Wedding Day Feelings

The day of my wedding I was very calm. I did not feel nervous or anxious at all. I never felt like crying. I just felt like smiling A LOT!

Kory said when he was waiting to see me for the first time, Alisa told him if I was any calmer, I'd be in a coma. haha That cracks me up! I really was super chill that day though. Like significantly more than usual. This also meant I wasn't feeling rushed for time even though we were supposed to be starting pictures and I was still getting ready and everyone was waiting for me. I mean, I was the bride so no one rushed me, but it did through everything else off schedule. Oops!

Many things did not go as planned that day (another blog post to come) but none of it really upset me or stressed me out. Well, the only thing that slightly upset me was that everyone arrived at the wedding way early and as I walked back into the building to freshen up before the ceremony, I had to walk through all my guests and they were all seeing me and it was so anti-climactic, but I got over it quickly.

I think I smiled the entire ceremony. I remember just being SO happy and calm and present. I felt very present at that moment. Very aware of where I was and who was there and what was happening. I know a lot of brides have said they don't even know what the preacher said because they were too nervous or distracted or excited or something. I can tell you almost everything Ben said because I was listening intently and soaking it up.

I had planned for that day for so long and thought about it many many times. I've been in enough weddings to know the bride always says it goes by way too quickly (it does!) and it's easy to miss the whole day because it's gone in a flash. I was consciously taking it all in and I'm so happy because I really can relive it in my mind and remember so much of it.

The phrase that kept coming to my mind that day was "peace that passes understanding". I kept thinking, I don't know how or why I'm so calm. It must be God. Thank you, God!

I plan to blog in detail about our wedding weekend and cruise and all of those exciting events. It will probably take me a while but I should be able to include professional wedding pictures in those posts, so that will make the waiting worthwhile. Even if you've already seen them all. They're that good!

Married

Well here we are at week 3 of being married now. Life is really good! :)

We should be spending our evenings packing our apartment so we can move next week. However, we've been doing more fun things instead. Monday night we got groceries and cooked a really yummy dinner that took a while. Last night we went to see Super 8, which was really really good. I had popcorn, hot tamales and a Coke for dinner. Delicious and ridiculous.

Tonight, I hope we can ride our bikes. I have so much fun on our new bikes, but these stinking Oregon hills are going to kill me.

We're living out of suitcases and boxes right now so that's always interesting. We thought we were moving sooner so a lot of our clothes are already packed away. I wonder if people at my work are noticing I'm wearing the same outfits over and over?

Our plan as of right now is to move to Roseburg to these apartments and start looking into buying a house. Sadly these apartments don't allow pets so we have to figure out what to do with them for a little while. Hopefully some families from church will adopt them short-term. I'll definitely miss playing with them though, so we'll have to visit them often. The great thing about these apartments is that they do month-by-month rent so we don't have to sign a lease.

I would like to think we'll clean the apt and pack tonight, but realistically I know we'll play on the iPad. We're obsessed with crossword puzzles lately. Yes, we are 80 years old.

Around the House

One of my best friends, Rynn, asked me to take pictures and show her where we live. I kept thinking we were about to move, so I wanted to wait until we got a new place to show off. Well, I still think we'll move before too long, but this is where I live now, so I decided to go ahead and show you all our 1st home together...just be prepared for a mess :)

We've got all of Kory's stuff in boxes except some clothes, and then there are wedding gifts and other random items in the middle of packing all over the apartment. However, it's still home, so here is your tour, Rynn and the rest of blogland.

I'll start with a few things that really excite me! Mainly this strawberry plant :)

I have never planted any fruits or vegetables so that is why I'm particularly excited by this! A co-worker gave me the plant but it was in pretty sad shape when I got it in dirt, so I was afraid it might not live very long. It was all still green when I left for the wedding but I came back to some RED strawberries! I have been waiting to pick them until I could take this picture for you, but now I hope to start eating them regularly.

This bird feeder was a wedding gift and it was going to be perfect because we have SO many birds flying around outside our apartments.

However, no birds would ever eat from the feeder. We had no idea why but weeks went on with no birds in sight. Finally, Kory was home one day and saw some birds fly near the feeder and immediately THIS happened...

And we realized why no birds are at our feeder. The cats are on the attack up in the window as soon as one gets near, so we do not get to feed any birds. Hopefully we can find a better place to hang it wherever we live next.

I contemplated cleaning the apt before taking these pictures, but I'm all about being honest and real, so here is what it looks like when "lived in".

We thought we would move before the wedding so we took almost everything off the walls and have almost no decorations left. We also moved in Kory's couch and recliner and entertainment center from his apt, so that's why so much furniture is squeezed into the living room. And yes, that entertainment center is now functioning as a coffee table for now.

The cats pretty much have their own bathroom downstairs. Their food, water and litter box are in these bottom cabinets.

Our kitchen does not have a dishwasher which is the #1 thing I dislike about the apt. Our next place will definitely have that! We also don't have near enough cabinet space, which is why food is on top of the cabinets and even spills over into the dining room.

We really need a better system for our recycling. For now, it's all piled up here against this wall. We don't actually use our table very much these days either, because it's usually covered in stuff and we don't want to clean it off. So instead we eat on the couch in front of the TV usually.

These stairs have almost killed me multiple times. The carpet comes away from the stair block and I've tripped and fallen down these stairs quite a few times. The stairs are also very narrow and it's easy to miss a step, so I'll be grateful to leave these behind.

This bathroom was perfect for me when I lived here alone but now trying to share the same space is a little bit more of a challenge.

I guess that's just true of everywhere in my apt to be honest. I had it totally filled with just my stuff so adding another person and their stuff means we have to get rid of a LOT. And we have given away SO much...but I think we need to keep going.

This spare bedroom has become the dumping grounds for everything we have packed and ready to move. At least with all of this boxed up already, it should make packing a little bit easier next time.

Our bedroom (MY bedroom for 2 years is suddenly OURS...weird) is a wreck from coming home from the cruise and trying to pack some stuff and not having room for Kory's stuff in the closet yet. Our new bedding is not what either of us remember registering for, but we like it and it has really brightened up the room. Kory hated the red curtains I had hanging up so he took them down and we have none for now.

It's our home. It's nothing fancy but it's OURS and it's HOME so that makes me happy :)

Story of Redeemer's

There has been a chain of events over the past two years that have all played out to put us in a position where Kory has been offered and accepted this new position. It all started right after we moved to Oregon.

We had only been here a couple weeks and we didn't have internet at our apartments yet, so we drove to Roseburg and were using the internet at Starbucks one afternoon. Over the next hour or two, we heard a couple next to us who was talking to another man about some issues he was struggling with at that time. It was very obvious to us that the couple were ministers and as they got up to leave, Kory did something very out of character for him.

He got their attention and let them know he overheard part of their conversation and he assumed they were ministers. We explained we just moved to the area and Kory was a youth minister in the area and he just wanted to meet them and tell them they encouraged him. Well, it just so happens that they were youth ministers who were in the process of transitioning into different ministry roles at their church. However, they were in the process of creating a Youth Minister Alliance for all the youth ministers in the county. So Kory gave them his contact information and we parted ways.

A couple months later, Kory received an e-mail about the first meeting of this new Youth Minister group. They met on Saturday mornings so Kory & I began going to meetings and loved it! Sadly, they have since started meeting during the week, so I can no longer attend, but Kory goes every month and we've built some great relationships as a result of that. In fact, one of my closest friends here is a gal who I met through that group.

So last Fall, the group (DCEF 2.0) was hosting a county-wide youth rally to coincide with See You at the Pole. Kory & 2 other youth ministers spoke at the event and fun was had by all. Unbeknownst to us (that's a fun word!), the middle school minister from Redeemer's was at that event and heard Kory speak. So when their winter middle school retreat rolled around and they needed a speaker, Redeemer's contacted Kory to ask him to be the guest speaker for that weekend.

Kory had to be gone my birthday weekend to speak at that retreat, but we both agreed it was a great opportunity and so he did it. He had a wonderful time at the retreat and came back singing the praises of Redeemer's and even said he would love to work for a church like that!

A couple days later, Kory received an e-mail from the Middle School Youth Minister saying, "Hey, we're looking for a High School Youth Minister. Know anyone who might be interested?" Kory wasn't looking for a different job, but this one seemed to kind of fall in his lap. Again, we decided this was a great opportunity and he should at least look into it. He applied for the position and several interviews and meetings later, here we are, about to move so he can work as the High School Youth Minister at Redeemer's Fellowship.

It's amazing to look back and see how that one simple conversation in Starbucks led to all this! Now, I certainly believe God could have worked this out in a different way if He wanted to, but I love knowing that simply following God's prompting can lead you to very exciting opportunities in the future!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Change is a great word to describe my life right now. Marriage itself brings a lot of big changes: living together, sharing money, different last name, etc. However, we have quite a few more changes happening in the next couple weeks.

Kory just accepted a new job with a different church. The great part is that the job is in Roseburg, Oregon...which is the city I already work in! That is wonderful news because I can keep my current job AND I don't have to commute anymore. It wasn't terrible-about 25 minutes-but I will be very happy to be able to run home for lunch or to live in a town with a movie theater and Sonic! We are moving to the big city, y'all. From a town of 3,000 to one with 22,000. That is a big deal, mainly because it puts us half an hour closer to Chili's :)

Kory will be the high school youth minister at Redeemer's Fellowship and we are both SO excited about it! I will have to post about the incredible way God brought this opportunity into our lives soon. It is awesome to see how He's been working. The plan is to start that job after the wedding and honeymoon.

So we got Kory's stuff all moved into my apartment yesterday and he is staying with a friend for the month of May to save a month of paying rent. This means we get to move again right when we get back from the honeymoon. We have got a lot of my apt packed up now also so we need to start looking at housing options in Roseburg pretty soon.

Redeemer's is a church of 1,000 people and we currently worship in a church of 130 people...so that will be an adjustment. All of these changes are positive, though, and we're very excited about all of it! It's just sometimes a lot to take all at once.

However, I'm so thankful I don't have to quit my job and look for another one. That makes a huge difference in lowering my stress level. In fact, I really don't feel too stressed out by all of this...I just feel excited and ready for it to all start happening!

The next few weeks are pretty crazy for us. Last Monday night (May 2), we met with the youth ministry volunteers and let them know about this new job and made plans for Kory's transition. Then, Kory was preaching Sunday morning (May 8) and announced it to the church body, so it's officially "out" and we can tell everyone we're moving now. This Wednesday (May 11), we'll talk to the youth group kids about it, so I'm sure that will be kind of hard. We have two more Sundays to attend church at Tri City and then we'll be gone for the wedding. When we return from the honeymoon (June 5), Kory will have one week off and then start his job at Redeemer's and we'll make the move to Roseburg.

We got Kory completely moved out of his apartment because I wanted to come home from the honeymoon to a clean apartment where we were all moved in and settled...silly me. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy! However, God is dumping blessing after blessing on us, so we will not complain. We will just be excited about the changes that are coming our way! :)

Labels

I just went through my old blog posts and added labels to every post-153 of them! That took a really long time, but I'm glad to have it done. I've added the labels on the side if you want to see posts on a particular topic. Hopefully this will make it easier to go back and find old posts I like and want to read again.

Resolution Follow-Up

So I was looking through old blog posts today and found this one that describes my 2010 New Years Resolution to make friends here in Oregon.

Well, I am happy to report that I did it! There are 3-4 girls that I hang out with on a semi-regular occasion and I would consider all of them to be my close friends. It certainly took work, but I am excited that I followed through on last year's resolution and made it happen!