Embracing Autumn

Well, I have failed to update at least twice a month as vowed, but Joe and I are back to the blog world and with lots of new adventures to share!

This last month and a half has been filled with a lot of traveling, hiking, baking, spending time with new friends, seeing old friends, and taking in all a Virginian fall has to offer.

The biggest news, before I fill you in on our personal adventures, is that my baby sister is married!! I cannot believe how fast the big day came and went, but her wedding was beautiful and her husband is wonderful, and I am so excited for Jennifer and Philip's new life together.  Speaking of which, tomorrow marks 6 months for Joe and I! WOW how time flies. It feels like it was just last week that we were getting married, especially since I can remember our own wedding day so vividly! However, we have learned so many new things about each other and about relationships since that glorious Saturday.  I know I am certainly still finding new reasons to love my husband more each day.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

We also got to see many tried and true friends during our trip home for Jennifer's wedding and it was wonderful catching up. It's amazing how we can be gone for months but it only takes a minute to feel like we never left.  I feel so blessed to have such great friends.

Other than our 13 hour drive home and back (yes that's 26 hours of total driving and my poor darling made the first 13 through the night... alone) we've also voyaged to D.C. to see the sights with some fellow law schoolers.  We had a blast seeing D.C. and Arlington and having what we now fondly remember as a "couples decathlon weekend"...you know with the usual games such as Ladder Ball, Catch Phrase, Euchre, Cranium Hoopla, and an American History board game... All I can say is that it was a riveting weekend.

Joe and I have also spent alot of time enjoying God's beautiful creation.  We've been hiking a few more times (lots of pictures on facebook), went to a cider press party with a group from our church, and recently went apple picking in an orchard just 10 minutes from our house.  Nothing says fall like picking apples in a sea of red, orange, and yellow then drinking hot cider and finally arriving home to unbundle and watch some college football.  Are you jealous yet?  I am! I cannot believe all of the new opportunities we are getting to experience.  I feel like every weekend is a vacation!  

Proud of our freshly picked Pink Ladies.

It looks like someone left off all the "y"... some people just don't know any better here.

I was also inspired, at Joe's constant probing, to make some autumn inspired cupcakes which we shared with our neighbors and favorite cat-sitter.  I, as per usual, couldn't make my mind up on someone else's recipe so I pieced several together to make my own delightful pumpkin spice cupcakes with a spiced brown sugar cream cheese icing... just talking about them makes me want to go eat another one!  They turned out great and I'd be happy to share the recipe.

That pretty much summarizes our journey to this point, though I would be amiss not to mention Joe's constant and very diligent studying.  Pray that he makes it through this first semester.  I know if he (we) can make it through this semester, the rest of law school will be a breeze... or at least easier.  Oh, and my living room is painted!! It has taken many painstaking hours, but we love it.  Now just on to the other 5 rooms... we'll update on that soon!

Quality time..

Once again I find myself writing a blog about how funny I've noticed God likes to work in our lives... just as I was complaining about not having enough hours in the day, I have found myself with all the time in the world!

My first job in c'ville and I parted ways this week.  It was an answered prayer and a burden lifted.  HOWEVER, now I'm finding myself with all the time I wanted to do all the extra things I wanted, and I have NO idea where to begin.  I've contacted a knitting instructor, re-taken up my letter writing, researched paint colors for the apartment, and decorated for fall...and that's just the the beginning of the list that I've accomplished in the past two days.

I think Joe is quickly loving my being at home more (you know the whole clean, decorated apartment and dinner waiting thing is not something he's really experienced much until now)... but we both know what we aren't saying and that is: as wonderful as this unclaimed time is, money must be made somehow. We are pretending not to panic about that yet. God granted my prayers of getting out of ill-fitting job and providing much desired time and I know when the time is right, He will provide for our monetary needs as always.

In other news, today I felt, for the first time, like I really am a Charlottesvillian.  While having lunch with a new friend (who happens to be a fellow MSU Delta G) I ran into someone familiar who called my name from the ordering line.  I almost didn't turn around thinking no one here would know me, but sure enough it was a friend from church choir who just recognized me and wanted to say hello.  I can't explain how refreshing that was! It was so natural, like I wasn't a visitor anymore, but a member of the community. It's a small and silly joy, but I had to share it.

I also want to share my newest fall finds that have made me oh so happy.  Fall is hands down my favorite season of the year.  It's a good thing Christmas isn't in fall or there would be nothing to look forward to for me once the thermometer reads below freezing.

Happy pumpkin season!!

Waiting for Sunshine

Isn't it incredible the way God uses his created world to share things with us?

I woke this morning to the storm still going from last night.  It was dreary, wet, gray, and cold... definitely the kind of day no one wants to get out of bed for, except my husband. Joe Davis, just like every morning, pops out of bed like its Christmas morning. Rain or shine he wakes and is ready to embrace the day. Meanwhile, I lie there thinking about all there is to do, how sore I am, how I have nothing cute to wear on a day like this, and how much I just want to skip today and move onto a day that is literally and metaphorically sunnier. A day when I am not overwhelmed by what lies ahead and underwhelmed by what I feel I have to offer.

Lots of lessons are being learned here in Charlottesville. Some are coming from the results of mistakes made, some are coming from the great ministers at our new church, and most are coming from being around my dear Joe.  So, being completely bewildered as to why anyone would be as emphatic as he is about this unpleasant Tuesday morning, I started to study the differences between our situations. I thought maybe the 2nd week of law school is just much more exciting than the 3rd month of a new and demanding job. But is it really better? Long lectures, walking 20 minutes in the cold rain? Better, but not by a whole lot...so maybe I just have a bad attitude? Then I picked up on a very long, ongoing reflection of myself... what made us so different?

My conclusion? Joe takes care of himself.  He loves others as he loves himself, and he doesn't put too much stock in being perfect for everyone at every moment... I mean no wonder I get overwhelmed!

God created us to love ourselves, because, after all, we are created in His image and are His children. Just as my parents think the world of me and think I should think the world of myself, so does God.  Then, He wants us to take that love for ourselves and love others the same way.  I won't say Joe is PERFECT by any means, who is?, but this is one thing my husband absolutely has figured out.

God didn't intend for us to be everything for everyone. That's his job.  And this is a lesson I am painfully learning.  I think a lot of us out there feel that if we aren't doing everything exactly as everyone expects we are not worthy.  But if we, including myself, continue using perfection in the eyes of other imperfect humans as our measuring stick, we are just going to continue to be sorely disappointed in ourselves, and as a result, not want to face grim days like today.

I think God hands us days like today to say this world is not perfect. It has been tarnished with sin and imperfection. However, if we look to God instead of others to find our worth, so then we will find our rays of sunshine.

I am sorry to preach, especially on our NEWLYWED blog, but I feel that the lessons I am learning are from being married to such a Godly man.  We both learn from each other daily.

Good luck to all of you finding sunshine on stormy days!

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

1 John 4:12 ESV

Not Enough Hours...

So to begin this post, I would like to share the story of how I wrote a blog post about how there are not nearly enough hours in the day to do everything Joe and I would like and how very frustrating it is. I very deliberately set 30 minutes aside to do so, and 45 minutes into the post, it was deleted. An unfortunate tragedy, but we must continue on.

I have been through this cycle of life before, i.e. busy days of college, but Joe and I are quickly having to re-familiarize ourselves with the concept of not have enough time in the day.

Things have become a little hectic lately with my long weeks of work and Joe's many hours of studying. The days of Joe taking care of all things domestic are over, and we are learning the joys of shared duties after coming home at the end of the work day, exhausted, but with dinner to cook, house to clean, plenty of personal projects, quality time to spend together, cat to take care of (and yes cats do require time, at least our spoiled one does), oh and a socail life to maintain.

Sometimes I wonder what God was thinking when He created 24 hour days. Doesn't He know that if you try to get any decent amount of sleep, there is simply not enough time to do everything else? I suppose maybe the Creator of the world knows more than we do, and maybe this just means we need to prioritize...

I pray daily for more strength, but I feel like it takes the energy of an Olympian to survive these days. If anyone has any tips on how to balance work and EVERYTHING else, I believe I speak for Joe and I when I say, we are all ears!

We did manage to slip away a few weekends ago to visit some of the local vineyards. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Other than our weekend trip, I can't say it's been completely all work and no play.  We've checked out the c'ville bowling alley and attended a few IL section H events (which would be Joe's 1st year law school group).

This past Friday we went to a section H potluck. Joe signed us up to bring dessert, and I was inspired by this very yummy local grocery's bakery across the street from our apt. to try my hand at coconut macaroons. I found them to be SUPER easy, and very yummy. They're a great party dessert, because they are accessible like cookies and if you melt a little chocolate and drizzle it over the top, people think you really know what you're doing.

Here's the recipe I used (modified from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook):

14 ounces of sweetened flaked coconut

1 1/3 cup of sugar

2/3 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 egg whites

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1). Preheat oven to 325º

2). Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper or grease and lightly flour (be aware it can still stick with ungreased waxed paper)

3). In a large mixing bowl stir together all the dry ingredients.

4). With a large spoon (I used a wooden spoon) stir in the egg whites and vanilla.

5). Using a 1/2 tablespoon, drop rounds of the mixture on the cookie sheets 2 in. apart. (I fit about 20 macaroon balls per cookie sheet)

6). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the macaroons are lightly browned on top.

7). Set aside on cooling rack.

If you want to add the extra chocolate drizzle, just heat about 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate (chop if you use a bar) with approx. 1 tsp of shortening.  Stir continually until the chocolate is completely melted.  Immediately remove from the heat and drizzle onto the cool macaroons.

Easy peasy.

One last note. Tomorrow is a big day for the Majors and formerly Majors women.  I will be arriving at my 24th year of life, AND it marks the beginning of the 2 month countdown until Jennifer gets married! Keep my sister and Philip in your prayers; they are getting very close to the big day!

Lots of love,

DD

A little bit of Culture

Finally home!

After almost a week and a half of being on the road and apart from my hubby, I was very happy to spend lots of time with him seeing more of Charlottesville and taking in a few bits of culture.

On Tuesday we had our first home cooked meal together since I left and then took in the most incredible movie I think I've ever seen.

If you have not seen Terrence Malick's newest "Tree of Life" you have not completely lived.
I was a little hesitant about this movie, because I thought someone trying to display The Creation on screen, was taking on a feat too great for any human.  Not to say it ISN'T too great for any human... we're talking about God's creation... but Malik certainly gave us 2 hours and 18 minutes of some of the most beautiful, surreal cinematography ever recorded. Which, God willing, helps to remind us of the incredible beauty and Divineness of the true moments of creation.

The movie incorporates a loose plot based around the dynamics of a 1950's family interspersed with scenes of the creation of the world from the earliest bits of light to the first lungs in existence.  This movie is overwhelming, but it certainly requires patience.  It is not a blockbuster or tear-jerker, yet it is a masterpiece, like a great work of art, that you have to contemplate and discuss in order to gain full appreciation of its sublimity. Joe and I both highly recommend this movie, if nothing else, to experience a great phenomena of film as art.

The next night I was home we took in a little more art, this time in the way of quirky, poetic lyrics backed by fiddles, steel guitars, harmonicas, and unique vocals.  The Decemberists were in town on Wednesday, and being one of our many favorite bands, we of course bought tickets a month ago.
We had such a great time listening to some of our favorite songs from The King is Dead and Picaresque, while bee-bopping to new favorites from The Crane Wife and Hazards of Love.  It was a very fun outdoor concert experience which we immediately followed with a few slices of pizza from our favorite new local joint, Christians Pizza.

These are the only photos I got, and yes we were ridiculously close to the stage... we got there 2 hours early... that's how my husband rolls when it comes to concerts.  I guess in retrospect I certainly can't complain.

Needless to say, I am very happy to be home and am learning to love this new city more and more each day!

First Separation

So the time has come that my newlywed husband and I must leave each other's sides for more than a day.
I know I know...we knew this day would come, but really it is very bittersweet.  I am leaving for 10 days to travel for work and leaving my sweet Joe and Eliza at home.  And yes, this is sappy and cheesy, but if you have ever been a newlywed I'd like to think you understand.

So in light of a future bonding between my husband and cat, I will leave you with these photos of our child (clearly we are still a little lonely in Charlottesville).  She is our greatest source of entertainment during our frequent mid-week nights in, and I hope she'll forgive me for the exploitation.

Enjoy!

She is very strange...

And very athletic!

This is "Da Bird"... we bought it at a very weird cat store, but it is the  best present we could have
ever gotten our cat and ourselves.. provides hours of entertainment.

Waffles and Devo

As a very newly married couple, I am proud to say we have already established a family tradition: Saturday morning waffles and family devotion.

Since our very first Saturday in our new home, we have been taking advantage of our waffle maker (why, yes it was a wedding present) with an awesome recipe that we tweaked from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything." (which, by the way, is a great cookbook but is even better as a great teaching tool on the basics of cooking.  I am happy to report my husband has made wonderful use of it.)

Our Saturday mornings start out with us getting to use our two favorite appliances.

LOOOVE my Kitchen Aid!

To make the waffles we use this recipe (half of Mark Bittman's original recipe for

 Everyday Buttermilk Waffles with a few variations)

1/2 cup whole wheat all purpose flour

1/2 cup white all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup of yogurt thinned with 1/8 cup of milk

1 egg, separated

2 tablespoons butter

Combine the dry ingrediants in a large bowl.  In another bowl wisk the yogurt with milk and egg yolk.  Stir the butter into this mix. Combine all the ingredients. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it holds soft peaks.  Fold these into the batter.

Brush the preheated waffle iron with a neutral oil (we use grapeseed oil).  Pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter into the waffle iron. When the iron is finished (3-5 minutes), enjoy soft, golden waffles.

*We divide our batter to make 3 waffles, we learned the hard way not to overfill your waffle iron*

Following our delightful waffles, we settle on the couch (and sometimes our darling cat even joins us) for our Saturday morning devotion. We take turns reading out of Devotional Classics. It is a book comprised of selected readings from well-known theologians and Christian authors.  The selections are beautifully written passages and sermons to lead the reader into "spiritual renewal." So far, we have heard from the likes of C.S. Lewis, Dallas Willard, Jonathan Edwards, Francis de Sales, and Spanish monk John of the Cross.

If you are looking for a deeply spiritual, well-written devotional, I highly recommend this.

Attempt at a family portrait.

We are still working hard on our apartment, so stay tuned!

Hopefully before and after pictures will be up soon!

Wheat Waffles

Yummy Saturday Morning Waffles!

As a very newly married couple, I am proud to say we have already established a family tradition: Saturday morning waffles and family devotion.

Since our very first Saturday in our new home, we have been taking advantage of our waffle maker (why, yes it was a wedding present) with an awesome recipe that we tweaked from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything." (which, by the way, is a great cookbook but is even better as a great teaching tool on the basics of cooking.  I am happy to report my husband has made wonderful use of it.)

Our Saturday mornings start out with us getting to use two of our favorite appliances.

LOOOVE my Kitchen Aid!

Healthy, Yummy, Wheat Waffles

1/2 cup whole wheat all purpose flour

1/2 cup white all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup of yogurt thinned with 1/8 cup of milk

1 egg, separated

2 tablespoons butter

Combine the dry ingrediants in a large bowl.  In another bowl wisk the yogurt with milk and egg yolk.  Stir the butter into this mix. Combine all the ingredients. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it holds soft peaks.  Fold these into the batter.

Brush the preheated waffle iron with a neutral oil (we use grapeseed oil).  Pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter into the waffle iron. When the iron is finished (3-5 minutes), enjoy soft, golden waffles.

*We divide our batter to make 3 waffles, we learned the hard way not to overfill your waffle iron*

Top Waffles with honey, agave, or just good ole fashioned Maple Syrup!

Bon Appétit!

Dianna Davis

Exploring God's creation

This weekend Joe and I decided to get to know our new home state so... we went hiking!
After doing some research on trails in the area (because there are tons!) we drove out to Shenandoah National Park about 20 minutes from Charlottesville.  We decided to do one and maybe two trails but after hiking a total of 4.7 miles (and the second half of it ALL up steep hills) we decided one would do for the day.  I will say, though, that I felt much more challenged than I thought I would, but Joe and I are really ready to get back out there and tackle some more... once we get over the soreness.  Our next trail will definitely involve some rock scrambling!

We decided to try the South River Falls trail which boasted a hike to a waterfall with an optional spur to the base of the waterfall (which we of course did) and an alternate route back which was longer (and steeper believe me) but it took you through part of the Appalachian Trail.

Our several hours in nature showed us some pretty interesting things...

Some VERY YUMMY wild blackberries; unfortunately only a few were ripe.

Honey anyone?

Very relaxing, beautiful mountain springs that also happened to be EXTREMELY cold.

And some very beautiful hillside flowers.

One thing I loved about our exploration was noticing the complexity of every rock and plant and hillside groove and tree and stream and waterfall and creature that existed just in the few miles of this land we took in and the fact that this was just one of many many mountains in many many mountain ranges that are present across the world. It is so incredible to imagine that the same God who created this vast structure of land also created every tiny petal on every small flower that grew just within the picture I took.  God is so incredible, and it is always a divine pleasure to see glimpses of his massive creation.

"For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." Psalm 95:3-5

I stand amazed.