Checkin' In

{Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

 Ecclesiastes 4:12}

Hope you are all having a great summer so far. I can hardly believe how amazing the weather has been, not to mention the fact that there have hardly been any mosquitos!!! Surprised? Me too, especially considering this link I found. I am usually covered in bites by this time of the year and I think I've only had a couple bites the whole summer!

I have some random things that I wanted to share, so let's get to it.

• SEVEN YEARS! That's how many David and I have been married! I am so blessed and so glad to say that I would choose him all over again if I had the choice. We read the scripture verse above during our wedding ceremony and it has been a foundational theme for our marriage. Without God, our marriage would easily fall apart. With God, I have an AWESOME marriage!
• I recently started wearing eyeliner on a semi-regular basis. I've worn make-up since I turned 16 years old, but haven't worn much. I vaguely remember trying eyeliner in the early make-up years and found it such a hassle to take off that I never continued to wear it. Well, I still find it a pain to take off and I've noticed just how much eye make-up remover I go through. Well, when I saw this tutorial linked on Pinterest, I knew I'd have to try it. It works even better than the expensive brand name remover I was using and it's super cheap (I had all the ingredients on hand already).
• I have been trying my hand at some re-fashion projects (pics coming next week). I "needed" a new outfit to wear on my anniversary date and dug in my closet for inspiration. I think I like what I've come up with and I'll share soon.
• I've also made an anniversary gift for my David and I'm excited to show you that, too.
• David and I have been taking a parenting class, boy oh boy! My recommendation: take a class before you have children, then you'll be ahead of the game. Having said that, there has been such great lessons and things we've been working on with Abigail, especially. It's hard WORK, but we are slowly seeing some fruit of our labours.
• Heaping burning coals work! If you are struggling with someone, try doing kind things for them that they don't deserve (face it, we all need that) and wait and see what God does to change their hearts and attitudes toward you. I don't want to go into details here, just trust me and try it. Persevere!

"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
   “I will take revenge;
      I will pay them back,”
      says the Lord.
  Instead,
   “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
      If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap
      burning coals of shame on their heads.”
 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:19-21

•  I don't think I've blogged about it, but this summer we tried a new product to help reduce the insane heat in our apartment. We have a huge picture window in our living room that gets direct sunlight for 9 hours of the day. Last summer, with an air conditioner, we hit 30 degrees daily! Gila  Window Film has reduced the heat so much that on the days that I don't make it outside, I don't even realize that it's hot outside. So amazing!

Well, that's my random bits for now. I'll be back early next week to show you my latest projects, do a summer list check-in and perhaps share a bit about our anniversary. Have a great weekend!