we've been featured.

a few of our engagement pictures were recently selected and featured on a great wedding blog called middle of the map weddings. so cool!

how sweet are the kind words written about us? i must admit, i teared up a bit. i must also admit that the balloon photos are some of my least favorites from the entire session, BUT we didn't get to pick which ones were featured, AND apparently someone somewhere loved them.

i adore the first two shots. the colors are so vivid and kim newman captured us so well.  simple splendor photography, you rock!

garlic shrimp and linguine.

i'm blogging frequently for two reasons: 1. i go back to school soon and know blogging will probably slow way down. 2. i want to have several posts on our blog before we start sharing it.

while yesterday's lunch was takeout bbq, today's lunch was a summery homemade treat: garlic shrimp and linguine. delish!

i prepared the shrimp by covering it in chopped garlic and parmesan. (i found a jar of chopped garlic at the store a few months ago. i keep it in our refrigerator and use it in practically every recipe. saves so much time.) i refrigerated the shrimp while boiling the pasta for five minutes in heavily salted water.

while the pasta was boiling, i chopped eight to ten stems of parsley, minus the stems, of course.

after five minutes, i removed the pasta from the stovetop. i drained the pasta (i used angel hair but called it linguine because it just sounds better -- and, the strainer just happens to say "linguine." how cute is our strainer, by the way?) i rinsed the pasta with cold water in order to keep it from overcooking. residual heat is a tricky little devil. oh, oh! i almost forgot -- keep half a cup of the pasta water. you'll use it in the next step.

simmer four tablespoons of olive oil and a good deal of chopped garlic. after a few minutes, add the half cup of pasta water and the parsley. simmer a few minutes longer and then add the pasta. stir until pasta is coated and then add shrimp. stir again and let simmer for at least ten minutes.

the final picture is a bit dark, but i was too hungry to take another photo.

lunch was so good, and i'm excited to gobble up the leftovers tonight! shane isn't a big shrimp eater, but he complimented the flavor and even ate a few pieces of shrimp along with his hefty portion of pasta.

if you decide to give the recipe a try, let me know how it goes. happy eating!

barbecue -- hold the sauce.

word to the wise: spell check corrected my title, thus insinuating that "barbeque" is not the correct spelling but instead "barbecue" is how one would correctly spell the word of the day. i must say, i'm not convinced; therefore, i will be, from here out, referring to it as bbq (weird... is that a "q" i see? -- surprised it's not abbreviated bbcue).  ;)

yesterday my love brought home a delicious bbq sandwich for our quick lunch together. we're savoring our lunch dates while we still can. school starts back up soon enough, and i'll no longer be home for lunch.

what's so great about this particular bbq is that it's from the very place that catered our wedding. we didn't have bbq sandwiches on our big day, but we did have bbq and it was from the very bbq place that prepared our lunch today. just knowing that made our lunch a bit sweeter.

pictured is my pulled pork sandwich. i eat mine without the added sauce which means shane gets double the sauce and we're both happy. don't overlook the delicious fries. so good!

remembering our wedding.

i remember the colors and the bitter wind.

i remember the venue we worked so hard on, the ceiling that was a beautiful glimpse into what once was.

i remember our first kiss as man and wife, a confetti kiss that we'll never forget.

i remember the dancing, the music, the smiles.

i remember our getaway: the cheering, the clapping, the relief.

i remember our wedding day -- my very favorite day with my very favorite man. i look through the thousands of pictures from that day and try my hardest to thank God for each blessing. i say "try" because there are simply too many blessings to ponder at once. honestly, it's blessing overload. my mom, who passed away twelve days later, was there, at our wedding. my best friend forever, who spends more time overseas than in the states, was by my side, along with my two beautiful sisters. and, most importantly, i left married to the man of my dreams. God is good.

all photos by Simple Splendor Photography.  we thank them kindly.

a new chapter.

family and friends! you've found us and we're so glad.

after nearly seven months of wedded bliss, we've decided to start blogging. it's like a little yearbook for the school of stanley. and, things have finally slowed down enough that we think we can maybe handle a blog.

rene (that's me!) will be doing the majority of the updating, but you should look forward to mr. stanley's posts as well. he's promised he'll contribute -- in fact, this whole thing was really his idea.

we hope you'll visit and comment often. we know that documenting this and other chapters of our lives will be something we'll cherish for a long time.

thanks for joining us on this journey.

symmetry is nice.

a reoccurring anything typically means you should take notice, and lately i've been pondering the idea behind the jars of clay song two hands. the chorus echos the heart of so many believers:

i use one hand to pull You closer
the other to push You away

the lyrics question what life would be like "if i had two hands doing the same thing/lifted high." i read and reread these lyrics last night wondering how my life would be different if i wasn't a "house that is divided" like the song says. my actions, so often, are self-motivated. and though i know my purpose is solely to glorify my God, i consistently find myself pursuing my heart's desires rather than His.

after earnestly examining my motives and thinking about the lyrics to the song last night, i found myself singing a different song with the same message in my car today. the song freedom by a band called run kid run almost brought me to tears as i sat there listening, knowing that this reoccurring idea is anything but coincidence.

the song begins:

all my chains i can't disengage
and i don't believe that i want to
one hand sings Your praise
the other brings me shame
i have selfishness to blame

so today, after hearing that song, i made the journey back to school after spending mother's day at home. as i drove, i thought about human nature and our double-minded selves. i thought about the number two of all things.

we've been given two hands, two eyes, two feet. symmetry is nice, but it seem as if, because we have two of each, we've somehow made it okay in our heads to offer God only half of our whole selves.

i know this, though. the half i've been trying to control is missing out.

james 4:8
Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

growing old can be a little hairy.

sitting in church sunday morning i noticed the gray-haired woman in front of me was using a pick to perfect her hairstyle while the congregation waited for the start of the service.

after a little primping, the woman turned around and asked me, "could you fill in the bald spots, dearie?"

if that's not precious, i don't know what is.