Monday, December 29, 2008
Planting Trees in Paradise
Well, I made it!! I'm in a "far-off land" :) Check out the new link below to see a running blog of my adventures in Bangladesh.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry CHRISTmas!
I would like to start out saying: never (if you can prevent it anyway) plan to take a large trip to a far-off land two days after Christmas...these past weeks have been a little overwhelming to me. All the people to see, things to bake, suitcases to pack, lists to make, not to mention just the mental preparation of venturing to new worlds...*whew!*
Thankfully, I am in a place in my life where December 24 & 25 themselves are not too busy. A quiet evening with the family last night and a late afternoon get-together today at my grandparents is about the extent of Christmas celebrations. This is giving me an opportunity to do some quiet time reflections on this special honoring of my Savior's birth into this world. My favorite moment about this holiday is Christmas Eve night, with the snow silently falling, and remembering the moment of His birth. How honored I am that He should do this to save me from my sins!
Thankfully, I am in a place in my life where December 24 & 25 themselves are not too busy. A quiet evening with the family last night and a late afternoon get-together today at my grandparents is about the extent of Christmas celebrations. This is giving me an opportunity to do some quiet time reflections on this special honoring of my Savior's birth into this world. My favorite moment about this holiday is Christmas Eve night, with the snow silently falling, and remembering the moment of His birth. How honored I am that He should do this to save me from my sins!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
15 months
15 months of marriage! I can honestly say that it has truly flown by. One of our wedding presents was a journal to document the miracle of marriage. I sat down the other night to document and realized that I haven’t documented much. :) Not to say because there has been no miracle—because there has—but because there is so much that happens, it’s hard to keep up with all the documentation!
My best friend told me that she realized after a year or two of being married that she actually loved her husband more than when she had first married him. Being that I’m not really a “hopeless romantic” I remember thinking, “okay, whatever.” But, even in just these first 15 months of being with my best friend, I now am realizing what she meant. This truly is the miracle of marriage: that I love my husband more today than I did the day I married him.
How does this phenomenon occur? I cannot explain it. Maybe it comes from the teamwork spirit we have in working through issues. Maybe it comes from all the shared experiences we have. Maybe just from being in the presence of one another most all the time! Whatever it is? It truly is a gift from God to experience a love that represents His love for us—one that grows each and every day.
My best friend told me that she realized after a year or two of being married that she actually loved her husband more than when she had first married him. Being that I’m not really a “hopeless romantic” I remember thinking, “okay, whatever.” But, even in just these first 15 months of being with my best friend, I now am realizing what she meant. This truly is the miracle of marriage: that I love my husband more today than I did the day I married him.
How does this phenomenon occur? I cannot explain it. Maybe it comes from the teamwork spirit we have in working through issues. Maybe it comes from all the shared experiences we have. Maybe just from being in the presence of one another most all the time! Whatever it is? It truly is a gift from God to experience a love that represents His love for us—one that grows each and every day.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
breathless
Do you ever get the feeling that life is moving along so quickly that you don’t even have the time to catch your breath? I’ve been pondering that fact lately…how it seems as though life is moving at such a pace that I don’t even have time to realize it! I sat with my graduate school advisor yesterday to map out the next year and a half of my life. I have mixed feelings of “why so much longer?” and “that fast!?” (I plan to be done in April 2010).
Family members are growing up and getting married, children are being born (& growing up), grandparents are aging, friends’ lives are transitioning…all of these major life events are occurring and I don’t feel as though I’m showing enough interest in all of these occurrences. Having the time to ponder my own life and family seems to be exhausting enough, so reaching out to all others appears to be a momentous task at this moment in my life.
So, I want all my friends and loved ones to know how much I truly think of and pray for you. You are all near & dear to me in so many ways—and are never far from my thoughts.
Having said that, my life will continue on with work, graduate school, church, veterinarian appointments…and now will throw in my brother coming back home and most likely moving in our upstairs bedroom again, the holidays, and a trip to Bangladesh.
God is good! :)
Family members are growing up and getting married, children are being born (& growing up), grandparents are aging, friends’ lives are transitioning…all of these major life events are occurring and I don’t feel as though I’m showing enough interest in all of these occurrences. Having the time to ponder my own life and family seems to be exhausting enough, so reaching out to all others appears to be a momentous task at this moment in my life.
So, I want all my friends and loved ones to know how much I truly think of and pray for you. You are all near & dear to me in so many ways—and are never far from my thoughts.
Having said that, my life will continue on with work, graduate school, church, veterinarian appointments…and now will throw in my brother coming back home and most likely moving in our upstairs bedroom again, the holidays, and a trip to Bangladesh.
God is good! :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
puppy saga
where to begin? life has continue to move along at a blinding pace this fall--my lists of "things to do" never appears to get shorter...and now I have a list going for Jason too... I guess that would be the left braininess in me. ;)
But, what I truly sat down to update everyone on was the health status of our dog (or puppy as we so affectionately call our 140 pound "child"). I've shared on and off in the past year his various ailments--UTIs, ear infections, skin infections. Well, a few weeks ago we were able to take him the the MSU vet hospital and get a full diagnostic workup as to what may be going on within him. During this process, a spunky, young veterinarian student discovered a heart murmur. What does that have to do with his frequent infections, you ask? Absolutely nothing. But, what it did mean is that they couldn't do some of the tests that they had originally wanted due to now being unable to sedate him. All we were left with was a simple blood test option.
Longer story made short...Harley is officially allergic to every grass found in Michigan, some tree pollen and weeds, and beginning to show signs of allergy to dust mites. Nice. A dog who is allergic to grass... :) So, short of cementing in our entire yard and never letting him play at the park again, we will begin allergy shots in our 8 year old (ie almost 70 year old) dog.
A note to those of you who are reading this and scoffing: I probably would scoff too if it not that I've truly become a dog person and I really think you can't empathize with our situation unless you too are a dog person. :) So, just love us for who we are and know that we are taking care of one of God's special creatures!
But, what I truly sat down to update everyone on was the health status of our dog (or puppy as we so affectionately call our 140 pound "child"). I've shared on and off in the past year his various ailments--UTIs, ear infections, skin infections. Well, a few weeks ago we were able to take him the the MSU vet hospital and get a full diagnostic workup as to what may be going on within him. During this process, a spunky, young veterinarian student discovered a heart murmur. What does that have to do with his frequent infections, you ask? Absolutely nothing. But, what it did mean is that they couldn't do some of the tests that they had originally wanted due to now being unable to sedate him. All we were left with was a simple blood test option.
Longer story made short...Harley is officially allergic to every grass found in Michigan, some tree pollen and weeds, and beginning to show signs of allergy to dust mites. Nice. A dog who is allergic to grass... :) So, short of cementing in our entire yard and never letting him play at the park again, we will begin allergy shots in our 8 year old (ie almost 70 year old) dog.
A note to those of you who are reading this and scoffing: I probably would scoff too if it not that I've truly become a dog person and I really think you can't empathize with our situation unless you too are a dog person. :) So, just love us for who we are and know that we are taking care of one of God's special creatures!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
wedding!
last update was a baby...this update is a wedding! Yesterday, my cousin, my sister, was married. And what a fun day it was--not to mention how beautiful the bride was. :) Here are a few pictures from the special day...
the rest of my life has consisted of nothing outside of work, school, and church. There are moments I feel completely overwhelmed by it all, but then my wonderful husband goes and gets the groceries, walks the dog, and cleans the entire house...and then I know I couldn't make it all happen without this special man by my side!
the rest of my life has consisted of nothing outside of work, school, and church. There are moments I feel completely overwhelmed by it all, but then my wonderful husband goes and gets the groceries, walks the dog, and cleans the entire house...and then I know I couldn't make it all happen without this special man by my side!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
baby girl
oh how sweet to hold a newborn baby...especially a baby girl! My best friend gave birth on September 30 to a tiny little 6 pound 14 ounce peanut named Anna Olivia. I seriously don't think I've ever seen or held such a perfect little baby--she is absolutely beautiful! I cannot wait to see what awesome things are in store for this precious babe.
do I sound like a proud aunt or what? :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
