The Jordan Family is Growing!

The Jordans have two new additions to the family:

1) I'm an aunt!

July 25th, 2013
6 lbs. 15 oz., 19.5 in

While is was super hard for the man and I to be out of state and unable to meet this little bundle of joy, the man's brother and his fiance skyped us the evening she was born, which was so sweet and helped us feel like we weren't completely away from family. She's beautiful and I can't wait to kiss all over her little face.

Until then, I have someone else's face to kiss all over...

2) I'm a puppy owner!

Maisy Blue
Jack Russel//Yorkshire Terrier Mix

Yeah, we named her Maisy Blue. Not like Beyonce's "Ivy Blue", but Maisy Blue as in Maize and Blue. As in the University of Michigan's colors. Don't judge us.

The man is in love

So am I! 

We got her from an Amish family near us, and right when I picked her up and she licked my face, the man said he knew she was the one for us. I couldn't agree more! (Except when she poops on the carpet. And pees on the carpet. And tries to eat our furniture legs. Good thing she is so darn cute!

Oh, and here are a few dishes that I've made this week. They aren't helping me keep off newlywed weight...but they sure are yummy!

Stir-fry is my true love. Besides the man. 

This stir fry has crab (okay, artificial crab, ain't no shame!) broccoli, mushrooms, and noodles with a Walmart stir fry sauce. So yummy!

The way to the man's heart: meat!

I just plopped 4 pounds of ribs in a crockpot, covered them in a mixture of Sweet Baby Ray
's BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, brown sugar and oregano. They cooked for about 7 hours on low. Fall of the bone good!

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

Getting my Tourist On: Exploring PA with the Family

This week the man and I got the pleasure of having his brother, Jon, and his wife, Rachel, stay with us for the week. And it has been a blast! Being away from family has been hard on us, so getting to spend a lot of time together has been really good for us.

While the man had to work, I got to tag along with them on some touristy adventures. Below is a recap of what we have done this week:

Saturday: Shady Maple Smorgasbord
It is basically a boss buffet (over 100 feet long!) that will fill you up so much that you won't need to eat for the rest of the day!

They also have a fun gift shop, hence where Rachel turned into a safari leader who caught a Annmarie-turned-monkey

Don't judge us!

Sunday: Hershey Park
We all ventured to Hershey Park to take a tour of the Hershey Factory, omnom on chocolate, and ride some boss roller coasters. Besides being a wee bit warm, it was a blast!

Aw, nice shot Rachel!

The man and I, a little disheveled from the roller coasters

Monday: Gettysburg
While Brad worked, Jon and Rachel let me tag along to Gettysburg. Wow was it pretty! And crazy to think about how many men trudged over the hilly areas and fought to the death for what they believed was right. Crazy to think about.

One of the bazillion memorials at Gettysburg

An amazing view we got from the top of a super-tall observation tower...that had no elevator option...ow my quads.,,but worth it.

This girls with a canon...pretty boss, eh?

We also stopped by a rare and used book store. While this was more Jon's thing (he collects antique books) I did find a little treasure myself...

Another addition to my growing cookbook collection

This book, which I bought for $33, is a first edition second printing from 1961, making it worth anywhere form $100-$300! Boo yah!

Tuesday: Explore Lititz, the coolest small town in America
Jon, Rachel and I explored the next town over from us, which was voted the coolest small town in America! They also are known for Wilbur's Chocolate, the place where Milton Hershey apprenticed and is said to have stolen the idea for Hershey's Kisses from!

Hershey, you are an imposter! These Buds were even tastier than your kisses!

Later that night, Rachel and I attempted to make our mother-in-laws famous chicken chimichangas. And while they weren't folded correctly according to Jon, they tasted good.

Rachel and I with our finished product. And boy were they good!

Wednesday: King of Prussia Mall
King of Prussia mall is the biggest mall on the east coast, so we had to check it out! It was full of many stores that I feel like I'm too poor to even step into ($1,000 scarf at Louis Vutton?), but also a lot of fun stores that were more in our price range and just plain fun to look at.

I created a Lego-me at the Lego store!

Chick-filet is one of my favorite fast food places. That chicken is divine!

Thursday: NYC
Jon and Rachel are off gallivanting in NYC today. I'm so excited for them! And as for me, I'm content catching up on laundry and getting this house a little bit more in order. Plus I would feel just wrong seeing NYC for the first time without the man.

Hope everyone is having even half as fun of a week as I am!

Love and blessings,

Annmarie Faye

P.S. And here is just another view from our apartment. Ah God is great!

I hope this view never gets old.

Yummies I've Made Recently

I was trying to make a habit of having a "list" blog post post every Thursday, but I kind of fell off of the wagon. So here I am again, enthralling you with lists of my life! (Or something like that).

Yummies I've Made Recently:

1. Chinese Stir Fry

One of Brad's favorite meals I make

Here is the pin which has the recipe in the description, including how I changed the recipe. I let the chicken soak in the sauce in a crock pot for two and a half hours, and then added sauteed mushrooms and broccoli for the last hour. Served over brown rice. The man was in love!

2. Smoothies 

Ok, so this isn't really "cooking", but it is a yummy and healthy snack for the humid summer heat! We mixed fresh mangoes, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, key lime pie yogurt and ice in a blender, and voila!

Ahhh, a fruity treat

 3. Quinoa Patties, Roasted Asparagus and Sauteed Mushrooms

I served my carnivorous man a completely vegetarian meal, and he loved it! These quinoa patties (recipe here) were delicious AND extremely filling! The parmesan cheese gave them a delicious flavor. 

A vegetarian meal that even the man liked!

4. Homemade Bread

This is what I'm most proud of. We ran out of bread (it got moldy...ew), so instead of getting in my sauna of a car to go buy a loaf, I decided to make bread from scratch.

I've never done it before, and the process was actually pretty fun.

Top: the dough before rising; bottom; the dough after. Woah!

Yeah, I'm like a little kid. The rising was like magic to me! After following this recipe, I opened the oven to this treasure:

Omnom

So I sliced a piece...and slathered it in butter....

Clogged arteries what?

It was so wrong, yet it was so right. I do not think I can go back to store bought bread: the thick, crunchy crust and the soft, pillow-like middle melts in your mouth.

There are my mentionable meals of the week. I am enjoying experimenting with cooking, loving running my own kitchen, and craving the warm fuzzies I get when I see the man grabbing for seconds from something I made All in a day's work I guess ;)

Love and Blessings

Annmarie Faye

My Issue with "Modesty"

Being a "conscientious dresser" is a new thing to me. Not that I ever wore a g-string and corset in public, but really being aware of what I wear and how it is perceived is something that never occurred to me.

It wasn't until I stared reading blogs of Christian woman trying to be "modest" that it really put it on my heart to consider how my dress affects myself and others. These were very inspiring, but also lead me to realize how much I do not like the word modest.

Don't get me wrong, modesty is a wonderful idea. And others using the word is fine by me. But for myself, "modesty" seems to only be thought of as involving clothing. But according to dictionary.com, modesty means "the quality of being modest" (duh) "freedom from vanity, boastfulness; a regard for decency of behavior, speech and dress; simplicity; moderation."

So modesty is much more than how you dress. It is an issue of the heart. And for me, the heart is much more important than what amount of cleavage one deems appropriate, or what length of shorts makes that person a hoochie mama. The true matter is if your heart is truly rooted in God, because if it is, your actions will follow.

So for myself, "modesty" will be a word I use rarely. I think it leads to the danger of being legalistic about dress ("that skirt is 1.5 inches above the knew, and only 1 inch above is modest, ew) and focuses more on our own self than God.

For myself, I am working to let my entire life be a light for God. That should include my actions, words, and yes, my dress. But without the heart of doing it for God, all I'm doing is wearing a maxi dress with a cold heart.

My church outfit. Maxi dresses don't make a godly woman! But I do really like them  for prettiness :)

So yes, I see the draw to modesty. And I strive to dress in a way that is goldy. But I feel that there are bigger issues for me personally than the exact inseam of my pants.

Hypocritically, I found this online, and while I am not a fan of rules or legalism (I'm a religious hippie I guess), these are some good guidelines for myself to dress conscientiously. That is the key for me, to be conscious of what I'm wearing, but not obsessive.

So there are my two cents on the word "modesty." Comment and share your view, I'd love to hear!

Love and blessings, 

Annmarie Faye

Apologetics Fail

This Sunday the man and I ventured to a Mennonite Church. As far as the church goes, it was very nice. Everyone was very friendly, the songs were wonderful, and there were only a few women wearing small lace "doily-like" things on their head. Not that this is a bad thing, but for a non-head covering wearer, it was lovely to attend a church where I was not the only one with a naked head. We even went out to lunch with a group of couples that were around our age.
We knew there was a visiting preacher, so we will try not to let his sermon affect out view of the church. But as the man said "If he was the regular preacher, we would never go to the church again."
This man was visiting to talk about creationism. I myself am a creationist (I believe that life was created by God, as out of the book of Genesis), yet not as educated about it as I should be. So I was excited to hear more about it.

Darwin and Hitler...the perfect reason to be a creationist, right? (Insert sarcasm)

Well, the man did everything that gives creationists and religious folk a bad name. He talked about how much he hates when evolutionists call creationists "stupid," then called evolutionists "stupid" a few minutes later! (Nothing like another hypocrite giving Christians a bad name). He showed a picture of Hitler in his slideshow (he was an evolutionist, so obviously evolution is evil...huh?), incorrectly defined the second law of thermodynamics (I have to admit, the man was the one who noticed this, not me) and played much more on falsified emotion than fact. Which is the exact opposite of what I was looking for.
As I was fuming listening to him, it did inspire me. Apologetics, or the defense and establishment of the Christian faith, is such an important aspect of being a Christian. So many people have questions about Christianity, especially relating to modern issues. And I truly believe that God can stand up to any questions. That being said, I know that I cannot adequately help answer a lot of these for people.
Hearing this preacher showed me exactly how I do not want to defend my faith. It also showed me that I have a lot of studying to do. To find out what the bible says on certain topics. To truly understand what I believe on certain topics.
So yes, this man had an apologetics fail. But it did inspire me to work on my apolgetics skills. Not only to converse with others more effectively, but to learn more about my God. And to be able to share exactly why I believe what I believe.
Thank you preacher, for showing me how not to show your point.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

A God Thing...At Wendy's?

This Sunday the man and I had planned to try out a new church. We're in the church hunting process, and while it's exciting, it's also intimidating to go to a strange church where no one knows you and try to decipher if it's a biblical, Godly church that we could see ourselves attending. We had found one we wanted to try...but then I set the alarm to 8:30 pm instead of 8:30 am. Fail, I know.

So we got up late and decided to grab a bite at Wendy's. As we ate our artery-clogging meals, we somehow started chatting with a couple near us. They are older than us, and we just shared some small talk. As they left, the woman asked if we went to church today. I explained the sitatiation of the alarm, and she said she just overheard us talking about The Bible miniseries and was just wondering. We said we were searching for a new home church.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

This woman and her husband proceeded to tell us about their church. Apparently is has Mennonite (a branch of the Amish) roots, but is now a just a bible based church. She wasn't wearing a bonnet or anything, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. Not that I have an issue with bonnets, they're just not for me. But anywho, the more we talked, the more the man and I noticed that it sounded like the church we might be looking for!

My first thought when they mentioned that their church was based on Mennonites..even though this couple looked nothing like this. Don't judge. 

So next Sunday, the man and I will be attending Hinkletown Mennonite Church. Not sure yet if it will be our home church or just an adventure for next weekend. but you never know what God has planned. He could even use a baconator to further your faith journey...

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

My Week In A Nutshell

So I haven't blogged in a week...ew. But I'm back on the wagon, and instead of a super long blog about my whole week, here it is bulleted in a few random anecdotes accented by a few pictures. Enjoy!

• My first Sunday at the homestead involved our recliner eating my arm fat. I screamed and teared up a little bit (the man left his xbox to see if I was ok and got me ice...that's true love!). I felt like a baby, until I saw this bad boy:

My bruise. Wish I could say it was from a bar fight instead of a recliner...

• I tried a few new recipes this week. The first wifely dinner consisted of salisbury steak and mashed potatoes (from scratch!) as well as oven roasted broccoli. It was delicious! I didn't use the Bouquet junk, and wish I would've cooked the steaks a little longer over lower heat, but the man took seconds, so that is a success to me!

Our delicious dinner made completely from scratch by moi!

Omnom! 

• I also made home aid cheesy broccoli soup. It was so yummy! Instead of following the recipe, I cooked the onions, butter and flour, then added the broccoli with chicken broth and cooked for 20 minutes before I added the other ingrediants. Oh, and I also used a boatload more cheese than the recipe said...don't judge this dairy lovin' girl!

Cheesy broccoli soup with extra cheese (because there should always be extra cheese!)

Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches made by the man to accompany the soup

•  It was Brad's birthday on the fourth! So I went to the store the day before to buy him a new mountain bike, the series Planet Earth on Blueray as well as food to make him breakfast in bed.. But apparently, bikes do not fit very well into two door cars. And also, keys left on the roof of said car get lost easily. Lastly, walmart bike tires will pop for no reason while just sitting and waiting. So I called Brad to pick me up after work. He drove up to see a teary eyed, red faced and sweaty girl standing next to her locked car with a flat-tired bike. We did end up taking the front tire off and fitting it into his car, as well as finding my spare key the next day to open my car and find that the keys slid off the roof into the trunk. Also the bacon sitting in ninety degree weather was pretty gross. But he was happy with his gifts. It's the thought that counts, right? (and walmart did fix the tire FO' FREE!)

The man putting the front tire back on his gift

• We saw fireworks at the local rec center. Plenty of bonnet sightings and no mosquito bites at all! PA, you're looking better and better every day. 
• We had a date night at The Green Dragon Farmer's Market. It was a blast! We got so many items for such a good deal, met a lot of people at a little diner at the market. and felt good supporting local farmers and merchants. 

Our loot from the Farmer's Market! Included lettuce, mushrooms, zucchini, nectarines, a tin cup, natural hand lotion, strawberries, chocolate shoo fly pie and a bracelet 

• We also bought a mattress to replace out 15+ year old one we are rocking now and CAN'T WAIT to have it delivered.

Our week was busy and productive. We are starting to turn our messy apartment into a little home, and I am so excited for this journey with my man. 

Love and blessings, 

Annmarie Faye

Gettin' Hitched Part 2

Here is the second part of my wedding story. If you haven't, take a look at Gettin' Hitched Part 1 to read about the first half of this adventure.

(Pssst this post may be a little photo heavy)

So after relaxing, getting photos taken, and being spoiled by my bridesmaids, I was left alone in the back room so they could line up. It was crazy to be looking in the mirror, knowing it would be my last time as a single girl.

The clock struck 2. Then 2:05. My aunt and grandma were running late, so the ceremony got held up about 20 minutes (I think my father-in-law was sure I was getting cold feet! haha) Finally, they arrrive, and the ceremony began.

Our officiant, waiting for the wedding to start. Also notice my ghetto-finagled unity candle. 

The mothers lighting the unity candles

As I waited on the side of the back of the church, I saw each of my bridesmaids leave. It was getting closer and closer to my entrance, and I really was not as nervous as I thought I'd be. I knew I was ready, and I knew that my soul mate was waiting for me on that altar.

The A Team all at the altar

The groomsmen, and my man, waiting at the altar. Don't they look spiffy?

Before my dad walked me up, he looked at me and said "I'm proud of you, and you being my daughter is my everything." Holy crap, so much for holding back tears! But I pulled myself together so that my dad could walk me down the aisle.

That is, until I entered the church and saw this face:

Yeah, no chance of holding it together when I saw this. This is the man when he saw me.

Even through the tears and wobbling on my purple heels, I made it up the aisle. Let's get this show on the road!

The whole gang!

My best friend and I

Reading my own handwritten vows (I highly recommend every wedding have this!)

The ring exchange...I put a ring on it!

The smooch

We did it! I officially am Mrs. Jordan, Brad's wife!

After the ceremony, I hugged all my tear-filled bridesmaids, personally let the guests out with the man, and then took a billion pictures.

One of many family pictures

Me, my grandma, and the man

My A Team working to bustle my dress...it took forever! It's like brain surgery I swear!

While this looks pretty, I was just seeing what the heck was going on behind me!

After pictures, it was reception time! Yay for fiesta-ing!

Stats for the reception:

Location: Wege Center at Aquinas

Meal options: plated chicken with ricotta stuffing, beef wellington, or quinoa-stuffed zuccini

Cake: marble cake with chocolate icing and butter cream frosting

Toasts: best men Ben (shared embarressing stories of Brad (apparently he puked in a toaster once)) and Jon (wrote a toast using the lyrics from Journey songs), maid of honor Erin (gave the man a kit for being my best friend, as well as instructions on how to take on this job successfully) 

Band or DJ: DJ Ron Trapp

Favors: Sweetwater's Donuts

Our first dance: Warmness on the Soul by Avenged Sevenfold

Father-Daughter Dance: In My Life by the Beatles

Photo booth: Yes

Our first dance as husband and wife

Yeah, we smashed the cake. Do you expect any less?

Yes, we had a photo booth thanks to my amazing Aunt!

Yes, that's my DJ dressed up as Michael Jackson. He also dress up as John Lennon and Vanilla Ice. 

Overall, my wedding was an absolute dream. I am so blessed to have so many loved ones willing to work their booties off to make the day amazing. Everyone danced, ate, drank, and was merry.

That being said, it's very nice to sit in a chair in sweats and not have to worry about wedding planning anymore :)

But for real I am oh so blessed and truly felt like a princess (don't judge my cliche) on the wedding day.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye