we, our, us

I have been married for ten days now. Married.

It has been the best, most beautiful, beginning of my life so far.  Most days I wake up and think, is this real life? Somewhere between drinking coffee with, and packing a lunch for, my best friend I have to pinch myself.  Forever looks bright as peace settles in.  The waves have already begun to come, but it's we who ride them now and that changes everything.

I see differently already.  I hear differently.  The past few days God has been building a message in me, for my husband -- for our lives.  It feels bigger now that someone else is involved.  Suddenly the words I'm given, the dreams I have, the things I pray, the promises I'm given and the Truth I see affect us.  As my current reality sets in I shake my head and smile; it's both the most exhilarating and the scariest adventure I've ever agreed to.  It's our trajectory that I have a picture of now.  It's our future that I plan for, dream about and discuss.

Today I'm going to start a conversation that has my stomach bursting with butterflies.  It's one I've wanted to have for days, but a gentle voice echoed "wait" in my heart.  Eager, my prayers each hour have been ones of "when? now? how?".  Assured, the steady response "you'll know" kept coming to my mind. This morning, by 6am, all the pieces fell into place before I had even opened my eyes.  Prayers have been answered in a way I couldn't have predicted or anticipated.  I'm not sure what is to come.  I can't predict how ideas will be received or where things go from here.  I just know this is obedience.  God is up to something; and His something(s) are always Good.  What a sweet, sweet journey we're on.

My husband is on his way home.  Here's to courage enough for today.

Engagement

I'm getting married.  I'm getting married.  I'm getting married.

That impending reality sinks slowly as I sigh through my smile.  I've never been the smitten-type, but my world was lifted from the ground on March 23rd and it is still descending. 

If you know my story, and our story, you might be shaking your head in slight amusement.  You might find yourself wanting to question "Didn't you see this coming?" or exclaim, with a smirk, that you "called it years ago".  But for me, the moment Jared's knee went down, the flood gates opened.

It's not that I didn't expect it to ever come and it's not that I hadn't already made up my mind that I was going to spend the rest of my life with this wonderful man.  In fact if it weren't for the two hands that somehow made their way up to cover my mouth, and the fact that the only thing I seemed to be able to move were the joyful tears from my eyes, I might've shrieked "YES" before he even finished a sentence. 

I wasn't expecting the tornado of chaos and peace that began to twirl.  In a fierce attempt to guard my heart I had never long-entertained the idea that this could be my reality.  I didn't anticipate the freedom and assurance that immediately took root.  And those things arrived to stay, at least for now.

I have a friend here at Moody whose summer is filled with friends weddings and many of her friends are "brides" in her mind and world.  Recently we were chatting about what that meant for her and her response took me by surprise: "I am encouraged by you", she said, "You're such a peaceful bride".  Another friend from home suggested they hadn't ever known me to be this restful.

Quickly I am realizing this journey is more than just a climax in a fairytale with my highschool sweetheart.  I'm found in a season of endings and beginnings.  I'm in steadfast battle and in constant process with all that is building.  My world is turning, and I'm happily along for the ride.

Girls (and boys) Just Wanna Have Fun!

Moody time is full of hang-out events.
I should first define some vocabulary that I'm about to use... A "sister" refers to anyone that lives on Houghton's (my dorm hall's) 4th floor, specifically on the North Side. A "brother" refers to anyone who lives on Culby's (the male's dorm) 4th floor. Anyway, random community building events happen multiple times throughout the week, and it's awesome. We study together, eat meals together, get off campus together, etc, etc. I thought I'd post some pictures from two of our "bro/sis" events!

Our brothers put on a Valentines Day dinner for us!
Jared was here for that weekend, so he got to participate. The guys really acted like gentlemen and made a delicious meal for us =).









The sisters hosted a Formal Open House.
At Moody, guys and girls aren't allowed in each other's dorm halls, except like 4 times a year. One of those times was last weekend when we planned a formal event for the guys to attend. Our theme was Red Carpet Movie Premier! We pretended as if the guys were all movie stars, and the girls played rolls like crazy fans, servers, reporters, paparazzi (my role), announcer, etc. We also made a film (in which we acted like the guys) to play for the premier. It was a really good time...

And in about 9 days...

I'll be back in Eau Claire for Spring Break! WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!

Being a Tourist of My New "Home"!

Jared flew down and spent the weekend here!
I was blessed to have had an awesome three days. Being in a longer-distance relationship can definitely be bitter sweet. This past weekend was refreshing, laughter-filled, and even a little tiring! We were quite the Chicago tourists. We went to an Improv show put on by Moody, gave the Rock N' Roll McDonalds some serious business, walked around downtown, ate at Yolk, visited Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory, went ice-skating at Millenium Park, visited the Chicago Art Institute, went to Willow Creek Church, walked to the "Beach", Jared played in an inter-mural (sp?) basketball game, participated in a formal dinner with the girls on my floor and the boys on our "brother" floor, and more!

I failed as a photographer.
I brought my camera to a lot of places, but didn't exactly do an excellent job of acutally taking any pictures! It's the memories that matter right? Haha, anyway, I thought I'd share some of the (very few) pictures that we did take... ENJOY:

This weekend should be really fun!

Tomorrow morning I'm cooking whole-wheat-banana pancakes for the girls on my floor =)! After some breakfast we'll be setting up for our "Open House Formal Event", (an open house with our "brother" floor). Which basically means that a lot of the guys from the 4th floor of their dorm will be coming here for a few hours and we're supposed to creatively and thematically entertain them. The event is pretty much going to be amazing, (it's a big surprise though, so I can't share what it is on the internet yet)!! I'll post pictures sometime afterward I'm sure. Hooray for weekends, and hooray for dorm-bonding is all I can say for now!