It's a Process...

September has come and gone, and I had forgotten to blog about it!!  Shoot... I had been on a roll of blogging at least once a month, too!  Well, in the meantime, High Rock Church turned 4 years old, and fall has officially arrived!  Woo-hoo!!

Every year, at the beginning of September, High Rock Church throws an Anniversary Party at a park!!! This year's party was SO much fun!! They had cotton candy, face painting, sno cones, and human hamster ball races!!  Not to mention great food & fellowship with our church family!  Here are some pics from the event...

Olivia just loves this guy.. I do, too!!

The past 3 years the Hubster and I have been apart of High Rock Church have been amazing!  God has done so much in us, in High Rock, and in the Network of churches we are apart of.  It has not always been easy, but the amazing part is to look back and see all that God has done and the people He has brought into our lives because of it.  God has definitely given me a greater heart for His church and continues to call us to be apart of what He's doing here.  Michael coming on staff at High Rock Church is apart of that, but with or without that happening God would still be calling us to give our lives to this. 

I have also been wanting to share updates on progress with the list I started the beginning of this whole blogging process...

 Here's the progress on the T-shirt quilt!  I want one side to represent sports from high school and the other side to represent sports in college.  We'll see how long it'll take for me to complete it!

And now to share updates on the bathroom decor!  Earlier this year I just so happened to stop by Goodwill when they were having a 50% off sale!!  Look at all these great frames I got for super cheap! And, yes, that's right... I said earlier this year.  This has been a process!

 Anyway, spray painted frames white for a "shabby chic" feel.  I also found and spray painted some wire baskets I had from our wedding (they held wedding cards at our reception).  I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it at first, but thought it be cute! 

Here's my "shabby chic idea" for our bathroom, continued!  I took some old pillowcases, added some stitches, and placed them in a white frame for decor.

 For the big frame, I added a pink & white striped pillowcase fabric to the back of it.  I used fabric glue and a staple gun.

 Here's what the three pieces look like together.  The big one just needs one more touch...

Of course, the letter 'E' for Team Eckhardt!!  This was also part of our wedding... It was propped up on the cupcake table at our reception.  I love that I can incorporate it in our home decor!  I cut and nailed an extra back to the frame and fabric.  I took the back off of a broken frame, and it already had a hook on it!

 Pretty cute, huh!?!  I'll keep you posted on the rest of the bathroom decor and how I try to get it to all fit together.

Real quick, wanted to share a sweet surprise I found one Sunday afternoon while I was reading our back porch... HOT AIR BALLOONS!!!  Apparently there is a hot air balloon rental place that is really near our house.  This hot air balloon just happened to land in one of the fields behind our house and the rental company had to drive back there to help them get back up in the air!! How cool! Made for a pretty picture!

This post seemed a little scattered, but that seems to be our lives at the moment.  Still learning a lot with both of our jobs... God's been teaching us about priorities and time management as well.  I have not been nearly as 'crafty' and I have not been utilizing new recipes nearly as often either.  I guess we are still adjusting to a few things, but it is evident to me that I need to make sure I take care of myself and have 'outlets' that I enjoy... Perhaps that will be my motivation for this next month... Ways to take care of myself.  

In Him,
Rebekah

A Week of 'Pinned' Eats!!

Wow!!  It has been so long since my last post, and yet it seems like just yesterday.  The end of June and into July has been SO busy and crazy for Team Eckhardt!  So many adjustments and just a lot of unknowns.  Looking back it is so good to be able to see God's faithfulness in the midst of it all.  In sum, we found a place to live that is simply amazing and not what we were expecting at all.  We had some crazy financial issues that have been resolved... and more added on.  Michael's been offered his 'dream job,' and my grandmother survived a stroke.  Did I mention it's been crazy??  Ok, ok... more details are on the way, but first I need to back track a bit with some ideas I had intended to blog about, but unfortunately did not have the opportunity to do so in the midst of the craziness.

So, today, I wanted to post about a week in June where I tried a NEW Pinterest recipe each night!  But before I share the recipes I tried, I just wanted to preface a few things.  First of all, by sharing recipes on here I by no means try to take credit for these recipes.  My main purpose for posting them is to remain accountable to that silly list that I created the beginning of this year. You remember... that list that said I was going to try new recipes?  Yep, so that's what I am doing.  I also like to share comments so that friends/family members may want to try some of the recipes I've discovered as well.  This blog is not one where you will find a detailed 'how-to' recipe info but rather shared links to where I found the recipe in the first place. :)   Make sense?  Good.  Glad that's settled.

Day 1: Tuscan Bean Soup with Shrimp

I've already mentioned before that we LOVE shrimp, so this recipe is probably not a surprise :)  The Hubster and I really liked this dish.  It was delicious and 'hearty.' :)  Especially the kale in the soup.  I was not much of a fan of the kale in it, but the Hubster loved it.  Try it & see for yourself.

Here's how ours turned out!

Day 2: Baked BBQ Pork Chops &  Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, & Parmesan
  
Well the BBQ pork chops are not new for Team Eckhardt, but I wanted to share the link of this easy recipe I use (hint: the names of recipes in orange are the links to the original recipes).  A little secret about the baked BBQ pork chop recipe is that I just used regular BBQ sauce and did not make my own.  Pretty easy, huh!? 

The roasted green beans with mushrooms, balsamic, & parmesan was NEW to the Team Eckhardt household and the Hubster & I loved this dish combined together!  

 Yum!

 Day 3: Lime & Coconut Chicken

I LOVE this dish!  My friend, Tracy, introduced me to this recipe & I love it!  Oh wait... already said that. The marinade is somewhat time consuming to make, but I was able to make it on Day 2 while the pork chops were cookin'.  So if you think you'd like this meal you will need to be ready for a day-before-prep rather than a night-of-prep. Just some little words of advice ;) 

Anyway, I simply added a mexi-corn mix out of a can (I think it was a Green Giant brand), and some brown rice.  Have I mentioned that I love this dish? :)  Thanks, Tracy!

Day 4:  Skinny Crockpot Pizza Casserole

Hip-hip-hooray for crockpots!!!  I love throwing in ingredients at the beginning of the day and then coming home to a meal that's already cooked :)  This recipe in particular was really easy to follow.  I made some minor changes like not having olives or something & it turned out fine.  The thing I would advise is to really only put the amount of water that it calls for.  I kept thinking it wouldn't be enough so I added a little bit more... The noodles were a tad overdone, but other than that the taste was good!

Day 5: Chickpea Salad 

Day 5 happened to be the night of our church's small group and it was our turn to bring a savory snack!  I had been wanting to try this recipe for Chickpea Salad for some time and thought it would be the perfect fun and refreshing snack!  It has so many fresh ingredients like cucumbers, basil, mint, jalapeno, cilantro, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, chickpeas... So many of my favorite things!!  The taste was amazing and I provided crackers for it to be eaten with.  Group members really liked it!

Day 6:  Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

 For Day 6, we were ready for something sweet... And the Hubster made a comment that I rarely bake and of course I needed to show my skills in that area ;)  Duh.  For real though, we loved this bread... My favorite was the dark chocolate chunks.  I modified my  recipe to be a little healthier by substituting wheat flour for white and not all of the sugar it called for.  I noticed that the bread was not very 'moist'... (ew... I hate that word!), but it was still good. 











 This last picture is of an awesome Trifle dish that my girl, Kasie, made for small group one night... I don't have the recipe, but it was super delicious!!  Plus I wanted to display her mad strawberry-rose-crafted skills!!!  Yeah girl!

Well, that's all for now!! More updates to come... Plus pics of the new place!! ;)


Rebekah

Outdoor Adventures!

Whoa!  This past month has been a whirl~wind!  So many transitions... and so much fun!!  About a month ago we went on an awesome adventure with our friends Jason, Tracy, Misty & Lacy.  We had gone on a day canoe trip last fall and decided to take it to the next level this spring by turning a canoe trip into a CAMPING-canoe trip! Woo!  We found this canoe rental place that only cost $70 per canoe for the night. 

Getting ready for the launch!  Tracy's excited!

 

 Jason & Misty were too! (Misty was SO good in the canoe!)

& here's me with the Hubster!  He was getting situated... & it was really sunny that day! (hence the squinting) 

Do you see Lacy? She was the 'ultimate camping dog'... haha!

Yay for a group picture in canoes!

 This was the small peninsula where Jason found a pretty sweet campsite!

Tracy helping Jason set up camp! ;)

Our dinner!! We threw in ground beef, potatoes, beans, veggies, 

and some kickin' chicken spices!!  They just took awhile to cook...

...so, Jason prepared Tracy's camera for a 'time-shot' of all of us!!  You can actually see the group picture he took on Tracy's blog.  It's the one of all of us that's slightly crooked.. :)

Dinner's ready!!  These stones were set up already, so we made it into a table!

Diggin' in!!

We made it through the night!  And we needed some 'strong' instant coffee, 

but first we had to heat up the water.

Mmmm..coffeezzz!!!

 

This is Lacy... the 'ultimate camping dog' who primarily stayed in this chair! Haha!  I couldn't blame her, though... the not-so-fun part of the trip was that there were TICKS...EVERYWHERE!!

 There I was taking pictures of our new tent (thanks Tom Eckhardt!).... & then I saw it...







 A TICK!!!!               -------------------------->
Do you see it!?  Ah! we couldn't get away from them!

No worries!  The Hubster came to the rescue and PUT IT IN THE FIRE!!! 

 At the end of our journey we had to get one more timed-shot in, thanks to Jason :) 

It was definitely an adventure.. and there were some unexpected guests (darn ticks!), but overall we had an awesome time and we are so grateful for the memories!! Since that time, our dear friends moved back to Colorado Springs for Jason's next assignment in the Air Force.  Now there are days where it is hard to tell what is different, exactly, then I realize I just miss my friend...  We will always carry you guys in our hearts--- no matter the distance :) 

Another 'outdoor adventure' I wanted to share with you just took place this past weekend!  Our friends, Reed & Lesley, got married!!  Remember them in my post about Lesley's shower?  Well their wedding day finally arrived!!!  It was held outside in Lesley's yard--- so beautiful!!  Though going to a wedding is not typically an 'adventure,' it was such a blessing to be there and witness the first day of their adventure together as husband & wife.  Weddings tend to remind me of our wedding day... and all the LIFE that has happened since then!  Marriage is definitely an adventure!  It's been great to be with this couple this past year as they grew to love each other more and more no matter what.  We both send them our love & prayers as they step out into all that God has for them!

Here are some pics from there wedding!

We're walking up to where the wedding was held!  Notice the golf cart behind us... there were 3 or 4 of them picking people up and taking them to the ceremony. Good idea!

 

This was the cute gift table!! Funny story... I forgot to not only get them a card with our gift, I also forgot to sign the tag on their gift bag!  I remembered this during the ceremony and made a mental note that I would sign it later... Totally spaced and forgot about it until we were on our way home!  Oops!

  






The Hats

 The invite to their wedding asked for everyone to please wear hats. Not only was this a really cute idea for an outdoor wedding, but there was a lot of meaning behind it for this couple.  Both of them have experienced tremendous loss by losing their mothers years ago.  Though their stories are different, the heartache was similar, and it was one of the things that brought them closer together as friends.  They would both agree that God has done a lot in their lives and has even brought joy into their hearts again.  Even still no one could possibly take their place, and Reed & Les wanted this day to really HONOR their mothers... and it was so beautifully done.  The Hats were in honor of Lesley's mother who wore & collected hats.

When we first sat down, there was an easel and a coat rack up front...

At the beginning of the ceremony, Reed's father placed the painting on the easel and Lesley's father placed the hat on the coat rack.  Each symbolizing their mothers, for Reed's mother had painted that picture & Lesley's mom had worn that hat.

The Ceremony!!!

Their programs were super cute!

PETER WAS THERE!!!  

It was so great to see Peter again before he headed up to Chicago! 

We definitely weren't expecting that :)

Here are some other cute things at their wedding...

Peter originally wanted to place his fingerprint right on the 'love birds,' but settled for right above their heads :)  Oh Peter...

 Table assignments and a lemonade stand!!

 I had Peter take a picture of us... he had a minor fail his first try.  ---->

Oh Peter :) 

We were so glad he was there!  & he did end up taking a real cute picture of us! ;)

We also missed this girl... SO good to see her, encourage her, & remind her of Father's love for her no matter where she goes in life!  Tears were shed... yet our hearts remain full of love for her.  The beauty of living in community.

Finally... the beautiful bride!!
I was able to snatch a pic with her before we had to head home... a 3 hour car ride awaited us.


It was a wonderful day & a beautiful wedding. 

The Hubster was pretty wiped after the late night... here he is taking a nap after church the next day.

He is so stinkin' cute :)  Really grateful he's in my life.  

My favorite adventures are the ones where I'm with him.

In Him,

Bekah