Story Time

Warning! I titled this post "Story Time," because I'm telling stories that are way too long and might not be as exciting to you as they are to me, so proceed with caution. Ok...

Last Sunday provided another reminder of why I think I have the best husband in the world! God has truly made us one...Case(s) in Point:

During our wedding ceremony we poured unity sand, and the little vase of sand became a prized possession and a reminder of our wedding and unity.  During the first year of marriage, our sand got knocked off the mantel, shattering the glass vase and creating a giant sandy mess in our living room. I stood there and cried, but apparently it gave both of us an idea.
For our first anniversary we went to Banff, Canada and before we left, my parents sent us a beautiful glass vase and some sand for us to repour.  But, sadly, the vase was broken on its way to Washington.  Secretly I was actually relieved that it had broken because I had searched in every store in Seattle looking for the right vase and had a plan to repour the sand in Banff.  So on the night of our anniversary we went out to dinner at the Lake Louise Lodge (if you have never been to Banff, you MUST go! It is incredibly beautiful!), and I was trekking around with my bag full of sand pouring supplies to pour in front of Lake Louise.  Of course, it started to rain and plan A was foiled.  I frantically tried to think of another place to do it, dreading the idea of just being in our hotel room.
Then...we got back in the car and instead of going back to the hotel, Jefff kept driving and we found ourselves winding up a road to the top of a mountain.  The road took us to the side of a lake where he parked the car and told me to wait.  As I waited, I was jumping with joy inside, thinking he had provided the perfect plan B for me.  He came back and told me to follow him, and I insisted that I had to bring my bag with me.  He relented, picking me up to carry me to his surprise.  As we rounded the corner I saw a perfect scene with candles, flowers and...a vase and some sand.  He had had the same idea!
We had a really special time of pouring our sand, reading our vows and again remembering the miracle that God does in making us one.
As soon as we finished I told him he had to see what was in my bag.  We laughed and marveled at how our minds always seem to think so much alike.

This weekend, we had another fun reminder of the same truth.

As I mentioned in my last post, I made an advent calendar for Jefff with a fun Christmasy event for each day counting down to Christmas.  We have made homemade hot chocolate, gone to a "Winter Festival" and opened "Christmas treats."  Sunday's activity was to go get a Christmas tree and decorate it.   I told him that he needed to set aside an hour or so of free time for our activity, thinking we would just go to a lot somewhere in town.  On Saturday night, Jefff was asking for a hint so I simply said, "tradition." Somehow he knew and his face immediately changed as he said, "you keep taking my ideas!" He had already made plans to go out in the forest and cut down a tree.

We had the best time getting all bundled up to drive about an hour into the forest to find the perfect tree.  We both concluded that our favorite dates are when we are just driving together-nothing to distract us and just the two of us for that time.  We named our tree Peter and it's the cutest little Ponderosa Pine ever!

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Notice My Awesome Christmas Tights!

This season of life has been hard in many ways as Jefff has had to spend a lot of time in the library and I think it might be the first time I have seen him this stressed, but it has also provided many sweet opportunities to cherish our time together.  We have to be intentional about staying connected and we don't take our time for granted.  And in the midst of all the business we continue to think alike!

Did You Miss Me?

Well Hi! Long time no see! About two months ago, I started writing a post blaming my lack of blogging on  how busy we have been (it never got posted), and while we have been really busy, I think we are way past the excuses point. So I'll just go with...I've missed you!

Last night I talked to some of my friends from Keller (the school where I taught last year) and I realized just how much I have missed them, and that got me thinking about how much I miss a lot of our "Washington friends." So even though I'm not sure there are very many interesting things going on in my life, I'm going to try again to share even the boring things with you in hopes that we can stay connected.  

Here's the abbreviated version of the last few months:

• We moved out of our little cottage in the backyard and into the apartment upstairs at my parents' house.  We were sad to leave our little home, but it has been a giant blessing to be with my parents. I have some company when Jefff has to stay at school late, we have had some great conversations over delicious meals, I get to borrow my mom's clothes, and not most of all, but definitely importantly, it's free!
• Jefff is one and a half papers and two tests away from finishing his first semester of grad school.  I have watched in awe as he dedicated as much effort as it takes and poured his whole heart into each assignment.  As a result, he has done incredibly well! 
• While my job has proven to be a major challenge and a roller coaster of emotions, I have truly fallen in love with my little buddy.  It has also been a true joy to get to know his family and I have honestly loved building a relationship with his parents.
• We ate Thanksgiving dinner outside on the patio with 24 Reitsemas and we were sweating at the end of November!  I love Colorado!
• My entire family got to go skiing together on the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Alex was in town, and it was the first time all 7 of us have gone together since Jefff joined the family.  It was an awesome day of memories and sunshine on the slopes.
• Today is day 1 of my Advent Calendar!  I made mini envelopes out of pretty Christmas papers and hung them on a garland upstairs.  Each one contains a fun Christmas activity for Jefff and I to do together and I have to say, I am pretty excited for him to open the first one tonight!  

Even though these events may seem mundane, our life is a true joy. In every "regular old day" we are learning a lot about each other, enjoying our new adventure and allowing God to teach us many new things.  Let's see if I can keep up the updates (do you want to start taking bets?).

You Humble Me Lord

Well, I had to leave Georgia begging Phoenix and her mommy to come visit Colorado.  I desperately want to be a part of that little baby's life and it breaks my heart that I am going to miss so many precious moments; but Jesus has always found a way for Emily and I to be a part of each others' lives and I am confident he will do the same with her baby too.

Best Baby!

Cutie Face

I got home just in time for my first day of work with Matthew at Cherry Hills.  In preparation, Jesus had some work to do in my heart.  I have honestly been putting up a big fight and pouting way too much about my new job and especially my pay check.  I am taking a big step down in responsibility and, in my pre-Jesus-working-it-out-in-me perspective, professionalism and definitely pay.  And even though I knew nothing about that was going to change, I have been complaining my way through the last few weeks.  Sadly, as a result, I allowed my own pity party to get in the way of my excitement, preparation and commitment to my job and this awesome little boy I'm working with.
In true Jesus fashion, He kept knocking and speaking and finally sending my mom to take me out to lunch and talk me through it.  I realized that I needed a good humbling, knowing that God has me exactly where He wants me.  I want His glory and I also know that He is a good and loving God who provides exactly what I need.  I honestly have no idea where this will lead, but I do know that I need to give up my pride regarding my paycheck and trust that God knows much better that I do.

And after my first day today, I was reassured that while this might be a pretty big challenge, this little boy and this experience are going to be such a joy.  Plus, Jesus knows that I will have time to give to Jefff during His leap of faith, time to explore other things that I might be interested in doing, and He is always paving the way for us- including financially!  So I am praying that God would continue to work out my pride and allow me to be a part of his good plan for Matthew and me.

(if you haven't seen it yet, there are a few pictures of Wyoming on the "Country Roots and Cowboy Boots" post)

My Bestie's Baby!...etc

God is so good!!! I am in Buford, GA right now visiting my best friend, her husband and THEIR BABY! Phoenix Cash is about the best thing ever! Nixie was born almost three months premature and despite some pretty incredible hardships, she has proven to be a feisty fighter, and an indescribably beautiful baby girl. I have spent the last two months glued to their blog (phoenixcash.blogspot.com) and even those distant descriptions of their little family have brought me to tears numerous times in awe of this precious life. So you can imagine how I felt when I saw her in real life. She is perfect. There is no other way to describe her. Her situation may not be exactly perfect, but she is! And God has done a great work in giving her and her parents the strength to perservere and bring glory to Himself. It is an absolute joy for me to get to know her and to spend time with my bestie. If you think of it, please say a prayer for little Nixie. She has come a long way, but is still on oxygen, which makes things a whole lot more complicated for her parents. She also needs to continue gaining weight, and her parents could use prayer for rest (even in small increments) and strength from the Lord to continue to be strong and patient. They are a wonderful testament of faithfulness and trust, pray that they would continue to do that moment by moment.

Quick update on the last few days:
Jefff and my brothers made it to the top of the Grand Teton and home safely by Saturday afternoon. They had a great time and even got up close and personal with a bear.

My brother Alex stayed in town for a couple days after they got back and it was so much fun to spend time with him.

I had my first day of work on Monday. I will be working as an assistant to a boy with Cerebral Palsey at Cherry Hills Christian School. I attended school there from Kindergarten to Eighth grade so it was so fun to go back and see some of the same people who were my teachers. I think God is going to do great things this year with a huge change of pace and very different responsibilities. I feel completely inadequate for the job, but I am trusting that He has me in the right place. I will say that I am missing my Keller friends a lot. God blessed me with amazing coworkers last year, who turned into even better friends.

We are already enjoying seeing some good friends in Colorado and happily realizing that we don't have to fit it all into one conversation because we live close now. The conversations in Colorado can be continuous.

This is the last time I will apologize for not putting pictures on this blog. Most of the time I write from my iPad, which doesn't have all our pics on it. So I will do my best, but I won't promise anything.

And with that I'm off go bed. Goodnight.

Country Roots and Cowboy Boots

Jefff and I just spent the last week with the entire Reitsema family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There are 31 people in our family which makes for quite the loud, busy,sarcastic, warm extraveganza when we all get together. It turns out that we don't get to be all together very often so it is a great treat when it happens.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon to a giant, fabulous home at the base of Jackson Hole ski resort. This was where we were to spend the next 5 days. We spent our time hiking around Jenny Lake, riding the longest tram (gondola-ish thing) in the United States up to some pretty spectacular views of the Tetons (a hike up there again, of course), meandering around Teton Village etc. A couple of highlights included riding on a grey hound type bus with all 30 of us to the best spots in Yellowstone, playing with the two new babies in the family (they are the best!), playing cards late into the night, spitting cheese balls at my uncle's shaving cream covered face, and for me, our big family dinners each night. Each family (my grandma had 4 boys) was assigned one night to cook a nice meal while the rest of the families got to relax. This was a really special time for me to catch up with my aunts, uncles, cousins, their kids and my grandma. While I have been fortunate to come home to Colorado for at least every Christmas time since I left, I really haven't spent much time with my extended family in the last six years. It was a treasure to really engage in real conversation and spend time with my family.

This confirmed for me again, the value of family dinners. This is something that has always been stressed in my family and I honestly believe that it is so important in relating and connecting with one another. I got to know my family again after quite some time of missing most of their lives. I am excited to one day continue this tradition with Jefff and our children.

Jefff and I had to part ways this morning as I got in the car to drive back to Denver, and he, Alex and Nathan got in the car to start their next adventure in the Tetons. They set out this morning to hike into the mountains and starting at about 5:00 tomorrow morning, they will be climbing the Grand Teton. This entails about 12 pitches and 8 hours of climbing before they rappel down and hike out all in one day. People always ask me if I get nervous when Jefff does this sort of thing and while part of me gets a little worried, I know that not only are they three of the most outdoors competent people I know, we also have a great God that is looking after them the whole time. With that said, if you think of it, maybe you could say a prayer for their safety, success and a great time. I am sure I married the right guy-he is passionate about the outdoors and loves my family well.

Thats all for now, I am looking forward to the next two days with not much goin on!

Same Old Same Old

I did warn you that there would be a few gaps in this blog, but I will still apologize for the cliff hanger.  It's not that I haven't been thinking about blogging, it's just a mixture of being really busy and feeling like there's not a whole lot new to write about.  Yes, we moved into a new house, we are adjusting to the fact that this is home and not just a quick visit, etc. But what I would really love to write about is that again, we feel blessed beyond belief.  Since I have already shared that, I felt like it would be redundant to write it again.  But I realized as I was reading this morning, that God's goodness never gets old.  It is always new, exciting, fresh and overwhelmingly abundant.  So in the midst of unpacking, we are experiencing again God's blessings in our life.

A quick overview of the last 3 days: After arriving in Denver on Tuesday night, we had just a couple hours on Wednesday night to dump all of our stuff onto my parents' driveway before returning the van, and our unpacking whirlwind began.  I had a meeting with the team of people who I will be working with next year, Jefff and I had lunch with my brother Aaron, and we went to Denver Seminary to meet with his advisor.  Finally back at home, we had to first bring most of our stuff to my parents' basement and then sort through which boxes we would need at our new place.  By about 4:30 we were ready to head over with three car loads full of stuff.  Two days later, our things are put away, the place is organized and we have a home.

Blessing #1: My Family.  They greeted us with a very fun welcome- welcome signs, a barbecue with my brother, his girlfriend, my parents and my grandma, and then a softball game.  My mom dedicated her entire day to helping us get moved in on Wednesday, and I am so excited to have all of them just a quick drive away.  It has been 6 years since I lived in the same state as my family and while I have enjoyed every single minute in Washington and wouldn't trade it for a thing, my heart as ached to be close to them again.  I can't wait to see the ways God works in us together.

Blessing #2: We have such an incredible place to live.  Our family friends, the VanEssen's, have shared the guest house in their backyard with us.  This is no tiny little one room box, it is a perfectly designed, fully furnished home right off of their house.  This is about 10 times better than the little apartment we came from and there are even raspberry bushes right outside our door!

Blessing #3,4,5: Jefff enjoyed his first "Lunchable" on the way here, and I'm hopeful that these will become a staple in our kitchen;  I am reading the book, The Saving Life of Christ by Ian Thomas and God is teaching me all kinds of wonderful things about Himself.  If you have not read this book, you need to get yourself a copy!;  We visited Denver Seminary and I got to meet the people who God worked through to grant Jefff his scholarship as well as his advisor...They're all so awesome!  We left campus feeling so excited that we were going to be a part of that community.

Blessing #6: My grandma is the jam and she's turning NINETY!  That seems really old, but if you met her, you would never guess it.  In celebration, she is throwing herself a birthday party in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The entire Reitsema family gets to spend the week fishing, hiking, swimming, shopping, and relaxing together.  So the car is packed (AGAIN!) and we are headed out the door (AGAIN!).  I am praying that God would be present this week in our family and that His love would be palpable.

I promised pictures, and I know from experience that these are way more fun to read when there are pictures so I will try to remedy that asap.  Thanks for reading. :)

Welcome to Colorful Colorado!

At 4:30 this morning we had to say goodbye to our little oasis in the mountains to drive our car back up onto its rickity trailer and head back onto the road home.  Today was spent watching the miles whiz by outside the car, while inside we were gripping our seats (or the steering wheel) in suspense as we listened to The Last Jehad on tape. If you have not read, or listened to, that story we would highly recommend it.  It's a thriller for sure and lucky for us, the tape was about 14 hours long so it took us all the way to the driveway of my parents' house.  After about 12 long hours in the car, we passed over the Colorado border and pulled into Alexander Lane.  Thanks to the ever-faithful creativity and thoughtfulness of my mom, we were greeted by 7 signs lining the dirt road saying, "Welcome...Back...To...Colorado...Jefff...and...Lindsay!" and then one big sign spanning the driveway reading "You Made It!" We had to drive the van through the sign, just like our very own ribbon cutting ceremony-great fun!  We were met with big hugs, a delicious meal, and then Jefff was whisked off to go play in a softball game with my brother Nathan.  True to form for the last month, there is no time to slow down!

We are exhausted and facing the daunting task of unloading our trusty van before it has to be returned at 10:30 tomorrow morning, so we are headed to bed.  We will try to write again tomorrow and include a few more pictures and highlights.  Sleep Tight.

I Think I've Found Me My Own Kind of Paradise.

You may have noticed a slight change in the appearance of our blog.  We started messing with it last night and that led to changing the whole thing.  I like pretty patterns, but WE like mountains, so since this is supposed to be about both of us together, it's probably for the best.

Ok, let's start with a travel update: Yesterday, we left Spokane early in the morning and headed back down the road (of course stopping for Dutch Bros first).  

 Jefff took us to Missoula, MT for lunch and then it was my turn to get behind the wheel.  Except for that one time where the wind was trying its best to blow us off the road, and the rain and splashing from the semi I was trying to avoid were making the road disappear, and realizing almost too late that I needed to be going right at the Y...all at the same time, I'd say I did a pretty good job of handling the beast. :)

We made our way up and back down three mountain passes, finally crossing the continental divide and after stopping for groceries and gas in Bozeman, our tired van puttzed up the winding and incredibly beautiful road to the Yellowstone Club.

In case you haven't heard of the "Yellowstone Club," it's this ski & golf community started by Warren Miller (the ski video guy), that is only available to the "A Listers" of the world.  One such A Lister is our good friend and one of Jefff's ministry partners in Bellevue, Michael Johnston.  He has had a great impact on Jefff and showered us in blessings.  The latest blessing is sharing his home here in the Yellowstone Club.

Upon arrival we must have spent at least an hour exploring the details and incredible beauty of this home.  I don't think any description would come close to adequately explaining how awesome it is, so  instead of attempting the impossible, let's see if these pictures can do it some justice:

If you can't see, the arcade in the corner is Buck Hunter!

Lindsay's favorite seat

Beer on tap to the right

After marveling for quite some time, we found ourselves laughing in awe that we get to experience this, and then hugging in deep gratitude to the Lord for the ways He just hands us these unbelievable and unexpected gifts.  Last night we made pizza, drank some wine, sat in the hot tub and then fell asleep in the best bed of all time (that's not a joke, it really is), closing all the curtains and setting a goal of sleeping for as long as possible.  This morning we woke up and again thanked Jesus for those sheets, wrapped ourselves in robes, made coffee and sat out on the patio to read and journal.  If you know the kind of month July has proven to be, you will understand why I felt like I had found myself in my own little slice of paradise.  No agenda, no worries, nowhere to go; just lots of relaxing in the midst of lots of mountains and a whole lot of love.

So for a few days, we are going to forget that we are in the middle of a major move that will probably prove to change everything about our lives, and just soak in this paradise.

One last thing-since I have taken up sharing most of the details of my life with you, I might as well share the song that has been stuck in my head for the last two days.  God is so good to us and this song seems to say it perfectly and simply.

Shane and Shane: We Love You Jesus

Woven Throughout

I've never been what I would consider a really excellent writer, but I have always loved to read the works of those who are. Some of my favorites are those with common themes and lessons woven throughout.

A little tidbit about me is that I feel things very deeply.  Most of you kmow that I have what you might call a "laughing problem." I have deduced that this is because I feel emotions so strongly that the only way I know how to express them is to laugh-often uncontrollably. I even laugh when I am seriously injured or the moment is totally unfitting for laughter. Anyway, all that to say that we have only been in this van for about 5 hours, but I have spent almost the entire time mulling over my well of emotions surrounding our move.  In all my mulling I have found that our story is one of those really excellent ones with a few common themes woven throughout. So get excited because you have found yourself reading the work of a not so excellent writer, but at least there is that one redeeming factor.

Theme number one of our story has undoubtedly been "adventure." Jefff and my "dtr" (define the relationship) was a whole mess of me telling him I really liked him, but I  wasn't sure if I should date anyone; it also carried the same theme of an adventure. We concluded that we would treat the next few months as an adventure and see where the Lord led us.  Turns out the Lord liked that theme and has carried it though our entire relationship. I mentioned in my first posting that we spent our time in Washington exploring every hike and climb we could find-that's not an overstatement. Almost every weekend was spent seeeking out the next exciting experience.
Our next great adventure? Going 30 miles per hour ON THE HIGHWAY! Our trusty moving van has a pretty strong engine, but Steven's Pass almost won. Here are a few pictures:

Probably the greatest adventure and the next theme we have found woven throughout our story is that of a little game called "Follow the Leader." Every step of the way, God leaves us with jaws to the ground in complete awe and gratitude for his provision, blessing and guidance in our lives. We have found that when we let go, and desperately hang on in dependence of God, He is so faithful to provide more than we could ever imagine.  You may already know, but The Lord swung a giant door wide open when He provided a full tuition scholarship for Jefff at Denver Seminary. This is only one of the many ways God has laid the pavement just in time for the next step in faith. We can not wait for the way He continues to lead us to blessings and the unfolding of his  eternal plan before our eyes.  We pray that he would allow us to be faithful with what he has provided.  Right now we are following his leading for every mile of this long highway.

Ok I am sorry that this is turning into a more of a novel than a short story, but I have to inlude one last theme that has been evident. This is one that we know will also carry out into our entire life story. That is the theme of Jefff's faithful family. We took a little detour on our trip to stop in Leavenworth with Jefff's parents and spent the night there last night and then had a really wonderful day enjoying Lake Chelan on the boat. That also meant that we got to postpone our goodbye until tonight. So tonight, after some tearful hugs, we had to leave them and I was left with more emotions to mull over. I already knew it, but I was reminded that Jefff's family and our few years spent with them will forever shape us. We cannot spend time with his mom, dad, brothers and two really amazing sister-in-laws without being forever changed. We know that each of them and the experiences we share will be carried into every chapter of our story. Thank you Rodlands for loving us and loving the Lord so much that it spills out onto us.

We are currently stopped in Spokane enjoying the blessing of the Bruno's home. It's bed time for us before a long drive to Montana tomorrow. We love you, thank you for your prayers and for making it all the way to the end of this rediculously long post.

Great way to finish up a long day of driving :)

Our Story

Welcome to our blog!

I have to admit that I am new to this whole blogging thing (Jefff claimes to be a pretty accomplished blogger...he's never read one I dont think), but that's ok because today, we are being brave! We are embarking on not only a blogging adventure, but also a new chapter in our life story. Outside Jefff's parents' house awaits a giant moving van into which we will stuff our entire lives to bring with us to COLORADO.

Last night we hosted a little shindig to both see and say goodbye to some of the people who have become our lives here in Washington. As I took a moment to look around at those who had joined us, I marveled at what has become our first chapter. Jefff grew up in this area, and I joined him after we got married (exactly 2 years and 1 month from yesterday). During those two years, we have built relationships with some really incredible people, fallen in love with the Rodland family, explored as many hikes and climbs as we could find, learned what it means to be married, and fallen deeper in love with our Lord. So as I reflected at our get-together, I pictured us telling our new friends in Colorado and then someday our children about our great adventure in Washington. This is our story.

Some of you are new friends sharing our next chapter, but there are many of you that shaped our first chapter and we want to continue sharing life with you. This blog is our attempt. I am going to try really hard to say updated with it, but if you know me very well, you know that that is going to be a challenge. So forgive us if you find a few blank spots.

We love each of you and count it a blessing to share our stories.