Our Entry For Stafford's Hospitality Memory Contest!

Dear Stafford's Hospitality,

     Wow! Where do I begin? We stayed at Stafford's Bay View Inn from Sunday, July 8th, 2012 through Thursday, July 12th, 2012. We purchased the Summer Memories Package which was a GREAT deal!

     This was the most romantic, relaxing and peaceful vacation we have EVER had!!! We both agreed it was better than our Honeymoon, which was in Clearwater Beach, FL. July 8th was our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary and July 10th was my Husband's Birthday. We were so blessed to be able to stay in Astor Suite #7 for our celebration. Astor Suite #7 truly is THE BEST room at the Inn! It was incredible! We had our own deck with an amazing view of Little Traverse Bay, a private sitting area with a Fireplace, a beautiful and comfortable King Canopy Bed and last but not least, a 2 person Whirlpool Tub. 

     We both waited a very long time to find each other! When we got married I was 37 years old, and Jonathan turned 36 two days after the wedding. We had both been single, never married, with no kids. We don't believe in luck, and know it was meant to be. We thank God everyday for giving us His best in His perfect timing. Given how blessed we feel to have found each other, we wanted our 1 Year Anniversary trip to be very special. When we chose Stafford's Bay View Inn, we had no idea just how special our trip would be. We both had never been there, but we found it on the internet and made our decision after viewing the website and calling the Inn. It far surpassed all of our expectations! We felt like royalty! Room 7 was AMAZING and every single staff member was very friendly and willing to help take pictures for us, answer questions and asking if there was anything they could do to make our stay more enjoyable. We loved getting away from it all and not having a TV or phone in the room. It made the trip all about us, free from the distractions of the media and daily life.

     We had our Anniversary dinner on July 8th at Stafford's Perry Hotel. We loved the atmosphere of the Restaurant! The food was excellent, and the service was just as stellar as at the Bay View Inn. Our server went above and beyond what we expected to make sure our anniversary dinner was a night to remember. I've attached a picture of us with our delicious dinners.

     My Husband's favorite memory of our trip was the afternoon and evening of the 9th. We had a before dinner drink at the Bay View in the sunroom, followed by dinner at the Restaurant. He loved the ambiance set by the music, and the beautiful sunlight pouring into the sunroom accentuating the decor. It was so romantic! I've attached a picture of us experiencing that day. After dinner we looked for Petoskey stones across the road at the beach and watched the sunset. I've also attached a picture of us in front of Little Traverse Bay. We met a lady there who also got married on July 8th, 40 years ago!

     Who needs Florida in July when we have Stafford's Bay View Inn on beautiful and scenic Traverse Bay? I had never been to Northern Michigan and had no idea how blue the water was up there, and how the beautiful sunsets add to the romance! We have decided that we want to celebrate every Anniversary at Stafford's Bay View Inn Astor Suite #7, and we cannot thank your staff enough for making our 1 Year Anniversary vacation so special!

     We look forward to our second visit (along with more delicious cookies) next July! :-)

Blessings,

Jennifer and Jonathan Stanley

South Bend, Indiana

J-La-Sta's 3rd Thankful Thursday!

Here are the people/things I am thankful for today:

I'm Thankful That My Friend Mary Moved Back To Michiana.  Mary and I have been friends for over 5 years.  We first met each other at a Church group on June 4th, 2007.  I had just moved back to South Bend from Milwaukee on May 1st of that year.  Mary was my first friend I made in the area after moving back.  We have been there for each other thru some pretty tough times, and we have been there for each other thru some pretty awesome times as well!  Mary got married in August of 2009 and moved to a suburb of Indy, about 3 hours away from here.  A few weeks ago Mary, her husband and sweet baby girl moved back to the area.  I am so happy to have her close again!  I often call her "daughter" and she often calls me "mom", you can read about that and see a picture of us here. 


I'm Thankful That I Am Almost Done Writing Thank You Notes.  I am so thankful for how much people blessed us at our Wedding (7/8/11)/Wedding Open House (8/20/11) and gifts that were sent between and after those events!  I have been wanting to write thank you notes, but have been putting it off because the task seemed overwhelming.  Yes, I procrastinate when things seem overwhelming to me.  Well, I am determined to get them done before we leave on our vacation!  I have 16 more to write! :)  My hand and my shoulders (heavy weight) will be thankful when I am finished as well! :)


I'm Thankful That I Have 1 More Day of Work Before Our Vacation.  We are so excited to head to Northern Michigan to celebrate our 1 year Anniversary!  We haven't had a full week off of work since our honeymoon.  We are very much looking forward to it!  As of 7:15pm Eastern Time on Friday, July 6th, I will officially be ...wait for it...

Last But Not Least, I Am Thankful For An Amazing First Year of Marriage With My Mr. Right.  I was single for the 1st 37.5 years of my life.  Now that I've been married to Jonathan for a year (July 8th), I completely realize that I wouldn't change a thing about my many years of singleness!  He was worth the wait and God knew EXACTLY what He was doing! :)  I love you Jonathan and I look forward to many more wonderful years together! :)

This pic was taken on our honeymoon in Clearwater Beach, FL

My Weight Loss Journey

     I've always struggled with my weight, but when I do decide to lose weight, I do it!  I lost approximately 35-40 lbs in 2000.  Most of you know that I am very "all or nothing".  Either I don't step on a scale or try on new clothes (cuz in my mind denial is better than actually knowing how much I weight or that I need to go up yet another pant size!), and continue to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, or I follow a fairly strict regimen. I lost weight before the wedding.  I had motivation!  I had a wedding dress I needed to fit into, and gosh darnit, I was going to look good in those wedding pictures which last forever!  I did fit into that dress and I looked and felt amazing! :) 

     The wedding came and went and I lost my motivation.  I no longer had a wedding dress to fit into, the gorgeous pictures had already been taken by my wonderful SIL, I was comfortable being married, my Husband loved me regardless of if I was fat or skinny! So for the first 6 months of our marriage, I gained 20-25 lbs.  Jonathan actually lost 10 lbs!  December 8th I bought the best Pedometer ever, and started walking about 6,000-7,000 steps a day.  In the past year I have had Cellulitis 3 different times.  Cellulitis is a nasty bacterial infection.  I have Venous Insuffiency (a vein disorder in my legs), which makes me more prone to Cellulitis. The last time I had Cellulitis was the end of January of this year.  At that time I weighed 207-209 lbs!  I am only 5'3 inches tall!  I realized my weight had gotten out of control!  That was the most I had ever weighed in my life! 

Here is a pic of me which was taken on January 2nd in Chicago. We were celebrating my 38th Birthday which was the following day:

     I went back to my Dr. in early February.  I wanted to get to the bottom of why I kept getting Cellulitis so frequently!  She said that "Once or twice having Cellulitis in such a short period of time, we can chalk up to fluke things, but 3 times, there is probably something going on".   So about a week later I fasted for 12 hours and had blood drawn and tested.  The results were mailed to me.  On February 8th I got the results.  I wasn't prepared for what I was going to read.  When I read the words "Pre-Diabetes" I instantly panicked and felt anxious!  My impaired fasting glucose was 108.  I had never heard of pre-diabetes before.  I later found out it used to be called "impaired fasting glucose, but those words didn't communicate just how serious the condition is, and people weren't making the changes they needed to make.  Reading "Pre-Diabetes" on that paper, was the motivation I needed!  I was determined NOT to let this turn into Diabetes! I DO NOT want to have to give myself insulin shots!  I had a choice to make!  Either I would continue down the same path, which wasn't looking very good!  Or I would make the necessary lifestyle changes.  Here is the range of fasting glucose numbers and how those numbers are classified:

     Here is the the definition of Prediabetes according to Wikipedia:  "Prediabetes is the state in which some but not all of the diagnostic criteria for diabetes are met. It is often described as the “gray area” between normal blood sugar and diabetic levels.  There is a 50% risk over 10 years of progressing to overt diabetes. A recent study cited the average time for progression as less than three years."

     Thankfully I had started the First Annual "J-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge" on January 8th and was walking 10,000 steps a day!  Had I not been walking for those 2 months prior to my blood test, I probably would have had a higher glucose level!  My husband also realized that we needed to eat better for my health and for his health.  In February or March we started making dietary changes. We weigh most of our food, so we know exactly how much we are eating.  I am SO thankful we are doing this together!  It would be so much harder to do without the support and encouragement of the one you are living with!  We do not keep sugary cereals in the house, etc.  We are both on board with these lifestyle changes!  The walking challenge ended on March 30th, but we continue to walk at least 10,000 steps a day for 6 days out of the week.  I am happy to report that Jonathan has lost a total of 50 lbs since the wedding and I have lost 30 lbs since the end of January! (See pic below which was taken on June 23rd, 2012.

     I go back in 2 months to have my blood checked again.  I am confident that because of my walking, healthier eating, and weight loss, my glucose level will be much lower than it was!  What is my new motivation for losing weight?  I love my God, my Husband, my Friends, my Family, and last but not least, I love ME! :)

I have 42 more lbs to lose to get to my goal of 135 lbs.  I can and will do this with the strength I get from God, and from the support and encouragement I receive from my Husband, Family, and Friends! :)
 

We Are Learning Each Other's Love Languages!

     Do you know what your significant other's love language is?  Do you know what your love language is?  If not, I think it is imperative to your relationship that you find out what each other's love language is!  We often communicate our love for others in ways that we like to receive love.  You may have the best of intentions, and be trying really hard to show someone how much they mean to you!  However, if how they receive love is different from how you are giving love, your significant other's love tank is not going to get filled up. This leaves him/her feeling unloved.  Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book, which I'm sure you have heard of. It's called "The 5 Love Languages".  The 5 Love Languages are:

1. Quality Time

2. Words of Affirmation

3. Gifts

4. Acts of Service

5. Physical Touch

     Your love languages can also change over time. I think Physical Touch was my primary love language when I wasn't dating anyone, because I wasn't getting many hugs, etc.  It was only a year ago that I found out "Gifts" were one of my top love languages. 

     Jonathan's primary love language is Physical Touch.  This isn't just referring to sex.  He loves hugs, hand holding, etc.  Jonathan feels loved when he is given physical touch. 

     My primary love language is Words of Affirmation.  Therefore, I tend to give words of affirmation to Jonathan.  If I don't give Jonathan physical touch, words of affirmation aren't going to make him feel loved.  I could compliment him till I'm blue in the face and he would like hearing it, but it's not going to make him feel nearly as loved as if I were to hug him.  He has come SO far in learning my love language!

     My second love language is Gifts.  However, I didn't know that gifts were one of my love languages until we didn't get each other anything for Christmas or Valentine's Day right after we got engaged. Let's just say we both learned from those days! :)  How could Jonathan know Gifts were one of my love languages, if I didn't even know?  I think that's often how we find out what our love languages are, when our needs are not met.  Now that Jonathan knows that gifts are my second love language, he can work at meeting that need, and he has been doing a wonderful job! :)  He got me these roses for our 1 year Engagiversary:

 He got me this beautiful diamond necklace for Christmas! :)

     And he got me these beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day, along with a water bottle and Season One of "Mike & Molly"!  This was my best Valentine's Day ever!  Thank you honey! :)  It's not about the money spent, it's about the thoughts, efforts, feelings that go into getting/giving the gifts!  Here is an awesome quote I saw this week on Facebook (It was a status of "Things I wish I'd Known Before We Got Married":

The important thing is not the gift, but the emotional love that is communicated by the gift...the gift is quickly gone but the memory lingers.

There is a 5 week love languages challenge going on, which I signed up for and was going to blog about.  However, it wasn't what I expected.  The first challenge it gave me, because Jonathan's love language is physical touch, was to read a book about sex and discuss it with Jonathan.  Jonathan thought that idea was not helpful either!  I thought it would give me daily reminders to hug him, kiss him etc.  Anways, that's why I decided to just blog about the 5 love languages! :)

I would like to know what your love language is.  I'm asking everyone who reads this blog to please take the love language quiz, and let me know what your top love language is! :)  All you need to do is click here, take the quiz and then comment back on my blog with your primary love language.  Please, for the sake of your relationships, if you have a significant other, ask them to take it as well!  You will learn a lot about each other, and what they need to feel loved by you. You will also learn ways that they may be showing you love, just not in the way that you need to be shown it.

Now, go show love to your neighbor, friend, spouse, parent, children, etc! :)  We all need to be shown love!

My Uninvited & Unwanted Guest

     I have an uninvited and unwanted guest who has chosen to visit me 3 times in the past 7 months.  The first time it chose to visit a week and a half (end of June) before we flew to FL for our destination wedding.  The next time was 4 months after that (end of October), and then it came back to visit me 3 months later (now - end of January). This guest just really must like me, and more specifically loves my legs!  In June it favored my right leg and the past 2 times it has preferred my left leg. One would think it would get the hint that the feeling is definitely NOT mutual!  :)

     This guest is called Cellulitis. It is an infection, which left untreated, can turn septic in your system and turn very serious very quickly.  My husband's father was hospitalized for a week with it years ago. Thankfully, each time I have had it I've gotten to the Dr. right away and was put on antibiotics and didn't need to be hospitalized.  However, I have used more vacation days for this infection than I would care to. 

     I have had circulation problems in my legs/ankles for as long as I can remember and about 3 years ago I was finally diagnosed with Venous Insufficiency, you can click on the previous link to read a blog I wrote about it in 2009.  Here is an article that explains Venous Insufficiency and below is a diagram that compares normal veins in the lower legs to abnormal veins in the lower legs:

     My ankles and lower legs swell frequently, so that is nothing new.  It can be annoying and inconvenient and makes it hard to fit my feet into my shoes at times. However, I don't lose time from work because of it.   When I first got Cellulitis before the wedding, it was very scary because I didn't know what it was.  The 2nd and 3rd time it came, I knew what it was and knew I needed to get myself to the Dr. right away to get started on the antibiotics.  The Dr.'s have told me I am much more prone to cellulitis because of my venous insufficiency.  Cellulitis can be caused by being extremely obese, but my Dr. said I am not in that category. 

I am thankful my Dr. is taking this seriously.  She said the first two times someone has cellulitis, they chalk it up to being a "fluke thing", but because I have had it 3 times in 7 months, there is something else going on.  First she is going to have me fast for 12 hours and get my blood drawn.  If everything is normal, she is then going to refer me to a Vascular Surgeon. 

It has been very hard for me to sit still, harder as I'm starting to feel a bit better, because I am the "Team Captain" for a Walking Challenge. I was consistently getting a high number of steps a day, and now this is really setting me back. However, it's better than the alternative of ending up in the hospital!

I am very blessed to have an amazing husband who called off work yesterday to take care of me and make sure I was following the Dr.'s orders! :)  Things like being sick were so much harder without someone around to help.  I also have awesome friends and family who have texted, called, stopped over to visit, shown me FB love and offered to help.  God is good and I am so thankful that the antibiotics have worked pretty quickly each time, and saved me a stay or three in the hospital!  The Dr. said I can go back to work on Monday, so at least I will only have to use 2 vacation days this time around. She also said I can resume my walking on Monday!  Yay! :)  I hope I'm feeling up to it.

Thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers as we continue to get to the bottom of this!

We've Been Happily Married For 200 Days Today!

     Two hundred days ago today I married the love of my life!  As many of you know, I love numbers and statistics! :)  Well, I've been alive (outside of the womb) for 13,901 days, and my first date with Jonathan was 838 days ago!  That means I lived 13,063 days without Jonathan in my life.  We got engaged 411 days ago and promised to love each other and be faithful to each other for the rest of our earthly lives 200 days ago today.   

    For many years, I felt God was depriving me of something that many others around me had, a companion to share their life with.  I seriously thought it would never happen to me!  He wasn't depriving me though, he was only preparing me for the man he had in mind for me. He had my best interest at heart all along, no matter what my emotions happened to be at any given moment.  I was 35, almost 36 years old when I met Jonathan.  I was 36, almost 37 when we got engaged, and I was 37 and a half and 5 days when we got married!  I lived a very large portion of my life as a single person.  I know the hurt and pain of feeling alone and feeling like I didn't belong.  This is why I believe I am sensitive to the feelings of single people now. 

     It might sound cliche, but I wouldn't trade all of those single days for anything.  Why? Because I wouldn't be the person I am today and I wouldn't be with Jonathan today.  God used those years to mold me and to mold Jonathan so that at just the right time we would be an almost perfect (nothing in life is perfect!) match for each other!  He continues to mold us into the couple he wants us to be, but had I not experienced all of those lonely days/years, I wouldn't be as appreciative of what I have now.  I don't buy the "you complete me" crap.  However, when you find your true love, there is a sense of contentment and peace that is hard to explain.  I just finally feel like I'm "home".  Here is a picture of us at our wedding ceremony.

This is the face of a very happily very newly (like 30 minutes tops) married bride! :)

We continue to laugh together on a daily basis. I'm so thankful God sent me someone who makes me laugh more than anyone else I know! :)

The pic below is one of my new favorite pics from our special day!  We look so happy, so in love, so content!  See the bird, or shadow of the bird in the pic? I feel like that is a sign of God's presence in this beautiful moment that was so beautifully captured by my wonderful SIL Sandy of Sandra Ellen Photography. Thank you Sandy for capturing these special moments for us! 

So, if any of my readers are currently single, there is hope! Jesus loves you and He only has His best in mind for you! You are a complete person!  Please don't settle, just to have a companion!   Waiting for His best, is worlds better than anything you could imagine for yourself.

Our wedding verse was Psalm 68:6a:  "God sets the lonely in families."  We were lonely and now we are a family!  God is faithful! :)

Happy 200th day of being married to me Jonathan! 

I love you and I'm so thankful for you!

God's Gift To Me!

Most of you know that my Husband's name is Jonathan.  Well, I found out tonight while browsing the internet that the meaning of Jonathan's name is "God has given" or "Gift of God".  Wow! I'm convinced Jonathan is the 2nd most special/important gift God has ever given me, second only to God's gift of His only Son so that I will have eternal life in heaven!   Here is a list of just a few of the many ways Jonathan has blessed my life. He has brought more of each of these things into my life:

J - Joy - God has brought such Joy to my life thru Jonathan.
O - Opportunity - God has given me the opportunity to grow as a person and in my faith thru my relationship with Jonathan.
N - Knowledge- Anyone who knows Jonathan knows that he holds a plethora of knowledge in that head! He shares it with me everyday.
A - Acceptance - God has shown me more of what His acceptance and Grace are like, as Jonathan accepts me just as I am, flaws and all.
T -  Thankfulness -  I am SO thankful God sent me the right person to share my life with in His perfect timing.
H - Humor - Jonathan makes me laugh every single day!  Laughter truly is medicine for the soul.
A -  Appreciation - I appreciate my Husband so much more because of the fact that I was single for so long. I never want to take him for granted, although I am human, so I'm sure I will at some point.
N -  Nourishment - God continues to nourish my heart and soul thru Jonathan. Jonathan has a much better understanding of His unconditional love and teaches me about what unconditional love is on a daily basis.

Here is a picture which so perfectly captures the joy and laughter we share.  It was taken by my awesome Sister-In-Law Sandy of Sandra Ellen Photography at our Wedding Dinner in Clearwater Beach, FL on 7/8/2011.

I love you Jonathan and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else!  I look forward to growing with you and in our relationship with God, individually and as a couple.

You truly are God's gift to me! :)

How Great Is Our God!!

I am a HUGE fan of Christian Musician Chris Tomlin's music and follow him on Facebook.  A few days ago the following post from Chris Tomlin came across my news feed:

With the upcoming release of How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection on Nov. 15th, some media are looking to highlight a few stories showing what these songs have meant to people.

If God has used any of these songs in your lives and they've meant something special to you, we'd love to hear it.

Send your story to info@sixstepsrecords.com by October 21st. Thanks.

It didn't take long at all before I KNEW I had to email them my story of how and why "How Great Is Our God" is such a special song to me!  I thought I would share that same email with my blog readers.  I didn't include the picture that I included below, although now I wish I would have! We have been married for 100 days today! :)

Here is the email I sent:

     This is an extra special song for me! It brings me back to my wedding day, which was just this past July 8th, 2011! :-) My Fiance and I wanted our Wedding to be a Worship Service. You see, we were both single for a very long time. I (Jennfer) was 37 and Jonathan turned 36 two days after the wedding. We were both single, never married, with no children. We both knew what it was like to be alone in a "couple's society". Our hearts yearned for someone to share our life with, but that just didn't seem to be happening for either one of us. My Dad was called home to heaven when I was 25 years old. Two months later my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Life alone, with out the support of a significant other was difficult. But our God knew exactly what he was doing and brought us together at just the right time! March of 2007 I was living in Milwaukee, WI where I had lived for 15 years (I went to college there and stayed). I was praying about moving back to South Bend, IN because of how Mom's cancer had progressed. I lost my job the very next day! I had NEVER lost a job before. If that wasn't an answer to prayer, I don't know what is! I moved back to South Bend, IN where I was born and raised 5/1/2007. South Bend is near Elkhart, IN which is the RV Capital of the world. Needless to say, jobs were extremely hard to come by. I was on unemployment for 6 months and then finally got a waitressing job to pay the bills. March 17 of 2008 I finally got a better job at a large insurance company. October of 2009 an acquaintance in my department at work said she had a friend who worked in our building who was interested in me. She set it up a double date for me, Jonathan, and her and her fiance. That date was 10/09/2009. The rest is history! We got engaged 12/10/10. Now December holds a happy memory for me. You see. Dad passed away 12/8/99. Ever since then December has been a very hard month for me. Now it is a month that holds good memories too! :) We planned a beach wedding on Sand Key Beach in Clearwater Beach. FL. His Best Man was also our Pastor. He did an amazing job! There were 18 of us total who traveled down to FL. The wedding was scheduled for 7:15pm. It rained SO hard ALL day the day before the wedding and all day the day of the wedding. We had to get married under a pavilion. But thankfully the weather cleared and afterwards we were blessed to get amazing pictures at sunset on the beach.

 

Anyways, the reason "How Great Is Our God" is so special to me, is that we sang this song, with the track, at the beginning of the ceremony. The wind was blowing, the spirit was moving, and I was holding back tears. God knew what He was doing all along and I knew my Dad was there in spirit. There aren't words to describe the joy that filled my heart that day and that continues to fill my heart as I watch the wedding video and think back to that day. God doesn't always answer prayer in our timing, but His ways are best. It just took a long time for me to get my "Happily Ever After". I'm blessed Mom could be at the wedding. Her cancer has since spread and is in her bones in addition to her stomach and bladder. She has fought this ugly disease for almost 12 years and is the strongest woman I know. I finally feel like I belong with Jonathan, who is in many ways, God in flesh to me, showing me daily what it's like to be loved unconditionally.

 

 

 

I invite you to visit my blog to learn more about me and see pictures of us! :) I will also post a link to the wedding video below so you can see us sing "How Great is Our God". Thank you Chris Tomlin for making our day even more special. There's nothing sweeter then singing that song in worship to our King, on the beach, with powerful winds, as you are about to marry the one God had planned for you all along! :)

 

 

My Blog: http://www.Jennifruit.blogspot.com

 

 

Our Wedding Website: http://www.mywedding.com/jenniferandjonathan2011/

 

 

Our Wedding Video: http://vimeo.com/27437017

 

 

God Bless You and Your Ministry! :)

 

 

 

Jennifer Stanley

South Bend, IN

 

 

J-La is Now J-La-Sta! :)

You may be asking, "Where has she been the past 2 years?"! :) You may have also noticed that all of the "I'm Single" type of banners are gone from my blog. You see, at just the right time, God sent me my Mr. Right! :) His name is Jonathan and he is the love of my life. Our first date was 10/9/09. We got engaged on 12/10/10 and were married on 7/8/11 in a small intimate ceremony in FL. It's been a busy but awesome past few years. Our destination wedding was amazing and I wouldn't have had it any other way! We had an Open House for friends and family 6 weeks after the wedding. It was so much fun to see everyone and celebrate with them! We are very happy and I feel very blessed to be Jonathan's wife. Here is one of my favorite wedding pics of us. It was taken by my amazingly talented SIL Sandy of Sandra Ellen Photography! You can view our wedding website here, if you would like. Stay tuned for more blogs about my transition from YEARS of singleness to marriage at the age of 37! If you want to be married someday, I am proof, that wonderful things happen for those who wait! :) Don't lose hope! God has a wonderful plan for your life! Marriage is great, but had I not grown as an individual first, I would be having a huge wake-up call right now! It is true, that if you aren't happy with who you are as an individual, you won't be happy in a marriage either!