2010 to 2011.

christmas cards are sent around overwhelmingly during the holiday season. i have to tell you--i love them! i love hearing from people i don't always get to see. i love hearing what happened in their year, especially in their own words--not just from facebook status updates. i love seeing the photos too!

i really wanted to send out our very first ever mr. & mrs. aaron schappell christmas card this year. well, the ending of my semester was entirely too hectic, chaotic, and stressful for me to even dream about writing, labeling, and mailing letters.

so sadly, no letter or cards came out of our house. i truly hope people understand! however, now i am on christmas break and i have time to write so our 'christmas letter' will be our 'christmas blog'.

this past year has been an exciting one for us.
the beginning of the year was typical for us college students. i finished up my final semester as an RA and was, of course, very busy. aaron and my brother, thomas, both graduated from VFCC in may. it was exciting to watch them graduate, but i had a hard time surviving the day without crying as i was happy for them but it was hard to know i was not graduating and they would not be in school with me the following year.


during the summer i worked at driver's village in cicero for my business internship and sincerely loved it. i had a great job that allowed to me to learn a lot, enjoy work and still have my evenings and saturday's free. the joys of not being the runt high-schooler! in my 'spare-time' i was planning our wedding with mom & dad and going to the gym to go to zumba classes.

aaron spent his summer working, officially full-time, as the children's pastor at the bridge church in hamburg, pa. he loves his job and is so wonderful with kids. he is so creative and is able to communicate so effectively to 'his kids' and he thoroughly enjoys writing his own curriculum. (i'm allowed to brag since i'm writing this!) he is learning a lot about the administrative end of ministry and is always looking to improve the effectiveness of his ministry especially within the limited amount of time he can spend with the kids. here is a picture of him on the way home after surviving a week of kid's camp!



our summer was so wonderfully ended with our wedding! july 31, 2010 we were married in north syracuse, ny by both of our pastors. it was a beautiful day, a beautiful wedding, and a wonderful day to celebrate with our families and friends! i previously, posted a wedding blog. there are also photo's on my facebook page. we also were a bit silly and a creative dance.


we spent our honeymoon in cozumel, mexico after a few plane hiccups that left us back at my parents house the day after the wedding. mexico was beautiful and we enjoyed having our very first vacation together. it was also aaron's first time flying on a commerical airplane and out of the country.


following our honeymoon we moved into our very first and very tiny (under 300 sq. feet) apartment. we really do like it though! of course, a little roomier will be a blessing in our future, but we do feel like it is 'our home.' valley forge has a dorm building that is designated for married couples, families, and independent students. aaron has been so sacrificial to let me live right on campus. he commutes to work, an hour drive each way, so i can live and walk to my classes. living on campus also allows me to contribute to our family and babysit 12 hours a week which works out great for us. here's our little kitchen and living room.



as promised, i chopped my hair off after the wedding. but it was incredibly long! it was actually longer than this... but i don't have a good picture.


we were able to spend our christmas holidays everywhere! we spent christmas morning together, then spent the rest of the day with his family, and joined my family in syracuse the following day. i also got to see many close friends that i haven't seen since our wedding. we concluded the rest of our holiday celebrations in harrisburg with more of my family. we are so blessed and had a great time everywhere we went.


so, i am finishing up my last week of christmas break before classes begin. aaron is busy at work and i am enjoying quiet mornings at home and a few hours of baby-sitting in the afternoons. this will be final semester at valley forge--woohoo! i will graduate in may with a bachelors of arts degree in children's ministry and a bachelors of science degree in business administration. my double major is the reason i did not graduate with aaron and thomas.

we are looking forward to this 2011 year. we need to move by the end of may and are hoping to find a reasonable apartment in the hamburg area. i also will be looking for a full-time job in the same area. we are open to any suggestions or connections:) we are looking forward to be closer to the church and i am looking forward to not having to do homework at night so i can be more involved at the church than i currently am.

we pray you have had a great year and will have a wonderful year this year!

weeds.

i took this photo near the end of the summer and i've been using it to be a background on my computer. i have come to realize that, quite frankly, i like this picture. i like the shade of green, i like the contrast of dark vs. light.
i just like it.

this isn't just some cute flower; it's a weed.
i like a photo of a weed. great.
so... i am clearly not botanist.

but the fact is... weed or not: i still like this picture.

there is a part of me that resonates with being this weed. now, don't go crazy. i am not demeaning myself, here. but what i am saying is that at one point or another i have felt like a 'weed.' i have been perceived by others to be worthless, useless, annoying, ugly, or anything else that people associate with weeds.

it would be foolish of me to not admit that there have been times when i felt just like a weed and have felt that i am worthless, useless, annoying, ugly, etc.

however, i am being refinished.
to the outsider, i may appear to be a weed. but when God looks at me he sees beauty. o, sure, i have flaws. i definitely make mistakes. i have bad habits. i am the definition of imperfect. i have gone through struggles. i get stressed out.

but i can rest with the knowledge that God sees my beauty.
he continues to cover me with mercy and grace.
he tends to me.
cares for me when i am broken.
gives me nourishment.


god sees me in a more supernatural way than i see my picture.
he can zoom in and see my heart.
while i can only zoom in and see the beauty of a weed.



"your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry of fine clothes. rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 peter 3:3-4.

dad and DAD.

i attend a weekly small group for young adults at my church.

...a few weeks ago we briefly mentioned this concept of dad and DAD. sounds weird right? well. it definitely got me thinking. it made me realize just how genuinely spoiled and blessed i am. this idea of dad and DAD is the reflection of how we, as humans, view our heavenly father in relation to our earthly father.

so.... here is my dad.

my dad & me on my wedding day!

my dad making me laugh & cry at my wedding

woo! look how cute my parents are!

the older i get, the more i realize that am a mini-version of my mom.
my parents have been marred for 25 years and its obvious to state that my mom married well!
even though i am duplicate of my mom; i love recognizing the lessons i learn from my dad.

i must confess that although i am an adult i have never grown out of the 'my dad can do everything' stage.
when i want to build something; he shows me how.
when i need a bug to be killed; he kills it.
when i am lost; he gives me directions.
when i'm far away; he just visits.

when i break something; he fixes it.
when i perform; he watches me.
when i don't know the answer; he does.
when i need a picture; he draws it.
when i wanted to play a sport; he helped me practice.
when i got hurt because i am not athletic; he picked me up.
when i decided to learn the bass; he let me use his.

this list is infinite. in my world, my dad can do everything. (no pressure or anything!)

so what does this have to do with my small group?
dad and DAD.

as much as i pretend that my dad can do everything... there is this microscopic part of my brain that actually tells me that my dad is just as human as i am. i know, i know, i know... UNBELIEVABLE right? as crazy as it sounds... my dad cannot actually do everything. he has limits.

but the crazier thing is... my heavenly father can. Job 11:7 says... "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?" He has no limits. He, quite, literally can do everything.

its just something to think about.

but it leaves me... one spoiled little girl. i am the daughter of the greatest man alive. and he has taught me to serve the only heavenly father i need.

o. and check out his blog!

it's the simple things..

well. i'm sick.
and frankly, it's annoying.

it's only a cold, so maybe i am melo-dramatic. however, today i appreciated the simple things. it's pomegranate season.

so.
i ate 2 for lunch.


yum.

fall is beautiful!

i absolutely love fall.

summer is winding down and fall is beginning to happen. the changing leaves are gorgeous, the weather is cooler but not too cold, and the air always feels so fresh.


i have a few photo's from fall seasons and this happens to be one of my favorites. i hope you enjoy it.

fall seems to universally remind people of change; a season of change.
when i took that photo i was going through a season of change.
right now, as fall is beginning i am going through a season of change.

aren't seasons beautiful?
isn't it wonderful to know that we aren't always stuck in the same place?

even though change can seem scary or overwhelming. it is also beautiful.
i'm learning to embrace any changes that occur in my life;
to allow myself to be refined.

revelation 21:4

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."


hm. i just needed that today. o yes. i did.

what do i see?

my husband is color-blind.

so he sees the world differently than i do and i can't imagine what that feels like. no, he does not see black and white; colors just appear slightly different to him and some look so skewed they are entirely different colors to him as they are to the rest of the world. makes life fun.

but it has gotten me thinking: what do i see?


in the physical sense what i see severely hinges on whether i am wearing my contacts or glasses. the world around me is incredibly blurry without one of those to corrective lenses. i'm the nerd who can't see the big 'e' at the optometrist office. however, when i am wearing my glasses i can look around and see.

i can see dirt, plants, colors, dust on my bookshelves that i've been avoiding cleaning, cars, photos, food, snowflakes, the rain, leaves, paint, shoes, flowers and the list is endless.

but what interests me the most is that i can see people. the average person has 2 eyes, 1 nose, a mouth. 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 fingers, and 10 toes. some people wear glasses or contacts like me. some wear braces. some have freckles. some have brown hair or blonde hair or red hair or black hair. some have dyed hair. some wear tight clothes while some wear loose clothes. some wear pounds of jewelry while some wear little to none. some have blue eyes, while others have green, brown, hazel, or gray.

but. really.
what do i see?

i am realizing that i have a desperate desire to really see people. to see beyond their appearance. to see beyond the nonchalant answers that society accepts. i want to be able to see who they are, what experiences they have been through, what encourages them, what are they struggling with. i want to know people's stories, their culture, their history. i want to see people. we all have different backgrounds, interests, families, beliefs, and personalities. we are all so unique, but when we look at life there is another realization that we all need each other. we have a role in the lives of those around us.

and it starts with me.

i am guilty myself. typically when someone asks me how i am my automatic response is: "o, it was fine". quite often, it is on these days my answer should be drastically different, but it never is. why is that i push aside my true answer to replace it with a generic 'fine'? even if i am having a wonderful day, i still answer 'fine.' i need to let people see me. let them see when i am having a great day or when i am having a terrible day and when appropriate; let them know why. i need people to speak into my life just as i need to pour into other people.

so i've come back full circle. i need to allow people to see me so i can see people.
i know this isn't exactly revolutionary but its something to think about.
what do i see?