Nature.... baking.... random fun!

So, we have been busy lately with ministry appointments with Campus Crusade for Christ and such.. but otherwise our lives have been pretty boring. So, that is why I haven't posted in awhile. I thought I would share with you are brief moments of fun and excitement this past month.

We have been one with nature lately. In the last post, I wrote about the friendly little yellow finch out the window. Fun thing is.. that was almost a month ago.. and the little cute bird is still around. Also, we visited Andrea's parents in Lima and really saw a different site. I (Andrea) was glancing out the backyard and noticed a bunch of bugs flying around. There were so many I had to get a closer look.. so I went out on the screened in patio. What I once thought were ladybugs, were thousands upon thousands of honey bees. They were swarming immensely and there were so many of them that you could hear the buzzing even though they were a decent distance away. They began swarming a pine tree.. and gathered there. They eventually left and actually hilariously moved to the front yard to a small branch. The thousands gathered on the branch.. and we were able to get a few pictures.

A picture of my parent's tree from their yard. We found out the bees were protecting their beloved queen and in the meantime "scouts (other bees)" were out looking for a permanent place for the new hive. Pretty interesting...

We decided on a quick whim to go to Cedar Point one day. We had free tickets and picked a day with great weather. Both of us hadn't been to Cedar Point in quite a few years. When the park opened we ran all the way to the back of the park to the new coaster "Maverick"... we didn't have to wait long in line and actually waited to ride the front car. Our favorite ride of the day was the "Top Thrill Dragster"... I think it blasts you at 120 mph up 340 ft in the air... it lasts 17 seconds. We rode it twice we loved it so much!

Cedar Point!!!!!!

Last but not least... we have been baking lately. I really had wanted to make an apple pie... so I did.. and Joe made strawberry shortcake today (inspired by an appointment we had last night).

Apple pie... are you thinking the crust is beautiful.. yah... that's probably because I didn't make the crust. Joe's mom did and she is stellar at crusts and bread. It didn't seems to take so long since Joe's mom made the crust and I did the other part.

Anyways.. that an update on our busy, but somewhat boring lives. We are having some excitement today though.. Joe's sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece are coming in town today. We haven't seen them for a year.. so we are so excited and can't wait!

Our niece and nephew... Toby and Lucy! They are so cute!

2 years ago....

Ever wondered what Joe and I were doing 2 years ago? Probably not... but in case you wanted to know, we got married two years ago! We celebrated our 2 year anniversary May 27th.

Since we have been living with parents for the past year, which is a blessing, we thought it would be great to get some time away alone. Joe told me he was taking me somewhere relaxing, but that is all I knew. I had thought we were going to a place we were at as students with CCC at Toledo for a retreat up in Michigan. Guess again, we went to Perrysburg, OH to a boutique hotel. Basically meaning, it was a small establishment that waited on us hand and foot. Only problem was -- they were repaving the parking lot (so we didn't get to use the personal garage we had) and the Internet never worked. We had a great time because we got to be together, but were frustrated with the service and amenities we didn't get to use (Internet and garage) and no one ever said sorry for the inconvenience.

We had a gift card to Biaggi's.. oh my goodness... the food was amazing! We dressed up, because we thought it would be fun! :)

We also got to visit the spot where we first started dating and where we were engaged. It is in downtown Toledo on the Maumee River. We went to the restaurant where we ate for our first date and after our engagement! Joe eating at "The Navy Bistro". The food is expensive, but we wanted to remember our first date and engagement. The food was amazing. Here is Joe with his salmon and I had the best steak I had ever eaten in my life! It was neat... we were walking by the river and the draw bridge went up.... we were hopeful for a big boat or barge, but no luck. I made Joe stand in the middle of the bridge.. and thought the picture turned out pretty neat.

Ok.. this is semi random.. but as I am typing this blog.. this small finch keeps coming up to the window. I think he sees his reflection in the window or something. It's pretty neat though how close you can get to him.

Hope you are all doing well! We are excited as we have quite a few appointments this week to meet with individuals about our ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ! Enjoy the weather!

We're back!

We are back home from Pennsylvania. Thank you for your prayers.



We really had a great time with Joe's grandparents, relatives, and talking with people about our ministry. The last day in PA was Joe's birthday. He was 24 on May 16th. His grandparents took him out to eat and we also had cake and ice cream.



We are trusting God for big things in the upcoming weeks... we can't wait to update you on what He does!

Lewisburg, OH to Lewisburg, PA.....

This past weekend we left en route to Pennsylvania. We left on Friday for the Akron area. We were able to go to dinner with one of Joe's relatives and supporter that we had never met. We really had a great time! That night we got to see some of our best friends. We had a great time with them Friday night and Saturday. We played hide and go seek and enjoyed spending time together. Saturday night we went to a wedding together for one of Andrea's friends from college. It was beautiful and a great time catching up with friends!

At the wedding reception

We now are in Lewisburg, PA! We made it safely to Joe's grandparents place Sunday afternoon.

Half way into the trip, a light turned on on Joe's console. We were figuring it was a symbol for low washer fluid, but it was for low engine coolant. We were nervous that the engine could overheat. We kept contemplating stopping and adding coolant (but we would have to wait awhile to put the fluid in because the engine had to cool all the way down). We kept watching the temperature gauge like a hawk, and it never got in the red zone, so we made it in safely! Praise God! So, today is engine coolant adding day to our car!

Sunday night, we were very tired, but got to speak at a church that Joe's grandparents used to pastor at. It was a small church, but was very encouraging. They prayed for us and we met some really neat people.

Monday, we got to hang out with Joe's grandparents. We went with them to a dinner at a local church. My goodness, the food there was abundant. They served subs (with so much meat) and other goodies (such as 2 whole tables of desserts). We were some of the youngest ones there.. but it was very fun and a blessing. We went out for some amazing ice cream afterwards and played games with Joe's grandma to end the night. Oh.. we also fixed the car today.. put more coolant in the car, and all is well with that!

Joe and his grandma (Alma)

So, today... we made a trip to Lancaster, PA to Hershey Farms. Joe's grandparents went with us and we met up with a special lady who had known Joe and his grandparents for a long time. She has been a blessing to us and our ministry. We really had a great time and have been enjoying exploring new places, meeting new people, and time with Joe's grandparents.

Joe and I at Hershey Farms in the Amish buggy....

Joe's grandma (Alma), Maryella, Joe's grandpa (Raymond), and Joe

There were goats at Hershey Farm. It was hilarious... Joe's grandpa kept feeding the goat. Not really food, but a gum wrapper, piece of gum, and mints. We are praying the goat makes it.

Pennsylvania here we come... !

Lately, Joe and I have been super busy traveling. We have been speaking at some churches and have been back and forth numerous times from Lima (Andrea's hometown) and Lewisburg (where we are living with Joe's parents).

We just wanted to update you and let you know we will be traveling to Pennsylvania the week of May 11th to connect with some individuals about our ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ. We are excited as we will be seeing some of Joe's relatives and connecting with new people out there.

Please pray for our time in Pennsylvania... For safe travels, that we would be able to connect with many people about our ministry while out there, and also spend some quality time with Joe's extended family.

We will update you on our trip when we get back!

Just for the fun of it....

So, Joe and I have been up to some random things lately...

Last weekend, we went to Columbus for the OSU spring football game. We were really excited for it, but heard it was supposed to rain and some of our favorite players wouldn't be playing (due to injury). So, we thought we would go to Columbus and if it was decent weather we would go to the game. It started pouring, so we decided to just have fun by checking out some outdoor stores and Easton. We had fun and got some needed gifts for wedding and birthday presents.

Our next random idea of fun we had was to camp out. For our birthdays this year, we asked Joe parent's for their tent that they hadn't used for years. It was really nice back in the day, and we were excited for the prospect of using it for camping. We got the tent out one day and noticed some wear and tear. We think we can repair it with some more rain coating spray and such. So, we got the crazy idea last night to camp out in the tent. We set it up in the yard and thought this is the beginning of many times in the tent. We really want to get into camping and backpacking and hopefully take our future kids someday. Here are some pictures of our tent and us really roughin' it.. haha!Our tent with the rain fly! It is an Eureka and a 6 man tent. Anyone wanna go camping?

The inside of the tent... with us in it!

In the morning, there was dew on the ground and so I decided to take this picture. The grass just looked so neat... I had to take a picture!

Hope you have been loving the weather and life as much as we have!

So.. what have we been up to you ask... ???

So, I (Andrea) have been bad with updating this blog recently. So, I thought I would just give you an update of what has been going on since I last posted.

Well first off, Easter! It seemed weird that it was so early this year and thus being really cold! It was great celebrating all that God has done for us and the power of the resurrection! Well, another part about Easter that we really enjoy is going to Joe's aunt and uncle's house. It is always a good time catching up and seeing his family. Another perk to the time there is an Easter egg hunt! Guess who searches for the eggs... ? All the adult kids! There are no young kids in the family... yet..! It is so fun.. Joe's parents and aunt and uncle fill the eggs with goodness... candy goodness and money goodness!

Here is a shot of me hunting!

So, since the weather has been warming up... Joe and I have really been enjoying hiking and taking walks. Hiking has been fun.. as we go with Joe's parents. We have been walking in the town of Lewisburg and praying as we go.
Hiking! It was a little cold this time!
So.. another picture of hiking. Check out the sign for the pond. It is upside down.. but if you read the reflection in the pond it is right side up.
So, I also had my birthday at the beginning of April. I am getting old - 24! Joe's parents made me my favorite cake. It is a kiddish cake.. but I love it. It is funfetti cake with rainbow chip icing (even sounds kiddish). I used to have the cake every birthday growing up. My wonderful in-laws called me into the kitchen and sang me "Happy Birthday" and decorated the cake with 24 jellybeans and Reese PB cups. I made a wish.. and tried to blow the candles and saw sparking... trick candles! Kiddish cake and fun candles.. what could be better!

Anyways, Joe and I have been enjoying our time in Lewisburg. We have been connecting with many people about our ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ and have been very encouraged! We are finally at 50% of our monthly financial goal! We have been raising support for about a year now.. but Joe and I are really trusting God for the last 50% by June. We would love if you would be praying for us and that God would help us to be at full support by June!

Thanks for reading this long lengthy post. Hopefully, I did not bore you.