It seems that the most unconventional dates are the ones that I actually remember. We're out visiting our parents for the weekend and could hardly justify ignoring the chance to get out as a couple. The problem is it's raining quite a lot here, making any outdoor plans a little less favourable in our eyes. What's more, the city we're in runs quite short on indoor activities - except the movie theatre, which is the last place we wanted to go. Necessity proved to be the mother of invention last night, however, and a great date was had.

It started with some yummy pizza at Boston Pizza (half buffalo chicken (with blue cheese!) and half Greek), progressed to (overpriced (majorly)) blizzards at DQ, and ended with a movie on our laptop in the back of our van in a park. Strange? maybe. Memorable? definitely! 

If you ignore the fact that my husband is now incapacitated on the couch from some violent illness that struck him all of a sudden last night, it was a really terrific evening. (That may have been an invitation to pray for healing.) I'm getting the opportunity to play doctor for him, although I think I would rather have avoided the whole practice.

catching up

Joey catered a wedding this weekend. As you can see from the above pictures, the couple had a light-hearted approach to their wedding (I don't know how you can't when your theme colours are RAINBOW!). It totally suited them. Arguably the best part about the whole event was the carnival-style mini donuts/slush puppy/cappuccino truck they had parked outside. Unlimited goodies for all! 

I've officially been blessed with my second ever Mother's Day. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I entered the church yesterday morning hoping to get nothing more than a wilting carnation to commemorate my "accomplishment". Instead, the pastor preached a message that challenged mothers (and, really, everyone else) to cultivate in their lives a heart after God. There were no "glory stories" and feel-good, warm fuzzies to walk out with. Instead, we were all reminded that God gets all glory for the work he's done in our lives - at least that's how it should be. 

Yesterday was doubly special: it also marked three years to the day since Joey proposed to me. Really? It was only three years ago? It feels like I've been married to this wonderful man all my life - I mean that in a good way, of course. Time has flown by. I am simultaneously wishing it would slow down and yet keep on trucking as every day brings more blessings than the day before - more or less. 

I leave you with pictures from the weekend of the two most important men in my life.

my husband, the photographer

My husband is a great (amateur) photographer. He's got a great eye and often goes outside to take pictures on what I think are the bleakest of days or the strangest of moments. It turns out he's usually on to something.

Having a hobby that both Joey and I share is really good for our relationship. It's a chance to get beyond the day in, day out of married life, take in nature, and compliment each other on our snapshots. It brings us closer together!

730 days

I never thought I'd be where I am today.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I had a thousand different plans for my life and somehow I ended up where I least expected to be.  I always knew that I wanted to get married - and married young.  And, somewhere around the age of 17, I felt a calling to be a wife and a mom.  Out of all of the numerous courses my life could have gone, God chose one specific one that was the best for me would bring Him the most glory. 


I hoped, but never put much stock on my dreams actually coming to reality.  More often than not I have come to that crossroads where I realize that my dreams are not what God is calling me to do.  Instead of actively pursuing what I thought I should be doing with my life, I waited on the Lord.  I enrolled myself in Bible College and immersed myself in learning His Word.  Although one would reason that Bible college is the best place for a young Christian to be, God surprised me by leading Joey to propose to me.  I finished only one year of college (instead of the full three or four) and nervously awaited starting my life as a wife, wishing I could know exactly what that life would look like.

That was two years ago today.  TWO. YEARS!  I can hardly believe it.  In some ways, it feels like yesterday.  In others, it feels like it was ages ago.  I mean, we've lived in 4 different "houses" (I'd rather not get into that at this moment), our son is almost ELEVEN months old, and I'm almost 4 months pregnant.  Who knew we'd "accomplish" so much in our first two years of marital bliss?

God knew.  Oh, I am so thankful that He knew, that He knows.

My husband is pretty much my second self--not because he's like me and oh I get so much more done in the day when there's TWO of me!  No, he's still his own person.  But that person is so intwined in who I am.  He is my other half - the counterweight to my argumentative, easily offended nature.  He is God's gift to me - a mirror to hold out to myself.  He is the one on whom I am to dote all the days of my life.  He is the amazing father that I always thought he would be, and that's something I get to observe and enjoy daily.  He means more to me than any other person in the world.  He is my best friend.

I'm assuming that no one really wants to hear the plethora of mushy things I could add to this post.  But it is our anniversary, this is my blog, and it is a rather momentous occasion - and therefore it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to refrain from providing you with some sort of reading material on this day.  You know, just so I can look back on it some day in the future and reminisce.  


And, on that note, I'll spare you the novel I could right.

Christmas day

A day this beautiful,

A husband this stellar, 

and a baby this cute

deserved copious amounts of pictures.

The best thing about marriage

is spending time in the word of God, in prayer, and in praise together. The best thing is rejoicing in our great Saviour.

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

It is good for a man and wife to worship God in their marriage.

the odd couple

I have found that date nights look quite different when you have babies.

Take last night, for example.  Joey came home and suggested that we go for a Timmies run after supper.  It wouldn't be much, but the 25 minute drive to the nearest "city" sounded like a much needed getaway to me.  After a little more discourse on the topic, we just decided to go for supper there as well.  Because dishes are just dumb when you don't have a dishwasher.

So, we insulated our small child as best as we could and hopped into a freezing car to "live a little".

It was magic. The boy fell asleep within a couple of minutes.  We talked.  We drove.  We ordered our food in the drive-through, then started to drive back.  Then I realized that hot soup in a moving car on our horrible Prairie highways is not a smart idea.  So, we pulled over on a little gravel road and enjoyed our prefab supper while the Cuteness chugged a bottle silently in the back seat.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't magic.  But it was special, as odd as it may seem.  And, to tell you the truth, I quite prefer these little, strange date nights to the over-the-top romantic ones.  Being all Prince Charming and romantic is wonderful, but simple day-to-day life has it's own charm as well.  I rather prefer finding the odd little treat in the everyday!

I love this

Did you know that my husband is a poet?  Oh, yes, he's always making silly rhymes - mostly about the cat.  This is the most recent:

That is the cat.  See how her tail sways.

Do not envy her ways; her life is simple.  

She eats, she sleeps, she poops-not even a dimple.

At any rate, it made me laugh - mostly because he was just sitting in the kitchen with J on his lap, saying it so nonchalantly.  I barely even heard it.  

Thinking about my husby being a daddy gives me so much joy.  It was one thing I never considered before we got married.  My mind was all like "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED WE'RE GETTING MARRIED WE'RE GETTING MARRIED WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!" instead of rationally considering all of the (wonderful) things to follow.  All I saw in my future was a white dress and a handsome man.  I was pretty nearly blind to everything else that moved.   It was the same when I was pregnant, the dominating thought being I'M. HAVING. A. BABY.!!!  

But now?  

Watching those moments when the boys have each other in spasm-inducing laughter make me think of all the laughs they'll share as Judah grows up.  Seeing my baby squeal in delight when the Husby comes home makes me wonder what it will be like when he can run and jump into his arms.   Witnessing those tender moments between father and son as he puts Judah to bed foreshadows thousands of nighttime stories and snuggles to come.  

I can't wait, and at the same time I want those moments to last a lifetime.

Being a mother is being blessed beyond measure.  

and I cried.

On a day like today, all I needed was encouragement.

my perfect love story

When I was a little girl, I used to dream of the man I would marry.  Would he be tall?  Have dark hair like my dad?  Would he be someone I grew up with?  How would I know it was him?


You know, the typical girly fluff.

look what I did!

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that it is far from professional.  But it's my first {iced} cake EVER!  And I totally just flew by the seat of my pants.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be D-E-licious! 

Yay for my husby!  He's so... mature.  Tee hee.

...zero steps back!

So, this whole making small changes thing is working pretty well, I think.  I have not touched a dessert/tuck in two days, and I've only had one serving at each meal (which isn't that hard when your plate is piled sky high and it's not really your favourite food to begin with).  I'm going to allow myself a treat today, however, because it's my husby's birthday and birthdays simply REQUIRE birthday cake!  Which I am baking at this very moment.

It is from a box.  Don't judge.

Today's goal is to cut down my salt intake severely.  I'm going to forsake the salt shaker completely... within reason, that is.  Food has it's own flavour, surprising though it may seem.  I'm going to discover (and love) that flavour.

Well, I'm off to attempt to ice a cake.  If I succeed, I will be extremely proud of myself.

voices!

My brain says, “Clean the house!  Wash the floors!  Fold that laundry! Organize the pantry!”

My body says, “Today, there’s a slight chance of nausea, with a high of minimal heartburn and a low of awkward pains.” 

My baby says, “I’ll come out when I want to.  Na na na na BOO BOO!”

My husband says, “I’ll do the dishes before work JUST IN CASE something happens.  Don’t worry about supper, honey, I’ve got it covered.”

I say, “Germs make you stronger.  

Curse you, weatherman. 

You just wait till your father gets home, missie/mister. 

Are you for reals?!?”

Sob. I’m tired. 
Can you tell?

bon anniversaire

Here I am, blogging my evening away while LOTR The Two Towers, Disc 2 plays in the background.  Joey frolics past, grabs my empty plate that once held delicious homemade pizza, then frolics back to the kitchen.  He stops briefly, lip-syncs what Gollum happens to be saying at the moment, to which I respond with a look of fright.  Undaunted, he continues with his task at hand: making mochas.  Soon he will bring one over to me with with an air of triumph and sit down by my side.  I’ll ooh and aah over it, as always, and then we’ll commence playing Scrabble while King Theoden despairs in Helm’s Deep. 

I stare off into nothingness as I reflect on the year past.  My gaze wanders over to Joey, who says “what?” in a slightly goofy (but not abnormal) voice, folds his hands, and looks at me with a childish smile.  I’m in love with a man.  And that man has been my husband for one whole year—a small victory and wonderful blessing to be outweighed by a lifetime together. I am forever grateful for God’s gift of marriage.

the waiting game

My husband is currently making French toast.  On a Tuesday morning!  He says that he’s just using up stale bread, but I believe that he is the most wonderful man on the face of the planet and he simply loves being good to me.  I love this guy!

Well, I’ve officially enrolled myself in the waiting game.  Even though I’m only 35 weeks and 3 days along, my gut feeling is “be prepared for anything!”.  I might be a little anxious.  Just a little.  But I think that it’s better to live with an awareness of what could happen than to live in ignorance and be caught off guard.

Wait a second—doesn’t that apply to the Christian’s life?  “..it’s better to live with an awareness of what could happen (i.e. Christ returning like a thief in the night) than to live in ignorance and be caught off guard”?  I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 regarding the very subject of His return.

No One Knows That Day and Hour
36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,  but the Father only.
37  As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.
41  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
46  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,
50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know (Matt 24:36-50, ESV , emphasis mine).

How can we really be prepared for the coming of our Lord?  Vv 45-46 state that we must be wise and faithful to carry out all that God has appointed to us.  Come to think of it, I don’t think I have really been living with a daily awareness that my Lord could be coming at any given moment of the day.  I’m reminded of a previous post I wrote entitled “a faithless fig tree”.  I don’t want to be like that fig tree and have my Lord look for fruit and find none. 

I challenge you, followers of Christ, to seriously evaluate the state of your lives.  Are you living for pleasure (for yourself), or are you living in a constant state of readiness for the coming of Christ (for the Lord)?  Ask the Lord what he requires of you, and he will be faithful to reveal all.  Don’t be like that fig tree—caught unaware and cursed by the Lord God himself.

How thankful I am for the whole process of pregnancy and the conviction that I need to be anticipating Christ’s return with greater joy and fervor than I have anticipating my own child. 

yet another pregnancy post

My timeline scares me…

I am pleased to announce that Joey and I are officially “ready” to welcome baby into our home! We made a trip into Winnipeg to get some last essentials, such as the AMP All-in-two diapering system, a functional diaper bag, and mommy-to-be necessities. I’m so thankful we have the money to buy these things. I think we’ll be nickel and diming it after this point, though. This fist year of marriage has made for a lot of money-spending—albeit necessary money-spending. I think we are finally settled—SETTLED! Hurrah!

Shopping is hard work when you’re 8-ish months pregnant. I don’t have very good feet to begin with, and now they are carrying X amount of extra weight, plus they are swelling like no one’s business. Needless to say, my feet are very eager to make their services scarce today. And it’s not just feet that make shopping hard. There’s a little human inside of me that not-so-gently reminds me of it’s existence on a regular basis by playing my ribs like a xylophone and bouncing on my bladder like a trampoline. I have a new found appreciation for janitors that take bathroom cleaning seriously.

Yesterday was also an anniversary celebration of sorts. We have nearly been married a year! I think I’ll post a more thorough assessment of this past year closer to January 31st, if you don’t mind. We figured that getting to Winnipeg in the next two weeks might be no small challenge, and I’d rather stay close to home base at this point. I’m determined to deliver in Brandon! Baby may have other plans, though. At any rate, we took the opportunity to go to our favorite restaurant, Yujiro. Yes, that’s Japanese. Yes, we ate sushi. And, yes, I ate raw fish. Gasp! Rake me over the coals, if you wish, but I’m not worried. I have a higher chance of getting food poisoning from McDonalds than from our sterile little restaurant. Our waitress, a small Japanese lady, made sure I was okay with eating what we had ordered, and I assured her I was. “Some people are too up tight,” said I, to which she nodded and replied, “when I was pregnant, I ate everything!” Anyways, it’s not like I eat it every day. This is only my second time this WHOLE LONG PREGNANCY. I was quite deprived of my delicious sushi, you see. And, oh my goodness, it WAS delicious! Joey and I basked in culinary bliss, reminisced on the past year, and gazed into each other’s eyes, thinking of……

Whoa! Got a little carried away there. Sorry about that.

That’s pretty much our day in a nutshell. I can’t end this post without sharing the amazing deals we stumbled across, however. Ahem. Wool sweater for Joey: $25. Brand new MEXX baby blanket: $5. Three classic literature novels: $35. Spending the day with the love of my life: priceless.

Okay, that was cheesy. Just couldn’t help it.

I leave you with a picture of our super sweet diapers.

Andrea proves, yet again, that she is not perfect

Yesterday was just too ridiculous to not be noteworthy.  I woke up early—6:45, to be exact—with unusual gusto.  7:45 comes around, and I’m falling asleep standing up.  Off to bed I went to sleep for another hour.  I proceeded to follow this pattern for the rest of the day.  Needless to say, I was not very productive.  I felt so bad when Joey came home from work, and all I could do was stare mindlessly while he checked my car’s tire pressure, finished up making chicken stock, and made supper.  In my state of mind, all I saw was Mr. Perfect showing me just how much I had failed to accomplish in a day.  It all led up to a big pity-party for me.  “Why can’t I do anything?  All I do around here is sit around and get fat.  I’m so sorry you have to do all of this.  How can you put up with me?”  Such were my continuous complaints, which Joey endured for quite a while with silent stoicism.  Dripping water will eventually wear down the hardest rock, however, and finally my good-natured husband stated, with a tone bordering severity, “Andrea, you are sick and pregnant!  I don’t hold any of this against you!”  Thus I was silenced. 

The moral of the story:

• I can’t expect myself to do everything I did before pregnancy 
• I have a very attentive, very capable husband who loves me despite all the changes I’m going through
• it’s ok to ask for help and let others take care of things I can’t do!

Stay tuned for further late-pregnancy meltdowns.  

my husband is too good to me

Joey and I made a hasty decision… and opened our presents on the evening of the 20th! We were going to wait and have our own little Christmas celebration tonight, but now we’re going to spend an extra evening with his family. We tried to make it a special night—complete with homemade mochas and A Muppets Christmas Carol. I’m not sure if either of these things will become traditions, but it was pleasant nonetheless. Here’s what Joey got me!

The first two came together in a collector’s set. I really like these new versions of Jane Austen’s classics! Well worth the money. Joey was playing on my bookish side this Christmas. :)

I got Joey a small djembe (drum) and a pasta-maker. Apparently I was playing on his artistic side.

Anyways, I’m sure you’ve found this post very interesting. I’m just trying to do something, ANYTHING, to keep me from doing all the things I need to do before I can truly enjoy the holiday. Merry Christmas!

Midwife appointment #2

Hello, all!

Wow, a full day of painting goes by, and I am exhausted! Our tiny little piece of soon-to-be home is nearly done being painted, which is no small feat when you consider that absolutely EVERYTHING in there needed at least two good, thick coats. Why do people put plywood up on walls?

We saw our midwife yesterday. Again, I must affirm that midwifery is the way to go! No regrets here. It was a really encouraging visit! All my blood work came back with no red flags (even my iron levels are good, which surprised me), and every other test I've had has told me that I'm in good health. Who knew?

Kari (my midwife) took one feel of my belly, paused, and asked, "You sure about your dates, love?" To which I responded, "Y-yes, pretty sure... I mean... I could be wrong... possibly...!?" Apparently my baby is big, because she thought I could be two weeks further along than I'd been planning on. That makes quite a difference at this stage in the game, especially considering that my baby grew from the size of a lemon to a naval orange in one week. Baby was also very active when we went to listen to her heartbeat. Thankfully I can't feel these kicks yet--and I only say that because the amount of kicking would be excessive for a soccer player. I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience when I feel that first thrust! I just hope it's on a calm day. :) Now we're just waiting for the ultrasound to identify exactly how far along my baby is. This is all so exciting!

I'm being a bad wife right now. My hubby's out slaving away in our tiny, fumy house, and I'm sitting here blogging. I think I'll take a look at what's hiding in the fridge and see if I can make it look more spectacular than it actually is.

the city will be forsaken

Joey and I are certain of God's calling in our lives.  Yesterday we found out that Joey has been officially accepted as the assistant director at Valley View Bible Camp.  Waiting on the Lord seemed to be taxing my patience, but now that the answer has come, I'm realizing that we actually didn't have to wait that long.  Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness!  

After putting around the house for a few hours, mopping floors and doing absolutely anything we could to take our minds off the board meeting that would decide our fate, I suggested to Joey that we pray.  Nestled into each other on the couch, we bowed our heads and Joey led out.  His prayer was short and nearly painful in its passion.  He struggled with words, and ended with, "God, I don't even know what to say right now..." The phone rang as soon as he trailed off...  One word: yes!

Now we are going to enter a VERY busy month-or-so... moving takes time.  Oh, and I suppose we'll need to find a place to live before we move, won't we?