2 Years... 730 Days of Crazy

I entitled this article a few weeks ago, and somehow never found time to comment on it. But it was one I wanted to write because it’s something I don’t want to forget. It really has been a whirlwind of the last 730 days (now 742 to be exact. Haha).

Justin and I are not normal. I am well aware of this. It’s pretty common to hear that we “touch each other too much” or something to that affect. And honestly, I’m fine with that. I’m an affectionate person who gives hug, tells people I love them, and so forth. So it’s not shocking that these types of love would go to my boyfriend of two years. That’s the funny thing though. TWO YEARS and I feel like its day one. We still call each other daily, we still like seeing each other, cuddling is still a big deal, and I still look at him and know that he is great. Sorry peeps, this is mushy.

My point is that I never forget that we’re dating, never forget that relationships take work, and yes, a fight here and there. Big things happen in life. Deciding on whether to go to seminary, get married, have kids, buy a house, move or stay in a certain city, or whatever are all big decisions. Of course both people are going to have ideas of their future and they’ll probably defend that idea in conversation. And that’s where I am at in my life. We have a lot to figure out and it feels like it’s in fast mode. Which is funny because all in all we’ve been dating for three years and friends for five years in between that. But in all honesty, we’re trying to figure out our FUTURE in a few months. It’s crazy. But I know that this is what a relationship is, through the good and the bad. And if we get mad, we know it only lasts a little while and then we’ll be back to being the annoyingly touchy feely couple that I love being.

One idea I’ve been thinking about in well…. The last day or so, but really I feel a desire to do this for a while, is counseling at some point. Crazy right? Obviously I’d have to go back to school, what a headache! But honestly, if Justin and I do get married and he does plant a church, I feel that my way of being apart of all that is to counsel through the church. This is something I need to pray about and really think about because I won’t just jump in thinking that I’ll be great at it, but if Justin does plant a church, I want to be involved and support him in his mission. I’m not a preacher, I’m not a Sunday school teacher, I’m not a marketing director, or a leader of missions trips, by golly I can listen and I can encourage and I can pray. And with a little bit of teaching, and years of learning, I can give wisdom and biblical truth, and something for people to hold on to. God willing. So if people who read this would like to pray over this, I’d really like to feel God lead me to that place. But of course, this is all future chit-chat… nothing I’m acting upon right now, considering I have insurmountable amounts of debt currently. Haha.

At any rate, the last two years have had their highs and lows, but I’m excited we got to reach this new point. It’s uncharted territory for us. We’ve done the one year thing, but the two? It means more. It feels longer. It feels like you’re in it for the long haul. It’s when people really have to start questioning their motives with being with someone. But we should get to the FUN stuff.

So I know a 2 year anniversary of DATING doesn’t usually require people to take out all the stops in their plans for this special day, but we kind of did. We kind of deserved it to ourselves and to one another to really take time and process our life lately. We ended up taking half days (YAY!) and were able to meet around 1 for lunch in Uptown at a Thai restaurant. It was something I knew he liked to eat and thought I’d give it another chance. I had pad thai with Olivia in Hawaii a few years ago and I thought it was so gross! But this was actually good! And our server had this “cool” presence to him. And I don’t mean like he thought he was cool, but he was legitimately cool. He was funny and said the right things and MAN I just wanted to ask him if he knew how good of a server he was? Of course I didn’t. That’s scary. After that we quick got ice cream from the Edina Creamery. I must say, Sebastian Joes has WAY better ice cream. I mean it was good, but not the BEST.

After that we went to Vertical Endeavors in Uptown. Oh.My.Gosh.Amazing. So much fun. I’m glad that was the big plan that night. Again, I wanted to do something he would love and I would enjoy and we for sure found it. I’ve done a few climbing walls in my years ( church retreats or school outings) and I always liked it, but this was SO much better! It was hard and crazy and strenuous and exciting! I loved getting to the top, although I think I did it twice and that was it. The walls were huge and some of the hand holding areas were small and difficult to grasp. And I have very delicate hands (lol) so they got dried out and rough pretty quickly. Thank goodness for chalk. I wasn’t even sure what people used chalk for. Now I for sure know. Justin said I did really well, but it’s because I was determined. I’m still very determined to make it up those walls. If it was cheaper we’d totally get a membership, but for now, we’ll just wait and see what we want to do. By the end my hands were crippled and we were sweaty and exhausted, but we felt great. That meant we should celebrate! We ended our evening at Cheesecake Factory and sharing a glass of this amazing Moscato (seven daughters) followed by a great pasta and 30^th anniversary cheesecake, anniversary jokes included. (Maybe we can eat THIS on our 30^th anniversary! Hardee har har) I think I slept pretty dang well that night.

So there you have it, the long schpeel about my anniversary and life. There were other things I was going to mention, but this is long enough. I’m sure people reading this are rolling their eyes but that’s okay, this post was dedicated to one of the biggest things in my life at this point, so I think it’s fitting.

Ps- Evelyn (my wonderful niece) is almost 7 months old and she can roll over no matter what side she is on, can sit, can stand while holding the couch, and is just amazing. I can’t wait until she can comprehend the love I have for her. What a wonderful little lady!

Love

Needing is one thing, And gettin's another

Yesterday: Bright, sunny, warm, cool breeze, vitamin D overload, driving with windows down, music blaring, happiness seeping from my pores.... and yet... everyone else made it seem like it was TODAY (gloomy, cold, rainy, gross). I don't understand how people can have a bad day on a beautiful day. Especially when it's the FIRST great day. Yes, it's been a mild winter and that's great, but when that Vitamin D is shooting off everywhere, it should typically raise the moods of people. I actually thought yesterday when I was at my peak happiness that it was too good to be true, and I felt that the happiness was going to leave. Boy, I called that one from a mile away.

Of course I don't want to make this a pity party. No no. Even when today looks crappy and it's another day of work and people are continuing in bad moods, I think I have to be that beacon of light. That's always been my problem. If someone is in a really bad mood, I, in turn, become bitter and upset. I crumble under pressure. Today is my test. Stay positive. Life is good. Bills are being paid, I'm trucking away on my sermons, I'm writing articles, I'm getting published. Honestly I have NO reason to be upset.

On a happier note, V is 6 months old this month and she is just stinkin cute. Good gracious. Although I am a master of making her up-chuck (sorry baby! I just want to keep you smiling by wiggling you around... after you eat....) she is still my favorite thing ever. AND my niece Ashley is 2 this week! Man they are growing up so fast it's crazy. I've said this time and again but I've been watching Ashley and being in her life since she was 9 months old.... MAN. I've been around for a while. I've loved watching her grow up from baby to toddler. She's talking and walking and running and picking out what her own birthday cake looks like! Life is just crazy but I love being around for it.

Since I posted last I became published (which I did forewarn you all about in a previous post) and I feel sooooooo great about it! I'm trying REALLY hard not to boast, but seriously... this is something i've been waiting for since the ripe age of 7. 18 YEARS later... here I am. Perseverance prevails, patience prevails, and God is good.

As I'm writing this I am listening to my sermon of the day (although it's one that I should have listened to three days ago... I'm behind) but it's about porn. AH. And I'm listening to it at work. Haha. But it's REALLY good. It's crazy when he says like children end up coming across porn one way or another by the age of 11. I mean I remember being a kid online with my childhood friend and my sister clicking into these ridiculous chat room on AOL and while we were toying around with naughty IM's, the other people were SERIOUS. I didn't think anything of it when I was a kid, but it's horrifying now. I didn't "get in to it" or anything, but as kids, we're curious. WE know nothing about it so we start looking in to it. Unfortunately, it's an addicting habit that people struggle with forever, but I think God was helping me stay away from it. But Mark Driscoll makes a good point when he's talking about how we all know what "hardcore porn" but we totally forget about the fact that these R rated movies we are watching and the TV shows we are watching still affect us in a negative way. And I know I want my husband to be my standard of beauty. I know I'm already tainted with the things I've seen and it leaves an impression on you. It's all very scary.

Well that's all that's on my mind today. Remember to stay positive, and be grateful for the people that try to help you through these hard times. We are only human and we can only help so much. I know I am a hypocrite because I get REALLY mean when I am really down about something. But I appreciate when Justin or whoever tries to help.

Love, A