10 photos on a special 10th day

yesterday was january 10th.

fifteen years ago yesterday, i married my honey on the COLDEST day of the year!

the bubbles we had were freezing in the air and dropping to the ground!

my husbands tricky brother lathered our old car with butter and food.

yum.

we left our reception early because i hate being the center of attention.

i'm thankful for days like yesterday.

days that aren't out of the ordinary, but yet, they are.

days we remember and reflect on years gone by, and all of the blessings that we have experienced.

but not without heartache.

when you're in the middle of 'life', it's so hard to see things in the big picture, but looking back, our vision seems 20/20.

we can see how God led, protected, and why He allowed the things He did.

i'm SO thankful that He is in control!

here's our day yesterday.

we arent fancy.

i woke up excited to give my honey his small things, all handmade because that's how we roll around here.

i made him this card from inspiration i saw on pinterest.

it's true!

our lil jackaroo!  how cute is he?

he tortures his mama in the best way. makes me smile every time.

those eyes!

nathan + mary = true love  :)

i don't know where this came from, but it was good.

PROOF that God knows what we need, when we need it.

i sold a few things on consignment and it came to me at JUST the right time!

stress relief.

old hymns are the best.

mid day mess.

the cutest goodies arrived for henry's foxxy party on monday!

#mybabyisturningseven wahhhhhhhh!

the look on kit cats face says it all!

free cheesecake?  

why, sure!

i loved watching my family laughing all together at the table last night.

this is what life is all about.

it's also about paper plates at every meal.

i told you, we're not fancy!

;)

so there you have it.

it was a good, good day.

:)

xo,

mary

15

i can totally remember back in the day when i was a very young wife(married at 18), looking at people who were celebrating 15 year anniversaries and thinking how LONG of a time it was to be together.
at that time, it seemed like an eternity away for us.
i was looking towards our five year thinking THAT was an accomplishment.
of course it was, but then...

 i blinked.

and here we are.

fifteen years in, overwhelmed with God's goodness and mercy each and every day.
praying that i can absorb even an ounce of it and pay it forward to my husband, my children and others.

i would do it all over again in a heartbeat, but with much more wisdom and purpose.

I, Mary, take thee, Nathan, to be my wedded husband

to have and to hold from this day forward

for better, for worse

for richer, for poorer

in sickness and in health

to love and to cherish

until death do us part.

we've been on the mountaintop.

and we've been in the valley.

i suspect we will be there again, but by the grace of God we will do it together.

there's no one else i'd rather be spending this one crazy life with than you, Mr. Krause.

happy anniversary.

xo,

mary

One for One:::A GIVEAWAY!

Good morning sweet friends!

Did you have a great Christmas or what?!

We sure did, and now that the dust has finally settled a bit, we will be diving back into school full time this week.

Pray for me, okay?  :)

You wanna know something REALLY exciting?

God has brought the sweetest people into my life through blogging and I am so excited to have one of my dear friends over here with me today.

Her name is Joy, and she blogs over at Small Town Joy.

Her faith completely inspires me, and she challenges me in the best way.

Proverbs 27:17 came to mind the other day as I was amazed at her realness and genuine love for and faith in  our great BIG GOD!

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Friends, meet Joy. 

:)

Hello new friends! 

I'm Joy, from Small Town Joy, where I blog about my faith, family and our journey in foster care. I am a lover of Jesus, my main squeeze, and the little hearts I have been entrusted with.

My sweet man (Barry) and I are blessed to be the parents of three of the coolest kids on the block. Two "big kids" we call Jordan (15) and Riley (12), and one little sister we call "Pie". She's two. She's full of spunk. She's our foster child.

Our "Pie" has brought so much joy to our family. Our skin does not match, but our hearts match up just right. She has lived every day of her little two year old life with us. She knows no other family. We are hers, and she is ours.

2011

The past two years have been filled with much wait and little activity. Her case has been a doozey and due to circumstances surrounding her case we felt God calling us to stand up and fight for protection our girl. After much prayer we hired a private attorney to help us stop the chaos surrounding this child's case and finalize our adoption.

2012

In the past weeks things have begun to move very quickly. Our adoption will likely be finalized soon. It would bless our socks off if you would donate $1.00 to our adoption fund. Do it so that ONE child may have a forever family. ONE less child will be in foster care. ONE family will have their forever child. Your ONE dollar will make a big difference.

Our goal is... $8500.00 to finish off our legal fees and finalize our adoption. Every single dollar counts.

And one more thing, will you share about this fundraiser? We need your help to get the word out. My friends have joined up and put together a sweet little giveaway for those of you who SHARE about this fundraiser. You can earn entries for sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and your personal blog. You can NOT earn entries for giving. Skip on over to Kelly's blog and check out the giveaway... there's even a Kindle Fire!

Thank you so much for giving and praying and especially sharing!

Click here to visit our blog, grab our button and donate to our adoption.

God is good, all the time!

Isn't this exciting?

I sure hope that you will prayerfully consider donating, sharing or praying for this sweet family!

Please, SHARE SHARE SHARE!

:)

xo, 

mary