35lbs.

YES! It is actually me!

I think I'm going to stop apologizing when I'm unexpectedly absent from

blogging for weeks on end.

You'll just have to be OK with reading my intermittent blogs.

Please?!

OK.

I feel better now.

So, there's actually been a whole big lot going on in my life this summer.

That's part of the reason for the absence.

There was so much I wanted to write about,

but I've learned that my personality type likes to complete things-

not leave them spinning around in the atmosphere.

I think, in my head, I didn't want to write about the process of what was going on, and just catch everybody up when we were done.

That's, obviously, the exact opposite of the point of blogging,

and by the time the task is complete, there's way too much to catch up on

that I inevitably just get overwhelmed and write about nothing at all.

Just 'cause he's so darn cute!!!

Since this has been such a life-changing, marriage-changing, me-changing

journey this summer, I'll be filling you in here and there.

How does that sound?

I'll start by saying that when I wrote my saddest, most "drive my car off a bridge" posts back in April, Matt was in the process of losing his job.

And yes, it was a PROCESS.

A horrible, never-want-to-go-thru-that-one-again process.

Thanks to the ever-generous spirit of my father and brothers, Matt has been working at the family business this summer.

(Not an easy task.)

(Actually, an incredibly humbling task seeing as how we run a construction company.)

And if you know anything about construction companies, you know that the bottom of the totem pole around here is the worker who does anything and everything for whoever needs it.

So, over this summer, Matt has dug trenches in 106-degree heat, spread out gravel, repaired roofs, installed skylights, mowed, poured concrete, busted up concrete pads, and just about any other job you'd rather not do outside during a West Texas summer.

On the bright side, he has lost 35 pounds and acquired a "golden tan" which very closely resembles a different ethnic group...

All that to say, I am incredibly proud of my hard-working husband,

and incredibly grateful to my compassionate family.

Even after losing one job, Matt never had to go without a paycheck.

THAT is a blessing!

And I want to write about this b/c my blogging since being married has been all about honesty.

All about what young Christian girls expect in marriage, what I expected in marriage vs. what it actually looks like.

I didn't read a blog about a young married couple when I was engaged, but hopefully someone is reading mine and this little tidbit about a newlywed Christian couple will give them some insight and hope into their own future marriage.

Whew! This is getting long, but one more thing.

I've been reading "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young

and yesterday's was on seeing God in everything throughout the day.

One thing we, in Lubbock, are very blessed to have is amazing sunsets and sunrises, so here's where I saw God last night.

And it choked me up b/c it really was like He was saying,

"Here, Jennifer, this is for you, honey."