Anniversary trip

Better late then never - It's the anniversary post!!!

Tuesday, August 7th, JC and I got to celebrate our First Anniversary!!!   We had planned and saved for several months and budgeted enough to go to Jasper National Park for two days and celebrate together.  We had a slight hiccup in our plans, since we both ended up with really bad colds the weekend before (complete with nasty ear infection and pink eye for me – Yay!).  We were feeling much better by Tuesday, thanks to Tylenol Sinus, Buckley’s Cold and Sinus, and my lovely bottle of antibiotics pills and eye drops, but we still felt a little under the weather.  Nevertheless, we decided no mere cold would hold us back, so armed with endless supplies of Kleenex and cold meds, we got up early Tuesday morning and packed our stuff into the car and headed off for an adventure.  We were also armed with Timmies coffees, which I think helped a lot too.  The caffeine helped counteract the slight sleepiness the cold pills were giving me…   : )  

But before I continue, I should back up… that morning right after our alarms went off at 6:00, we exchanged anniversary gifts.  JC went all out for me. 

Hmm, slight back-up again… first… The night before he gave me a thumb drive that was filled with music for me to listen to at work, as well as nine short 2-3 minute videos of him on a number of subjects; everything from memories to plans of the future.  It was so sweet!  Yes, he made me cry… in a good way.  He also stuck a couple short videos of my nephew laughing like crazy while being pushed around in his wagon, which are always awesome.  

Ok, back to morning… I opened two small jewellery boxes.  In the first one I found a beautiful silver and agate necklace that JC’s Grandpa gave his Grandma, back when they were dating.  Apparently, his Grandma had given the necklace to JC’s Mom, Ruth, with instructions that it be given to JC to give to his bride someday.  Very sweet and very cool gift!  I love heirlooms!  The other jewellery box contained a beautiful pair of black agate earrings to match the necklace.  Totally awesome gifts!  My hubby is so sweet!  

Back to the trip.  The forecast had been for rain and cloudy skies all day for Rocky and Jasper, but with the slight exception of some cloud about an hour west of Rocky that lasted all of 15 minutes, it was clear skies for the whole drive.  The scenery was gorgeous, as always.  I absolutely LOVE driving through the National Parks.   The majesty and beauty of the Rocky Mountains are amazing to me.  

We got to Jasper around noon and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch at a cute day-use area at Pyramid Lake.  It was so quiet and serene… It started to cloud up then and we got into the car just in time to avoid a rain shower.   We decided to check out Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake, and Maligne Lake, however due to a mudslide from all the rain they had recently, the road was blocked off just past the Canyon.  Oh well, the lakes will wait til next time.  The canyon was awesome though, as usual.  I love the mist from the falls and the sound of the crashing water.  It’s my favorite stop in Jasper.  

We went to check into our hotel then, only to find that they had booked us into a Standard Room with a queen size bed, instead of the King size we booked online.  Well, the manager looked around on the computer and said that all their King rooms were booked, however if we wanted, he would give us a full suite with a queen size bed for our troubles.  Yeah, we totally said Yes to that!   So, we got a really nice, spacious, one bedroom suite, complete with living room and kitchen/dining, for the price of our original standard room…. Twice the room for half the price.  I love it!  

We had searched online for a good restaurant to go to for dinner that night and had settled on The Pines, a nice restaurant out at Pyramid Lake.  The reviews online were all good and the menu sounded yummy.  Well, the reviews were bang-on.  The restaurant was nice and quiet, and we got a table right beside the windows so we could look out on the lake and enjoy the scenery.  The food was delicious, from our roasted garlic, warm Camembert cheese and crusty bread appetizer, to our two entrees of grilled halibut, risotto and green beans, and stuffed chicken breast, scalloped potatoes and grilled veggies, to our lovely dessert of chocolate cream cheese mousse between layers of rich chocolate cake, with whipped cream and berries.  It was all Y-U-M-M-Y!  Our server even gave us our dessert on the house, since it was our anniversary.  It was such a nice, romantic dinner and we both loved it.  

The next day we enjoyed the breakfast buffet and strolled through all the shops in the town site and did some shopping.  By noon, JC was feeling a bit sick again, so we decided to slowly wind our way home.  We stopped a couple times to take some photos of the mountains and enjoy the views.  Once out of the Park, we stopped at a cute little campground and had another picnic lunch, before heading home.  Nice little place by a creek… we plan on taking our tent there next summer and camping for a weekend.  We got home at supper time and spent the evening relaxing on the couch, eating chicken fingers and curly fries, and watching Cars 2.  Perfect way to end the day!  : )  

Well, that was our first anniversary.  I loved spending the special time with my awesome hubby.  We made some great memories and had a wonderful time together.  We are both so glad we took that step a year ago and said “I do” and we’re anxious to see what the next year holds for us.  I know one thing for sure: God is good and the future looks glorious!
  

Content and thankful

I'm sitting in my living room, feeling very content.  There's sun shining through the window, the temperature is actually warm, and my wife is reading a book in the chaise.  Life is good right now.

Our weather is slowly getting better.  We had snow a little bit last week, but this week is supposed to be warm enough for rain.  That will be a nice change.  We're starting to get stuff together for a garden.  Started zucchini, lettuce, chives, basil, oregano, thyme, morning glory, and sweet peas.  We'll be planting carrots a bit later outside.  Going to be nice to have some veggies growing.

I spent the morning at church.  We have a daily corporate prayer time and it has greatly helped my growth with God and is a great part of the day.  After that Pastor and I went for coffee and had some good conversation.  I love our church and the relationships that I'm building.

After lunch I went over to my father-in-laws and did some sawing.  I'm in the middle of a project that I'll reveal later.  It was a lot of fun to be able to use the table saw and work with wood.

Life is pretty good right now. 

Thank You, Lord for this day, for the favor you give us, and the blessings showered upon us.  Thank You for our house and the ability to make it our home.  Thank You.  Amen.

How about you?  What's God doing in your life that You're thankful for?  Meet us in the comments!

Looking back on 2011's good things

My friend Lisa posted on her blog about seeing miracles in 2011.  That made me think about 2011 and the various things that have happened this last year.

• The biggest is my marriage to Brianna.  We're at our 5 months of marriage mark and I'm so very happy to have this lady as my wife.  She is a support and an encourager for me.
• I'm also involved in the church, teaching Sunday school for the 1st through 5th grade.  Loving these kids and the opportunity to speak into their lives.
• We are incredibly blessed!  Our apartment is completely outfitted, and we recently realized that we really don't need anything (beyond the groceries, of course).  We are content with what we have.  Kind of a strange place to be at the beginning of our marriage, but a good place.
• We have started paying off debt.  We just got the first $1000 emergency fund saved up and starting to make extra payments to the credit cards.  It is definitely a blessing to see God's hand in providing for us!
• My family grew by marriage and I became an instant uncle!  Gabe is such a blessing and I love that little boy so much!  Looking forward to watching him grow and learn.

And now we have a new year to look forward to.  God is working in our lives and it's going to be so much fun to see how it all works out!

How about your look at 2011?  What good things happened last year?

Being thankful

Lisa, my friend from Eugene has bee talking about thankfulness, and has been writing a post a day this month about what she's thankful for.  (Check out her blog!)  It makes me think about how life tends to run by and we take so many things for granted.

Take technology for instance:  I'm writing this blog on my laptop with my blackberry sitting next to me.  I have an ipod plugged into a player (currently listening to Tim Hughes) sitting across from me.  I have the ability to be connected to so many different people over so many different ways.  It amazes me that I can talk to people in the States, in Taiwan, and all over the world through the Internet.  We are truly blessed to have technology like this.

And what about the basics?  Shelter, clothing, food.  I just ate leftover taco salad, munching on some grapes, and we have a full fridge and stuff in the freezer,  My apartment is warm, despite the cold snow outside and I can put on a jacket if I'm slightly chilled (fighting turning the heat on).  I have a table to eat on, set my computer, and play games on.  Wow, am I thankful for this!!

We come to the relationships around us.  I am totally blessed to be married to a woman of God, someone who listens to me, gets my humor, and who is sharing life with me!  Her family is a blessing and so are the people here in Rocky.  I am blessed by being in a church family that loves me and who are strong in their faith!  I am also blessed that I have so many friends over all the world. 

So yeah, I have a lot to be thankful for.  It's a big deal to look at our lives and not focus on the negatives or the pain, but to see how God has blessed us.  He gives us so much! 

What things do you take for granted?  What can you look at and start thanking God for?

It's a steep learning curve....

A few things that I’ve learned in marriage so far: (hmm, for being married only 2 months, it’s kinda long... obviously this is a very steep learning curve) : )

- Respect! I have definitely learned the immense value in respecting JC. I love Ephesians 5:33 in the Amplified Bible: However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [ that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. All of those acts have such an impact on my hubby. When I tell him “You’re so awesome!” or “I’m married to the world’s most handsome man”, or “You make me smile honey! You’re the best!”, or “I’m so proud of you, you did such an awesome job!” his face lights up and I can tell how much it means to him. It doesn’t stop there either... I need to show respect in how I act too. I need to listen to him when he shares his thoughts and ideas and see the value and wisdom in them. I need to see him as the best guy in the world! I do these things because I love my hubby very much, and this is one way that I can express that love to him. Guys respond to respect from their wives... there’s a reason God made sure it was written in the Bible!

- Sense of Humor. I have always thought that being able to have a good sense of humor is a blessing in any situation, good or bad, but I have definitely learned the immense value of it in marriage. We’ve only been married for 2 months and I’ve already seen how important it is! I can only imagine the benefits we’ll gain in the future!!! JC and I both share a silly sense of humor and it seems like we’re constantly laughing with each other. Not only does it eliminate (or at least decrease) stress in a situation, it definitely makes both of us feel good. And it makes us feel closer together to enjoy a good laugh together.

- How to “Fight” Nice. So, it has been 2 months, and we still have not had a fight... and not for lack of opportunity! I can attribute this to the two of us reading “Before You Plan Your Wedding, Plan Your Marriage” by Greg and Erin Smalley... and actually taking their advice to heart. There are lots of things that come up, almost every day, that could become a big issue or even a fight, but we’ve both really strived to stop and check our own hearts and attitudes before moving forward. We’re trying to learn to “respond” to each other and not “react”. Pausing and taking a breath before speaking, doing our best to hear the other one out, trying to find solutions that make us both happy, and being willing to apologize when the other one feels like their “buttons” got pushed, etc. When we do this, I feel like he respects my feelings, cares about my heart, and really does want to find answers that make both of us happy. I’m sure someday we will mess up and our great intentions will be forgotten momentarily, but we’ll do our best to forgive, move on, and do better the next time.

- How to Properly Organize: I write this with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek, seeing as I can be just as picky about how some things are done and organized, but I have never been quite as precise as he can be. In my world, things like books and DVDs get organized based on what looks pretty... i.e: all the colourful covers together, all the dark colored ones together, short books here, and tall books over there, etc. : ) In JC’s world, these things must be alphabetized. Now, while I do think that alphabetization (is that really a word?) is fine, it has no room for making things look “pretty”. The tall, short, thick, thin, colored, and color-less books are just all mingled together. Yes, I do realize that it makes more sense to do this because it makes it easy to find a book... but what about “pretty”???? :D (Every time JC asks me why I do something a certain way and I use the word “pretty” in my explanation, he just shakes his head.) : ) I have also discovered how JC organizes his clothes. They must be hung up according to type of shirt as well as color/pattern. In his world, you simply cannot put a blue dress shirt next to a grey turtleneck!!! In my world, things get hung up wherever there happens to be room. There is no rhyme or reason at all.

- Most of all I've learned how much this man means to me. It has only been 2 months, but I already feel like he is absolutely a part of me and there is no way I could ever go back to being without him. He is my greatest blessing and I am so thankful for him! God is good to me!

On the lighter side:... After being married for a little bit now, I have a pretty decent idea of who/what JC is... and now I have this movie playing in my head about what happened when God made him. (Yes, I realize that this is absolutely not biblical... but it is funny, at least to me, and I think it explains a bit of why he is the way he is.) Basically, I picture God standing at a table, with a big bowl in front of him and a bunch of huge super-sized containers that look like spice jars spread out over the whole table. He takes one jar labelled “tall” and pours some in, another labelled “handsome” and pours a generous amount in... on and on it goes... half a cup of “godly character” and several heaping couple tablespoons of “very smart”... a couple tablespoons of ”sci-fi nerd”, a ¼ cup of “hates to wash dishes” and a good dash of “great husband”... (hmm, make that several quarts there on that last one... dash doesn’t even begin to cover it) And then God picks up the jar of “Pest” and goes to shake just a little bit into the bowl, but all of a sudden, disaster strikes! The little shaker top part comes off completely and the whole jar pours in.... a good gallon of the stuff. God pauses and looks at the bowl, and a mischievous smile comes to his face. He pulls out the shaker top from under the pile of “Pest” in the bowl, puts it back on, and continues to mix it all together, not bothering to take any out...

I think that pretty much describes my hubby. I mean, he’s got lots of personality quirks and attributes, but the one I’m learning the most about is the “pest” side... the weird sense of humor and silliness, the constant need to tickle me or poke me, the strange little idiosyncrasies that cause me to sometimes just smile and shake my head. I have discovered that JC is the biggest pest when it is around 10 pm and I’m trying to sleep. I’ll turn over and get all comfy and almost drift off and then “OOGA BOOGA!” Why he likes these words, I don’t know... but he seems to enjoy using them as some sort of precursor to starting to tickle me and/or make silly noises or jokes... A part of my brain immediately feels irritated – I was almost asleep for goodness’ sake! But then the silly part takes over (within about 0.5 seconds) and before long I have the giggles and am no longer able to sleep even if I wanted to. I love it!

And if any of you reading this happen to be thinking right now “Pest? Really? I don’t see that in him...” then you obviously haven’t spent nearly enough time with this man. :D

But I love it! The pesky-ness is great! It makes for TONS of laughs and smiles.... the only downside is learning to live with sore smile muscles and aching sides from an overdose of laughter.

Thanksgiving - in October?

One of the new things this American has to get used to in the land of the Canuck is Thanksgiving in October on a Monday! *insert confused look*

Brianna and I are hosting Thanksgiving, so we have the turkey roasting, the taters started, and the feast well in hand.  The smells are wafting through our basement apartment and are making me hungry!  The weather is slightly crisp and we went for a quick walk.  It has definitely set the mood and drawn me to thinking about what I'm thankful for.

1. I have to be thankful for my walk with God first and foremost!  I've been walking closer and closer with Him through the last few months and am amazed at who He is and the way He works in my life!  We have been seeing His provision and His promises come through in our lives!
2. The second is my wife! Never would have imagined the way she makes me feel!  She's such a blessing to me and makes me feel like a man!  *grins*  Her smiles, her voice, and the looks she gives me, make me realize what a treasure I have.  
3. Having a good extended family.  I am very thankful for my wife's family and the relationship I now have with them.  Looking so forward to many, many, many years of fun and laughter.
4. The church family we're in.  They have embraced me as Brianna's husband and I have become good friends and a part of this church!  I love you all!
5. And the simple things:  a roof over my head; running vehicles; food and water; cothes.  All these things we take for granted - I find myself being extremely grateful for.

How about you?  What are the things you are thankful for?