What you need to know right now:

1. Jason is STILL being a sore loser. Yes, that's right, the Green Bay Packers won the NFC Divisional game and we are headed to the SUPERBOWL baby!!!!! Now, me being the caring and concerned wife I am, gave Jason plenty of space after the game to calm down. Day 1 we hardly acknowledged the game. Day 3 he let me show him a picture of me celebrating after we won. Day 6 he announces that he will be in fact cheering for the Steelers during the Superbowl. Um...wait...what?! I get that his team lost. And I get that you'd be mad for a little bit, but c'mon now! Why would he not want to cheer for MY team?? Doesn't love cover a multitude or something like that??? All I'm saying is that I would've cheered for HIS team if they had made it into the Superbowl. Would I have told my dad? Not a chance, but I would've cheered next to my man for him team and I think that the least he could do is cheer for my team. Pray for him people. 

2. The sickness has landed. You know, the one that is circulating seemingly everywhere. That horrible flu/fever/sore throat/cough thing. Yup, I got it Monday. I have not been that sick in a long time and it put everything on hold. I stayed home from work for a day and Jason even had to go to the grocery store for us! Thank goodness for my mom and her tinctures! I was taking an immunity booster, oregano oil and drinking her teas on a daily basis and I am convinced that they helped me kick this sickness. My cough is still lingering but I'm definitely feeling better. Now to catch up on everything that's fallen behind this past week...

3. Jason. Is. DONE! Final class and test was done on Wednesday night and we are SO excited!!! I had such plans of celebrating his being done that night but unfortunately that was the day that I was the sickest. :( We postponed the celebration till Friday and I made his favorite, Chicken Parmesan. We are so very happy that he is done and ready to move onto the job search!  

 

Yuuuum!!

If anyone is looking for something easy and delicious for dinner I would absolutely suggest this recipe: 

Slow Cooker Chipotle-Lime Chicken Thighs

, 2006, Robin Miller, All rights reserved

• Yield: 4 servings

Times:

Prep :20 min

Cook: 3 hr 0 min

Total: 3 hr 20 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 4 pounds skinless chicken thighs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with 1 teaspoon sauce from can
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges, for garnish

Directions

Arrange onion, celery and carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and arrange over vegetables.

In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, lime juice, chipotle chiles with sauce, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve half of the thighs with this meal (topped with diced avocado and cilantro and garnished with lime wedges) and reserve remaining thighs for another meal. 

The best part of this meal is that it's (1) super easy, (2) you make it in a crock-pot (nuff said, right?) and it's really, really good. 

The only thing I would change is that the recipe originally included a Jamaican rice that was made with scallions, coconut milk and red beans and I would nix it. In fact, I deleted it from the recipe above so consider it nixed. I just felt that it didn't really add to the meal and between the beans and coconut milk it added a lot of calories and fat that you wouldn't miss. So next time, I'm just doing straight brown rice. We topped ours with plenty of avocado and cilantro and wa-laaaa! An easy, delish dinner! 

Jason recently commented on how most of the new recipes I've been trying are very spicy. The recipe above left my lips burning but it was soo good! 

Let me know if any of you try it and what you think! Enjoy!

Feeling so incredibly blessed by my husband today.

I am so lucky to have a man who serves and loves me the way Jason does. He always knows how to make me feel better and the thing is..I know he's not just trying to say the "right" thing, he's really speaking from his heart. 

Last night I was thinking about him and it really hit me: I KNOW that he is the man my mama always prayed I would marry. You might be thinking "umm...good, because you married him!" True. But when I married him I don't think I understood how your love grows and strengthens; how I fall in love with him more and more every day.

I hoped he would make me a better person but I don't think I knew just how much he would challenge me.

I didn't know that I could respect a person as much as I do him.

Just feeling blessed...that's all. :)

We are officially entering what will no doubt be an interesting week for me and my man! 

For those of you who don't know, Jason and I are passionate about a few things: each other and our marriage, our faith, family, friends and our football. As luck would have it we cheer for some of the biggest rivals in the league: Packers and Bears! Things typically get a little tense when they play each other but this coming Sunday they'll be competing to be the NFC division champ!

Yikes!!  

I think that it's funny though that the game happens to fall on the weekend that I'll be up in Door County for two of my sisters' baptisms! I will miss Jason like crazy BUT I think being apart for the game maaay be a good thing. ;)  

May the best team win, right??

Oooh don't you worry, we will! :)

I am SO excited!!

And this is so lame, I know. But still!!

My blog has officially had over 1,000 visitors!!!!

I know that for a lot of bloggers that's nothing. Probably a week's worth of visitors or who knows, maybe a day's worth. But for me it's so encouraging and exciting. And although it's likely half of the thousand hits probably belong to my mom it still means that people are reading what I write.

So stinkin exciting!

It has me thinking though, about this blog and all and the purpose of it. And after thinking long and hard I've come to the conclusion that I have no clue what ultimate point of my blog is. Sure it's nice to use to keep in touch with family and friends that are far away, but that's also what Facebook is for. I read so many blogs that show the most incredible pictures of their gorgeous homes and of the ultimate Martha Stewart crafts they're making and gourmet food that they're concocting. Truth is, I'm not ready to post any pictures of our apartment anytime soon and I've only been to Jo-Ann fabrics once.

I guess if there's one thing that I've learned in my life it's that the constant pursuit of something greater tends to blind you from the extraordinary in your every day life. I'm not sure what I have to offer readers, but I do want to share what I'm going through and what I've learned. I am absolutely head over heels in love with my life with Jason and want to tell people about it!

I hope that something I write, a picture I show or a song that I play touches somebody. I want people to leave my blog feeling encouraged and blessed. I hope that some can relate to what I'm saying. I hope relationships are formed.

I hope that this blog turns into something much bigger.

Today is the birthday of one of the most incredible women I know: my mama! One of the easiest ways to describe her is simply super woman. She is one of the hardest workers that I know, is involved in so many different things and is such a blessing to so many people.

One of my favorite things about my mom is that she is absolutely confident in who she is. Growing up she was never one of those parents that tried really hard to be cool or put on a show in front of your friends. She definitely didn't change who she was in front of anyone and for some reason my friends love it growing up! She was always the mom they wanted to hang out with and talked to. I remember acting like I was mortified at times, but secretly I was so proud she was MY mom. :)




One of the things I am told ALL the time is how much I look like my mom. I get "you MUST me Joyce Johnson's daughter" constantly! I consider that a compliment seeing as how she is such a beautiful woman. One of my greatest hopes though is that people will see the way I live my life and know where I learned it from. I hope that people notice how much I love my God and my husband and think "wow, she's just like her mom!" She has taught me how to find joy in every situation, how important it is to prioritize your relationship with God and what it means to serve.




My mom is an incredible role model for my sisters and I. She is such a strong woman but she has shown us how to use your strength to support your husband and your family. She lays her life down for us every day and is always the first to support us and be there when we need her.

She and I don't have maybe the "typical" mother/daughter relationship. I look at her as one of my very best friends, one of the first people I reach to call when I want to tell exciting news or need someone to cry with. I love that I'm also able to pray for her and encourage her.






This is my absolute favorite pictures of not only my mom, but my parents. If there's one thing you need to know about my mom it's that she loves her man. In my entire life I can't remember my mom ever talking badly about my dad. Sure, I know that their marriage isn't perfect but I know that it is forever and that she absolutely respects him in every way. And that's special.

She has taught me infinite wisdom on being a good wife. When I'm frustrated she always encourages me to pray for Jason first. And then to serve and love him. It's a message you don't hear out in the world but one that I need to be reminded of.

Thank you for all you do for us, mom! Thank you for praying for us every day and for always being there. We are so incredibly blessed by you and we love you so much!


Happy Birthday!!!!!

I have found myself absolutely captured by the musician Brooke Fraser. I always loved the voice of the woman who sang "Hosanna" and "Desert Song" on Hillsong's CDs but I had no clue that she had her own music out. And now I am obsessed. So for your listening pleasure I put together a few of my favorite of her songs for you to listen to as you browse my blog. Consider it my gift to you, reader.

I also want to leave the lyrics to the song you're listening to now, Shadowfeet. I think that they are so beautiful and hope that they speak to you.

Shadowfeet

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing, less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began
and i have sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day

when the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in You, still standing
when the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through
I'll be found in You

There's distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but I've heard rumors of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

You make all things new
You make all things new
You make all things new
You make all things
You make all things

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in You, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I'll be found in You
when time and space are through
I'll be found in You
when time and space are through
I'll be found in You

Glancing back but looking forward

Happy New Years from the Whittingtons!!

I know it's incredible cheesy to start a post off like this: but can you believe how fast 2010 flew by?! Seriously. For real. It has been such a great year. At our birthday dinner Jason and I were talking about some of our highlights from the past year. Here are a few of them:

1. Our big move! Ok, so distance wise it may not be the biggest move, but going from Evanston to Milwaukee will still go down in our history as one of the most spontaneous things we've ever done. It was literally on a Thursday night that we decided we would for sure move. On Monday. Such a crazy, growing experience. And I wouldn't change a thing about it.

2.Our trip to Tennessee. I obviously know Jason is an amazing man. But the fact that he drove my mom, me, three of my sisters and two dogs down and back to Tennessee? God bless him! It was so fun for him to experience life down south with my cousins and grandparents and I was so happy that he was able to meet my Grandpa.

3. Maine! What started as a random destination for our anniversary trip quickly turned into a great adventure that we'll never forget. We had a blast hiking and exploring, trying new things and falling in love with that part of the country. We could go back there in a heartbeat!

4. Jason graduating! Ok so technically this hasn't happened, but he is just about to graduate so I'm including it! He has worked so hard and I can't even say how proud I am of my man! I know he's so ready to be done and get into a job in his field. Can't wait!

One of the things I'm most grateful for this past year is being welcomed into a great Church family at Harvest Bible Chapel. I spent so many days praying for friends when I lived in Evanston and to finally have a great group of people in my life is something I do not take for granted.

This year our marriage grew and strengthened. I fell even more in love with Jason and can honestly say that I love him more today then I ever have before. We learned how to see the good in each other and to always be on the same team. Jason taught me that it doesn't matter what people think about me or us and that I can be confident in myself and who we are. He showed me that it's never too late to change and become a better person. We learned together what it means to have faith and to trust in God's perfect timing for us. It has been a really great and challenging year.

I'm looking forward to 2011! We are planning on being in the Milwaukee are for at least another year. We are believing that there is a perfect job for Jason and that this year holds good things for us.

I don't know about you but I'm excited. A new year always feels like a fresh start and I'll be honest with you: there have been years when I have anticipated and longed for a fresh start. But this year it's a little different. I know that I'm where I should be. God is doing good things in me and I'm changing...I'm becoming a better person. I'm not trying to dust 2010 off of me...instead I want to remember everything I've learned this past year and use it as a platform in the coming year.

There's a picture in our home that says "believe in today, your life is now" and that's what I want my motto to be this year. I'm not going to weigh myself down with what I've done in the past and what could've been or should've been. It's not about the "what ifs" anymore. It's about today and what I can do with my life right now. His mercies are new every morning. Aren't you glad for that?

Wishing you a happy and blessed 2011!