More Than I Ask Or Imagine

I love transitions in life. Though they are not always easy (and I definitely am a worrywart), I like transitions because I feel like it is so easy to see God move and work around me. Perfect example... the last few weeks. **Warning: this will be a LONG post, because God has been GOOD and I haven't posted in forever!**

Here is a little background info: I got engaged in January, I (barely) graduated in May, I am planning a wedding, I have been searching for a place to live in DC with Jonathan, and I was also searching for a full-time job. Needless to say I have been a little busy / slightly stressed, as I admittedly am a bit of a worrier. But the Lord has been blessing Jonathan and me abundantly recently.

A verse that has been on my mind recently is Ephesians 3:20-21: " Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." I feel that God has clearly been ahead of us and leading the way over the past few weeks and has definitely been doing more than either of us could have ever asked or imagined!

Three Sundays ago, Jonathan's mother and her friends threw me a gorgeous bridal shower. A group of amazing women who have been praying over Jonathan since birth and over me and our relationship for the last 5 years all came together to celebrate our upcoming marriage. I left that shower feeling more than blessed. So many people blessed us with gifts to help us get settled in together AND with heart-felt words of encouragement and advice during the entire afternoon. I definitely feel the power of those women's prayers in my life and I don't know that I could ever ask for anything more.

The night after the bridal shower, I received a phone call out of the blue from an administrator with a northern Virginia school system. That Wednesday I was up in NOVA interviewing for a 9th-grade Chemistry teaching position, and it went very well. I did not expect to hear from the school system for at least couple of weeks. The very next Tuesday, I shared how my interview went with my community group and asked for lots of prayers that God would definitively open or close a door. While I was driving home I prayed: "Lord please just let me hear from this school system, good or bad, through letter, phone, or email... haha email, yeah right no one gives offers via email... however they contact me, please let it be soon." I got home and opened my email for the first time that entire day, only to find an offer from the school system in my inbox that had been sent at 8am that morning. Talk about God doing more than we ask or imagine... He had answered my prayer, the part of my prayer that I thought impossible, even before I prayed for it!

This job offer also came right as Jonathan had received information on loans from Georgetown. We had been trying to figure out a potential budget so we knew exactly how much of the loan we would need. Praise God for the timing of this job, because we were able to make a more sound estimate.

Also at this point in time Jonathan and I had played with several options for housing situations for the couple of months before and the months after we get married. At first we were going to rent a place starting in August and Jonathan was going to live there so that he could have an easy commute to classes at Georgetown while I lived with my parents until the wedding. Then, we decided that we wouldn't rent a place until October to save money and we would both live with our parents until the wedding. Once I got the job, we decided, once again, that we would find and rent a place starting in August, but Jonathan insisted that I live there while he lives at home. That way I would have a short commute to school for the first, stressful month of my first year of teaching, which is also the last month before our wedding. Jonathan is now looking at an 1.5hr commute to the first month of classes rather than a 30min commute. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing, selfless fiance who is putting my commute and stress level before his own. I could not even imagine having a more incredible future husband.

Speaking of apartments.... Jonathan and I visited a few apartments this weekend in southern Arlington / northern Alexandria. After visiting three apartments, with a break to meet up with Magsy and some of her friends in between, we fell in love with Crystal Houses in Crystal City (Arlington). Starting August 4th, we will be renting a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment on the 10th floor of the high rise with lots of closet space, a good-sized balcony, and a great view. We will be within walking distance of a metro stop, shops, and restaurants. Jonathan and I both had dreamed of being in a great neighborhood with easy access to the city, but we weren't sure if we'd be able to have that for a couple of years. We feel so blessed that the door has opened with this apartment and we can't wait to start our married life there!

Summary: God is good. I am just in awe at how quickly everything came together. From the shower, to the job, to the apartment everything has just fallen into place way better than I could have planned it. Praise the Lord!

Ten to the Izz-Oh Eight to the Izz-Three

So... I'm a terrible blogger and I haven't posted in about 3 weeks or so. I thought I would give you all some background info on me. There is a group of us who have been friends since we were in grade school, and a few of us have known each other since preschool. These girls have been so special to me and I'm sure that those of you who I have gotten to know in the past few years have heard mention of them at least once. This is how we came to be (with pics below)...

Caroline, Laura, Jessica, and I along with a few other girls got to know each other through playgroup when we were in preschool. Once a week our moms would take turns hosting all of us preschool girls while the other moms got the afternoon off. During playgroups at Laura's house we also got to know Catherine who lived next door. In elementary school we started a girl scout troop - troop 1083! whoot! whoot! - with a few other girls from school, including Katie and Sam. As troop 1083 we enjoyed camping and trips to Lancaster, PA and Savannah, GA.

We hung out a lot outside of girl scouts and had countless sleepovers over the years. During high school and into college we all pursued our different interests and went our different ways. Our freshman year of high school Catherine moved to Georgia, all of us attended different colleges and universities, and more recently Jessica has moved to Spain, but to this day we have stayed in contact - thanks Facebook! - and meet up when we can. Laura is getting married next month and I this fall and I greatly look forward to celebrating with these wonderful ladies! These women have been such an important part of my life and have greatly influenced who I am today.

Caroline, Catherine, Jessica, Katie, Laura, and Sam - I love you and I don't know what my life we be like had you not been in it! I look forward to staying in touch for a long time to come! Love, Alison.

Laura, Me, Katie, and Catherine - to be honest I don't remember exactly when this picture was taken but I think it was summer before or after first year of college?

Caroline, Me, Jessica, Katie, and Laura celebrating Laura's 19th birthday.

Me, Katie, and Laura on our way to DC during Thanksgiving break 2nd year.

Laura, Sam, Jessica, Me, Caroline, and Katie May/June 2008.

Flowers' Power

I'm was not a girl that started planning her wedding at the age of 12. I really didn't ever think about what my wedding would be like until a few months before we got engaged (shocker right?... haha). Even today I still don't have an exact picture of what every detail will look like.

I have really enjoyed planning so far. Jonathan has been really amazing and has come to almost every meeting with me, and I have loved making decisions with him about the wedding. Every decision has gone pretty easily except one... I have NO idea what I want to do with flowers and centerpieces!

So far, I thought that I wanted my bouquet to look similar to this:

and I want the girls to carry a different flower of the same color (dahlias, chrysanthemums, or whatever is in season at the time). But I have no clue as to what I want for the centerpieces. I think that I want to incorporate grapes and/or grapevines somehow, because we will be at a vineyard, but it is really easy for the ideas to become too country. I definitely don't want country and at this point in time that is about all I know.

The thing that is making this so difficult is my lack of knowledge about which flowers are in season in the fall and which flowers are way more expensive than others. From the little I have learned thus far, flowers that I like in general tend to be just too expensive. I only like a few of the "fall flowers" out there in burgundy: calla lilies, chrysanthemums, and hydrangeas (green with burgundy tips). But calla lilies and hydrangeas are expensive. =( Another idea that I really liked was incorporating artichokes, but I also found out that these are really expensive.

As I am writing this a looking through the pictures of flowers that I liked online it is occurring to me that I have completely ignored that my favorite color is yellow and that half of the pictures I have pulled are of yellow flowers... maybe I need to rethink the burgundy idea. Jonathan even included my love of yellow flowers in the chorus of a song that he wrote for me in high school. I mean why was I thinking burgundy in the first place? I don't even really like the color red- which is possibly why the flowers are bothering me so much.... Epiphany perhaps?.... I'll let you know.

Anyways, this is my flower dilemma that has been consuming my mind since exams. I'll leave you with a couple pictures of yellow flowers that I like.... they are just so happy looking!

Food Happenings

As some of you might know, I LOVE food! So I thought that I would share a couple of recent food happenings with you. =)

(1) I am a junk food junkie (especially when it comes to Wendy's). I am very aware of the health (and financial) costs of my favorite foods, so I am always on the lookout for healthier homemade alternatives.

One of my favorite junk foods is French fries. I have made baked french fries several times, but they are always either two crispy (aka burnt) or completely mushy - never the perfect in between. I recently saw a tip on Sandra's Money Saving Meals on Food Network that you should start with the baking sheet hot. So, I reattempted with 1/4 inch slices of russet potato cut in half tossed with a little bit of canola oil, salt, and pepper. Once the oven and baking sheet were 425 degrees F, I took the pan out sprayed it with cooking spray and placed the potatoes on the sheet. I baked the potatoes for 10 mins on each side and voila... french fries!
I just patted them dry and added a little bit more salt and they were so yummy! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside = perfection!

(2) On the other end of my food favorites spectum is my love affair with fresh fruits and vegetables, but they can be expensive. I was so excited when I went to Harris Teeter this week and raspberries (my favorite fruit) and green beans (one of my favorite vegetables) were on sale. The raspberries were 99 cents for a 6oz. container which is usually $3.99!! They were definitely on the ripe side, but after careful inspection I bought 6 containers of raspberries. I also got half a pound of green beans which were 99 cents/1lb. Lemons were 2/$1 so I grabbed a couple of those as well.

These items together would usually have cost $26.05 but I only paid $7.64! So, I bought a bunch of raspberries (most of which I froze because they were already ripe), green beans (for a yummy meal that I am planning for tomorrow) and lemons (which are always useful) all for an amazing price! =)

Updates on tomorrow's dinner to come!

The Importance of Being Ernest

Today my mother and I were checking out apartments in Alexandria. While we were heading to another apartment in the beltway I hear a "bump, hiss, thud, thud, thud..." - FLAT TIRE! So, we pulled over , put on the hazard lights, and got out to check out the situation. Right as we discussing what to do a van with flashing yellow lights pulled over behind us. It was a CVS Samaritan van driven by a wonderful man named Ernest. Ernest just flew into the rescue. He pulled out my spare tire, filled it with air (because it was a little low), and changed it for me in a matter of 5 minutes! After he finished, Ernest sent us on the way with advice about driving on a spare.


I had never heard of the CVS Samaritan vans, but I am so thankful that they are around! After some research I have learned that CVS has had Samaritan vans on the roads of metropolitan areas for just over 30 years. According to their website:

"The drivers, have a multitude of talents and certifications. They are Nationally Certified Auto Mechanics, State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) or Paramedics, and Nationally Certified Animal Control Officers to name just a few. They are capable of making numerous on-site auto repairs, administering medical help, calming a tense situation or using their communication equipment to summon the state police or other assistance." http://www.cvssamaritan.com/


Wow! What a great service to the community! Thank you CVS and thank you Ernest! You were a great, and timely, blessing to a girl who wasn't carry the right tools to change a flat tire. =)

So It Begins

Many of my friends in Charlottesville blog and they have inspired me to start one as well... so here it is! The name is about 5 months pre-mature, but I figured we would grow into it. =)

Two days ago, marked 5 months on the wedding countdown! We continue to make decisions, book vendors, and watch details come together. I am so excited to see how all of our planning and hard work for the big day play out, but I am even more excited to become Jonathan's wife and experience life together with him!

My hope is that this blog could serve as a venue for updates on our life and random thoughts as God guides us through the next, exciting chapter of our life together. Enjoy!