Who knew it would be so much fun "practicing" cooking for my future husband by making dinner for my family. Tonight I made White Chicken Enchiladas with a Sour Cream and Green Chilies Sauce. And let me just say it was a big hit for everyone! I will definitely be making this again for my husband one day!

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

10 soft taco shells (depending on size of the shell you may not be able to make exactly 10)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used precooked fajita strips and just shredded it myself)
2 c. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese 
3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 c. Chicken Broth
1 c. Sour Cream
1 4 oz. can Green Chilies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in the pan
3. In a sauce pan, melt the butter, stir in flour and cook 1 min. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in Sour Cream and chilies. do not bring to a boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.
5. Pour over Enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min. and then under high broil for 3 min. to brown the cheese.

Surprise Trip!

This past week I had the opportunity to attend Homecoming at Johnson University with my dad. It was a fantastic week. I developed this plan that I would surprise my fiance and worked like a charm. He had absolutely no idea that last Monday I would show up in the doorway of his band practice, let's just say he was definitely caught by surprise! It was fantastic getting to see many of my friends. Even after being away for about a month I still felt right at home. I am truly blessed to have such a great group of friends they are certainly like family and I know without a doubt that they will be friends for a lifetime. There was no better way to end a surprise trip to Johnson than getting to go home with my fiance for a few days to visit with his family and to get some wedding stuff done! Everything for the wedding seems to be falling into place! The more that I accomplish and the closer it gets the more excited I become. It all is starting to seem so real rather than just a dream. January seems so far away and yet it is so close. I am finding it hard to have patience! I am just ready to marry my best friend! I thank God every day for putting Chris in my life and blessing me with such a great soul mate and future family! My future in laws are amazing people and I love them to death! My life definitely wouldn't be the same without them! I feel so much like family already! I love my parents for bringing me up the way they did and teaching me the ways of life! I have learned so much from them and hope to do the same for my children! Only 320 more days to go until I am Mrs. Eslinger! 

My Fiance cooking a meal this weekend!

He asked, and I said yes!

I know I haven't posted in awhile but life has just really busy! A lot has happened since the last time I posted as you can probably guess from the title of this blog post. August 31, 2012 was just like any other ordinary Friday filled with classes and homework. My wonderful boyfriend decided to take me on a date but little did I know the surprise that would come later. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Applebee's which consisted of an appetizer of mozzarella sticks, and we both ordered the Three Cheese Chicken Penne as our entree. After dinner we drove back to campus, with it being Labor Day weekend we didn't want to fight with the crowds downtown. Once we got back we went on a walk down by the river. Chris embraced me in a hug from behind while we admire God's creation and enjoyed the spectacular view of the river. After a few minutes of silence, Chris asks me this question: "Are you ready to get married?" I just stood there not knowing how to respond. He then said, Will you marry me? I was like wait, what!? Chris then said "I guess I should do this the right way." So he began to get down on one knee and pulled a small black box out of his pocket, (at this point I was in shock and speechless) all I was able to do hold out my hand, no words came out of my mouth. He then put the ring on my finger, we gave each other big hugs and thus began the texting and many phone calls to family and friends!

I can't even begin to express how happy I am! It is more than I could have ever dreamed of! I am so excited to see what God has in store for our future together! In the meantime we will try to keep everyone informed about our wedding plans! We can't wait to share the special day and next chapter in our lives with our family and friends!

Missing you.......

You never realize how much time you spend with someone until they leave for an entire weekend forcing you to stay in your room and work on homework 24/7. Yes this is how my weekend has been, lonely and boring. Despite the fact that I have been alone for the entire weekend I have had a lot of time to think about life and the future. The closer I get to graduating the scarier it becomes to leave Johnson behind. Living in Tennessee on the Johnson Bible College campus has been my life for the past 3 years, it's my home, my family and I am just not ready to leave that all behind. The one person I will miss seeing everyday is my wonderful boyfriend. Being able to see him throughout the day and being able to talk about all the crazy things going on in my life is what helps me get through a day. Whenever I think about leaving him behind, I wonder how I might possibly survive. Yes, I know this may sound silly or absurd but have you ever had to move 359 miles away from your best friend not knowing when you would have the opportunity to see them again. I mean the summer is hard enough let alone a whole school year. Have you ever been so in love that whenever you are away from that person you feel like a piece of you is missing? Have you ever had restless sleepless nights because the person you really cared about was several miles away? When things are not going right or I am having an absolutely horrible day, a hug from him just seems to make everything seem perfect. Seeing his wonderful smile everyday just brings joy to my life. Getting to spend time in the studio with him several weekends in a row, you may think it sounds boring but to me it is the best thing in the world. It's the best thing in the world because I get to see him doing something he truly enjoys and is passionate about. I'm really not ready to leave him behind......for now I am looking to God for guidance, because I know I can always count on him to send me in the right direction. In the meantime I am going to enjoy and cherish every minute I have with my boyfriend for who know where I will be once I graduate.

And so it begins....

Well I did it, I survived my first full week of classes. It's really great to be back in Tennessee with all my Johnson family once again. I have actually managed to stay on top of my work believe it or not. It's an accomplishment for me considering how much I love people! I only have one and half years left so I figured I need to make the most of it and enjoy it while I can...who knows maybe I will move to Tennessee once I graduate. I guess it will all depend on the funds.

I am definitely missing my Samaria Christian Church Family but it was fantastic being back at Farragut!

Well I am at a loss for words...which is unlike me....so sadly that's all for today. I suppose nothing interesting is going on in my life that I want to write about.

as summer draws to a close

As I sit here thinking about summer coming to an end, I wonder where the time went! I complained many times about being bored or having nothing to do and yet it seems like time has passed so quickly. It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't ready for summer to end because a part of me is. I'm ready to be back in Tennessee surrounded by the beautiful mountains and my wonderful Johnson family. I'm and beginning to start my senior year at Johnson University and I have started to realize that this is it! I only have one and a half semester left of college and then I am done! The day I have looked forward to all through high school and now that it is almost here, it scares me. It just seems like yesterday that I was graduating from high school, how can it be possible for me to be out there on my own. I mean it's a big world out there and it is a scary place. Right now I live in the comfort of the Johnson bubble, sheltered from the big world, and I'm not ready to leave. I suppose I am just going to have to face reality and realize that yes it will be time for me to "grow up".

Deciding to attend Johnson Bible College was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. At first I did not want to travel very far from home, so attending a college that was 7 hours away from mom and dad was not an option in my book. Dad kept telling me how great Johnson was and how I should think about attending. Well the summer before my junior year of high school mom and dad took me on some college visits. The first one i visited was KCU, when we first set foot on campus, I just new it wasn't the place for me it just didnt feel right. Well on that same day we also happened to visit Johnson. Before our car even made it on campus I fell in love! I was in awe of how beautiful the campus was, I just couldn't believe it! It just felt like home! So I decided to apply to Johnson and if I didn't get in then that was not where I was supposed to be. I am so glad that I chose to attend Johnson I have made many lasting friendships that I would not trade for anything. I have certainly grown in my faith while attending Johnson and it sure has helped me become a stronger person. Johnson will always be a big part of my life. I went to college with the idea that I was there for school and school only none of this having a boyfriend, like all the other girls. Well I proved myself wrong because when I least expected it I found this most amazing guy whom I developed a friendship with and it certainly turned into something more. He has been a huge blessing in my life. He has helped me see myself for who I truly am, and encourages in everything that I do. Whether he realizes it or not he certainly has been a big part of helping me to look to God and become stronger in my faith. God is definitely a big part of our relationship and I honestly don't know how we would survive if he wasn't. And God is definitely a big part of why we are still together after a 1 year and 4 amazing months! It has been a windy road full of obstacles that we have had to overcome and with God at the center of our relationship we can overcome anything. Love Never Fails.  My boyfriend has truly been a blessing in my life and I am excited to see what the future has in store for us. Even though we are 200 Miles away from each other I know he loves me and thinks about me everyday, I couldn't ask for anything more. I am truly Blessed.