wAhOo!!!! wEdNeSdAy

July 16, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres6 Comments

Y’all. We made it! Today is our Friday, because tomorrow is Day #1 of our trip to the beach!!!

I cannot TELL you how needed this trip is! We have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off for months now, and to have a few days on the horizon with nothing to ‘worry about’ except for our ~~sunburns~~ tans…is a dream come true!

I spent last night doing all the laundry, and packing for the both of us. Craig may think we ~~finally~~ have sold our house and are ~~finally~~ moving with all of the luggage that is packed and ready to go! 🙂 I think, in the back of my mind, maybe I’m hoping we can just stay at the beach and never come back – provided we got to pick up the furs! 😉 Ah, wishful thinking!

I am probably more excited about our beach trip because of WHERE we are going than anything else. It will definitely be a stroll down memory lane! Panama City Beach was the beach to visit when I was a child. I have fond memories of visiting with my grandmother and adventuring at the Miracle Strip Amusement Park. I remember going with my parents and another set of grandparents as a child, and being amazed with the sugary white sand, and going crabbing on the beach at nighttime.

This is the definition of “the beach” to me. I have lived in Hawaii; visited Grenada, Jamaica, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast. Hands down, my favorite beach will always be the Florida Gulf.

We are looking forward to sharing our photos on our return, and who knows – While we are away, you may even get an update or two…

But if you don’t hear from us until Tuesday of next week – we are just fine…Relaxing by the waves!

Food For Thought Friday

On The Road Again…

May 23, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

FRIDAY! I could shout it from the rooftops!! We are saying our prayers that Craig makes it home today – He was stuck in White Plains, NY last night due to fog and weather…Crazy to me, since it was 97°F outside and absolutely spectacular here in Atlanta, G-A! 🙂 We cannot WAIT to begin our BUSY, wonderful weekend!!

About twelve hours ago this time last week, we were up to another one of our crazy trips! Rather than fly to Minnesota for Craig’s dad’s birthday, we decided to make the 18 hour drive again – with the pups!

They are such good travelers!!!

Craig’s dad’s 60th birthday came in the form of a surprise party, so when we arrived on Friday afternoon, we met up with Craig’s sister, Mandy, and our brother-in-law, Mike, who took us in for the night. 🙂 Thank you SO much for letting us stay with you! (Especially with Lucy & Caroline!)

We went out to eat that evening in Downtown St. Paul with Mandy, Mike & Jenna too – Craig’s youngest sister! Great Waters Brewing Company was delicious!

When we got back to Mandy & Mike’s that evening, it wasn’t very long before Craig and I CRASHED! An eighteen-hour drive and no sleep was enough to do us in for about 12 hours! 🙂

Kevin’s 60th birthday party was held at Rockwoods Grill in Otsego, which is Craig’s hometown.

Here are some pictures from the awesome party – I sure do hope we surprised my father-in-law!

Back at the Lefebvre Farm, the next day after church, we had a big family lunch and took some BEAUTIFUL family pictures outside!

And then at 6:30AM the next morning, we were back on the road to Georgia!

We had a WONDERFUL time, and hope our Midwestern Family knows they are always welcome Down South – and that we would love to have them! 🙂

Have a FABULOUS Memorial Day weekend everyone!!! I want to especially say “Thank you” to my father who is a Retired Army Officer! Thank you for your service to this wonderful nation!

TTC Tuesday

Keep Your Heart & Your Bible Open

May 20, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Even in the midst of a not-so-great morning, God revived our spirits today – as only He can…

Yesterday, at 6:30 AM, we pulled out of the Lefebvre Century Farm driveway and began the journey back home.

By midnight, we were in Tennessee and our sweet Lucy pup was beginning to regret her decision not to eat any of her dinner or drink any of her water or potty when we stopped at the Kentucky border. Craig had just switched back into the driver’s seat at our last stop, and knowing I had to be at work at 7 AM, I was twisting and turning in my seat, trying to fall asleep for the rest of the drive…But Lucy’s panting and whining in my ear was not like the lullaby I was wishing for.

Needless to say, God guided us safely home, and just after 2 AM we pulled into our driveway – utterly exhausted. All five of us – Lucy, Caroline & Miss Daisy included – collapsed into deep slumbers in record time, and before long at all my 5 AM alarm went off. Boo – Hiss.

I spent this morning at the office grumbling about my sleep deprivation and rubbing my tired eyes. I was lamenting the fact I had to spend the next eight hours here, and then would return home to a husband-less house, since Craig flies out this afternoon. Woe is me. (Yes, friends, even after two 18-hour car rides together in one weekend, we still have spent the morning texting and talking on the phone all lovey-dovey, as usual. And are still saddened at having to part for the week the minute we return home!)

We spent a good chunk of the car ride yesterday discussing just how good God is, and where we feel like He is leading us right now. We sang praise and worship songs together; We listened to several podcasts of awesome sermons and devotions; We did not talk about The Voice; We didn’t mention one single movie star; There was no US Weekly to be found along the car ride. And we are very aware that none of that is “normal”. We are also very aware that there are plenty of people who make snide remarks behind our backs about our relationship and our devotion to God and His Will in our lives, and that’s okay. We aren’t living our lives to make anyone else happy, and we certainly don’t feel left out not knowing what’s going on in the world of E! Entertainment. But we aren’t judging you for your lifestyle or how you choose to spend your time.

We choose to live with our hearts on our sleeves, and sometimes they get broken more easily that way – but they are also left more vulnerable to God’s interception and for that we are thankful! A text message I received this morning – one that made my heart skip a beat – is one anyone else could have smiled at and laughed, “Ha! I’m infertile! We wish!!”

But our faith and our openness to His work all around us made that text message into a certain gift. And it was just that – a little gift from God.

A dear dear friend of mine messaged me this morning:

Of course Craig and I were just overjoyed! We don’t believe in coincidences, and my friend didn’t know about our “Jonah Revelation“! This dream and the fact she chose to SHARE it with us has GOD stamped all over it. We could have taken our grumbles to heart and dismissed this as “nothing” – but no! It isn’t nothing and God doesn’t wait for you to put your best foot forward before He delivers you a message.

Perhaps this little message is nothing more than reassurance.

But one thing is for certain: Our God is after a love relationship with us. He communicates in a very present and REAL way.

You only have to invite and foster that relationship.

Then WATCH IT GROW and follow Him in amazement. You will never again be like this world.

You may lose the majority of your “friends”.

Your family may never understand you.

But you will be happier than you ever thought could be possible.

Keep your heart and your Bible open.

What's Up Wednesday

The Birthday Extravaganza Revealed

April 16, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Craig’s 32nd birthday began 3 days early this year, on April 10th. After all the other preparations were made, I made his birthday cupcakes (shown here) and arranged them carefully with a special riddle/poem:

When Craig arrived at Water Dog Kennels the next morning, he was presented with another clue:

And when he met me at work, my car already loaded down with luggage, gifts, and a huge cooler, he got this clue:

And then a pair of sunglasses:

He jumped into the driver’s seat with a smile on his face, and I gave him a special mix CD 🙂 and told him to choose from the Saved Destinations list in the GPS “Craig’s Birthday Part 1“… And the drive begin…He still had no idea where we were headed – just that it was about 160 miles away!

Around 6:30pm, we arrived outside of Lulu’s On Main, which I mentioned here…

It was seriously some of the best food…Yum! And then it was off to our next destination…And still, Craig had no idea where we were going… This time he just chose “Craig Birthday #2” from the destinations list and off we went… 15 miles down the road…

…to the gorgeous and charming Balsam Mountain Inn.

The Balsam Mountain Inn has a very interesting history and the most “shabby chic” rooms I have ever seen! They are each unique and charming, and we have never stayed at a more friendly place!

That evening, Craig and I sat on the rocking chair porch, enjoying the scenery and each other’s company! The air was warm and the night was just breezy enough! It was truly a beautiful evening!

The next morning I woke up bright and early to surprise Craig with his next clue:

{Translation: “You’ll want to wear this; I know you’ll look hot. But will it help your feet? No, probably not! They’ll be roaming along. You’ll wish you had four…as we travel on this WALKING BREWERY TOUR!”}

…and with this hat I had made for him at Smathers & Branson:

Craig was super excited about our little trip to Asheville & the brewery tour! We ate a delicious breakfast at the inn, and then headed out to the “big city” (most cities are enormous in comparison to Balsam, NC!) for a fun-filled afternoon!

Craig found a cat in one of the shops we ventured into... — Craig found a cat in one of the shops we ventured into…

Then we began the tour of three of Asheville’s local breweries: Lexington Avenue, Green Man & Twin Leaf:

…followed by dinner at a dive called The Thirsty Monk ( – chosen since I call my husband “Monkey”, “Monx” & “Monk” :-))

It was a gorgeous day and we had a wonderful time walking all over Downtown Asheville!

The next morning I had chosen a church for Palm Sunday, and we ate a quick breakfast and made it to the 9AM Mass – Luckily, we were literally BLESSED with a palm! Then it was off to the next destination:

And then back in the car with the next unknown plugged into the GPS…Fortunately, as we were driving there, Craig pointed out the exit for my office along the way…where his truck remained parked… We had to make a surprise detour into Dunwoody to retrieve the truck, and then I hugged Craig and told him I would see him at home… 🙂

Where he received his final clue:

Here’s his new belt:

And we drove to South City Kitchen in Vinings for his birthday dinner…

…where he was very surprised to find my parents, brother and our dear friend, Julia, waiting at the table to surprise him!

As you can imagine, we have slept like rocks since we returned home!! We had an absolute blast, and I would plan something like this for him any day of the week, any season of the year!

I love you, Monkey! 🙂 Happy Birthday (one last time!)!

What's Up Wednesday

Philipians 3:14

March 12, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

It has been non-stop since Friday last week. We told you we had an adventure of sorts planned and we weren’t lying!

The whole plan was to fly out to North Dakota for the weekend, visit Craig’s old stompin’ ground, and go to a University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey game – and that’s precisely what we did! 🙂 Our weekend was just a tad bit more audacious than we had originally planned…

We met at the airport around 4pm and tried to get out to Minneapolis…After running around from the T Concourse to the A Concourse and back, we realized neither Minnesota nor North Dakota were happening tonight! Everything was booked – overcrowded and oversold, at that.

Off to spend the evening in Madison, Wisconsin – for which Priceline came in handy! We were able to find a decent hotel with an airport shuttle at the very last minute!

Luckily, this hotel even sold beer, wine & champagne at the reception desk (You gotta love Wisconsin!) – which Craig and I happily enjoyed once we got settled in for the night! We thought we’d had a crazy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants trip already…Little did we know…

THe next morning, we caught the hotel shuttle back to Madison’s airport and easily made it to Minneapolis on the first flight out. Whew. But…we didn’t make it on the flight to North Dakota…So we decided to drive…for five hours…in this:

Hatchback cars are a long-running joke between Craig & I, and when he first mentioned we may have to drive the last leg of our journey, I laughed that we might have to drive an “egg” car… Craig said, “No!” He had booked a compact – similar to a 4-door Ford Focus!

I collapsed in a fit of giggles when I saw we were making the trek in this little beauty – a Ford Fiesta. Good thing we didn’t have the furs with us…My goodness, we’re relatively small people and we barely fit with our two carry-on bags and my purse. Cue CLAUSTROPHOBIA.

As usual, we had a BLAST in the car, singing along to songs on a playlist I made quickly on Spotify. This is one I THOROUGHLY enjoyed at Wednesday night church with our friend Julia last week, and it was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE in our road trip mix!

Oh, I LOVE that song!!!! And I can’t tell you how AWESOME it was in person…Wow.

But back to our journey!

We finally arrived in Grand Forks, North Dakota and checked into our little hotel.

We had dinner at the Blue Moose Bar & Grill – It was DELICIOUS!!!

We also had drinks at Whitey’s Wonderbar – and they had the spiciest and yummiest Bloody Mary I have ever had!

I had a special little skirt made on Etsy at the Preppy Pink Shop for the game, and found a coordinating green and black L.L. Bean shirt for Craig to wear. We may have been the only two people in the arena not wearing a jersey…But I just had to bring a little bit of the South to the Midwest. One does NOT wear a jersey to an SEC Football game, for sure! 😉 As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure I’ve ever worn jeans. Probably some of the cutest outfits I wear all year long are worn to Georgia Bulldogs football games!

The game was alot of fun! It was my first hockey game, and while I wasn’t sure what was going on most of the time, it was certainly more exciting to watch than some sports!

Unfortunately, UND lost to Western Michigan that night…But we still really enjoyed ourselves!

The next day, we got up early and enjoyed a beautiful Mass at St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

And then we headed back on the road for our five-hour journey in the Fiesta back to the Minneapolis airport…Only to NOT make it out on the last flight…And that’s another blog post all on it’s own!

By this point, we were a little bit grumbly…

But we made it – by the SKIN OF OUR TEETH – to our last alternate – Kansas City, Missouri! And again…Priceline came in handy! We even managed to wrangle a Sheraton for the night, complete with a restaurant, a shuttle and a super comfortable bed – for a steal!!

We finally caught a flight out of Missouri and made it back to Atlanta on Monday…We both collapsed as soon as we had a home-cooked meal on our stomachs, and slept long and hard! I felt as if we had run a marathon!!!!!

Which made Philipians 3:14 come to mind:

Philippians 3:14

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Things aren’t always smooth sailing…but we must finish the race and press onward toward the goal, the prize.

Until tomorrow…. 3 more days til this giveaway is over!!! “Follow” our blog officially to enter, or if you already follow us, comment below “Done.”.

Lots of Love!

Uncategorized

King (and Queen) of the Road

July 25, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Hello All,

I realize it’s been quite sometime since I last posted a blog – at least you’ve had the pleasure of hearing from my much better half in the meantime. 🙂 I can’t say a whole lot has happened – or changed – since the last time I blogged. We have mostly just been settling into ‘normal life’, and have had a wonderful time doing so!

Most recently, we enjoyed a great visit from our “cousin-in-law”, Dani, and had a real blast while she was enjoying the Down South Georgia Heat! I recall her telling me just before she left Minnesota, she was so excited to be getting away from “all that humidity”… I laughed a little bit inside, knowing she was remembering a September in Georgia, almost a year ago, when she came down for our wedding. Late July in Georgia…not as pleasant humidity-wise. 🙂

Thank you, Dani, for making the trip! I’m sorry we weren’t able to do more – unfortunately, work tends to get in the way of that somehow 🙂 – but we hope you had the kind of relaxing vacation you were hoping for! You were such a huge help with the children I nanny! As a matter of fact, both the mother and the 2 year old asked about you today! 🙂 Maybe you have more of a future in nannying than you thought! 🙂

Poor thing! Getting Dani safely back to Minnesota yesterday was a bit of a challenge. ALLLLL the direct flights from ATL to MSP were quite full, and so she was able to spend some time in the great state of Michigan, as Craig and I worked for several hours the night before she flew out to figure out how we could get her home with the least amount of strife for her as possible. As it turns out, the flights from Atlanta to Grand Rapids, Michigan and from Grand Rapids to Minneapolis that day worked well. Thank the Lord. She made it back unscathed – and if you’ve ever flown standby, you know this to be almost miraculous. 🙂

Friday, Craig and I leave for Missouri. Via car. Yay! I am a sucker for a road trip!!! I love to make special travel snacks, trip CD’s… (although, I got the impression from our 23 year old visitor this past week that CD’s are now about as ‘uncool’ as 8-tracks…Sorry ladies and gents – Anyone who knows me, knows the Original “Pier’s Mix” CD’s are some of the best! LOL And they aren’t stopping!!)…I love stopping at random gas stations for snacks I would never otherwise eat, and slushies I would never otherwise consider slurping. I love holding my husband’s hand THE WHOLE WAY. Seriously, we do. 🙂 But, probably the thing I love 2nd best about road trips is playing the role of navigator. I guess in our marriage, it’s where Craig and I switch roles: He gets to be the Captain and I am the First Officer. Well, not on this trip. Not after I planned our route for Josh and Julia’s wedding in North Carolina, and intentionally turned a 3.5-4 hour drive into a 7-8 hour trek. While I loved EVERY MINUTE of the adventure, I think my extremely patient husband may have BEGUN to lose his marbles, considering that for the entire trip we were only on the interstate for about 20 whole miles, and never actually stayed on one road for more than 10 miles… Aaaah the joys of planning a road trip using Google Maps…and then gently ‘tugging’ at the route line… Heee hee hee… I guess, Craig didn’t see it as spontaneously as I did… 🙂 Therefore, he plainly told me this evening on the phone that he had already looked at a map and chosen the 4 interstates we would travel to our destination. Wha. Wha. Wha. 🙂 This doesn’t mean I’m not still in charge of music and snacks!!! Adventure here we come! We are so looking forward to Craig’s cousin Cara’s wedding and the following family trip in Branson! I PROMISE THERE WILL BE PICTURES POSTED!!

Craig and I have been working really hard to ‘re-prioritize’ our life, and keep God as the center of our relationship. Still not being pregnant, we have had to really put all our faith and trust in Him, and devote ourselves to seeking Him first. Just like the day I felt God tell me we needed to ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’… We have been striving to live just that way. The Lord has presented us with some great and very unexpected opportunities to witness to what He has done in our lives, and sometimes, in the very strangest of situations. 🙂 We have also come across some AMAZING reading material, which I would LOVE to share with you:

1. Jesus Calling by S. Young. I don’t care who you are, or what preconceived notions you may have about daily devotionals…but you must go out and buy this book immediately. If not sooner. And if you are one of those who agrees with Dani and believes CD’s to be a thing of the past, well, there is also a Jesus Calling App – for both Apple and Android phones and tablets. Hurry. This is the most amazing devotional. When Craig is out of town, I send him a picture of the morning’s reading, so here’s a sample:

The whole devotional, while not divinely inspired, obviously, is biblically and prayerfully based, and its written as if Jesus Himself were speaking directly to you. It is utterly amazing. Craig and I have found our days just aren’t the same if we begin them without Him. 🙂

2. Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. I know my husband and I both have written and spoken about this book, but it is another must have. I cannot tell you how much we have learned from and grown together in studying God’s Word with this Bible study as our guide. We have taken it very slow – at times purposefully, at others not do much, but God has used those thoughtful periods to really touch our hearts and teach us and lead us. The title of the book really says it all. It’s really all about learning to truly experience God, to actually have that unbelievable and sometimes seemingly unattainable intimate relationship with Him.

3. Freedom Beyond Comprehension by Joan Hunter. Wow. This book changed the way I thought/think about so many things. It’s main preface is about letting go of the past, but there is so much to be learned about not only the forgiveness of Christ but His unthinkable love and power to heal – & not just in a spiritual way, in a physical way, as well. One profound quote from the book says that God doesn’t do ANYTHING just partway, He does everything all of the way. Simple, yet amazing truth. You won’t be disappointed reading this!

So as I end this entry, I will show you a little project we just recently finished – my idea and design and Craig’s construction:

The picture does this hanging birdcage lamp not a bit of justice. It adds such a great ambient light to the room! You’ll have to come see it in person!

We can’t wait for your visit!! Talk soon!

God Bless,
Pier & Craig

Uncategorized

A Little Bit Of This…

December 19, 2012December 19, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres5 Comments

My, my, my…only SIX more days until Christmas! Are all of you ready? Have you done all of your shopping? I’m happy (and relieved) to note that Craig and I are DONE! Now for me to wrap everything…

The past week has been a BUSY one, and I don’t know that things are going to slow down anytime soon! I went to a ‘Holiday Couples’ Shower’ for our dear friends Ashley & J.W. (sadly without my better half – Boo!!!!!!!), but I did get to enjoy a girls’ sing-along car ride to the shower and back with one of my faves, Julia! There’s nothing like singing at the top of your lungs to every song you know to pass the time on a long road trip!

Such a fun shower! And if you recognize the location, it’s because once again, it was hosted by another couple we absolutely adore: Lauren & Randall.

After the shower and our sing-a-long ride back to Northwestern Georgia, Julia and I met up with Craig and Julia’s hubs Josh & their children for dinner. 🙂 Always a great time with all of our special friends – Craig and I are so blessed to have such a great group of TRUE friends surrounding us!

On Monday, I FINALLY got my wedding bands back from the ~~slowest man on earth~~ jewelry designer! Our design turned out just BEAUTIFUL and I think the setting will be much stronger!

I am absolutely ECSTATIC to have my wedding bands displayed proudly on my finger once again! 🙂

Last night, C & I were up until 1:30am making a COMPLETELY FROM SCRATCH White Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake (completely gluten-free, as well!)…We even had to make the GRAHAM CRACKERS themselves for the crust, since we couldn’t find any sans gluten. Needless to say, even the cheesecake hater Craig thought it was delicious!

Tonight, we’ll be making Christmas cookies! 🙂 And when I detail that experience, you’ll have to remind me to show you a picture of the Peppermint Plate we made last night! So cute! (And yes, it’s the same thing you’ve seen all over Pinterest!)

Oh, and how could I have forgotten!?!?! Craig booked our hotel for our trip to Rome in February!! You’ll have to ask my sweet husband all about it! 🙂 We are SO excited about our upcoming vacation!!!

Y’all have a great evening! Maybe I can sneak in a short nap at the office before my long drive home?? 🙂

XOXO

Pier & Craig