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?).