Mrs. Jessica de Leeuw

Titus is 1!

2011-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

I think I say this every time I blog, but I'm so stunned at how fast my baby... errr.. toddler is growing up. He just turned 1 on July 30th. So this is my blurb of what's happened in the past little bit. Titus started walking just after NY, so he was officially walking at 11 months! Big accomplishment, considering I was not helping him or encouraging him.. he also started to crawl at 11 months. I allowed him to stay connected to my hip, as I held him a lot all the time... even when we were at home. I'm taking Sis. King's advice (and so many others) of relishing this age because it doesn't last forever. It doesn't bother me when people think that I'm spoiling him because I'm loving him the way that I know how. Already now that he's walking.. he doesn't want to be in my arms any more too much, he'd rather be exploring and playing with the others at church. So I can truely say that I soaked up every moment that I could while Titus was my little baby.

Another big accomplishment: He's slept through the night for about 8 nights in a row!! This is so awsesome, as I'm working full time now and it was very tiring with him waking up to nurse 1 or 2 times in the middle of the night. Although I'm not used to sleeping straight through, I still wake up at around 3:30-4:00. It'll be nice once that stops. I actually didn't complain about him waking up though because it was a bonding time for us and now that I work full time, I just find that I miss him so much. He's at my sister, Lisa's, dayhome for the day. I couldn't be more assured that he's in a better place. I considered putting him at the Enmax daycare so that he'd be close to me but then I decided against it because they wouldn't teach my child with the same values as I would teach him, so I thought it would be great to have him with family. She's only 7 mins. away from our house, so it works out perfectly. It's so hard to leave him in the am, it really hurts my heart... but you gotta do what you gotta do. It'll be nice when I can stay at home with him again.

A couple weeks ago Titus was dedicated to God at Truth Church. That was a very impacting, emotional, & deep moment for my husband & I as we gave our son, that He gave to us, back to Him. I can't even express in words how important this moment was for me.... to dedicate my child to God.We leave Titus in His arms, as that's the only safe place for my little precious boy to be. It was so memorable. My Father & Mother in law came and so did Jason's sister & husband came, which made it just that much more special. He recieved his first little tiny Bible from Nanna & Pappy de Leeuw and then his second Bible from Pastor King.

Titus is saying so many words... it's super cute.. Mommy, Daddy, Dad-o, poopy, puppy, Siah, Tia, he made a very good attempt at saying Jesus, he says pease (please), nu-nums, buh-bye, hello, tata.. etc. I can't remember everything but he seems to be a very fast learner. I'm trying to teach him a little bit of signing and he is able to sign "milkies" & "more". I like to read to him and he loves to have a short story.

His hair grows soo fast, and he's already had 7 haircuts... the last one from Beaners. His hair is changing to a very light blonde.

June, we went to go visit Jason for lunch at work.

June - We were chillen at home, getting ready to go for a walk

June - New Jersey, notice the very curly hair & more of a dirty blonde. His feet size 4

New York cruise - we went for a cruise around the harbour for our anniversary.

July 6th - Titus went for his 1st professional haircut, although it's his 7th haircut. They cut soo much off & he was very blonde underneath his long curly dirty blonde hair. He hated this haircut and he screamed & cryed.. it only took the lady 5 mins to do.

July- My happy little boy on our way to church, playing with Morty the monster.

July 17th- This was the day of his dedication. He's wearing a sweater that Great, Great grandmother knitted for Jason when he was a baby. It's my favorite sweater!

Titus at his dayhome, my sister Lisa's house. I often ask her to text me pics of him cuz I miss him so much while I'm at work.

Aug - He no longer looks like a baby, he's a little boy now.. he's playing at the park.

Oops - this is NY.. out of order.. his gorgeous curly hair.. unruly cuz he had just had a shower - yes he showers now..

This was just 3 days ago, on Friday... he wouldn't smile cuz he was tired. Josiah was trying to send me a nice picture.

That's all for now. I love my little boy. I can't believe the growing love that having a child can bring to you! Wow!!!

PS - I have a you tube account for friends & family if you'd like to view them.. my username is jdeleeuwx2.. you can just search that. There's NY & Titus videos.

New Jersey & New York

2011-06-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! We had a very difficult time with finding the fastest, cheapest, & easier way to get to Guttenberg, NJ from the airport. There was option between taxi -60.00, buss ?!? We couldn't find ne1 to help us with it, or rental car 100.00. We choose taxi service because our plane landed late and we had to be to the grocery store to pick up the keys by 10:30pm. After our grumbling & irritated taxi driver was paid, he didn't think the tip was good enough... We got to the BnB. Hilarious! After climbing 6 flights of stairs with a heavy baby, his heavy playpen, his stroller, and 2 large suitcases... Phew... We made it. What a beautiful apartment we re stayin in! Our own bathroom & a very large CLEAN room. It was worth the sweat up the stairs. We then went looking for food cuz the streets were still pretty busy even at 11:00pm. We noticed that New Jersey is disgustingly dirty!

Today was an awesome day! Church with the Rameriz, over to their house for lunch, then off to Time Square. That was incredible!!! So busy with lights & people & activity!! Reminded me of Las Vegas! There was this entertainer that really disgusted me, he had 2 rats (1 on his head & 1 on his shoulder). He started to allow the rat to lick his toung, then he proceded to lick the rat back. Possessed I think... Or at least very strange!

Titus was very good so far. He's been very tired!!!! So I hope he sleeps well cuz last night we were up until 2am!! He was just excited I think due to the flight?!?

God has already started doin aIng things.

10 months

2011-06-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

He's 10 months already! How time flies by. Well off to New York tomorrow am. This is Titus first airplane ride! I hope he does ok on it. I heard to nurse him on the take off & land so that's what I will do. I get home on July 5th, and then back to work on July 7th. Thank God for a good job that gives me 6 weeks of holidays/flex days!! I'm gonna miss my lil buddy! It crushes me to think that I have to leave him home full time. I love my monster, he is constantly making me laugh, smile, etc as his personality shows through more and more every day. Hes certainly a blessing from God.

I'm bringing my Mom with me to Nanny him during the days of Hope Corp camp. I'm happy to be leaving him with someone he knows very well & loves a lot! When we get home, he'll be staying with Lisa while I'm at work.

Oops, it's about time

2011-04-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

My little gorgeous guy is 8 months old already. I just can't believe how fast time flies. He has absolutely no intentions to crawl anytime soon, in fact when I put him on his tummy time he either cries or he flips over to his back in the same second. I attribute it to his tummy is fat and so it's uncomfortable for him to be on his tummy. He's getting to an incredibly playful and fun stage. His eating is ok... he often gets bored of it quickly so he nurses still a lot, which I'm fine with. I'm finally getting a little bit more sleep and does it ever make a HUGE difference. Titus is pretty clingy, I can't put him down very much. But thank God that he's ok to sit in his bumbo while I cook or do dishes... but otherwise he likes me within two feet of him. Kind of hard to do laundry and other hously duties. Sometimes it just doesn't get done.. like the floor. I love him to pieces! Here's a few month 8 pictures.

Daddy and Titus last week

Just before a haircut

Then just after a haircut, this is his 4th haircut and LOTS came off

Close up after his haircut

We went to see Daddy downtown for his lunch hour, Titus was ready to drive Jason's FedEx truck ;)

I'll try to post more often.

2011-01-23T20:44:00.001-08:00

When you are hooked to a purpose, there’s automatically restraint. Bishop Wilson "The Cows"

Titus is 5 months old today! Where has the time gone??

2010-12-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

At 4.5 months old I was able to weigh & measure Titus. My boy tips the scale at 18.5 pounds & is 27 inches long! He's actually off the charts in his length & of course weight too. He's in such a fun stage right now as he learns to make new noises, funny faces, and is started to get very interested in food & drinks! Although I'm trying to hold out to the six month mark to start letting him try the rice cereal... I've been tempted to let him try a few things... I've fallen into that temptation and he's licked an organic dried banana & sucked on a raw carrot and a piece of cantaloupe.. but no more. I don't want him eating until six months.. lets see if we can do it...Daddy doesn't think we can hold off that long. He's still such a happy boy! Sleep... ya right.. he wakes up now about every hour to feed... very tiring.. but I try to make up the missed sleep during the day. A new stage that he's in right now is crazy!! He is VERY aware if I leave the room now and even if he's in his favorite toy.. his jolly jumper.. he will start to cry! Soo... I get to hold him ALL of the time now... Sister King taught a message.... Relax, Relish, and R... so I'm relishing this stage because soon he won't want any hugs from his Momma.. so I'm very glad to have a Snuggli.. as I use it ALL of the time. I guess it becomes an art to start cooking with only one hand.. and my back sure is a lot stronger... my little man is heavy! Here's some very recent pictures.

Showing his little curlies on the side... I love them... his hair curles right up... so adorable!

Titus sleeping in the car....looking so cute!

This is a picture of his 4 month professional picture.

At Christmas time Titus sat with his Great Grampa de Leeuw, who has just turned 91 years old! Titus loves him!!

What a new twist in life

2010-10-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Life is so differant now! I would've never imagined how challenging but rewarding raising a baby is, thus far :0). Titus us growing at lightening speed and is such a beautiful gift from God! It's so much work but I love it!

He's 12 weeks old in this picture and he weighs 15 pounds, 4 ounces!! He's huge, in fact he's getting too small for his sleepers that are a size 6 months.

I'm sorry about the lag in posts. Between being a new mom, doing school, and having amazing revival services... I just don't have time any more to go on the computer. So I've fallen off of the band wagon on a lot of things, and I'm just starting to learn the balance of keeping my house, being a good wife, and being a good Mommy. Thank God my little (or should I say BIG) guy likes his "floor" time. He's been laughing for a good 1.5 months and it's the most beautiful and funny thing to hear him laugh. He's a great baby.

Titus Alexander has arrived

2010-08-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

My brand new beautiful boy has finally arrived, 10 days past his "guess/due" date. Things didn't go as I had planned, because he was 10pnds, 10ounces!!, but in the end all was well and baby was healthy! What a gift from God we have. It's so surreal that we have our own little boy! He's precious, he's adorable, he's perfect, he's cute, he's everything that I could've ever prayed or hoped for. He's such a sweet little boy!

9.5 months and still going!

2010-07-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

We went for a great walk this morning, we walked to Nose Hill and then climbed to the top, it was very exhilerating! It's been nice to have this week off of work, i've been so busy running around doing things and getting ready for the birth, and having naps every day..... this is the life! Baby Bean can come after Monday, at least give me a chance to go to the grounds and have my funnel cake and Jason wants mini dounuts.. :0) Sounds soo healthy!

Here's a picture of us on our hike down Nose Hill... we look a bit tired and are definately really warm! What a beautiful day it was today! Thank God for that amazing sun! Only took an hour to walk from Mom's house to the top of Nosehill and back.... so much fun!

In the Ninth month!!

2010-06-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Still feeling great, hardly any bumps in the road at all so I consider myself very blessed! Not all women have such easy pregnancies.. then again some with the easy pregnancy have a harder labor... lol.. So I pray for a good labor and healthy delivery.

We did a photo shoot with Mel and took a few 9 month pictures. Here's a few:

8 months (32 weeks)

2010-05-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve passed the 8 month mark!! Midwife said today: You are all baby, I think you have a 9-pounder!! WOW!! My pregnancy is going so good for me up to now, with only lack of sleep to complain about.. but what else is new . Last weekend we went to Banff & Canmore for our 1st year anniversary. We did so much walking around both towns, went canoeing in Banff, and did the “more difficult” trail up Grassy Lake Mountain. That view was absolutely amazing!!! With proper shoes I had no aches or pains and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was funny, on the hardest part of the hike; I had a few people asking me if I was doing all right… I’m a trooper!! Jason said we could go up the easy trail for my sake… and I said no way!! The weather was just perfect for our little long weekend adventure. I can’t believe that we’ll be holding Baby Bean within about 2 months! Time has just flown by! Here are a few pics:

2010-05-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

7 month belly pic

2010-04-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's been asked for so here it is.. a 7 month belly pic. I actually had to take this at work because neither Jason or I get out the camera for pregnancy pictures.. lol.. so this'll be my memory picture. All in all the pregnancy has gone great and baby is kicking A LOT and has been for over a month. Like the midwife said, the baby is VERY active. Also my ultrasound, which was pretty awesome to see little baby bean moving around, said the baby is pretty big. I'm enjoying it and can't wait till the arrival in 2-3 months. We are NOT getting the baby sexed.it'll be a surprise. We painted the room sage green; so the accented colors will be brown if it's a boy and pink if it's a girl!

It's been pretty busy around here so I haven't had much time to blog. Maybe once I am a stay at home Mom... :0)

2010-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Jason and Jessica sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G
first comes love and then comes marriage
then comes a baby in the baby carriage.. no house!

Wow, does time fly! I couldn't even imagine that God would've blessed me soo significantly about 14 months ago. A great husband, a baby to come in 5 months, and we bought a house!! Great family, great in-laws, great church, great Pastor that loves & prays for us!! I'm soo excited that I'll be able to give birth to my little boy/girl in my own home. It's such a cute little starter home and I can't wait till we get in there and set up... all so exciting!!! God is soo good to His kids!!! Thank you God!

2010-01-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character;
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

2nd Trimester

2010-01-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

I’m still doing great, actually even better than my first trimester. I find that I’m not as tired and have a wee bit more energy. A few more cravings.. much worse than the beginning. Still haven’t gained too much weight, but I’m starting to show a pregnancy belly. It’s kind of fun but at the same time, I don’t want to be wasting too much money on new clothes that I’ll only wear for a couple months. I’m “embracing” my pregnancy, it hasn’t been too rough at all.. thank God. Well I finally got the phone call from a midwife yesterday, her name is Sivan. She told me that I’ve been accepted and then their office called to set up an appointment with her Jan. 26th.. I’M SOO EXCITED! I prayed yesterday morning that someone would contact me because their office sent a rejection email twice to me… I was soo very disappointed.. so I prayed and God knows what’s best for me.. my midwife finally called the same day of my prayer.

Funny parts of my pregnancy so far…. Well last Sat we were invited over to the Lewars and we had curry chicken and it was soo amazing that instead of dessert three hours later, I asked for more curry chicken. Well today.. I’ve been craving that amazing curry chicken… and was wondering how I would get some curry chicken. I go downstairs to see the soups.. and guess what’s there.. curry chicken soup!!! God knows! It’s not as good as the dinner we had on Sat.. but it’ll do.. sooo amazingly yummy!!! The cravings have been mainly Franks Hot Sauce, which I drench my roast beef sandwiches at lunch time with until it’s dripping out, and Bicks garlic dill pickle JUICE!! I have to limit myself to that one because it’s soo salty… but ohhh it’s soo good. The other two normal things that I like to have.. peanut butter toast and strawberry milkshakes!!
Pregnancy is a funny thing!

Happy Holidays!!!

2009-12-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

As many of my family & friends will be traveling this season, I pray that you all have safe travels. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Enmax Christmas party. I didn't like this picture because my hair had totally fallen out from the moisture of the snow falling. But oh well.. it's our seasonal picture and Jason looks great!

We will be going to Edmonton for a few days to see my in-laws. I'm so blessed to have such a great family!!

Love and prayers to you all!

2009-11-26T10:39:00.001-08:00

No coffee, no tea, no sugar…… nothing sounds appetizing to me except soup, sandwhiches cereal, FRUIT, & the occasional chocolate milk. No weird cravings, no pickles, no ice cream. I feel great so far, I can’t even really tell that I’m pregnant except a bit of fatigue, a bit of the flue, a bit of nausea is kicking in, and I feel pretty bloated all the time. I’ve got energy, I’ve got insomnia, I’ve got love to share and lots of laughs to give. Yes I’m over sensitive, but I feel like if I shut up… it’s best to keep comments to myself rather than share them because I realize that I’m over sensitive. I’m sure I have a boy, I will be very surprised if it comes out a girl…. A good surprise though. I’ll be thankful with whatever God blesses me with. I love it, I’m enjoying it!! My favorite part… I get to retire in less than a year… WOOT WOOT!!! And I’m only 6 weeks..I’m excited to see what the near future holds for me. PS – I have NOT gained any weight yet… just bloatation at this point.. yay!!

2009-11-13T07:53:00.001-08:00

Please help us pray... baby de Leeuw is on his/her way!!!

My thankfulness:

2009-10-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

The building of a relationship with God
The Truth
My husband
My family
My Dad receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost
My in laws
My church
My Pastor & family
My friends
My job, my car, food to eat, a place to live in…. There’s soo many things to be thankful for that you can’t even begin to write a list. God has been so good to us. Even as I think of what my family is going through. My Aunt Lori died on my wedding night and now my Dad has been diagnosed with the same lung cancer. But here’s the thing.. my Dad has something to live for and nothing to fear if he’s called to a better place. I believe that God is doing something in the midst of our troubles and we need to stay out of it and let God be God! As hard as it is to leave it on the altar.. that’s the only thing that will give us peace & rest. I’m still so thankful that two years ago dad was filled with the Holy Ghost. In the depth of my heart, I have a feeling that God wants to use dad’s testimony.

This past year.. God has been soo good to me. He’s had mercy & grace on my soul, He’s kept me and blessed me with an amazing husband. This time last year.. I would’ve never believed you if you would’ve told me that I would be married today with my best friend. Baby I love you & you are exactly who God choose for me… and I’m forever thankful to God and to you! I’ve got the best in-laws a girl could ask for!! Woot woot.. praisebreak praisebreak!!

2009-09-21T10:53:00.001-07:00

Bye bye devil...
bye bye doubt!!

Great message Pastor King. That's just what I needed to hear and obey!

2009-08-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have the best God, the best life, the best husband, the best family, the best Pastor, the best Church, the best friends…. I love you all! I will try to update once we get back from Browning, Montana. God is doing great things there! Work is busy, life is busy, and I’m busy.. loving God & loving people!!

Wedding pictures

2009-07-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Wedding rehearsal Thanks to everyone for helping set up!

THE BIG DAY - James & Jason getting ready

Jason - my handsome Baby getting ready Groom & Bestman

Me getting ready to go out. Before I walked down to meet my groom, I asked my family to say one last prayer for me. I felt quite emotional, but was trying my best to hold it back so that my face wasn't all red.

My nephew, Josiah getting people to sign the guest sheet

Matthias & Hanna... so cute!

Then I invited Mom & Dad de Leeuw to also pray together with me that all would go well

Josiah escorting Grandpa deLeeuw to his seat. I love this picture!

Rebecca DeMan escorting Jason's parents to their seats

James & Mandy - My Bestman & Maid of Honor

This was so absolutely cute & funny! Hanna & Jenica were supposed to walk up just before me spreading purple rose petals on the path and they poured them all at the very beginning. Everyone was laughing. They were all over the grass.. that's what adds character!

The wedding ceremony

Jason reading his personal vows to me

You may kiss the bride

Going up the path to sign the official papers Another hilarious happening.. we went to go sign the marriage license and it wasn't there. They forgot to bring it up so we were really shocked it wasn't up there.

Finally it's legal!

I was so excited I asked Jason to run back to the house...we are MARRIED!!

We went to the front of the house while Pastor dismissed everyone

A close up

Pastor giving us very special words

Just kissing...

On our way to take pictures... everyone looked soo good!

Can't touch me....

My family. Grandpa Hamlin, Dad, Jason & me, Mom, Lori, Mat & Mel, Lisa & Julio, all the kidlets (Tias was sleeping)

Jason's family. Granpa deLeeuw, Dad, Me & Jason, Mom

Jason's full family. Dad, Mike, Liesje (Jason's sister), Mom, Jason & I

Oops.. there was a lot of pictures that were random, we had no idea they were snapping.

I love the kids in my pictures!

I LOVE U!!

Jason & James sliding down the rails (or James is trying to)

My wedding cake

Jason listening to me sing

We dedicated a song to our parents. Gave them a gift & some flowers.

Jason getting ready to shove wedding cake in my face :P

And we got each other pretty good!

Such an adorable picture of Mathias.. at the reception

Yayyy... time to leave

Another adorable picture.. Jenica bossing the puppy.. at the end of the reception

Honeymoon Pictures - Victoria, BC

2009-07-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

We went on walk around the downtown Victoria on a "Ghost Walk Tour", here is our guide.. he looks creepy!!

The Empress Hotel.. VERY HAUNTED
Another very haunted place.. the Parliment buildingsThe happening spot, by the water. There was a very laid back culture here.. many artists & musicians.

The bird is stuck!!

A beautiful walk just going outside of downtown, where you can see the water planes take off & land

Victoria sunset

We were looking for ghosts as it got darker.. but there was none... this is the Empress Hotel at night

We went to an underground water show.. it was pretty kewl, the guy went down there with all of his equipment on and was showing us and explaining the differant water creatures.

Jason was touching the starfish.. grossness!!

2009-07-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Wax museum - pretty realistic

He's giving me rabbit ears!!!

Torture place

We went for a long walk along the waterside in downtown Victoria
Our walk....

We went on a 4KM hike to the beachBeautiful hike!

Honeymoon Pics

2009-07-10T06:29:00.001-07:00

The hike to the beachIt was 35 degrees and the beach was empty!!It was VERY sunny... we were squintingI love Jason!!
The end of the trip.. back at home.. can you tell I enjoyed the vacation. I found a new style!!

Proclaiming It!!

2009-06-23T10:18:00.001-07:00

I’ve got the best husband in the world! Baby.. you are amazing. You look after me in a spiritual, physical, and emotional way. Not only that but every time I call you, you are doing something around the house…. Mowing the lawn, cleaning the basement, cooking dinner for me, doing the running around, fixing cars, building our room, painting, vacuuming, moving around the storage, earning some extra cash, reading your Bible, praying, teaching Bible studies, and listening to preaching. How could any body say that they have the best when the best is with me!! Thanks Babe and oh ya… did I mention… I LOVE YOU!!

2009-06-15T13:06:00.001-07:00

Bro. Lee Stoneking

Satan is so weak that he couldn’t live for God even when there was no devil!!

Hmm

2009-06-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

I heard this on the radio.. I thought it was funny!

You Tube
Twitter
Facebook
You twit face

2009-06-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Investing time to save a soul!

What am I doing to help bring someone to the Kingdom of Heaven? Am I doing everything that I can possibly do to see someone saved? Or am I so consumed with my own little busy life that I don’t have time for the Kingdom of Heaven. Serious questions we have to ask ourselves. It’s so easy to get caught up with life that you unintentionally leave out the souls that need our prayers, love, and fellowship! The Bible says only what’s done for Christ will last!! Why do we so easily forget that!! We can’t take this world to Heaven with us.. but we can take a soul with us.

Now that I’m married.. the stress of wedding plans are over, the stress of the first wedding night is over, and the stress of getting the room prepared for us to live in is over! Married life is beautiful.. the honeymoon period… I hope it never ends. I pray that we fall so much deeper in love like the couples that we look up too (the Kings, the Bentley’s, the Walz’, the DeMan’s). It’s so exciting to the both of us to see where God is going to lead us in the new Journey that we have embarked upon. We are anxiously waiting & trusting in God.

I have to keep reminding myself that this world is not my home… I can’t wait to see the face of my precious Saviour, Jesus Christ! God has been so good!

2009-05-25T11:25:00.001-07:00

Only 5 more days until my wedding! Its so funny, the mixture of emotions…. Happiness, excitement, nervousness, stress, sadness of when Jason leaves me for the evening!! So many different emotions… the closer it gets! God has been good to me. I’m going to be marrying the man of my dreams… talk about being distracted all of the time! I can’t keep something in my head for more than a minute! I forget everything… my mind is so distracted with our wedding. It’s a great distraction though!

Help me pray that my Aunty Lori doesn’t pass away before my wedding. I really don’t want to be attending a funeral before my wedding. She seems to be holding onto life for a reason. God knows. It isn’t over until it’s over.. God could in fact be working a miracle as we speak. Since she was baptized, things have been a little odd over there. She hadn’t eaten for 3 days and the day after she got baptized she ate some food. Then she’s tried to get up out of bed three times saying that she wants to go home. Before her baptism… she was so incredibly weak and couldn’t move at all. God’s doing something in her body. We serve a Healer for a God!!!

2009-05-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

What an amazing youth prayer we had!!

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

My story..

2009-04-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time I actually met Jason. I was asked to come for fellowship after the Bible study was done and when we got their, I was introduced to Jason. Because he immediately was taken in by my family, he hung out at the “Hamlin’s” a lot. I remember watching him and Mat play ping pong and so many things that Jason didn’t understand would be talked, argued, and finally hashed out playing some very competitive games. We became very good friends and would hang out almost every other day. The friendship then turned into being best friends and he confided in me many things, and I confided in him more than I have ever confided in a person. He saw a different side of me, a very open and emotional side that I’ve always had a hard time sharing with people. There was times when I just knew in the spirit that he was struggling and I would intercede for him. In fact I remember when he was still new, I was out of town and I got such a heavy burden for him and when I got home he told me that he had almost given up. It seemed like every time he struggled, I got a burden for him in prayer.

We did everything together, he told me about his “girl” issues and then about a year and a half later I started to have feelings for him. I started treating him as more than just a friend, I baked for him and I cooked for him and all of his friends of course.. but I had a hidden agenda! I started praying about it and telling God my feelings. I didn’t like the fact that I had feelings for him because of the age difference and I knew he certainly didn’t like me more than a friend. I spent nights and many hours praying about it. It bothered me that I liked him and often times I would withdraw from the group because I didn’t want him to know my feelings and I was embarrassed about my true feelings. There was soo many people telling the both of us that we should hook up, that would make me mad.. because I always said I don’t want to be hooked up by people, but I wanted God to make a match for me, so I would withdraw once again. I stopped praying for a husband because I felt like I was praying a partial prayer that basically had Jason’s name and personality all over it. Then a month later, I wept in prayer for a husband once again. I started to pray “God, please take this out of my heart, I don’t know why I like him and I don’t want to like him.” Then I would think that I was over him until I saw him the next time.. my feelings were still there!!! The feelings actually grew stronger and stronger… I was trying to deny my feelings. I invited Jason over to my house and made him dinner and told him “I just want to let you know that I like you no more than a best friend”. I was trying to convince myself!!!

Then I got desparate in prayer. I decided that I would finally accept my feelings and just pray about it. I went to Banff by myself and in the hotel room I broke down and wept for a long time, telling God my feelings. I stayed at the church on Wed. night all night long and wept and prayed about it. After Sunday school 3 weeks before we started dating, I stayed for hours in the small fellowship hall and wept and prayed about it. The more I prayed the more I saw that it was never going to happen. Then I just started to thank God for what He was doing in the spirit.. because with my natural eye.. I could see that it would never come to pass. Julio’s bday dinner, Jason called me and said he decided he would show up and have a pop and then go home. He came dressed up, and funny… I came dressed up because there was a small hope that he’d come (but I didn’t know at the time that I left my home that he was going to come). When he got there I told my sister that Jason must’ve taken out a girl for dinner because he looked good, smelled good, and only wanted a drink. Well.. it was weird… I noticed he kept looking at me and he ended up staying the entire dinner. He lingered around me at the cash register.. I thought what in the world is this guy doing… but I enjoyed every moment of it.

That night we all went home. I got on msn when I got home and I was in a fowl mood because my emotions were soo up & down. Jason got on msn also and we chatted and he asked me what was wrong and I just told him everything except the real truth… the reason I was so upset. Finally after midnight he asked me “Jessie I’m going to ask you a question and you have to be honest with me. Do you like me as more than a friend?” I started to shake uncontrollably and I closed the lid of my laptop and put it aside thinking are you kidding me, I’m not going to tell him because he’s just going to hurt me! But then 5 minutes later when I heard him message me again, I opened it back up and I finally decided to tell him “yes, I do”. Then he told me this story about a man & wife and how the wife would all the time ask “Baby, do you love me”. Finally one day the man took his wife out to the garage and showed her the car. He said “do you know we have a car”, she said “yes”, he said “we will always have this car and that’s how I feel about my love for you… my love will always be there with you”.

I was crying at this point as I was reading this story, wondering what in the world he was trying to say. Then Jason finally said “Jessie, we have a car”.. then I freaked I was like Jason what are you saying to me… he said he liked me as more than a friend too.... and the rest is history!

God has been so good to us!!

Israel pics of us 2

2009-03-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Some Israel pictures of us

2009-03-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is when Jason announced that we were engaged on the bus in front of everyone!!

I'm engaged with the most handsome, amazing man!!

2009-03-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

We were engaged in Tiberius, Israel. Here's a picture of us. I will update more later.