Thursday, June 30, 2011

Celebrations

Happy Last Day of June!


Goes by so quickly :)

On sunday one of the girls that is part of church here in Boise is getting married!!
We had a shower for her a couple of weeks ago and I was assigned a dessert (my favorite) and decorations!

I made some paper flowers!! I love all the bright colors.
bright and happy























And Peach hand pies....using my Grandma Lentes' perfected pie crust recipe :)
See that beautiful crust? Thank you Grandma

























Here are some of my fun pictures of Mr. Gill and I on our wedding day! It was seriously one of the best days of our lives....thanks again 1 1/2 years later to everyone that made that day special!

Yes he REALLY is jumping over me!




















Right after we kissed!!!

Have a great 4th of July!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

CoffeeHouse

A Cuban Americano.

If I were to be a drink....that is what I'd be and here's why.
An americano is a bold and rich drink (espresso and water) and I feel like I am passionate about what I care about, I'm usually straightforward and I don't have anything to hide.
I desire to see people operating at full capacity and like a highly caffinated americano I want to give people what they need. I often just call things as I see them....sometimes to the point of hurting feelings (sorry).
But wait, I'm not done.
It's CUBAN americano because it's slightly spicy and sweet (cubans are espresso shots pulled w/cinnamon and raw sugar *try one if you've never had it they're awesome*) and I can be really silly and/or emotional.

Dirty Chai Tea Latte

Mr. Gill I feel is a Dirty Chai. A dirty chai is chai w/a shot of espresso in it.
Chai is made from a 'usually secret' combination of a lot of spices and sugar and Mr. Gill has, in his 23 years, had a lot of experiences (yes-even being home schooled ;) with a lot of different people and situations and he has done a lot of research into many areas that intrigue him.
He has taken all of the good, all of the learned, and all of the wisdom born out of conversations and maybe even pain and made it a beautiful mix that he brings to the table (or mug).
The *dirty* part because there is a boldness in Mr. Gill, perhaps even an unexpected edge. He's a teacher, an artist and an intellectual. He values the beauty of life and the wisdom that's waiting to be unearthed and the words that can inspire.

Ann Gill
Thank you for responding to the last post! I think that your coffee w/Hazelnut creamer does speak to your personality. You are a mild, kind hearted soul. You seek the best for people, you do all you can to make them feel welcome and loved. You are as sweet and comforting as your morning coffee :)

Jackie!
I know you love your strong black coffee but I think I'm going to take on the Iced Black Tea Lemonade. You are a bold personality. You know what you want out of life and you are making it happen. That's the black tea part.
You are not willing to sacrifice what you believe to be true to make others happy. You are enjoyable to be around and your perspectives are usually very refreshing and you are always true, in what you do...what you say. That's the slightly sweet/tart lemonade :)

That's it!
Girls let me know if you agree :)

*Jenny G

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Who do you THINK you are?!?!

Today I am going to attempt to run 6 miles.

6 MILES!!!

On the hottest day of the summer so far......

Today = Summer 2011:Day 1 btw.

While I'm out there sweating and crying and pretending that I'm only crying because there is sweat in my eyes.....I have a question I want you to ponder.

What coffee shop drink would you choose to best describe your personality?

Are you just normal drip?

How about French Press?


















Maybe you are a slightly sweet vanilla latte?



It doesn't HAVE to be coffee-there are teas/smoothies/juices @ coffee shops....but I want to know the drink and then I want to know WHY!

Ha-just made that assignment a whole lot harder.

People!

You have a little over 24 hours to comment and let me know and tomorrow I'll post mine.

Then we can all play doctor and analyze our answers.

ok-

GO!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Yesterday, Today, Forever

Yesterday I was taking a minute to glance through (not read.....that requires time and intention) my bible in between running(see: huffing, puffing, crying) with a good friend and going to volunteer @ The D (best nonprofit coffee shop in Boise) and I can across this story in 2 Chronicles 30.....
It's King Hezekiah and he decides that they should celebrate Passover. They haven't been because the king before didn't follow the Lord. So he gets everything ready and tells all the people to come to Jerusalem to participate in this celebration even though the actual 'time' of Passover has come and gone. So the people come and even though they hadn't 'purified' themselves, they ate the Passover which was against what was written in the Law.
Back then, what you did...how you did it....when you did it....and even who did it was a BIG deal. It was a lot of what the relationship between man and God was about....at least in action.
So, it's a big no no that these people who hadn't prepared themselves for the Passover were participating.
But Hezekiah prays saying "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God-the Lord, the God of his fathers-even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And then the next verse says 'And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.' (2 Chronicles 30:18-20)
In my hurried....well the bible is sitting on my coffee table, I should glance at it while I eat my oatmeal...time of reading this story I was completely struck.
I don't particularly enjoy reading the old stories of the bible. I've never been much into history....and I find it hard to relate to stories because they don't really come w/much commentary.
And I feel like it's the list of rules we need to get to God that we are no longer under since the New covenant with Jesus-and here I am looking at this story and I'm like slapped in the face w/how God is, in the midst of law, most concerned with people's hearts.
Jesus died and we no longer have to kill animals and follow long rituals to have relationship with God. No longer is access to Him like a staircase of legalistic rules.
He wants our hearts to long after Him.
And so it was in this story!
Hezekiah knew these people hadn't gone through the process of making themselves clean....of preparing to participate in Passover, and he asked God to show up anyway because these people were seeking Him with their hearts.
And He did.
God is the same, yesterday-today-forever and I feel like this story really pointed that out to me yesterday. That He IS good-all the time and He wants our hearts.

Jenny G

Friday, June 3, 2011

A Few

Memorial Day Weekend was a fun one for us Gills here in Boise.

While we were getting ready for our Saturday evening plans...Mr. Gill discovered a new friend in our backyard....
that was actually trying to get in our house
let me in please

















He performed acrobatic stunts trying to win our hearts and become part of our family.
Hello?


















I think Mr. Gill would have let him in.....but, I might be allergic.


It was also wet and cold, which ruined our plans for camping.
Or so we thought! Thanks to the engineering minds of Leaman and Mr. Gill and the always enjoyable company of Lindsay, we were able to have a wonderful camp-like experience in our own backyard.....followed by a Kill Bill marathon.
Yes, that's a broom holding up the tarp. Thank you Men.

















The last highlight of the weekend I'd like to share with you all, my good friends....is a photo we took while touring Lucky Peak....which is a dam that keeps the valley that the city of Boise is in from being part of the river.

yup. 



















I hope you all have a wonderful first weekend of June!

Love

Jenny G