Our Wonderful Trip up North

Hi all,

We are home from our amazing trip to Boston & Salem MA, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. God is so good, His creation so awesome!
We'll have to write more later, but we posted pics on our Picasa web albums, so check em out!
Love ya,

Jenny (And Nate)

Wedding PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YIPPEEEEEEE!

see photo link to the right...

Changes, elections, finishing the "race", and more

Greetings all,

It's been a WHILE since we updated... It's been a busy month or so (maybe two???)

We've had visitors from NY :)

We've traveled around our area, taking in all of God's awesome creation around us.

We held our first ever Oktoberfest Sports and Tailgate party, which was so much fun! Thanks friends for being in our lives - you bless us!

We've thrown surprise baby showers and welcomed new little friends into the world. Elliana Rose, we adore you already. And to Baby BOY Hoover (Sheldon and Mindi), we look forward to meeting you!!! (first boy on Hoover side - he'll be welcomed by four little girls - sisters and cousin)

We've gotten to know new friends and have spent time with old friends.

We've spent time outside, inside, learning together, and growing more than we thought possible.

We've celebrated birthdays and missed out on celebrating with others we love so much (mom and Gretchen, we love you!)

We've been to a wedding (Nate was a groomsman).

We have now seen the first ever African American president elected. Wow. I honestly never thought I'd see that. And while I don't agree with his views on all issues, I have to admit, I'm challenged to pray like crazy for him and for our country. He has a big job and I believe God can grab him like he did that one day on the road to Damascus with a man named Saul. Imagine what could happen if he had a really intense encounte with Jesus. Our country and our world would never be the same. I'm praying for that, as he has access to places many of us never will... I've been disheartened by the FEAR and what appears to be blatant hatred I've seen in my brothers and sisters in Christ. Come on - we have NOTHING to fear. God is sovereign and God is good. He has a plan and it far outweighs anything I can perceive. So, whether we are happy or sad about the outcome of the election, we can choose faith, not fear. We can choose to trust God and His sovereignty no matter what... Speaking of trusting God...

We have been rabbits for a marathon. This is possibly the freshest in my mind as it just happened yesterday. As Curtis (Nate's sister Sheila's hubby) ran in the marathon and faced the test of feeling like he would pass out, I was reminded of how precious our walk with the LORD and OTHERS is. How we all get to be together on this journey, to support, encourage, and hopefully more often than not, strengthen one another with love. Curtis, you did a great job! We're so proud of you for pushing through and we know your Father in Heaven is proud of you for persevering. All for His glory. Awesome. It was also fun to see your wife concerned for you and so proud of you... Love is cool.

I'm challenged by the testimony of those who don't give up, even when it hurts. Nate ran last year with severe cramping in his legs at the end and still finished. Curtis ran this year when he thought he wasn't going to make it. That's God at work in and through you. Thanks for challenging me.

I have to make one more note, from me to my dear husband... I cannot begin to tell you or the rest of the world what it has meant to be married to you. The care, love, and strength you show and WALK OUT daily puts me in a place of immense awe. You are incredible. Your walk with the Lord amazes me. Thanks for being used by Him in my life to challenge and bless me.

We miss some of you so much! It's been far too long since we've connected. But also know, we love you!!! You are in our hearts and minds daily!

Good friend's birthday and a surprise trip to Longwood Gardens

We had another wonderful weekend! Friday night, we were able to go to Mazzi's to celebrate with this guy ----> and his wife and some other friends his 30TH BIRTHDAY!!!! Happy Birthday Jeremy! We know the plans God has for you will ASTOUND all of us (already have!) Allison surprised him BIG-TIME and I think we were all blessed in the process :) Thank you for letting us celebrate with you!

Saturday morning, we woke up, ate some breakfast and ventured out for my surprise for Nate. He loves being outside, loves trees, loves beng active, so I took him to Longwood Gardens. It was beautiful! I'll let the pics speak for themselves!


For Grandpa! ------->

For mom -------->

Thought this was cool with the flower and clouds...

Another white flower... Really like the petals on this one:

And one last parting shot: it's weird and funky, but I like it :-)

More photos on our photo site... (link to right)

On our way home, we stopped in Strasburg to visit the Weaver's and the Sanderson's kiddos. They are so cute and sweet. Liliana hugged me for a long time, it was nice to get some sweet cuddle time and Teagan picked mums for me to take home... I love each of those kids (and their parents!)

Sunday after church, Nate and Jeremy went on a bike ride while I hung out with Allison and the boys. She challenges me with her life! I thank God for friends who keep me moving ahead. They came over later that night for dinner and it was so fun. Their boys did a great job at our place and played with Nate's horse barn from when he was a kid. Josiah also turned our ottoman into a toilet (not a real one, don't worry, but we did have fun spinning him down the drain... weird, but cute. imaginations rock!) We feel so spoiled to get to spend so much time with them!

Nate shared this passage of Scripture with Jeremy and it has been challenging me as well:

Psalm 15

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Who keeps his oath even when it hurts... Wow... I need to chew on that some more...

God bless you!

Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania in three days :)

What an adventure - short but fun! We enjoyed some time traveling together, working together, driving A LOT and just being together over the past few days. We also got to see some more of God's creation, which of course, was amazing.
After spending quite a while longer than expected in the airport in Atlanta, I finally arrived in MS. It was nice to see Nate! The trip was definitely adventurous after I befriended the flight attendant on my second flight and she "overshared" with me a bit ;)
We spent Friday working on some things at the MDS warehouse, and I learned the extreme importance of eye protection when operating a circular saw... :)
After work, we visited some sweet folks Nate hangs out with down there (Ottis and Anna Mae) and enjoyed a meal with them. Afterwards, we went to their daughter's house to watch their European video from their recent travels, there were quite a few people there to watch along with us! What a great time with great people.Our task for Friday: finish out the tool trailer - build shelves, hang hooks, organize. Nate and others had also worked on it during the week.

Mississippi is FLAT. And I discovered it's not so easy to understand what they are saying :)
Early Saturday, well, not too early, since we bagged the whitewater rafting trip after we found out we would need to leave at 3:30am!!! to make it, we woke up, got packed up and ready to go in the Ford F250 Super Duty, huge extended cab truck and off we went. I was excited to drive. Why? Because it was three new state's worth of driving for me! Yippee!!!!
I missed Alabama's state sign (I was not paying close enough attention!), but did get Georgia and Tennessee!

The Piggly Wiggly Truck ;) We could have visited "Hoover" but decided not to...

Saturday night, I jumped on the internet on Nate's laptop (while he was driving) and tried to find somewhere cool to stop for the night. We happened upon a quaint, very historic and cool town in TN, Jonesborough, which also happens to be the oldest town in TN... Very neat.
Jonesborough's Oldest Building

Nate even took me on a date to a cool French Bistro, where I introduced him to capers with trout and grilled brie cheese ;)

I thought the houses, buildings, etc. in this town were very gorgeous and fascinating, too!
I thought this church was cool, and I also thought the sign on the outside was great :)

The fog in Tennessee early Sunday morning :)

Our drive home was safe, fun, and quite nice for being 16 hours worth of driving. I guess all things are a bit more fun when you're in love with the one you're traveling with ;)

Oh, and one last pic: check out this sign and where this guy was from:

Time is flying!

Three awesome months of marriage.

One year of "dating".

Time sure is going by so quickly! We are enjoying every moment, though, and are so excited about what God is up to in our lives.

Nate and I went back to Money Rocks, where he asked me to be his girl one year ago (last night) and we shared a picnic dinner overlooking the rocks, trees, and farmland. It was a nice, cool evening. On our way home, we saw the most incredible sunset! God is so good!

Thank you for praying for us! This marriage has been far better than we could have asked for or imagined. We are learning and growing together.

August Fun!

Wow, what a great time we have had this summer! Time is slipping away, though!

Earlier this month, we were able to get away for a night of camping in MD, and then for a few days in the mountains of WV with Nate's family. It was a great time of learning more about the family, relaxing, and seeing lots of new terrain (for me, Jenny). There were some amazing God times, where we couldn't do anything but sit in awe of our Creator (like the double full rainbow after the rain during dinner our first night and the hummingbirds at the feeder). The one thing we missed was getting a picture of Nate riding the donkey, Jack... He was a bit wild... Aside from feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the "new" things, I was experiencing on the trip, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this newer part of my family :) My favorite times, I think, were the fireside chats, while gazing at stars :)

Our WV "home"...

The steam train, the Durbin Rocket that we got to ride on...

Just this past weekend, we were so blessed with a joyful and full time with friends!

We woke up early Saturday morning to go canoeing with our WC (wedding coordinator) groupies (:)) We got to coordinate their wedding in February, and they returned the favor for us. We love the time we get to spend with this couple and cherish our friendship with them so much!

Upon returning home, we packed and headed to meet up with my coworker (and friend) Teferfa and his family. We were privileged enough to take them on their first camping trip! They don't camp quite like this in Eth-opia. They did great! And we found out how fun their family is! What a great weekend in nature with God's awesome and beautiful children! We are so blessed!!!!
On our way home Sunday, tired and exhausted, I told Nate that I never would have imagined the great and beautiful friendships and relationships I would be honored to be a part of. God is so good to us!

Pics are on our web albums!

Blessings and love,

Nate and Jenny

Honeymoon Photos!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nateandjenny.blogspot.com

We were able to spend some time in CT, and Block Island (off the coast of RI) for our honeymoon! What a wonderful time to connect, and relax! We'll try to post some house photos in the coming days, too!

The Hoovers :)

So blessed!!!!

We are home and feel so blessed by our marriage! Our wedding and honeymoon were beautiful and we loved every minute of it! We have posted some photos that our dear bridesmaid Christine sent to us, so check them out if you would like to! http://picasaweb.google.com/nateandjenny.blogspot.com

Blessings,

Jenny

The "real" story as told by my oldest and possibly strangest friend...

http://scooterwedding.blogspot.com/

Wedding Date Has Been Set!

We have joyfully set a wedding date of May 25, 2008 at 3:00pm.

We also found our location! We will hold the event at Greystone Manor, which God led us to and is blessing us with! It is in Leola, Lancaster County, PA. http://www.barnatgreystonemanor.blogspot.com/

Casual, laid back, and full of love for Jesus and each other!

Our Wedding Party

Maid of Honor: Gretchen Warner - Sister, confidante, and best friend of Jenny

Bridesmaid: Christine Limon - Best friend from high school of Jenny. AKA: Girl who knows WAY too much!

Bridesmaid: Allison Hess - Friend, Encourager, Challenger, and Giggle Buddy of Jenny

Bridesmaid: Erin Weaver - Former Roommate, Friend, Girl who loves Jenny's singing on road trips...

Best Man: Sheldon Hoover - My awesome brother whom I admire very much and has taught me a lot as well as shared some pretty cool times together.
Groomsman: Curtis Burkholder - Cool brother-in-law that has challenged me, listened to me, and helped me through some tough times in my life.

Groomsman: Jeremy Hess - Friend, "Brother", "Connector Extraordinaire" of both of us.

Groomsman: Luke Mason - Solid friend, instigator of much laughter, and the man who coined "unofficially official" for us before we were dating. Thanks for putting up with us...

Our Story

January 2007 – Met at Ruby Tuesday’s after Jenny had gone square dancing with friends. Nate showed up with some other friends. Remember meeting, but not much else.
January 2007 – Nate went to Jenny’s house with some friends to watch football.
January – February 2007 – Jenny traveled to India and Kenya
February 2007 – Nate was invited to Jenny’s house through some friends for dinner. Nate and Jenny ended up talking before the other friends showed up for almost an hour. They were intrigued by how much they had in common and would cite this as “the beginning of finding each other to be interesting...”
February 2007 – Nate attends Jenny’s birthday party with friends. Jenny is excited that he brought a present for her.
March 2007 – Nate attends a going away get together for Jenny with some friends before she travels to Bolivia.
Upon her return, Nate stops by a friend’s house on the way home from his sister’s wedding. Jenny is glad he showed up.

April 2007 – Jenny and Nate plan friend’s birthday parties together, phone calls are frequent as they “plan”.
May 2007 – Jenny travels to Canada and Nate emails her daily. They also chat on the phone a couple of times.
Nate and Jenny plan a Memorial Day camping trip for the group of friends. At this point, they realize they like planning things together (and we still do!)
Jenny realizes Nate is a great and handy guy to have around. Spiritually strong and very capable. Nate and Jenny have some time at the end of the weekend to catch a couple hours talking together.
June 2007 – Jenny travels to California to her best friend from high school’s wedding. Nate calls and emails often. He even drove her to the airport at 4:00am... Hmm... Jenny tells her best friend that she really likes this guy, but doesn’t think he’s interested.
July 2007 – Jenny and Nate plan a trip to the beach for the Fourth of July for their friends. During the day, they spend a couple of hours flying a kite together on the beach (something that still gets them picked on by their friends...)
They plan another day-trip to the beach for friends later in July.
August 2007 – They plan another trip to the beach, this time a camping trip, with friends. At this point, they are certainly growing closer... They stay up chatting late into the night. Jenny continues to remain in awe of his skills. Ha.
From May to August, the emails, phone calls, and times together increase significantly (riding horses, kayaking and canoeing, hiking, making meals together, etc.). Jenny is fairly certain Nate might like her, but she knows one thing: she REALLY likes him!
In late August, Jenny, Nate, and some friends travel to Mississippi to work on hurricane reconstruction with MDS. Nate and Jenny sneak out to walk on the beach at night, and in the morning, watch the sun rise over the ocean. Nate even conveniently comes up with a way to hold Jenny’s hand walking on the railings of the pier. Very smooth.
August 25, 2007 – Upon returning from the trip, Nate asks Jenny if she would like to go on a hike to “talk about our relationship”. She agrees and has a very hard time sleeping that night.

August 26, 2007 – Nate takes Jenny to Money Rocks where he asks her to begin a relationship with him. Jenny happily agrees. Special Note: Nate was wearing a Mount Hood, Oregon t-shirt September through November is all a blur as they spend increasing amounts of time together.
Christmas 2007 – Nate tells Jenny he loves her for the first time. Jenny is elated.
January 2008 – Jenny travels to Ethiopia and India. Nate decides he is going to marry her while she is gone and drops many hints in emails and phone calls. I guess "distance does make the heart grow fonder".
February 2008 – Jenny travels to Oregon with Nate for a work trip, and to visit some of her family. She is fairly certain he will propose while in Oregon.
February 11, 2008 – Nate proposes to Jenny on Mount Hood! She says “YES!” and they share their first kiss. Sweet!