CSUF

i go to this school.

i still cant really believe that i made it here. this road has been bumpy to say the least. even though i have been at this for so long, i still felt unprepared to make this jump. unprepared to tackle the weight of the tuition. unprepared to sit in ungodly amounts of traffic and spend hours looking for a parking spot.

but now that it's here, i dont know how i wasnt prepared in the first place.

but God is gracious and i am thankful.

nathan has been amazing. he woke up with me on my first day and talked me through my worries. he bought me a new fancy laptop so i could be an excellent student, and has offered to make dinner on nights my class run late.

he's such a doll.

springs.

these pictures were our weekend.

what a much needed vacation the two of us needed. all the stress of school, ministry, work, and everyday life piled on top of us, leaving us begging for a much needed break.

and this is what we got.

we spent many a days thinking about where to go: should we go to palm springs or santa barbra? san diego or dana point? we talked and scoured the internet for any last minute deals, and finally found a place: palm springs.

we went on priceline and placed a bid of $90 a night on resort and our bid got accepted, only we didnt know where we were going to stay. turns out we got to stay at this freaking awesome resort with, get this, 41 pools! the grounds were awesome, our room was super comfy, and we had a chance to just relax and enjoy our time together.

we also learned lots about ourselves:
1. night swimming (when it's freaking hot!) is our favorite kind of swimming
2. we are NOT gamblers.
3. were too cheap to gamble.
4. dont enjoy outlet shopping.
5. we have different swimming games the other didnt know (ex. spinning around outside the pool until you feel sick, then you jump in the pool. thats nathans game in case you didnt know)
6. are usually done swimming when the other person is.
7. palm springs targets rock way harder than orange county targets do.
8. driving to palm springs makes your car really dirty.
9. shaq went to the celtics!?! (nay informed me on our way home)
10. nathan looks really cute in purple.

we had a great time. actually, it was probably the best vacation we have been on together. what a blessing it was to be able to spend the weekend with my wonderful husband.

i am a blessed woman.

friends.

dear friends,

thank you for your outpouring of love and kindness. the phone calls, the conversations, the comments, they have all meant more to me than you know. it was painful to put out into the world of friends and bloggers alike that times were hard at the jones house.

it's painful to put into words the feelings of yesterdays and days before filled with sadness and the journey of holiness.

but you should be happy to know that...

things here have been much better since my last post. we have had all those tough conversations, and are coming out on top. we have set up special date nights and have been sticking to them to ensure were putting each other first. there is a sense of newness and appreciation for each other and the work that we are doing for one another.

we are constantly learning how to speak each others language and choosing love. God has been so faithful to reveal Himself to us in our times of questioning and concern.

we have even planned a weekend getaway for just the two of us to enjoy each other. we havent been this excited in a while- we cant WAIT to spend some quality time together.

thanks again to all our friends. we love you all dearly.