Well, as some of you know, about 6 months ago I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance/celiac disease. This is a genetic and autoimmune disorder that does not allow my body to digest wheat, rye, barley and some other grains. (More info here: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-topic-overview) This has eliminated about 90% of all food that I used to consume and has made cooking and eating quite an adjustment. It is difficult for me to eat a lot of "casserole type" foods due to the fillers. One of those things that is now a no-no for me is turkey's greatest companion: dressing! So.... in order for me not to miss out on one of the critical elements of this day of giving thanks, my precious mother (who hates to cook) stayed up all night last night making dressing with NO wheat/gluten! She made sure to include only ingredients that I could eat. Thanks Mama! It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without the dressing! It turned out GREAT and I had to get a picture of her with her prized recipe! Isn't she adorable?
Life in College Station is…..sweet, beautiful, gorgeous, awesome.
I am loving being in this town. Work is busy and challenging at times, but overall it is really great. I am so blessed to not only have found my calling, but that God has given me the strength to pursue it. We have established a routine which is nice. I have been cooking pretty much every night and we haven’t had fast food in months. It feels good. I have been taking a jazz class which has been very fun. I was really missing dance, so it’s nice to be able to go for an hour and a half each week. There is a great park right by our house with tennis courts, a pool and a walking track, so we have been spending a lot of time there. Mark is making some big changes as far as further education and career and we are looking forward to what unfolds in that area. My family is here and I get to see my nephew all the time which is truly one of the best things about being here. I love hanging out with the little guy. His sweet spirit refreshes me.
We have been here for six months and still have not found a church. But we haven’t really been looking. And to be really honest; it doesn’t bother me one bit that we don’t have a “church home”. There are people that say we should, and there are plenty of people who have invited us, but how do I tell them that I am not interested!?! I am not sure why we have not been in a hurry to find a church. Maybe it’s because we loved our last church so much that we don’t think anything else can compare. Maybe it’s because we are afraid of getting sucked into “serving” way more than we want to. Maybe I like spending Sunday mornings with my man. Whatever it is, I haven’t figured it out. But…I think it’s ok. I know that it will come in time. I think God understands. He knows my heart is still His.
In other news: my Christmas shopping is done and my tree is UP! :-)
.jpg)
Yesterday Mark and I celebrated our three year anniversary. It is hard to believe that three years have already passed. Sometimes it seems like it's been forever, and other times it feels like just yesterday we were at the altar making that sacred promise to each other. We had a great night last night on our anniversary date, reminiscing about our life together thus far and dreaming of what's to come (no babies yet :-). There is nothing better than going through life with my love and very best friend by my side, and I am so honored to share my life with such an incredible man.
Thank you Mark for always being so amazingly supportive of me, for choosing to love me every day (even though some days are easier than others :-), for always letting me know that you love me, for desiring to honor your Lord with your life and through our marriage, for serving me continuously and wholeheartedly always, for being my best friend, for putting our marriage first, and for being selfless no matter what. I am grateful for the last three years and am looking forward to many more anniversaries with you. I love you forever.
Falling asleep in the arms of my love
The perfect cup of coffee
Breakfast with my dad
A phone call from an old friend
Helping and loving people every day
A long relaxing bath
A new hair cut and color
Sitting on the front porch in the rocking chairs with my grandparents at their house
Not having anything to do on a weekend afternoon
Gifts left in my room by my mom when I come home
Being in the same town as my family
What a sweet life. Thank you Jesus.
We have breakfast for dinner on Sunday nights. Tonight we had link sausage and eggs and I made pancakes for Mark. He told me to make them "reeeally reeeally light brown." That's how he likes them. I am not really sure how this tradition started, but we have been doing it since we first got married.
We also have hamburgers every Saturday night. This tradition goes all the way back to when Mark's dad was growing up. They had them every Saturday when he was little, and then he continued the tradition on to his family and then Mark and I have continued it also. I know it's kind of weird to have your weekend meals planned out like that, but it really does make for a more relaxing weekend.
Another tradition we have is that we have date night every Friday (that is when we are in town). I wonder if this will continue when we have kids? I hope!
One fun Schinzler tradition is that on the first or second weekend in August a whole bunch of us go down to Rockport for the weekend. We fish and go to the beach and swim and EAT. Tons of fun. The first time I went Mark and I had been married for three weeks and we slept in a twin bed together!
A fun tradition that we had when I was growing up is that the night before Easter, my brother and I would go in the backyard and pick a whole bunch of grass and bring it in to make a nest for the Easter bunny. Mark and I still do this too!
And alas, Mrs. Hinojosa, if you read this, you will be happy to know that we have followed in y'alls footsteps and make sure to keep our tradition of Sunday "naps" :-)
What are your traditions?
And those 3 or 4 of you, (you know who you are) who tell me all the time that you read my blog, time for you to give some input! I want to hear your traditions too :-)
A solid two months since I have blogged...I feel as though that some sort of indication of how my life has been lately. I have had no time. No time to journal, or gather my thoughts. No time to do what I want to do. No time to just sit. I am truly not trying to be a complainer but I feel very overwhelmed lately by the feeling that my life is being dictated by a clock and a calendar. There is always some where to be or something that needs to be done. I am struggling to be a good student, good wife, good church member, good servant, good family member, and good friend. And I feel like between all of these, I am being pulled in so many directions. My weekdays start at 5a.m. and my weeknights and even weekends are completely devoted to studying. Mark and I have tried to reserve Fridays for date night, which has worked pretty well up until we had to be out of town every weekend in March. And my inability to say No has turned my Saturdays into major chaos because on top of having to study, I commit myself to other things whether it be friends, church or family. Then my Saturdays end up being non-stop because I am squeezing so much into one day. And Sundays....well of course are church, then lunch, then nap then study. So those days are pretty much routinely full. All of this and I don't even have kids! Jesus help me! What will I do when those little munchkins come along? I know that I am in a season right now and that in 22 days when school is over, that will be a major time constraint that will be lifted. But for now, I'm tired. Drained. In every way. These past two months have been quite a whirlwind. I have had a Grandfather have major back surgery, a Grandmother in ICU, a mother have two hospital visits, a step-aunt commit suicide and a family dealing with the effects of it, a husband have a "scare" with some health issues, and did I mention that I am trying to make it through 4 more weeks of nursing school? I guess I just feel like I have a lot on me right now, and maybe a little frustrated because I feel like some people in my life don't understand the load I am carrying. It might not sound like a lot to some people, and maybe I'm a whiner. Maybe I am just a big fat wimp. Maybe I am being selfish. Maybe I just need to seek my Lord and the greater purpose in all of this. Life has been crazy, scary, hard, heavy, tricky, challenging, demanding, testy, tough. Help me Lord to find joy in the journey.
On a positive note, there was some fun in the month of March. My beautiful, dear, red-headed, life long friend Brooke got married and I was honored to stand with her on that day. Then two weeks later I got to go to Indiana to see my precious and sweet and pregnant friend Barbie. We shared in her baby shower with her and I am so grateful that we got to do that. It was nice to be able to get away for the weekend and to spend some much needed time with her.
Thank you Lord that even though I don't always see it, you have given me an abundant life!
What does it truly mean to be in this world and not of it?
I mean yeah, I guess you could say I’m different… People know that I go to church on Sundays, and that I don’t curse, and that I have an awesome relationship with my husband. But do they know that all of these are an amazing result of my relationship with my beautiful Savior? Do they know that it is because of what he has done in my life? Do they know it’s because of my desire to serve Him and be a good reflection of Him? Just because I don’t participate in all of the things that other people do, does that mean that I am truly being righteous? Because right now, to me, I am just different. I am constantly surrounded by people who care about all the “stuff.” People who don’t care so much about going to church as much as they do about what they are going to wear to church. Instead of clothing themselves with humility, they are clothing themselves with Abercrombie, Gap, and Express. People who pay thousands of dollars to try to look like the girl on the cover of the magazine. Since when is being a beautiful child of the King not enough? People who find it necessary to let everyone know their financial status. Store up your treasures in Heaven.
The problem is, is that it is so easy to get sucked into. And I have to admit; at times I have been guilty of all of these things. So what do I do? Where do I draw the line? Is it ok to want something nice every now and then? Is it ok to go and get a new hair cut and want to look nice because it makes me feel good? Is it ok to bless someone financially even if it means people will know how much you gave? This is a tough issue for me lately. I feel like I have been drowning in people who desire the things of the world. And although sometimes I crave those things, I don’t want to be pulled in to this greedy existance. I want to influence the world, not let it influence me. What I really desire are the things of God. I want to invest in the things of Eternity. So what does this look like? I don’t think I really need straight answers. I think the bottom line is that I need to continue to seek to be like my Lord. When people look at me, I want them to see HIM.
Lord teach me what it means to be righteous. Teach me what it means to be like you even when I feel like I am in a world where it is so hard not to be.
wow....it's been a while, but i have been really sick with green stuff coming out of my mouth, nose, and even my eyes...so my new years consisted of a date with my husband and couch, a bunless boca burger, a toast with crystal light in a plastic champagne glass and in bed by 10:30!
but...happy new year everyone!
