spring has sprung

i believe spring has officially began in the northeast. after two straight weeks of 70 degree temperatures, people are retiring their puffy coats for shorts and slip-ons. the windows are open, the sun warms any cool shadow, and the mosquitos haven't arrived yet.  its so neat to see the trees come to life with each new day. they are budding with flowers and the grass is slowing turning from brown to green. after living in the south for the past 8 years i have forgotten how magical spring is. walkers, joggers, and dogs fill the streets for their daily dose of vitamin D.  summer will be here before we know it, so i am enjoying the crisp cool evenings while there is still time. 

stefano and i will be traveling to colorado at the end of the week to visit my parents. we are looking forward to lots of hikes and family time. stay tuned for more pictures.

xoxo, j

the ryan's brought the party!

last week we had the pleasure of spending a few days with the ryans! 

phil is one of stefano's best friends. they met in nursing school in college, and i met him and his wife julianne through stefano and church. let me start off by saying that stefano and phil are like long lost brothers. when they are together it is pure entertainment, and you are guaranteed lots of laughs. we thoroughly enjoy watching them feed off of each other with their wild imagination, goofy accents, and their quirky sense of humor. 

 homemade pizza night!!! yeaaa baby!

chocolate tofu pie. delicious! 

 asian pear. yum. yum. good. 

 kale with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. my new fav. 

 i am hungry just looking at this pizza. 

 i love this group!

 one afternoon we went downtown to an old fashion candy shop....

 ...and this is what we got. double dip mints. oh. my. gosh. i still catch myself dreaming about that creamy sweet treat. 

 we headed over to reading terminal market for a cheese steak and ice cream. we found these guys along the way. they were huge! 

 this place is dangerous for anyone who is hungry and indecisive. unfortunately we devoured the ice cream and didn't think to take any pictures. but if you are ever at reading terminal market, be sure to go to bassetts ice cream. you will not be disappointed. 

i just love him. 

our time was filled with lots of cooking, lots of tea and coffee, hiking, and late nights talking about our lives and the future. we were so sad to see them go, but can't wait for our next visit together!

xoxo

happy birthday dani!

i had the pleasure of celebrating my sisters birthday with her this year. i have missed the past couple of years since we have lived in different states, so this year was extra special. 

hilary and i had fun making beautiful cupcakes in fancy colors! i love food coloring. 

who doesn't love candy?! 

we all went out to dinner and had lots of laughs! hope you have a fabulous year dani, i love you! 

xoxo

8 years already?

some of you may already know about our "story". others may not, so i will give those of you a quick history. 

i moved to pennsylvania at the end of my freshman year in high school. i left behind lots of friends, so i was not happy to be there. towards the end of freshman year my mom encouraged my sister and i to join a small group through the local church. thankfully, church has been a common ground throughout all my moves as a child, so i thought, why not? 

...i can hear stefano mocking me in my head as i am about to write about the first time that i saw him..."he walked in to bible study late, so he made quite an appearance. he was wearing a red soccer jersey, and his smile immediately caught my eye. i remember leaning over to a friend and commenting on him, and giggling like high school girls do". 

over the course of the next year our friendship grew stronger and stronger. we began serving together through our church and going on retreats, as well as seeing each other on a weekly basis at small group and church. 

on a cold weekend in february we served together in upstate new york. our high school group cooked and served all of the meals to another group that was staying at the camp, and it was during that weekend that we realized we had deeper feelings for each other than we initially thought. i firmly believe that you really get to know someone when you see them serve others. stefano claims that i was attracted to his amazing ability at flipping hundreds of pancakes with such skill, but who knows. ;) 

we began officially dating two weeks later. 

a couple months into our relationship stefano moved with his dad to baltimore, but stefano continued to visit his mom and i a few weekends a month. at the time i thought it was the end of the world... but God of course had bigger plans. just as we were getting used to him being in baltimore i found out that my family was moving to texas. 1,500 miles away. yee-haw. we stuck out the year-and-a-half of dating long distance and we decided to stay in texas for college. 

throughout college we continued to serve on mission trips together, made long lasting friendships, and matured in our relationship. 

despite where we moved or the challenges we faced we continued to collect our memories: old love letters, pictures, etc in an old trunk. every few months we open it up, read the countless letters, laugh at the old pictures, and reminisce of how far we have come as a couple. pouring over the letters is like a diary of our relationship. it has given us a perspective on how God has taken such care and love in the little details of our lives over the years. 

so on our 8 year anniversary, we ate donuts, drank coffee, and recounted the history of our relationship. it is such fun!