Our 5th and 6th dates: party and closing of Hanukkah

Well Hanukkah is officially over (sniff sniff) but our dates shall continue until we hit 8!

For our 5th date, we went to a big Hanukkah party for our whole synagogue. It was a total blast! We got to dress up all cute and dance the night away! We rarely go out like that, and it was so nice to go out with people we loved and cared about :)

Blurry party pic!

Paaaaartay!

Some of our sweet young friends did the serving...precious :)

Our 6th date was spent in pajamas, eating hot soup and lighting the menorahs for the final time. It was sad to watch the candles burn down, but that's what makes it special. And G-D's spirit is still with us, no matter what holiday it is! It was pretty nice :)

All our menorahs!

Remember this guy??

Our 7-branch menorah (Isaiah 55)

Bad photo...happy us!

Soup made from fresh veggies from the hanukkah party!

I miss Hanukkah already!! 

~B~

Our 4th date of Hanukkah: Movie date and mini road trip!

        For our 4th date, we took a mini road trip, about an hour away, down to Morrow, GA (because that is the closest AMC theater to us) to see Sherlock Holmes 2! For Toby's birthday last year he got 2 gift certificates for the AMC theatre, so we had a little bit left from our last movie date so we took that and some Hanukkah money from my mom and went out on the town! It was Christmas Day so obviously everything was closed and it looked like all of the town had been deserted.

        Before the movie however, we stopped by this place called "Old Towne Morrow" which was unfinished and currently the creepiest thing I've ever seen. It looked perfect and very bright, but totally abandoned and it was a cloudy day, so we basically felt like we were driving through a scary movie. So naturally, we had to get out and walk around.

Welcome to Creepyville.

Now TELL ME that doesn't look scary.

Good heavens. That's terrifying to me. haha.

I had naught to fear, for I had Dr. Watson with me...hehe.

In front of one of the creepy houses. Cute couple, eh? :)

Well, after we left creepyville we headed to the theatre to see Sherlock Holmes which was AMAZING. Seriously, if you even remotely liked the first one, you will head-over-heals LOVE this one. We had some funny moments in the theatre as well while waiting for the movie to start. 

Toby defeated a Sith Lord while waiting. (Sorry for the quality; silly iPod.)

The long-awaited Hunger Games is coming out on my birthday!! ee!!

My favorite picture of the day :)

What a fun date!

~B~

Our 3rd date of Hanukkah: Making Latkes!

Making potato latkes, a traditional Jewish food at Hanukkah, is something I had never done by myself.
So, in light of the holiday season, we decided that our 3rd date would be to make them together for lunch after Shabbat service! It was so much fun. Toby cut up the veggies for Israeli Salad, and I burned my flesh off while making the darn latkes haha. It wasn't bad for my first time! The recipe was easy so it didn't take a rocket scientist, luckily. Also, the kid's classes (called Shabbat School) at our synagogue had too many boxes of sufganiyot (jelly filled donuts) and they gave us a box! So woohoo for us! Needless to say, we had sour stomachs after so much sugar and fried foods, but it was worth it!

Also, we finally got to catch up on our beloved show, "The Office". We broke down and bought season 7 and so far, it is soooo funny! No spoilers, please!

Mixin' up the ingredients!

Before and after!

Ready to eat!

Sweet Toby chopping up the vegetables.

Sweeney Todd (haha)...

...and Mrs. Lovett. :)

SEASON 7! He shoots, he scores...

Now I realize that as far as Hanukkah goes, I'm running out of days. But, who says the dates can't extend past Hanukkah? No one :) So I'm still excited for more!

~B~

Our 2nd date of Hanukkah: Breakfast and movie in bed!

         Toby and I are HUGE fans of sleeping in and watching movies. So, for our second date of Hanukkah we watched one of my all time favorite kids movies, "Muppet Treasure Island"! Toby, like the sweetheart he is, went out and bought it for me while I was at work because I had wanted it on DVD for a long time. We woke up late, got some leftover donuts, made coffee for me and tea for him,  put the movie in, and enjoyed! My pictures are terrible quality because they are with my iPod and I don't care enough to go get my really good camera and upload them and Photoshop the crap out of them. I was too into the moment :)

Mmmm...

Our feeties and the movie! Awful picture, but lovely memory!

I love cozy dates! :)

~B~

p.s. What's your favorite kid's movie?

Our 1st date of Hanukkah: Picnic at home

Well, for those of us who are...
A. newlyweds
                 B. watching our spending
                    C. all or some of the above
...dates can be kind of expensive! So, in my definition, a date does not necessarily mean going OUT. Sometimes you can bring the romance IN. Hence, our picnic at home. We got most of the items from our previous picnic and laid it out on our beautiful Hanukkah tablecloth that my mom got us! We added some donuts, since that is a specific Hanukkah treat, and we lit the menorahs all around the house. It was very beautiful and cozy. Then we sat on the blanket and watched...The Empire Strikes Back! haha!
It was a lovely evening and I can't wait to share our next dates!

The first candle of Hanukkah :)

Our cute mini menorahs that we put on the coffee table by our blanket.

The picnic!

Oh yeah...

Pretty tablecloth! Those Hebrew letters, "nun, gimmel, hey, and shin"
stand for the phrase "a great miracle happened there."

Happy birds in pyjamas :)

See you soon!

~B~

Welcome Hanukkah and our 8 dates of Hanukkah!

Our menorah from last year

        Well, tonight begins the first night of Hanukkah. I LOVE this holiday! It is Toby's and my second Hanukkah as a married couple and I'm really excited to celebrate.

The story of Hanukkah is one of bravery, faith, and standing up for the L-RD when no one else will. Hanukkah (the word itself) means "dedication". During this season, it's a good time to search YOUR temple and see if there is anything you need to get out, so that you can dedicate your heart FULLY to G-D. Another cool thing about Hanukkah is just the menorah itself! The middle candle is called the servant candle, or the Shamash, in Hebrew. This candle is used to light all of the others each night of the 8 nights. Think of the Shamash (servant) as Yeshua (Jesus). It is only He that lights the other candles (we are those candles) so that there is light to the world. How beautiful!!! I pray that G-D lights you all up during this time, so that you may shine forth and pierce the darkness with His truth! I'm getting goosebumps :)

Our Hanukkah lights!

A modern take on Hanukkah gelt (gold coin chocolates).

On another note...

       I know many others like Elsie and Naomi are in the business of doing "The twelve dates of christmas". Well, in this little nest, we are going to start, for the first time ever, "The eight dates of Hanukkah"! We are very excited and much in need of some date nights. After we light the candles tonight, we will begin our first date. My next post will clue you into what it is and how it went :)

Happy Hanukkah everyone!

~B~

Survey Saturday (on Monday)

Hello everyone!

Toby and I just got back from the MJAA conference with our family and it was a BLAST! We heard some amazing teachings, had a good ole time with our friends and had some amazing moments with G-D. 


Obviously, I was in no position to do the survey this Saturday, so here is the late Survey Saturday
via 'the little things we do'

1.   My most favorite "little thing" is     When Toby get to stay in our pajamas and watch our favorite movies and wind down with a glass of wine. It really doesn't take much for us to enjoy stuff, and that's one of our highlights!

2.   I give anything to   have a British accent. They are just so lovely and pretty sounding. Perhaps I will just pretend...hah .

3.  I can't believe    how many "Real Housewives of *whatever*" shows there are now It's basically wealthy women that still act like high schoolers with their other friends that they hate to love and love to hate. I have three things to say about these groups of women 1. get real friends 2. get over yourself 3. STOP INVADING MY TELEVISION ..

4. The one thing I'd like to achieve today is    to get my happy self fed and in bed because I am TIRED!

5.  The last thing I want to do today is   read my bible I need some spiritual food too.

6.  If I were writing my own blank today, it would say:   Hmmm...I suppose it would say "the one thing I learned about G-D this weekend is..."   .

7.  My favorite candle scent is    Anything with a "warm" scent like cinnamon, coffee, amber, or some holiday scent :) .

Have a good one!

~B~

G-D vs. the world: Marriage

The Chuppah from our wedding.

        These days, we can look at everything as "G-D vs the world". If we go to G-D's word, we see all the ways we are to live our lives. If we go to the world, we will find a TOTALLY different code of (non)ethics. Because of this, a lot of really beautiful things our Father wants for us get killed off. One of these casualties of war is...marriage.

        A friend of mine and I were talking the other day and as we carried on, we realized that we each had so many friends that had struggling marriages and many of them were new marriages. I'm not talking about a fight or bad day here and there (because that's normal!) I'm talking about unfaithfulness and bitterness and just plain giving up because it feels difficult. As believers, we should know better than this.
Now listen, I am a newlywed and I BY NO MEANS am saying that I know all these amazing things about marriage, but I do know what I've learned thus far and what G-D says about it, and because of that, I would like to talk about how G-D sees it in contrast to the world.

        So how does G-D see it?
In the Genesis 2:24, G-D says “Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will cling to his wife: and they will be one flesh.” A husband and a wife come together to create a new family, a new life. Clinging together doesn't mean hanging out at home and then having separate lives emotionally or physically, it means sticking close through EVERYTHING, good or bad. Even when things are tough for whatever reason, we have to remember the vows we took and what we promised to our spouses and to G-D. Love is wonderful but it is a CHOICE. In our marriage counseling, our rabbi told us that sometimes marriage is hard and if you trust your emotions and NOT G-D you'll want to do what the world would do. You have to choose to love that person, choose to stay, and choose to work through everything. Marriage is just too beautiful and G-D ordained to just toss it away.
       
Now how does the world see it?
         "If you don't like it, get out or get a new one." People marry, divorce, marry, divorce all the time these days! To make and break covenants like that breaks G-D's heart and it isn't easy on anyone else either. People have an image that marriage is rainbows and butterflies and that all your troubles should melt away when you get that ring. Well, that's not it. Like anything that is good and right, it takes work,and yeah, there are hard times. But if you go into it with care and the knowledge that you're in it to stay, it's the best work ever! I LOVE being married, and I believe that G-D will always renew my love for Toby and his for me. It doesn't have to fade away...you just have to put love and caring work into it.  

If you are a person who is married, keep on keeping on! Put your spouse's heart before your own. Wives, submit to your husband as you would to the L-RD (Ephesians 5:22) and husbands, truly love your wives as Messiah loves us and gave His life for us (Ephesians 5:25). and remember that, "no one should break apart what God has joined together." (Mark 10:9 CJB)

If you are a single person (particularly you ladies) keep WAITING for the RIGHT one and not the one that seems good right now. Don't make exceptions...not even small ones. Listen to the voice of the L-RD.When it's right He will tell you and then He'll confirm it over and over! Don't lose hope because the world puts such a negative image on marriage, love, and intimacy. Cling to the L-RD. It's within His heart that you will find the one that's meant for you. Daddy knows best :)
You married ladies I know, please feel free to comment and tell how the L-RD has strengthened your marriages! I'd love to hear it!!!

Be encouraged! Life is beautiful, Yeshua is coming, and we are blessed to b e G-D's kids!

~B~

Survey Saturday and then some

Well, first I was just like to say something very, very important...

HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY

TIFFANY AND CRAIG!!!

My beloved cousin and her lovely hubby, I am SO happy for y'all! Marriage is the best (as you well know) and I can't wait to watch you guys grow together and in the L-RD over the years!

Wedding Party!

Getting married...and there's Toby's head to the left!

The blessing :)

 WE LOVE YOU BOTH!!!!

And now, the survey...via the little things we do

1. My favorite new blog of the moment is A Beautiful Mess. The Lovely Elsie Larson always has such cute ideas from fashion to D.I.Y.'s!

2. Something I am thankful for is SHABBAT! G-D knows that we as humans run ourselves silly (most times without need) during the week and He knew we would need a rest. But, more than that, He invites us into HIS rest! When Friday night comes I am SO ready to enter into the rest of the L-RD and it is beautiful!

3. Something that made me laugh this week was the episode of "The Office" Season 6 when Michael Scott is trying to make some girl like him by putting pictures of himself on a slideshow and showing them to her! haha!

4. An item that is currently on my wish list is some mustard yellow tights...LOVE.

5. I am excited about the upcoming MJAA Southeast Regional Conference!

6. If I were a color I would be Olive Green. It's earthy, laid back, and goes well with lots of other colors :)

7. My favorite way to spend a chilly fall day is by Putting on comfy, sweatery clothes, curling up with my birdie under a blanket and watching a movie...like right now!

Have a good weekend!

~B~

(Late) Florida Trip!

        Well, it took about ten years, but I'm FINALLY posting the pictures and memories from our Florida trip!

We had the best time with our friends David and Lindsey, and had some lovely moments as just the birds too.

We took this trip right before Thanksgiving and the plan was to get away, recharge, and take some much needed time for ourselves...and we did just that. Toby and I love our little lives and we try our best to do everything to the fullest, but sometimes we just get tired, as we all do, and we need a break. So this was our break. G-D had some things in store for us and we didn't even know it :)

        Besides the hilarity and good times we had with our dear friends, we had some GREAT one on one G-D time while at the beach.  Have you ever just felt oppressed for no reason? Well, we have. I think a lot of believers think that you must be in sin or have some big pressing issue if you feel oppression but guess what, that's not always the case! Sometimes the enemy is crouching at your door, and sometimes G-D allows it to teach you something. Well, that happened to us one day. We both felt really weird and we were like "wait, this is our vacation! This isn't fair!" But in the midst of it, we talked all about the things G-D had done for us and how He has kept all of His promises thus far to us and He will keep the ones yet to come. It made us feel better. Then we got to the beach, and what do we see? A giant rainbow. A physical representation of His promise. We nearly cried. G-D totally allowed the oppression because that rainbow, that joy, WOULD NOT have meant what it did if we hadn't experienced some pain with it. If we didn't know suffering, we wouldn't TRULY know how wonderful joy is. If we were never sick, we wouldn't be thankful for health. G-D uses all of our situations for His glory and our benefit. It is a beautiful thing. That was, oddly enough, the highlight of our trip...just watching the L-RD hold our faces in His hands and lifting them upward! WHAT A GREAT G-D!

        So needless to say, the beach was beautiful, our friends were amazing, G-D was THE BEST, and we had a good ole time!

Our Shabbat meal on the road :)

A lovely gift from our hosts when we arrived

Our boys having fun in the thrift store

Bi-focals never looked so good.

You'd think a thrift store juke box would have classier stuff, haha.

The birds at the beach :)

Toby enjoying the waves, and blithely unaware of the stingrays
lurking a mere fifteen feet behind him.

So beautiful and relaxing. I miss it.

PERFECTION.

Reading the Hobbit at the beach. And yes, I did feel like I was sitting
on the shores of the grey havens. I even listened to Into the West :)

Bliss.

Livin' the dream, baby!

The Walking Dead, Season 1 anybody??? (Colquitt, GA; on the way home)

~B~