Guess what I just found???
Pictures from our very first home! Married Student Housing. Cinder block walls. Who cared? We were in love and we were married and all 550 sq feet of it was OURS!!!
I have smiled SO BIG looking back through these...like our dumpster sofa? For real. It stayed with us the first, um, five or six years of marriage.
Check out the tv stand. That was one of The Engineer's first projects.
I remember arranging everything "just so" and being thrilled with the end result. My very own little house!
I keep spotting things that have stayed with us and served us well...the candlesticks, those urns (rescued from my grandmother's trash pile!), the busts, the planter, etc.
Our little kitchen. I learned A LOT in there! Back in the day...no dishwasher...The Engineer ate some, um, less than stellar meals.
Our makeshift shelving system above the stove...LOVED it! And Easter candy atop the fridge.
The Engineer's desk...
Even then we had a lot of books.
My desk. It's in Sister's room now, with that same $5 thrift store chair! (Sans the cushion.)
A third bookshelf.
Still use that chest. $5 at an estate sale.
And OUR front door! Those were SUCH fun days! We were SO young - 20 - and so in love and had SO MUCH to learn! God is so good. So gracious. So precious. I can't think of a more wonderful start - because God's fingerprints - His tender mercies are ALL OVER it! He has changed us both so much. I am so thankful!
And then I found this picture of our little family of three at my sister's wedding. The Engineer and I took dance lessons for six weeks in preparation for that night - he pulled something in his back cleaning out mom's gutters the day before and could barely move.
And look at my mom - with Sister in her arms - and Mom is glowing!!!
The bouquet toss...
And they were off!
Going through these had me grinning and laughing and the wedding photos - that was during a very hard time in our lives. We'd just had a miscarriage and my dad had just moved out. Our family was broken, in every sense of the word. There was a lot of heartache. Lots of tears. It was so hard. And yet, I am so thankful that tonight I could pour back through these and laugh. There is still pain and it still hurts, but as mama reminded me, God does have a plan in all of this. He is good and sovereign. And I am thankful these pictures brought smiles tonight - smiles as I think of my sister and her family, smiles as I think of mama and how God has lifted her head, smiles as I think of my baby sister, smiles as I think about what God has done in my little family, smiles as I thank God for the peace He has given. It is hard and it is good.
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Tonight, my friend, you brought tears to my eyes by proclaiming His goodness and faithfulness. Such fun, fun photos, thank you for sharing them and your heart.
ReplyDeleteI had chills while reading this post. SO sweet. And that house was precious. Praising the Lord with you tonight for His gracious and perfect will.
ReplyDeleteLove this post Jenn! *So* fun to see into your first married home! Doesn't the time just fly by? What a neat peek into your past...thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh...the pain! Your story of the wedding and the challenges sounds so similar to us when we were at my sister's wedding with a one year old and parents that weren't talking...oh. dear. me. BUT the LORD is faithful...and HE doesn't make ANY mistakes! How precious that HE uses all these things for our good and HIS glory!
I am so glad we met!
You are a treasure.
Love,
Camille
Oh, what a terribly hard year that must have been. Thank God for His healing, and that you can look back on it now and see both the good and the bad, and praise His name regardless. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile at your pictures of your first home. Bow Tie Man and I started out with more, thanks to the fact that he had already had a house for three years, but oh, I remember my college apartment and how rough it was! I considered myself quite lucky to even have a futon. My storage shelves were plastic, my kitchen full of Mom's rejects, my book shelves were plastic crates. What fun! Today I'm so thankful to have actual wood furniture and things that actually match - yay!
Love the mantle in the apartment!!! I know that was such a hard time for you and your family. What a plan He has for yall!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet post! God is so good and can bring beauty from ashes! Thanks for sharing, sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteLeslie
what a sweet post. do you remember me bawling my eyes out while washing dishes at that sink?...crying because i was SO JEALOUS? it is amazing the work that God has done in our hearts. loved looking at those pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet sweet memories for you two! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet memories! Your first "house" was adorable.
ReplyDeleteAmazing to see what God does over the years.
Oh, yes. It is so hard. Yet God is still sovereign. And God is good.
ReplyDeleteHugs to you, friend.
So, our first home was also in married student housing at U of Minnesota in St. Paul. Our apartment was only 450 square feet, and we also had a huge deep freezer to store all those fresh veggies that we grew in our garden. As hard as it was to find space for things, that apartment was full of joy. We would have parties with standing room only- some of my all time favorite years.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you live with a girl named Sunshine on the first floor of Rice at State?
Love all the pics. . . thanks for sharing.
Emily
Thank you for sharing this. I too remember trying to arrange my hand me down furniture just so. It wasn't until a few years ago that I bought my first brand new couch! That's it though, except the bunk beds. Everything is used or given to us.
ReplyDeleteEven though the space was small, you still had style even back then! It has evolved a little, but I can see "you" in that apartment!
The pictures of the wedding were beautiful. So hard when divorce hits a family. I don't know if you know this, but my folks got divorced twice from each other. Once when Jackie and I were three, and then again when we were ten. It has left a lasting imprint upon me and made me even more committed to my marriage vows. I want my children to know that marriage is forever, not just when it feels good and everything is going right. I'm sorry you have had to go through that too. I can't imagine going through it as an adult. It's hard no matter what age you are at.
Blessings my friend! Thank you for reflecting back and taking us with you!