Catching Up!

Wow! I basically just need to blog the whole month of April! It has been a busy month! Firstly I must brag on my handsome husbands handyman skills. We are wanting to acquire some poultry here in the near future and need a place for them to reside. So with lots of browsing online, through the Encyclopedia of Country Living and poultry magazines, Bryce created a design and we had a date at Menards to get the supplies. It will be quite the structure when it is finished: a people door, nests that are accessible from the outside, windows with shutters and flowerboxes, little chicken doors, roosts, and finished with a classic red and white barn look :)

Wall to the west I believe

The roof, siding, and walls

The wall that will have the nests in it

This was our Easter morning get up :) We had a great morning of worship at Northfield, then headed down to Forest City for dinner at Grammas, wiffle ball games, and rides in the new tractor

The garden being expanded because we made it too small!

Potatoes, onions, peas, lettuce and radishes in the ground :)

We got to have Gracie , Daniel, and Sam come over for the weekend and help us do some projects around the place. They were fun to have:) We gardened, did yard work, made milkshakes, and goofed around.

Gracie, Daniel, and Buffy all shared a bed

Gracie scraping some of the rust off one of the milkcans out of the barn. These were from Bryce's Grampa and Gramma's dairy. I am planning on using them for a house decoration

A sign that Spring is here!

We've really enjoyed firing up the grill! This night we had porkchops and baked taters

My friend Brittany and I are going to have a bake sale up at the Tremont townwide garage sales, so one weekend we got together to bake a few things. Above are the peanut butter chocolate rice crispies.

Nothing beats pink lemonade

Puppy Chow!

My handsome honey after church today:)

And here is the milkcan!! :)

Well, it's getting late. Hopefully I'll have time to post some pictures of the Flood of 2013 next time.

Have a fantastic day!

Winter?! Crafting, Birthday

Well, after a wonderfully nice and warm spring day we had yesterday I was ready for the warm weather to stay. I didn't get my wish. The snow started sometime early early this morning and has continued through this afternoon. It is pretty to look at, but I'm tired of snow. We were going to have the family out for my birthday party tonight, but decided that we should cancel, since they were calling for nastier conditions later. So, since my house is all clean, I am burrowed in under fluffy blankets, got my ice tea within arms reach, some music going, and do some bloggin' and catchin up :)

This picture doesn't really do the blowing snow justice... it is crazy windy out there!

Yesterday, I got up early and ran to town to get my over 21 driver's license and ran a few errands in Pekin. I wish I had the motivation to get up that early every morning! The bed just feels so good on a Saturday morning! (or any morning for that matter) When I got home, I did some cleaning and straightening then on to decorating the house a little for Spring!  I picked up some ribbon and flowers at Hobby Lobby that I thought would look rather cute.

This isn't one of the house decorations, but it is a project I've wanted to finish for awhile. I had purchased some clearance drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby  few months ago intending to make an apparatus to hang my necklaces. Right now they are in a special jewelry box that my Great Gramma gave me for my birthday a few years ago. The board is just a scrap board I think form an auction that Bryce's parents went to. I made the burlap flowers and added the ribbon and voila! Hanger for necklaces! Just needs some hooks and it's ready to hang on the wall.

This I am particulary proud of, I thought it turned out nicely.

Can you tell I like old mason jars? I got these from a flea market in Wisconsin...a couple boxes actually. If you ever need to get rid of some jars, let me know!!!! :)

This past week I turned 21. I feel older than that though... 25ish...Probably because I've been treated like I'm older all my life. People are always suprised to find out my real age. ;)
I took the liberty of taking the day off from work and sleep in just a little, then my wonderful Mama came and we traipsed around Peoria and did some shopping and ate yummy food and talked and laughed. It was so fun! I missed my Mommy. It felt good to just take a day off too. Sometimes I think it would be nice to work part time, to be able to spend time like that with people and to have that extra time to get things accomplished.
That evening we met at Monicals with Dad, Garry, Sarah, Rachel, Sam, and Brooke. The rest of the kiddos were sick. There was alot of laughing going on! After that, Dad treated us to Culvers. I got phone calls from Caryn, Lyle, Jerod and Ashtyn, Gramma Jacque, Brenda and Grampa Gary! What a wonderful day!
Well, that's all I have for now!
Have a blessed Sunday!
Stay where is is warm!

Craftsmanship and Spring is Coming!

For the last couple months, Bryce has had plans to build a bookshelf for our many Bibles, hymnals and instructional material. He has quite a bit of wood from his Grampa up in Wisconsin and wanted to put it to good use. It turned out great! :)

 The signs of Spring a showing up with the much needed rain coming the last few days and bulbs starting to bloom. We had a date morning to Kelly's Seed in Peoria and grabbed some items to start in our warm shop.

I've never started seeds before, so hopefully our experiment pays off. Hopefully some little tomato, pepper, cucumber, and broccoli start sprouting soon!

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today, my Sweetheart and Best Friend asked me to marry him.
Here is the account that I wrote a few days after

It started out like any other Thursday. I was tired from staying up late making cinnamon rolls the night before. I was probably in bed around midnight. Bryce had texted me and said that he would make Thursday special for me since I was tired. We already had plans to go to Olive Garden that evening so I was excited about that. Well, he walked in that morning and handed me a note. This was not out of the ordinary; he often does that whenever he comes in or walks by during the day.
So every hour, he would hand me a note. Sweet little notes. <3
Then around 10 or 11, he gave me a note card where he had drawn some flowers: two vases, one with 6 in one and 7 in another, and then a third vase with just one. "I'll love you until the last one dies." "You’ll understand soon"
hmmmmm
Mysterious
But hey, I'm having a good day. This is fun. =)
So around noon, while I’m on the phone with a customer, the flower man comes with 14 huge beautiful long stemmed roses. Gorgeous!!!
But why 14?
13.... a Bakers dozen!!!!!!
But 14?
I didn't notice it until later, when one of my friends was smelling them, but the 14th rose was a silk one.AHA!! I'll Love you until the last one dies!!! haha! awwwww! So sweet!
So the lovely notes continued, and I felt very loved and happy and it was just a fantastic day! I couldn’t wait until 5.

  5 o'clock came and we loaded into his truck. The awesome blue Chevy. The Blue Chariot. :)

Off to Peoria, but not without a quick stop to the Tremont Park. It was an unseasonably warm day, absolutely beautiful.
"Wanna dance?"
Oh yes!!!!!!
You see, Tremont park is the place where we went and talked the very first time. The first day we started seeing each other.
So, there we danced in the same spot.
We danced to "Then" by Brad Paisley. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGoK5RlD68

I was on Cloud 9. I was so happy and excited and was just oh so glad to be spending the evening with my best friend in the world!
To Olive Garden we went.
It was a 30-45 minute wait, but we didn’t mind. We found ourselves a corner and waited and talked.
Looking back now, I can see how he was a little nervous. He was quieter than usual and hardly ate any of his food. Strange, but I didn’t catch on. I just sat there and smiled, yakked and stuffed my face. J
We had to drive back to Precision to pick up my car.
 On the drive, Bryce talked about his plane ride back from Orlando. There was a lot turbulence and he had gotten very thoughtful. He thought about  how the captain and the first mate work together to fly the plane. They have to communicate. They have to be there for the other. They have to trust each other. The captain can’t do it all; the first mate has to help him. They also have to be in constant communication with the control tower, to guide them in the air so they don’t crash.
This was a picture of marriage. The captain is the husband and the first mate is the wife. They have to love each other, work together, and trust each other. The control tower is a picture of God. The captain and first mate have to be in constant communication and have faith in the control tower, just like we have to be constantly in the Word and prayer with God. Both the captain and first mate have to individually put their faith in the control tower, because if one of them doesn’t take faith in the critical information that is being given them, they will fight with the other, and it will cause trouble in the cockpit and the chance of crashing are extremely high. The same goes for a marriage, if one spouse doesn’t have faith in God, the chances of divorce and heartache is high. Not that Christian couples don’t have troubles, even the strongest marriages have ‘turbulence’. But they have to rely on the Control Tower to get them through.
  It was very sweet. Very insightful. Something that I love about him is that he always sees pictures of God or parallels around him.
 The drive back home from Precision was uneventful. I had the radio going, and was jamming out and had no idea what the man driving in the truck was doing. Little did I know he was phoning ahead to my family and his that we were headed to my house, where something very special was going to happen.
So, we pulled in the driveway, and white Christmas lights flashed on and I noticed a white runner with red rose petals leading up to the front porch. Mason jars with candles lined the path. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. It was then I got an idea of what was happening. I got out of the car and Bryce took my hand and led me up the path. It was beautiful. He took me up to the porch, and there we stood, hand in hand

“Emily, from the time we began talking, I knew you were different – Godly woman, special, with a special family heritage. I continue to think that to this day. I Love You deeply, I cherish you. No other woman could obtain my heart and affections as you have. we’ve talked a lot, gotten to know each other talked about the future, and …”
I was sort of in a daze; I was so happy! I knew what was going on, I understood it all…. I just couldn’t remember all the details. Here was the man I loved ever so much, and here we were! It was like something out of a dream. A lifelong dream coming to fruition … and it was so much better in real life than it ever was in my head!
And then he dropped to his knee!!!!
“I am asking you to be my first mate. To be by my side through the smooth air, the turbulent times, failures, decisions and trials to commit your life to me, and I in turn, am offering you to the gift of me-to do my best to love you sacrificially, provide, protect, and lead as husbands are commanded in Ephesians 5. I offer you me. This ring represents you and I – a circle, never ending, signifying my commitment to you-not my perfection, but my commitment. The ring is made of gold, and the gold holds the diamonds and protects them. Just as I will hold and protect you. There are many diamonds, these are you-the many qualities you possess and I Love. The diamonds are beautiful on the outside, just as you are, however the true beauty comes from within, as the light shines into the diamond, and it reflects out. God’s light shines into you and that light is reflected outward in your life. This life will not be easy, but it will be good. I am asking, Emily, will you accept what I offer you,
Will You Marry Me????”
And I said “Yes!”
And there hugs and laughing and more hugs!

“Turn around”
I looked and 14 pairs of eyes were watching through the windows and a video camera was hanging out the window.

More laughing and hugs and I  Love Yous and pictures
Then Bryce gave me a present. I opened it and inside was the Willow Tree Promise wedding cake topper! Now I will be able to use it!

So then we came inside the house that was also bedecked with candles. And Mom decorated the table with an elegant lace tablecloth and candles and stemware and sparkling juice. It was absolutely beautiful! Wonderful! Fantastic! Amazing!

Then we called Garry and Carol and Caryn and Brenda and headed over to Gramma and Grampa’s to tell them the happy news!
And so began this wonderful engagement to the Wonderful Man whom I Love who is going to be my Husband and I his Wife.

By the Future Mrs. Baker J

I wrote that a couple days after our engagement. It was a fantastically wonderful day! A fantastic day! And the next few months was filled with wedding planning, and ultimately our Marriage. And now, a year later, I remember all the joy of that day. i am so glad that he asked me to marry him! I am so thankful for the wonderful blessing of my husband. God has been very good to me. :)

PURE



HAPPINESS



The cake topper was put to use

And they Lived

Happily

EVER AFTER!!!!!

I Love You Bryce Baker!



The Table :)

Twas a dream. A dream to have a table . A table that could fit alot of people. Not your normal 8-10 person table. Bigger. Those aren't very common. That's something that you have to have specially made. So we did some checking. 9 places out of 10 were Amish. So during our 3 day Labor day weekend, we visited the metropolis of Arthur. We made a stop to The Wood Shop and they told us it was a custom job, but they had done it before. So we put in an order that day: picked out how big, how many leaves, color, edging, shape,and chairs. It was exciting! Then finally in January it was delivered straight to our house! YAY!  I can't wait to fill it with people!