weddings & such

Big news on the family front: another cousin engaged to be married! My cousin Beth shared the exciting news with the fam yesterday. She is thinking a summer-time wedding—and I already offered to give her my wedding planning notebook…
Actually, I never did have a notebook—it was more of a two-pocket folder that haphazardly collected anything from receipts to my random thoughts written on paper. I wouldn’t turn it over to anyone actually—it might scare them. ;)

Planning a wedding is quite the feat. Looking back on it now—I really am amazed that I did it literally in less than three months. But, on the other hand, I’ve had such ample opportunities in my life to be involved or part of weddings in one way or another, that I knew exactly what I wanted when my time came. I used to joke not only that had I done every role in a wedding besides being a bride, but that I had had my whole wedding thought out—all I needed was a groom!!! ;)

Silliness—but fun. Wedding planning can be stressful—the mountain of details alone could make someone seek professional counseling—but the end goal should be a wedding day that is fun. Fun not only for the family & friends, but for the groom and especially the bride. My mom asked me early on in the planning process, what was my dream wedding? My answer: an outdoor picnic with a minister thrown in. And that is what we had! There were a few bumps in the road of planning—my least favorite part was actually picking out the clothing for the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, and yes, I’ll admit it—even myself. I actually had more fun helping Jason pick out his suit than I did picking out my own dress! I think the whole thing of trying dresses on and not having them be the correct size, color, length, etc, made it really hard for me to fall in love with my dress right away. But my most favorite part of the wedding process was the invitations. My super creative cousin Andy designed them—so, they were original and unique. Then we continued the design onto our CDs and even our frisbees. It was so cool!

Ultimately though, the goal should NOT be the “perfect” wedding---but rather, a great marriage. Whenever I (or my mother!) started getting stressed out about the details of the wedding, I would say: “guess what? Does [this detail] really matter? Jason & I will still be married at the end of that day!” And true enough, we ARE married at the end of every day from that day forward, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—and that is what really counts.

all is well

Harley is okay! I took him in for his x-ray this morning and everything inside looks ship-shape, with the exception of the UTI, of course. He's back on an antibiotic for awhile, but that's about it. So, aside from the large vet bill, everything is good on Prospect. :)

On a different note, my brother made a brief appearance-less than 48 hours-in the US this week. He was home Tuesday night from Brazil and then off to Korea on Thursday morning. I'm not sure I really had enough time to be emotional about it. It felt so good to have him around the house Wednesday night, but a little awkward too, as Jason & I have gotten used to him not being around. And then I took him to the airport Thursday morning--where I gave him a hug, reminded him that he's loved--and then drove off, leaving him to his international travels. In the car, I had a moment of reflection on the fact that he has been gone before, but somehow this time was a little different. He & I have lived with each other for two years! For brother & sister, I think that's an amazing amount of time--especially for siblings who have differing views on many topics of life.

If I could give him a toast--a cheer, perhaps, to wish him well in this coming year: James--I'm privileged to have been able to be a part of the place you call home in all your many adventures in life. May your well-traveled road lead you back here again someday! love from your sis. :)

sick puppy

poor Harley is currently battling another UTI. This has begun to worry the vet a little as apparently UTI's in male dogs (particularly one as big as Harley) are rarely random occurances. Harley's activity level hasn't changed much--with the exception of being a little more cuddly. :) Friday he will have a procedure in which they inject dye up into his bladder and take an x-ray picture to see what may be causing these frequent infections. Hopefully it will be something easily seen and taken care of!
I share this info for those in my life who understand the joys and sorrows of pet ownership--in particular, dogs. :) I will admit I've shed a tear or two over the situation as the vet even mentioned the word "cancer" as a possibility. I know a dog is not a child--but for now, he is our "baby!" The thought of something being wrong with him makes us both a little nervous and on edge this week...

married life

Everyone’s favorite question as of late is “how’s married life?” Our answer to everyone is “great!” We really are enjoying married life—especially now that things seem to have finally settled into a routine. We’ve had a few bumps—but certainly nothing we haven’t been able to handle. Harley suffered from a UTI shortly after our wedding—so that was a large vet bill right off at the beginning. Then, we worked hard at getting the Holland house ready to sell. And, all the while, we’ve been taking college courses. My brother lived with us for a few weeks as well—but a couple of weeks ago, left for Brazil and then off to Korea for a year.
Then, last week, Jason’s 96-year-old grandpa passed away rather suddenly. A sad time for the whole family, even though it was good to see everyone again, as his family doesn’t gather together very often.
I have to say, life is good. We are healthy, blessed, and in love. :) We are planning an upcoming honeymoon to the Smoky Mountains over our winter break and are looking forward to it.
Our biggest adjustment? (or at least mine!) Getting used to sleeping in a bed with another body. Perhaps because I was used to sleeping in a double size bed by myself, and he used to sleeping in a queen size by himself—for whatever reasons, we are now learning to share space and blankets. A king size bed is looking better and better… :)

passion for statistics

In my slow, but deliberate quest to get my master's degree, I am taking a required statistics course this semester. Not my favorite topic at all. In fact, most of the time I feel like I'm taking lessons in Greek. However, the professor is actually a pretty great guy--but I have to laugh because he fits the personality of one who is proud to have his doctorate in statistics. I truely have never met someone so passionate about statistics! It really cracks me up! :) He gets so excited about the subject that he'll start talking his "Greek" and leave all of us in the dust. One night, I must have appeared confused (as most of us do) and he called on me...I told him my brain was pretty full and he was going to have to rephrase the question...everyone in class chuckled in agreement with that one!
All that being said, I really have to admire someone with such passion for the mundane details of all that statistics involves. It goes well with my strong belief in the wonder of God's diversity of giving everyone different passions in life. If people like a certain professor at GVSU didn't exist, who would ever be excited about statisitcs? :)
It does feel good to get one more class checked off my list of classes toward my masters degree. I finished both my pathophysiology classes and I took the GRE this summer...so, it may be a crawl, but I'll make it to the finish line someday!

summer or fall?

I'm finding it hard to enjoy the fall season here in Michigan...I'll blame it on the 80 degree days and non-sweatshirt wearing weather that seems to be persisting in this beautiful state...but it could also be likely due to the fact that my (our!) life is so busy, that scheduling in fun activities is almost as much work as the grown-up adult activities that need to get done. :)
One of my most favorite seasons in Michigan is the fall: the cool nights where you have to put a sweatshirt on to ward off a welcoming little chill; the smell of crisp, dry leaves lying in beautiful colors on the ground; not to mention the first bite into a crisp apple...yum! I am afraid that we'll wake up one morning and there will be snow to shovel--having skipped fall altogether...!
a look on the bright side, however: no need to rake leaves quite yet!

summer of '07

well, I was away from my blog for so long that I'm not even sure where to start! So, maybe I'll just do a brief summary of my summer and just go from there...

First, Washington DC was amazing! The weather was perfect and I was able to see so many things that I really feel as though I had the best first-time visit to DC anyone could ever have. My favorite sight? Arlington Cemetery. The hardest sight? Holocaust Museum. The funniest story? I visited the National Art Gallery twice without even realizing it til partway through the second visit...it's that big! ;)

Then I went to Alaska. Another amazing trip, but for different reasons. I figured I would be busy all week helping my cousin and the family prepare for the wedding, but we were able to do a bit of sightseeing. A glacier cruise and walking on trails were part of my week. It was also lots of fun to get to know my aunt Joy a lot better and spend some valuable girl time with her! However, my cousin Annie's wedding was the highlight of the week. She was a beautiful bride and the entire wedding went smoothly.

On August 10 I had another cousin get married. Yes, my grandparents have had a very busy summer! :) She, too, was a beautiful bride and the entire evening was a great time.

Jason & I then did an overnight trip to South Manitou Island. We have had our boat tickets for a year (we had to postpone last year's trip), so I didn't want to let them go to waste. The weather was perfect and I learned two things about my future husband: he gets seasick (like me!) and he doesn't like sand in his sleeping bag... ;)

Then, the culmination of summer fun was the best Labor Day celebration ever: a party at Douglas Walker Park with all of our family & friends--with a minister thrown in! ;) Jason & I were pronounced husband & wife by my uncle (from Alaska!) and officially became Mr. & Mrs. Jason & Rachel VanDenBrink. It was definitely a great party to end a great summer!