Jeremiah Scott

Last Sunday the fact that I am going to have a son really hit me, it took about ten other people to ask us what we were having. It has finally gotten to me that this little person, this little one pound life that has listening ears, a moving body and a beating heart, is more than just life inside of me, it's my son, my little boy! Whoa. Allow this preggo a few tears of pure happiness.

People ask us what we are going to name him, I like letting Travis answer, he sounds so happy and so proud when he says "Jeremiah Scott!". Side note, I have fallen in love with Travis so much just by watching him as an expectant father, it's pretty incredible! Most people don't ask where the name came from, so I wanted to just write and tell you all, because it also plays a part in my entire pregnancy. Travis and I had no problem choosing names, in fact we decided before we officially found out we were pregnant, literally we threw around a few names and decided on two before we got home from a trip to the market down the street. It would be Abigail Joe if it was a girl, and Jeremiah Scott if it was a boy. We loved our girl name, come on, Abigail means "My Father Rejoices", how sweet and precious is that?!?! But there was something about Jeremiah that meant a lot to us as a couple.
     Last summer, when we first started dating, we just so happened to be reading through the book of Jeremiah together. That book spoke to us concerning our future ministry together, and it gave us a lot of courage as two young people starting out in life and in ministry. Jeremiah means " God will raise up", we both thought that would be a great name if we ever had a son, after a busy semester and getting engaged that December, we both forgot about it. Until, of course that life changing moment when Travis causually brought up the idea that I could be pregnant. The day after we officially found out we were pregnant, I was doing one of my online classes, and the whole class was taught by various teachers and pastors, and today was Jon Courson, a pastor that I love. After an opening prayer, I heard the words " Please turn to Jeremiah 1..." within minutes of the sermon, I was in tears.  Pastor Jon talked about how Jeremiah was not only called to be a prophet, but he had been called before he was knit in the womb. It was at that moment I knew two things , 1) Jeremiah was most definately was the name and 2) I was carrying a boy.
      Travis and I have chosen Jeremiah 1:5 as our son's verse , it says

                          “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
                             Before you were born I sanctified you;
                                 I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

We want our son to grow up to be a man of God, a man of integrity, and a man that is willing to do anything that His Lord asks of him, we also want our son to answer to the calling that God will lay on his life. We would like you to pray for Travis and I as we step into this adventure of parenthood. Please pray for us that we would be examples to our son, that we would take every step along the way in prayer!

Much love,

Autumn 

The Content Heart

       

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,And praise Him in the company of the elders" - Psalm 107:31-32 

It is 6:55 in the morning on Thanksgiving Day and I have been wide awake since 5:30. I have learned to spend these mornings to spend with Jesus. My bible opened to there was a book mark from my psalms class that I had just finished and it was Psalm 107. Which just happens to be about thankfulness, as I read this psalm I was reminded about all of things that I should be thankful for. Of course I am thankful for Travis, our baby on the way, our combined families, our "family" in Hungary, the total blessing of Travis' having a job , the home that we get to live in, the car we have to drive. All of these things are incredibly awesome, and I am deeply thankful for them. But as I read Psalm 107, I was reminded to be thankful for the LORD. I was reminded to be thankful for His power, for His goodness, for His sacrifice, for His mercy, the list goes on and on. Thanksgiving is a busy day, some may have to travel far, or go to several different places in order to spend the day with our whole families, and it's easy to get caught up in the moment of being busy and then suddenly Thanksgiving is over, we have totally forgotten to be thankful for anything. And then our minds fly to Christmas, and we begin to device our Christmas lists, our menus, and who we are going to visit, the cycle continues. I grew up on the mission field, and I spent every Thanksgiving with at least 30 other believers, we spent all day fellowshipping, eating, and then we made a point to prayer and to just be thankful. I want to encourage you to do that today, if you can before you have to get busy just pray, and be thankful for the LORD and who HE is in your life or you can pray before you go to bed and reflect on those things. 
       Now, as you may be wondering why I titled this blog " The Content Heart", you're about to find out. I have learned that a thankful heart springs up from a content heart. I now that I am guilty of dwelling on the things that I do not have, which really is super dumb. Which afore mentioned in the paragraph above, I have so very much. Everyone in the world is in want of something, some of you really want to leave mom and dad's and have a place of your own, some of you really want to be married right now, some of you really want to have kids right now. And as awesome as these things really are, it is best to just sit back and have a content heart. Now, this is coming from someone who had several major changes of seasons in just the course of one year, I got engaged,married,pregnant and I moved countries all before my 21st birthday. I had to learn to be content in the season I was in because I knew that it was going to be changing very soon. Of course I have had( and I still do) moments where I am uncontent where I am, and that is when I discover that my heart is not thankful and get grumbly and my heart gets gross. 
So, today I really want to challenge all of you to reflect on the Lord, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you so that you will know all of the things that you have to be thankful for. I also challenge you to be content in the season that you are in RIGHT now. And I want you to know that I will be challenging myself with this as well, I have about four more months until this baby gets here, so four more months until it is no longer just Travis & I , we will have a child of our own ( whoa, crazy). So I am thankful for the days I have when it is just us, and I steeped myself in this very short season I have left of this.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving !

Love,

Autumn

Leaving

       It is Wednesday, November 7th and my husband and I are leaving Hungary in 10 days.  As excited as I am about the move, the change of seasons, and the bundle of excitement that awaits us, I can't help but feel a little weepy and sad. I have lived in Hungary for nearly two years, and the Lord has changed my life in every way possible. When I think about the 19 year old that came to Hungary on February 3rd, I hardly recognize her. Her heart was in a totally different place, her own hopeful dreams could not have even begun to conjure up the plans that the Lord had for me. I cannot even begin to express the thankfulness I feel towards the Lord for all the changes He has brought to my life in two years. If you would have told me two years ago today that I would be a married woman and an expectant mother living in Budapest, Hungary, I would have laughed at your. My life was not heading in that direction, but as we know...the Lord has many other plans for His beloved.

       I know many of you were aware of our move to Arizona, but for those of you who were not, allow me to tell you about the biggest decision that Travis & I have made as a couple (besides getting married that is :)) it was about two weeks after arriving from our honeymoon, our home was broken in to and Travis had been acting weird. After our morning devotion time, Travis told me that he felt the Lord calling us back to his home in Arizona for a season. But he wanted to pray about it for a month and see what the Lord spoke to us about it. We prayed and waited a month; we both felt that it was our time to go home. We were not really surprised about this decision; we had both felt that our season in Hungary would not be a long one, ever since Travis and I started talking about marriage and ministry together. Our plan and desire is to spend two years in Surprise, Arizona and to get really connected with a church. Our hearts are rooted into Europe, I cannot imagine never coming back and serving the Lord. But who knows, maybe the Lord has other plans for us. We will see what the Lord has for us at the end of these two years! 

     So here I am, 10 days away from moving to a different country, 10 days away from starting a whole new life and a whole new season. We are starting to give away our furniture and pack away our clothes. It really hit me today that we are leaving, I look at my cute little newlywed apartment on Dohany utca in the VII district, and I look at the furniture that Travis and I bought with our wedding money, and I remember all of the memories made in my first home, and I am reminded that I will be leaving it all behind. I couldn't help but get a little overwhelmed with the thought of it; I am going to miss Hungary so much. I am going to miss Cserpes milk, kakaos csiga, kurtoskulacs, and I am going to miss looking over the city at night. I am going to miss looking out my window and seeing Gelert Hill. I am going to miss the people that have become my family over the past two years. I am going to miss it so much. Although my heart is heavy and I am trying to cover up the little tears that are falling (I love how my mind decides to get emotional in the middle of the church's coffee shop...I'll blame it on pregnancy hormones), I am reminded that the Lord is faithful!! I am going back to America with so much to look forward too! I have my husband with me that will be there to keep me smiling, I am going back to his wonderful family that loves me like their own, I am going back to start my own little family! And my family is coming to the states for six months in January! God has provided EVERYTHING we need to start our lives in the states, and I am incredibly grateful for that. Through this whole transition of moving, God has had his hand in it every step of the way!

With a heavy yet hopeful heart,

Autumn

Ps- I'll write about our babymoon to Salzburg soon!

Some love for my fellow blogger friends

I have been blogging on and off for about 5 years now, and I've had about three blogs. My first blog was co-written with my best friend, Pauli Dillard during the summer before our junior years in high school. I spent the summer with her and her family in Nashville,Tennessee,easily one of the best summers of my ENTIRE life. We wrote about our adventures of the summer, and some of it is pretty darn hilarious! I highly suggest you check it out here. I had another blog that I recently deleted due to inactivity, it was my wonderful photography blog! I did a lot of very random photography in high school, but unfortunately I never had a professional camera and that really held me back...or well, it really discouraged me from pursuing it, but I have a dream of starting up again one day ! And as you know, I have this blog! This blog is my Internet based baby, I nourish it as much as time will allow, and I really put a lot of thought,effort and inspiration into this blog! But enough about me! I want to use this blog to link you to some of my favorite blogger friends! I consider these people my blogger mentors,and I am encouraged by their blogs.Therefore I will post a little bio about them and a link to their blogs,and I really encourage you to read and to follow...who knows what you could learn!

A City Shining-This blog is by my friend Rachel Titiriga, she is a fantastic photographer and a former missionary in Romania. She now lives in the states, and her blog is just encouraging. Her posts aren't that long, but her she uses her words wisely! A lot of encouraging words from this wonderful gal!

Dirt&Twirls- LOVE this woman!! This blog is by Kimberly Beller, a wife and a mom to four sweet kids. I met them when they were in Hungary as missionaries at my college, after my first semester they moved back to the states due to some pregnancy complications with their youngest, Cruz. This lady can really write, and she writes to strike the heart ( unbeknown st to herself). She writes about her life as a mother and being truly satisfied in the life that our Lord has given her. She is incredibly talented and a role model for any woman in any stage of life.

Higher Than Dreams - This blog is written by my wonderful bible college friend,Callie. Callie is basically fantastic, and she's funny,and she tells really good stories. But besides that, she really loves Jesus and her heart for missions is inspiring! This girl is sold out for Christ. She currently raising money to go to Africa for two weeks in September...so check her blog out and keep her in her prayers.( by the way...she's single ;) )

Image of the Invisible - This blog is written by Kirsten Spencer, Kirsten and her husband,Travis and their three kids are missionaries in Athens,Greece (how cool is that!?!?!?!). She writes about her life as a missionary wife/mommy, and encouraging words and promises from the Word. She also has another blog Sprouts En Route, this is a travel blog that she writes aiming towards people with small children. She has a whole lot of experience going for her as she has three kids under the of 6! HIGHLY suggested for families that do any amount of traveling, oh and she also reviews products for traveling.

Live A Life Worthy- This blog is written by my friend,Colleen. She once lived and worked with us in the Middle East. She writes beautifully, and like a true lady. I don't really have the proper words to describe her blog because it really is unique and special. But I can tell you that you know that this lady is a lover of Jesus.

Oh My Foodness - This blog is written by my Nashvillian friend, Hope! Her blog is about eating frugally and yummily, her recipes are really fantastic! She a true resourceful woman and has the Proverbs 31 stamp of approval!

Beauty from Pane - Last but very not least, this blog is by my wonderful,amazing,creative sister!!! I am constantly amazed by the things that she can create and make! She turns something simple and makes it into something jaw droppingly awesome!! She has always been able to just figure things out and as she's gotten older, she's been able to just make stuff up on her own! She hopes to open up an Esty and earn some money for college! She makes beautiful things, and I am not just saying that because she's my sister,but she is truly wonderful!


I hope you've gathered some new reading material and can meet some of my talented friends!

Much love,

Autumn Wallace

Ps- if you have a blog, let me know, I'd love to read and follow it!!

A Dream

I am not sure when I started to love blogging, but I do remember that magic happened when I discovered there was a page  on the web where I could freely write and people could read about my musings.. I have always,always,ALWAYS wanted to write a book. I would probably write it on my life as a missionary kid because oddly enough, there are very few books out there on MKs. And as a former MK, I can honestly say that we think that no one has any idea what we go through, and it would have been good to read about people that grew up just like me. I wouldn't really know how to start it, I don't even know how I would title it, or if I would have enough material to write a full book, and would people even read it? Probably Not, but then that's the thing about writing, it takes courage and trust to write properly. Because as soon as your put your heart into words that end up on a piece of paper or on a web page, you are fully subject to what anyone thinks about you. Several weeks ago, I wrote about saving your first kiss until your wedding day, and saving every ounce of your being for your spouse. Let me just say that was incredibly personal, I would tell anyone on the street who asked about my first kiss. But when it goes into the written word, it's seems almost more permanent. And I've been subjected to ridicule and judgement for saving intimacy for marriage,but I've had to learn not to care. It's the same with writing, once you've written something that is pure and true, you must back your words up with strong actions, that is something else that is a learned talent.
But back to my book, when you go home on furlough to the states as a young kid or a teenager, you're popular...to all the adults. You're asked the same questions hundreds( yes,I said hundreds) of times; "Do you like living there??""What's your favorite food?""Tell me something in (insert second language here),please!!!""Do you live in a hut? (yes,I've gotten that one)""Is everyone poor there" and you're there for three months,and still you're asked the same questions.Your head spins,you learn to smile through it and answer and re answer the questions. By the time you get home on Sunday you're spent and you're ready to nap. And most of the time, these questions are asked with pure heart, everyone is just curious about your life across the ocean, it's mysterious. Though you kind of like having attention, there is a part of you that desperately wishes to blend into the background a little bit. You wonder what it would be like to live "a normal,American life", you wonder what it would be like just to have that set group of friends, you dream about going to youth camps or getting an annual pass to Disneyland.
But as soon as you take a step back and see their cravings to travel and see the world,to experience something new, you realize that you so privileged and bless,and kick yourself for ever desiring that normal,American life that looked so tantalizing.
This is just a very small part of being a missionary kid , and as I write this my fingers want to type more. I wish I would explain to you all in one blog post about my entire life,the good,the bad,and the sometimes pretty dang ugly. But hopefully,one day, I will have enough writer's courage to sit down and  write it all down. I hope that these words(if they are supposed to be written) would be blessed and ready for the taking in.
So please pray for me as I consider writing a book...even if it's ten years from now, those words and my heart still need to be ready to share them all with you.

-Autumn

{Roasted Vegetable Pizza Sauce}

Today, I had an amazing burst of energy!! I was able to wake up on my own, which is something my preggo body LOVES right now, and I have felt all day! I was able to get a time amount of school done and do a little cleaning, it felt good to feel like a useful housewife again! So, because of my recent burst of energy, I was going to do some cooking therapy.  In the recent months, I have come to love cooking more than baking (shock-horror!) I think it is because there is more freedom, you can be a little rebellious and usually nothing goes wrong and no one gets hurt, but I think that's the inner rebellious child that never came out( thank goodness). Anyways, I noticed that some of our veggies were on the verge of being useless, and I knew that pizza would be a great use for everything. The only thing we had to buy was cheese, and Travis got a nice block, so it'll last a while! Someone had left us a jar of spaghetti sauce, and though I am not a huge fan of ready-made food, I felt that I could dress it up and put it to good use.
I started with my pizza dough, which doesn't take very long and it's an excellent recipe,but it didn't cooperate with me on it's duty to rise. I blame it on the humid but not-so-hot day that we had, but it turned out very nicely and it was pliable and wonderful,just as pizza dough should be! I started to roast some peppers,mushrooms,garlic and tomatoes. Everything was smelling lovely and the smell of the roasted peppers was overtaking my house...oh gosh was I getting so excited.
After roasting my peppers, I began to slice them and I realized they were mushier than I had expected. I then looked at these roasted peppers,and I looked back at my sizzling tomatoes,and my beautiful crispy garlic and my glorious mushroom..and I had a stoke of genius.

Roasted Pepper Sauce.

Bam.

I threw everything in the blender and added just a little bit of the jarred stuff because the veggies didn't want to blend. I threw in some salt and pepper and pulsed it a few times. It smelt lovely and tasted heavenly...this was going to be goooood!

And oh yes..it was good. It was very good.

Anyways, I thought I would share my delicious pizza sauce recipe with you and hopefully encourage you to find your inner culinary artist and make something yummy and homemade!

Much Love,

Autumn

Here's the recipe


3 to 4 bell peppers- They can be any color or variety
5 mushrooms, sliced
3 big cloves of garlic, cut into large chunks
1 small red onion ,sliced
1 large tomato,sliced medium thick!
Plain ol' tomato sauce, or the jarred stuff...whatever you have on hand is fine and you'll use a half a cup or so. Eyeball it
Salt and pepper

-Heat a large skillet or griddle for about three minutes
-Place peppers on skillet and allow to burn and soften, turn so all sides are well burnt
-Remove and set aside
- Add some olive oil and wait about 30 seconds and add your garlic and mushrooms. You want your garlic to be browned, but not black and your mushrooms should not shrivel up to nothing. Remove from pan and set aside
-Place your slice tomatoes in your pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let them get a little black on both sides. Turn off stove and remove from heat
- Roughly chop your peppers and place them along with everything else in your blender, including some salt & pepper and tomato sauce.
-Pulse it up a few times and check the texture, it can be however you like it, I like mine a  o the smoother side with a feel chunks.
- Lay it on thick with on your dough, and add any toppings or cheese that suits your fancy, we used pepperoni, but chicken would be an awesome choice because it wouldn't interfere with the aroma of sauce.
-Cook for about 15-20 minutes in a very hot oven, using a spatuala you can see how brown the bottom is,it should be patchy brown.
-Share with your family and friends and you will find that they will love you forever!

Let me know how it turns out!

On Being An Expectant Mother

As many of you know, Travis and I are expecting mini Wallace in March! We cannot begin to tell you how excited we are to have this blessing in our lives! I want to you open and honest with you my readers because I expect the same from others, and I don't share anything on my blog that I wouldn't tell you in person ( obviously). It was the day of our friend's Illes & Evi wedding, Travis had made her dress so of course my genius husband of a designer had to be there! Anyways, through the course of the day, we were talking how I hadn't felt good lately. But I blamed it on the heat and blah blah blah. Then Travis looked at me " Maybe you're pregnant"... I said " Heck to no, impossible!!"...we dropped it for a bit,and I really tried hard to ignore the fact...but I couldn't, I felt worse and worse every day. So I took a pregnancy test,and to my relief it was negative,but in the back of my mind I knew it could have been to early to take one.  For the next few weeks, I was upset, I was annoyed and just frustrated! I didn't want a baby yet! I wasn't ready! I wasn't ready to feel tired,sick, or disgusting 24/7. I wasn't ready to lose my newlywed body to the  inevitable pregnancy weight gain.  And I was most certianly not ready to be a mom, because I knew that would change a lot of things.  It would not longer just be Travis and I, there would be a +1 involved. I was a newlywed, and I just wanted to be a newlywed! I cried about it ,(another obvious sign of pregnancy, hysterical emotions) and I was upset with God. I told Him "this was NOT in our plan,Lord! What are you thinking!?!" I think I thought that everyday for nearly two weeks. As you can see I really struggled with this, my sweet husband, not so much, he was excited about being the prospect of being dad, and he was rightfully sad that I was not. But he was patient with me day after day, reminding me that God had it own agenda for us.  I knew that I had to let it all go because what's done is done,but I really didn't want to . That very day we had a staff meeting, and I had been throwing a fit about this whole deal just moments earlier, but I put on a face and calmed myself  and acted like an adult. And then suddenly, quite randomly someone said to another staff member " You know, sometime God's plan for us is not what we want but He knows it's what we need". This struck my heart, and I began to cry, Travis was looking at me and I just nodded at him. At that moment, I had peace with the Lord, and I decided that whatever came, I would trust that He knew.

The end of the month came and went, and I knew it was time for the ultimate test! Travis went out to get some flour, I well.. peed on the stick, stuck on the cap and flipped it upside down. I started to make brownies, I giggled to myself and thought "You might be a mother, and here you are casually making brownies!".  I looked at my iPod, it had been nearly ten minutes since I took the test... I took it deep breath,closed my eyes and turned it over...and there it was...a very prominent dark line! In that moment, I felt so much joy and happiness I couldn't even take it all in. I relished those few moments where the news of this miracle that was going inside of me was all my own. Any previous thoughts of being upset or angry that I was potentially a mom had completely gone away. I was going to be a mom! A few tears came to my eyes...

Travis came home...asked me how I was ... I said " Oh, you know, just a little pregnant!" That was a happy moment for us, and I think the peace and joy that was in my eyes was a relief for him. We were going to be parents... which is really the most exhilarating yet terrifying thought in the entire world.

As of today, I am exactly ten weeks pregnant, my blueberry is now the size of a kumquat. There are faint hairs growing on his tender and translucent skin, his little limbs can bend! Wow! That's just purely amazing!

Now, as wonderful pregnancy can be and the thought of bringing life into this world is, there are days where it basically,well,sucks. Since becoming pregnant, I have become a picky eater. Eating is usually a chore, and having almost zero energy really gets on my vibrant 20 year old body! But God gives me grace for that, and He gives my husband an extra special dose of patience to deal with it all!

Thank you again for reading... you have NO idea what it means to me when I see how many times people read my blog... it encourages and inspires me to share more!

Much Love,

Autumn Wallace

Vienna {Wien}

It was Friday morning at 5:25, Travis had woken me up, I stared at the clock and begged to sleep for 15 more minutes. Our train to Vienna, Austria was leaving at 7:10 so we had to get an early start.  I closed my eyes, but I am not sure if he woke me up in five minutes or fifteen, I rolled out of bed and went to shower.  As I started to wake up, I remember what I was doing today! I was going to Vienna! I have wanted to go there for a really long time, something about Vienna just called to me. I am not sure what it was, but I really wanted to go. Growing up, I went to Millstaat, a castle an hour or so drive outside of Salzburg. The castle used to be a bible college but now it is used at a conference center year round, and my family would go to the conference that they had in July. It was magical. I remembered that Austria was very clean,no pristine! They had certian products in Austria that we couldn't find in Romania, so it was a very special treat to just go and enjoy the perfection of Austria. 

Anyways back to Friday morning, we left the house exactly on time and walked to Keleti, the major train station in Budapest. It was really nice to see my city so quiet and cool, I think it's always good to see your city in different parts of the day, it gives you prespective I think. Once arriving, we got on our super cool train, though the seats weren't as comfortable as they should have been, the train was clean,air conditioned, and wasn't rickity-rackety or too loud. It was nice.

We arrived in Vienna at ten am, we then were on a mission to find Cinnabon, it was about  12 minute walk away. By this time, I felt really crumby! It was getting really warm outside,and the 12 minute walk was all uphill. Not fun. The mall was really old, and almost creepy, but hey if Cinnabon was inside, it can't be that bad! I then had to use the restroom...and if you know me at all, I can't enjoy ANYTHING if I have to pee, bathroom stops always come first! So finding the bathroom was an adventure, there weren't any clear signs, and then we did find it but to get there you had to go through these HUGE scary doors that led to a long,semi-dark hallway that twisted and turned. Finally we arrived to the bathroom, and we booked it on out of the scary dark hallway and back to the bright and happy Cinnabon. And then both Travis and I could enjoy a nice,warm,non-caloric of course, cinnamon rolll. I got a small one, and Travis got the biggest one he could find with extra frosting, of course he would. We then both realized that we NEVER go to Cinnabon in America, ever, we walk right by it all of the time. Huh, I guess it's the , you want what you can't have kind of thing. It took forever to get out of the mall, it was like a creepy maze, and I just wanted to get out! My awesome husband bravely led me out of the creepy mall and back into sunlight. 

Travis bought us weekend passes for the public transportation system, which he basically knows by heart, we easily made our way to our hotel. It was a little bit of a walk to our hotel from our metro stop, so I was able to see a few things. There is the illustruously beautiful state opeara house, the retro-pink Aida cafe, and I could see down the walking street. The archetexture of Vienna reminded me a lot Budapest, but I think that Vienna was much cleaner. The buildings were in better shape, they decoration on the outside were manicured, and they seemed freshly painted. We checked into our hotel, which was amazing by the way, and I laid on our bed and just died. It was air conditioned, and it smelt good, no neighbors to smoke up my bedroom, no, it was wonderful. We freshend up and explorded the walking street. I was hot and I felt gross, but Travis led me to the amazing place in the world, it changed my life--- Zanoni & Zanoni... they have at least fifty flavors of gelato, and they do really good scoops there. Like HUGE scoops. It was amazing. We may or may not have gone there every single day of our time in Vienna. If you ever get to go to Vienna, you MUST go there, you'll fall in love!

On Saturday, we slept in ( hearing the angelic chourus sing? I did) and then visited the amazing Naschmarkt. It is one of the largest outdoor markets in Vienna, and easily the best one I've ever been too. It was my heaven. They had every kind of produce,spice,meat,cheese you could possibly want.  I bought six euros worth of Irish cheedar...yummy:)And it smelt fresh, everywhere smelt good and it was just beautiful to look at, they had so many kinds of funky looking exotic fruits that were just beautiful. After the produce section, there were about twenty antique stands. I gushed over the cooper bundt pans,the vintage scales, and the beautiful services,and flatware. I just wanted it all.

Then Travis took me to a wonderful Meditterien...Jewish maybe...restaurant. They had quick kebaps and felafel, their pitas were SO soft and boy did they stuff my pita with yummy lamb,cabbage,tomatos,hummus,and some of their other signature sauces. This was place super simple and super delicious, I found it odd that it's tucked away in a alley of Swedenplatz. I would have gone there again,but we didn't and I don't know why we didnt. I guess we have to go again!!

Sunday, we got up a little early and went to Calvary Chapel Vienna. We saw some friends we knew from bible college and really just enjoyed the service. Everyone there was so welcoming and hospitalble, I felt loved. Halfway through the message I felt pretty,um, well green. So we didn't get to stay and hang out as much as I would have liked, but it was so wonderful to go to church and meet some fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

That evening, I was feeling hungry so I visited our fridge to snack on the cheese I had bought. To my shock and horror, it wasn't there! I felt sad that somone had taken our cheese... it sounds ridiculous,but in Hungary you can't really get good cheedar cheese, so this was a crisis. Now, before I go further, I have to say this, my in laws are in the customer service business, they know what it's like to treat someone well, and so they rightfully expect it when they go and pay good money. Travis calls the front desk and tells them that we think the housekeeper took our cheese from the fridge. In about five minutes the Housekeeping manager comes up and with cheese in hand and tells us that the housekeeper found it by the trash can( why in the world would I put my beautiful cheese in the trash can!!!???) In about 20 minutes, THE manger comes and profusly apologizes and says that he doesn't believe it was in the trash can either, he offers us fruit, in about 30 minutes a beautiful plate of chocolate dipped pineapple with truffles is at our door. Apology accepted :)

Monday morning was going to be our touring morning! We packed up our bags and headed out to see some sights of Vienna. We took the subway to Schloss Schronburn. This is where Marie Anoittneete lived until sher moved to France. SO COOl! This palace was amazing, it was originally a small hunting lodge but Empress Maria Theresa( Marie A's mother) made it into the Habsburg dynsty summer home. I really love visiting castles and palaces, it's a magical, and I love seeing how they lived day to day.

We left Schronbrun and had a tour of the Opera house, this place is really cool! Considering that 80 percent of this building was destroyed in WWII, it looks beautiful. Thankfully a lot of the original rooms weren't destroyed,  so we were able to enjoy the splendor of the building. The tour guide informed us that the acoustic are incredible, this is because there is no vocal amplication for opera singers, the singers must be able to project their voices so all may hear!

We enjoy lunch at a Thai Restaurant, Travis had Mango Curry chicken, I had ramen soup with crispy duck... oh my wowness amazing.

We left Vienna around 6:55 that evening. I was sad to go.

Overall, Vienna is an beatiful and amazing city, full of rich history and beautiful sights! I will be honest, it did not capture my heart like Venice,but it is special in it's own way. I love being around people who are proud of their nationality, and you get that feel in Austria. They take pride in where they live, and who they are as a nation.

Visit Vienna..or Wien depending on where you are from!!

Much love

Autumn Wallace


ps- visit my instagram to see the pictures from the weekend klarewallace or my facebook !

So Worth The Wait

It was the morning of June 9th,2012. I was going to kiss someone today, and not just anyone, but my handsome groom that awaited me at the alter! This was a day that I had waited for, and not just since Travis and I started our relationship, but a day in January 7 years earlier. I had taken a mini seminary on  purity when I was in jr.high. At the end of the seminar, a ceremony was held we all made a promise not only to our future husband, but most importantly to God. I promise that I would remain pure until marriage, that I would save my whole self for my husband. Though I did not say the words out loud, I made another promise within my heart. I promise that the first man I would kiss would be my husband, on our wedding day. Looking back, I did not know all what that promise would entail, I thought it was going to be easy. But let me tell you, it most certainly was not easy. During the of my jr. high and high school years, people gave me well, a lot of crap, for having "virgin lips". Not a lot of people believed I could do it, and very few encouraged me to do it. People loved giving me worst cast scenarios of what my first kiss was going to be like if waited. " What if he's a bad kisser??""What if he's breath stinks!!!??""And what if you mess up in front of EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!". I would simply smile and say that I had made this promise to God and God would honor that promise and work out all of the details. Now, in my junior and senior years of high school, that promise got harder and harder to keep. It would have been so much easier to give in, but every time I would contemplate giving in, a picture of a perfect wedding kiss would appear in my mind, with I as the bride and there was a faceless groom before me. And then I waited, and I waited...and I waited....

     Now, fast forward to the summer of my 19th year, it was June 17th, 2011. I met Travis Scott Wallace. I had no interest in him whatsoever, he was a nice guy, a missionary to Croatia, and a former student/intern at the school. So I had heard a lot about him, but I still had no interest. I was in no place to seek out a husband at the moment, my eyes were on Jesus and I was running the race, and I was content. Now, about a month earlier, the Lord had given me a vision of what I was to be doing. He showed me running as fast as I could towards him, not looking side to side or behind me, but what was ahead. Then another runner ,a man,came up( side note...Travis likes to run...I detest it with everything in me) besides me, we both began running together, always at the same pace towards the Lord. I knew that the Lord was telling me to run towards Him, and he would bring my husband to me in His timing. I was content with this...but then He told me that my husband was coming soon, and than it would happen very fast, but I was not to look for him, but to be pursued. Okay I said, I can totally do that!

Now back to June of 2011, so this guy Travis seemed very nice, he seemed friendly, he seemed to like me as a friend. Truthfully, we hit it off, we agreed how housekeeping/laundry should be run that summer, so we thought of ourselves as a team. Which I thought was cool,but Travis thought it was really,really cool. Within the first week of meeting this guy, I notice that he was pursuing me. I felt awkward, oh no, could this be the man for me! It's too soon Lord. I heard nothing, so I went on, just as I was before. Then, two weeks after meeting Travis, he spilled the beans. He really liked me, he wanted to someday marry me, he saw special things in me, he saw my heart and what I wanted to do. But I asked him for some time to pray and to seek the Lord, but I knew deep in my heart that this had God's name written all over it. I knew that Travis was a special man because he too at the age of 13 made a promise to wait until marriage to kiss, my heart leapt. Travis was special, not once in our relationship did we talk about not waiting to kiss, not once did he ask me to dump a promise that I had made. This was the first person in a long time that had finally encouraged me to keep this promise.

And we did, we did not kiss when had been apart for a long time, or when we got engaged, we did not have a "practice run" the day before we got married. Nope, we waited until June 9th,2012 at around 11:30 in the morning. Our ceremony leading up to the kiss was so beautiful, it was a real testimony to what God had done in our lives as a couple and a promise of what He was going to do. Then, finally the moment had come, everyone there knew of the promises and they were just SO stoked to be the ones to see it.

That kiss was perfect,seem less, and pure. Just as I had imagine it would be, and more.

 And I think we both fell harder into Love. My heart danced,raced,leapt,spun around! God had proven Himself faithful and good not only to us, but to those who had witnessed every step of our story.

Why to do I write my story to you? If you are single, I encourage you to wait to give your first kiss to your bride or groom, or ask God to renew you,mind and body. I know that God can cover anything you've done, He can and will make you whole. If you are married, I encourage you to remove anything that stands in the way of you and your spouse, past mistakes or relationship,money, or whatever it may be! Throw it away, and draw closer to the one you love most on this earth, renew that relationship with one another.

Remember, it can be done, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Truthfully,

Autumn Klare Wallace

Ps- I thought you guys would enjoy our kiss sequence from our wedding, photo credit to the amazing Erica Shubin!

Perfect

Oops.... some red lipstick got on his face... :)

Just one more,love.

Making Broth

For those of you who know me, I love to cook, some might even go so far as to say that I am pretty good at it. But I have to accredited all to my mom, who taught me just about everything that I know! I grew up in a house where mostly everything was made from scratch. In Romania, store bought pie crust, pre-packaged egg noodles,peanut butter just really wasn't available. But looking back now, I don't remember missing those things very much, there were days where I would have done anything for  a PB&J, but my mom was  ( and still is today) at being ingenious and creative in the kitchen Every week "our" interns come over once a week and we make a meal together and eat it! I have been dreaming of chicken pot pie, and I thought that would be a good choice considering it consists of making your own pie crust, this is an invaluable skill! This recipe calls for chicken broth, which of course can be store bought easily in America. Though here in Hungary, chicken bouillon cubes are easily available, but there is nothing quite like homemade broth. So I set out to do what I'd never done before, it was probably the easiest thing in the world cooking-wise. But I felt absolutely accomplished, and our home was filled with the comfort aroma of chicken broth.  Colder days  of my childhood came back to me, and I hoped that there would be some left over broth and chicken to make chicken noodle soup soon!  The chicken pot pie turn out fantastic, and I'd like to accredit it to the chicken broth :)

And I did have some broth and chicken left over, so I will be making chicken noodle soup, very soon. I'll let you know how that turns out!

-Oh for those of you who want to know, my pickles  turned out fantastically!!!

-Autumn 

What a Summer

Hello Friends,

Well, there is so much to say! In the period of two months, I've gotten married,went on a wonderfully planned honeymoon, had our apartment robbed in middle of the night, and got pregnant! I've never experienced such a whirlwind in my life!! But I've learned that God's plan for us is great, and He so wants to take us on the ride of our lives!

I have loved my new title in life;Wife! It's been fantastic, and a true blessing to have my home with my wonderful husband. I will be honest, it has been a recent challenge to keep up with the things that I want to get done, being 7 weeks pregnant and housework, don't generally mix! Taking breaks every five minutes, and getting nauseous from just about anything makes a simple task longer. I know that this season of not feeling myself will only last a while,and in a little more than 7 months I will have a sweet bundle of love in my arms! I try to look at every symptom of pregnancy as a positive thing and that my baby is getting cuter every day!

My hope for this blog is that I can share you with about my day, the day of a missionary wife in Eastern  Europe. I hope to be real with you all. I hope that you can know more about me, the real me. I am only 20 years old, I'm a young wife and I will be a  young mother, but frankly I could not be more excited about the life that Lord has for my husband and I, and our growing family!

Thank you for reading, your time is so precious to me!

much love,

Autumn Wallace

Thought you might enjoy a picture of what is currently growing inside of me! 

-The Apology Blog Post-

First of all, I am so sorry that it has been an insane amount of time since I've posted anything. I do have a good excuse, so hopefully you all will accept that and allow me to move on. Two night after arriving home form our honeymoon, during the middle of the night, someone came in our apartment stole our macbook,ipad,Travis's wallet, and my bus pass (?). This was extremely dissapointing, but thankfully Travis's parents were able to cancel our cards and send us some replacement devices! So we just received our laptop on Tuesday, so I am finally able to update you all!

This was just a "sorry" post, you will hear from me more next week!

Much Love,

Autumn Wallacce

June 9th, 2011

June 9th, 2011

" Dear Lord, help me to be a wife that honors you and brings joy to my husband"

Little did I know that I was a mere 8 days away from meeting my future husband and I would be preparing myself to walk down the aisle exactly one year later. I stumbled upon this very short devotional journal several weeks ago, of course my eyes watered and I could feel nothing but utter thankfulness for the Lord and how He knows and directs my steps.

As this last blog post as Miss Autumn Klare Keenan, I felt it so appropriate to share with you this gem of an entry. This desire of mine has stilled not wavered but rather increased as the day I become a wife rapidly approaches. I count myself so blessed to be called to such a high calling of becoming Travis's wife. I look forward to serving alongside my husband and supporting Him. Do I feel 100 percent absolutely ready and confidant that I can do all of these things with perfection? Honestly, no, and I don't think any one woman does, but I do know 100 percent for sure that God has designed Travis so very uniquely for me, and I for him. And I do know know that God has given me and will continue to give me every tool I need to be the wife that He knows that Travis needs.

In five, almost four days until I get married... and I am SO excited, but I know the road that lies ahead will not always be easy, but it will ALWAYS be blessed.

So, I simply ask for your prayers for my new calling that I know God has called me too.

Next time, I will sign as Mrs. Autumn Klare Wallace.... how exciting... God is good all of the time!!!

-Autumn

Calling.

As my nuptials draw closer, many people ask me if I am excited, or if I need help to plan anytime, or if I think weddings are stressful. Although I have been asked these questions a least 100 times, I could never tire of them because I know that I only have one time in my life when I can answer these questions.
But one question caught me a little off guard , " Autumn, what will your ministry be after you are married?" or " What will you be doing after you get married". This is a harder question to answer than "What will you and Travis be doing?"In the recent months I have been learning that my ministry will not be first and foremost the hospitality, or the children's ministry, or the summer interns we will be with. No, my first and foremost ministry will be Travis!
I remember a recent time when I answer " Well, I will be Travis's wife, so whatever Travis needs me to do , I will do it!!" Usually, they nod their heads,smile and move on, as if my answer wasn't quite what they were looking for. This puzzles me a little bit, because I am coming to know that as a ministry wife my ministry must be my husband first and foremost, other ministry will come second a little later. I think that some believe that all ministry wives are supposed to be doing something. That they have to lead a women's bible study, or they have to be the head of something. And for some women, it's totally and completely okay to do those things, but I think they know the secret that particular ministry comes second to their husband.

I am only 20 years old, and I am 37 days away from being married, but I know that I will gain joy and pleasure from serving my husband , weather it will be running to the store and getting a random item, or preparing the house for a weekend team, or being the intermediator communicator ( which has happened a lot in the recent weeks, which is interesting, because I don't have a phone)

Anyways, I know I have a lot to learn, but my heart is ready to learn, so if there is any wisdom, I am more than happy to listen and save it away.

-Autumn

Only 52 Days!

In all honesty, I did not to a day countdown until the wedding until we hit the three month mark. Probably because 100 days or 80 days seemed an eternity away!
So now, I am at 52 days away from being Mrs. Autumn Wallace.

The day that I have been pining away for is just around the corner, the day that I dreamt about in my young girlhood  and played dress up with my friends at sleepovers. As I got older I peeked through magazines and planned my entire wedding. Now, I am 20, still very young, but my thoughts of weddings have turned more to thoughts about marriage and on being wife. Sure, I love looking at my dress and making flower arrangements in my mind. I love grazing my delicate birdcage veil, and I love all the wedding planning. But on a day to day basis, my mind thinks about what being a wife will be like.
I know I will discover a whole lot about myself when I get married, I know that it will not always be easy, but I do know that I will be able to be Travis's best friend for the rest of our lives, I'll be there every step of the way, supporting Travis and just being his wife.

Anyways, if you think about it, I would appreciate your prayers in these next 52 days. Please pray that my  heart would in a constant state of preparation. Please pray as our families and friend come in , that those details would be smooth. And, Travis and I are having an outreach in Budapest starting this Friday and we come back to school on the 1st of May.  Please pray that our team would be fruitful and complete the mission and task ahead of us!

Much love,

Autumn

Baldasztis.

This weekend, Travis and I served at a marriage conference. Every single meal was served restaurant style, and a new table setting for every meal. As stress free and fun it was, we were both excited for our slow Sunday date together. Our good friends, Arpi & Andi are total foodies, and they both share the new and exciting restaurants in Budapest. So on Saturday afternoon, Travis and I did some research for a new restaurant to try, and we found a new and hip restaurant on the Buda side of our city. Baldasztis.

Basically, it was amazing.

The restaurant takes traditional Hungarian foods and desserts and modernizes them. So you don't lose the feel and flavor, but you enjoy Hungarian foods with a new flair. Travis enjoyed a arugula salad with paprika chicken, I enjoyed prawns with ewe-cheese risotto. And we both sipped their homemade lemonade ( there are a lot of places in Budapest that make their own lemonades, and they are delicious) We ended our lunch by sharing the two desserts on the menu, one the Somló, a Hungarian trifle and Esterhazy cake and of course a cappuccino! All was delicious.

Both of us cannot wait until we can enjoy breakfast together at this shabby chic restaurant that overlooks the Danube river and the chain bridge. Spending the entire day with Travis, my husband to be was incredible special and blessed. The whole day I was on cloud nine as I reminded myself how much God spoils me. I loved soaking up the beautiful sunshine and the hearty laughter of Travis.

I know this all coming from a girl who is madly in love and who happens to be engaged to the most wonderful,creative, and humorous man on earth,

But...

a life that is under the will and leading of God is sure to be divine and decadent. Every moment spent on this earth should be treasured and cherished. So, I charged you dear readers to enjoy every single moment and know that you are loved and spoiled by God.

-Autumn


Here are some pictures from the day

Look! We took a picture together!

Somló and his super handsome self :)

The place mat...

Oh man ! He is SO handsome! And I get to marry him! Eat your heart out ladies, he's mine ;)

His food.

The obstructed view

Eszterhazy Cake & Cappuccino

Good-bye Mr.Jeremiah

May 2006,

I was fourteen years old, I had just moved to Kurdistan with my family when I met Mr.Jeremiah. When I first  saw him and for the next few weeks, I was honestly rather intimidated by the tall,blond  American with a very strong jaw and deep voice. But as time went on, I began to respect him and he became my older brother. Mr.Jeremiah came over often as a hungry bachelor who had no luck in the kitchen.

 I remember the dinners when he would come over, the evenings were fun. He would make fun of my favorite t.v show, The Waltons, and I would ask him for help with my history homework. He took interest in my education and always encouraged me to try harder. As I began to think about career paths, he encouraged me to think about what I loved doing most, but above all, he encouraged me to follow the Lord. 

Yesterday, my parents broke the news to me that Mr. Jeremiah had been shot and killed by one of his students.  I was in complete shock, and it did not seem like real life. As a family, we prayed together and I began to pray through my tears. I prayed for Jeremiah's family above all, I prayed for the people who witnessed the horrible moment, and I prayed for my father who ran over to the class room as soon as he heard the shots. 

My heart is still grieving and it aches for everyone experiencing loss. But I do know that God has a plan for this, Jeremiah served God with his life wholeheartedly and so I know, that even in his death, Jeremiah's testimony will be used greatly. For now,I must hold on to the fact that Jeremiah is worshipping Jesus in Heaven and rejoicing at His throne.

Please pray for Jeremiah's family,my family, our team in Kurdistan, and the kids who witnessed this event, and all that are grieving.

-Autumn

"He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, [which] may preserve him!"
Psalm 61:8

Jeremiah,Pauli, some kurdish students at a party during my freshman year.

Exodus 26:11

 "And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one." - Exodus 26:11




Only three and half months until Travis & I tie the knot. Three and half months until I become Mrs.Autumn Klare Wallace. Three and half months until two hearts become one, two bodies of flesh become one. Three and a half months until I am one with my beloved . 


SO EXCITING!


I am currently reading through the Old Testament, and in this chapter, God is telling Moses exactly how He wants the curtains of the tabernacle to put up and together. This verse caught my eye and I began to contemplate the idea. As much as I am looking forward to my wedding day, and even more so the rest of my marriage, I look forward to becoming more one with God for the rest of my life. Right now I have three and half months to become one with God in my single life to lay down a strong foundation for my married life. I find this an incredible blessing! And my goal for these next months more time in the Word, seeking His face, the face of my first Love. 


Whether you are married,engaged or single, God has called you to Him. He is calling you to become One with Him, He is calling your heart become bound with His. And I challenge you, oh faceless reader that you will answer this calling with Yes.

{Deadly Ever After }

About a month ago, Travis and his mom Terry were acting sightly secretively, but I've learned not to ask questions ( did I mention Travis is planning out our honeymoon to a secret location, have I mentioned I have an amazing,romantic fiancee?) Anyways,Travis told asked me if having a murder mystery engagement party would be alright with me.

Would it be alright!!!!?? Would it be alright!?!?!!

OF COURSE it would be alright!

The theme they chose was a Deadly Fairy Tale, which was perfect for us because we have been watching " Once Upon a Time". If you didn't know my Travis used to run the costume department for his high school's  theater department! So he has all of these fun costume that he's made that totally go with our theme!  So went out and bought all of these wigs and props and dressed up our friends and families in fun costumes!! Travis was the Mad Hatter and of course he looked handsome! He wore grey pants,a green button up, a green vest with the fluer-de-lis back ,black tails, mad hatter wig and hat! I wore a maroon and gold dress with a three feet long wig and crown. Needless to say by the end of the night, my head hurt and I was ready to sleep!

The night was spent eating food, spreading gossip around the assumed murderer. We created a cupcake tower that looked exceptional! It was cool to have one last opportunity to see friends before Travis and I leave for

I had a wonderful engagement party and I am sure no party will ever be able to match up! But what can i say? The Wallaces do throw an amazing party!

Thank you!


-Autumn Klare Keenan


- Some pictures from the evening... so fun!

Mad Hatter & Rapunzel... opposites attract!

Travis's sister, Tiffany as Alice

Leslie, a friend from work, the Wicked Witch

Travis's brother in law, Ryan as the Count

Travis's Other brother in law, Andrew as Robin Hood

Coral 

Sherlock... always getting in the way!

Snow White & Alice... so cute!

The Body...

Alice & the Mad Hatter! Precious!! 

Travis's Grandma as Juliet... she likes red velvet cupcakes!