything to post about.

Have you ever noticed that I don't talk much about my personal thoughts\feeling on this blog? Strange, I know. I'm a very outgoing person and being around\talking with people is one of my most favorite things ever. At the same time, I don't like to have my personal struggles, feelings and thoughts put out there for everyone who comes to my blog to read. My raw emotions laid bare for anyone in the world to read through.

I love sharing the good things, the happy things - I don't like dwelling on the bad. One of my pet peeves are people who are total downers. We all know some, or at least know of some. Somehow we know every single struggle and frustration and anger they have going on. I try to stay away from that as much as possible.

Life is GOOD. But sometimes I slip, and I might start to forget. :I miss my sister. every night I hate going to bed alone-sometimes I cry because doubts creep in and I wonder how long I'll have to do so. my hair is thin. do people think I'm chubby? I wonder if friends care as much as they say when keeping in touch doesn't seem to be that important to them. I get frustrated because I want to do more varied, useful things in my life. :

We all have thoughts like these....you might not have the same ones as I do, but every one of us has concerns and worries that can threaten to steal away our peace. 

When I step away and take a look at things I deal with sometimes, you know what? I realize just how small they are and just how blessed I am. :my sister is blissfully happy with a wonderful husband. God will bring about what's the very best for me in His timing, and will help me through every struggle along my way. there's nothing I can do about my thin hair, so just get past it. I eat healthy and exercise very often, trying to keep myself in good shape - I will never ever ever be a size 2 - at my height, if I was ever a size 2 I'd probably be in a coffin. I understand that people get busy and can't just hang around online all the time. i'll have freedom to do more things soon, and what I've been doing has taught me discipline among many other things:

Yes we all have concerns, but don't let them steal our peace. Let God be your Comforter. Let Him help you. If you try to deal with everything on your own, things won't go very well. Realize that you have things to work through, but don't dwell on them. Go to God and his Word for guidance, but don't dwell. Get out and help others - cook, bake, make cards, visit people...

When we're doing our very best to live a righteous, peace-filled, trusting in Him life and helping others to the best of our ability, we'll have a GOOD life.

Smooth sailing never made a skilled sailor. 

The background on my laptop at the moment is a quote from Marilyn Monroe. Don't get me started on Marilyn herself, because I think we all know about her, but I really like the quote.

  "Keep smiling. Because life is a beautiful thing and there is so much to smile about."

Life is beautiful. Life is a miracle. 

Let's celebrate it!

AtE: Episode 3

Hey all! We apologize for the video going up a bit late. We had an interesting question to discuss in this episode...

Continue to leave questions and subject matter!

happy weekend!

A reminder

Hello Lovelies! 

Just a quick post to remind all of you that are on for a blog redesign - I need you to email me your stuff as soon as possible so I can get started! 

I can be working on them simultaneously, so don't worry about what number you are on the list, just send me your wish list. 

To refresh your memory on what I need, look here:  

~

happy monday!

AtE: Episode 2

Today we answer a couple of questions and talk about accidents

(Luke: "Linz, no! We're not doing it over because you think you looked ugly!")

Keep subject matter and questions coming!

~

happy-almost-weekend!

Giveaway winnerz!

It's time, it's time! Time to announce the winners of the blog design giveaway. 

Thanks to all of you who entered - I wish I could give the win to all of you! 

But wait...i can. Since I had only 4 people entering my giveaway, I thought: "You know - I have plenty of time to make headers and blogs...it's not costing me any money...there's only four...they can all win!" 

So to all my blog lovelies who entered the giveaway, here's what ya do:

(send me an email at lilndzy@aol.com telling me all the things below)

1. If you want just a header or a whole redesign.

2. If you want an entire site redesign you'll have to give me your info that let's me get into your blogger dashboard.

3. Tell me what you want your site to generally look like: Color schemes, text-only header, picture header, what genre of font you want in your header (fun, or elegant) - the works!

4. If you want a picture header\anything with pictures you have to send them to me.

I'll start with the blog lovely who entered the giveaway first, and work on down!

Bonnie

Marie

Marli

Naomi

Dear Experts: Episode 1

We were going to get this up on Wednesday, but were having technical difficulties. 

Enjoy! 

Hold onto your hat, because we get to hear Luke from All Things Manly in this video!

Keep sending us your questions and topic ideas!

Bloggin awards

(Hurry, go enter my blog design giveaway here, and don't forget to comment\email questions and topic suggestions for Ask the Experts!)

I feel so loved :')  Journey with Joy and lowercase letters  "awarded" me the Liebster blog award, and Girls Love Fried Pickles gave me the Versatile blogger award. Y'all shouldn't have...*scuffs foot*

I would list all the rules, and go on a tagging spree, but I'll skip it this time since these awards have been going around for a while now, and I'm pretty sure it's made it's way through my readers.  If you're reading this and haven't done it yet, then I tag you!

7 things about me:

1. Even though I only have to wear my retainers one or two nights a week, I usually end up wearing them every night. I just got into the habit.

2. I had this whole post typed out, but our power went out in the middle of loading the pictures so I lost it all, and now I can't remember the 7 things I had put down.

3. At the end of the day, sometimes I'll pile all my hair on the very top of my head and clip it. It looks ridiculous, but it's comfy and out of the way. 

4. I love aprons, but I almost always forget to put one on when I cook. When I do, it doesn't make a big difference, because if I get flour on my hands, I usually brush them on the back of my pants without thinking. 

5. I think hot chocolate is the best.

6. I have the bad habit of chewing on the inside of my cheek. 

7. Even though I'm tall, I still love to wear heels. 

~~~

Tell me what you've been up to this week!

happy weekend!

Giveaway! ...and an into to "Ask the Experts"

Before we get to the lil ol' vlog down there, it's giveaway time! It's a blog header\blog design giveaway. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy doing it (as you can see by my constantly changing blog). 

 So you have a choice whether you'd like me to make you a blog header alone, or redo the look of your whole blog! 

If you choose for me to redo the look of your whole blog, be forewarned that I'll need to be able to get into your blogger dashboard to make the needed changes.  So if you're not comfortable with that, stick with just a header. I'll do my best to get a look that you like! :)

To enter:(Giveaway ends Feb. 8)

-Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me which option you'd like (mandatory)

-Share this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter (+1 entry for each)

Luke and I will be starting a weekly-sish series called "Ask the Experts", so like we said in the above video - leave comments or send an email with your questions or subject ideas! If you don't really have any ideas, don't worry - it can be something completely silly and fun...just use your imagination.

(I'm awful at vlogs. I had no idea what I was going to say...haha, how do y'all do it - I felt so on the spot!!! :D)

Crochet projects and your input

When I was about 10 and Mom and I were in a craft store, I was staring at all the colorful yarn lining the wall, and then and there I knew I must crochet. I got a hook and some yarn and a crochet book and happily left the store, most likely imagining all the cool and professional stuff I would make. :)  Weell, even following along with the book, all I learned was the single crochet. In a square.  I couldn't make out what in the world stuff like "sc1R, YO2, hdc in BLO, ch2, dc in FLO" meant.  But that didn't stop me from making all sorts of terrifying pot holders.  Only a grandma would lovingly gush over a horrible mess of yarn that looked more like an outline of the United States than a square, and tuck it near the stove for the next time she needed to grab a hot pan.  Eventually I saw just how awful my projects were and turned to other hobbies.


Mom and I were in the States a couple of months ago, and I was visiting with my friend Lur who is a crochet genius.  I watched her crochet for a while, and tried to remember just what was so hard about crocheting. So...yes. I got a hook and some yarn at a craft store, only this time I *scuffs foot* wasn't exactly the most optimistic about how my projects might turn out.  Thankfully, I saw that now I could follow a pattern and learn new stitches just fine!  My projects still might look like a 10 year old did them, but I'm loving it all the same!  Here are just a few stuff I've done lately:

A doggie\monster hat

Simple beanie with scalloped edges

I love hats! This is my favorite because it's a beret, and it's mesh, so it's not bulky.

Queen Ann's Lace scarf

:') A lil hippo.  I may or may not talk to it...

Whenever I'm able to get supplies easily I want to learn to knit as well, along with getting good enough at crochet to hopefully sell some stuff here and there.

~~~

I wanted to check in with y'all and see if you have any ideas of what more I should do with this lil ol' blog!  Is there anything you want to know about? Should I do vlogs more often? What should they be about?

Also, I want to do a giveaway, but since I don't have anything to actually give away at the present, what do y'all think about a blog design giveaway? I am by no means a pro, or even super good at it, but I love making headers, and makin' stuff look pretty!  It could be your choice of whether you'd like just a header, or a redo of your whole blog.

Tell me what y'all think!

~~~

happy weekend!

Things I love

...okay, I have to say it - I've been loving Pinterest. There are so many good ideas on there for just about everything imaginable. Plus pretty pictures! :)  I've been loving finding things like these...

So many pretty things, yummy recipes and ideas for crafty stuff!

All of us need a reminder sometimes to: