Sister Time!

Nothing brings joy to my soul better than quality time with someone special, which is why I was ecstatic when Morgan said that she was coming to visit during her break between Jan Term and the start of her spring semester!  A whole five days together + wedding planning = pure bliss!  Despite the minor hang up of her breaking her elbow the week before, (that's another story, but let's just say that even though ice skating was only $1.00, the whole experience turned out to be much more costly) we managed to live it up.  Like my mom, my sister definitely has more shopping stamina than I do, even with a sling on!  We accomplished 2 out of our 3 tasks--not bad.  We successfully found bridesmaid dresses and my wedding jewelry!  It was so much fun to do all these things with Morgan.  She was even a trooper when I spent a birthday gift card and tried on close to 40 pairs of jeans before successfully finding one.  When we Skyped Parker at dinner that night, thanked Morgan over and over again for enduring that much shopping.  Yes, even when I'm married, I will still need sister and girl quality time.

Morgan and I also made lots of good meals together.  She said that her stomach needed a break from dorm food, and I'm happy to report that she quite the atypical adventurous eater.  We also made it on a walk and watched several Redbox movies together.  

It was such a great time!  I'm counting down the days until I get to see her again in Spokane this spring.  I'll get to watch her play tennis and get my bridal gown fitted...yay!

The Last of the 20s

It's weird how birthdays kind of just sneak up.  I mean it shouldn't be all that weird, since you have a 365 day warning, but still.  I have to admit that I was a little sad to think that this will be my last year starting with the digit "2."  My twentys have been really great--college, first job, tons of adventuring in Colorado, Spring Break trips to NYC & Australia, masters degree, buying my first place, developing new friendships, meeting my future husband...and the list goes on.  Who wouldn't want to relive those days?  Still, I found myself a little hesitant to be so close to 30.  When I was little, 30 seemed so far away and, well, quite frankly, "old."  Now, the closer I get to these landmark birthdays, the more I realize that the age old saying, "Age is just a number," has more truth to it than I thought.  I definitely don't feel much different than I did a decade ago.  (Honestly, there are still some days that I wonder who in their right mind deemed that I would be capable of teaching, leading, and serving 25+ children each day!  I still feel like a kid myself sometimes and can barely take care of 1 person-me.)  However, instead of dwelling on how much I'm not liking the fact that I'm one step closer to a birthday milestone, I'm going to focus on the positive.  They year of 29 has some great things in store--a lot of unknowns and I'm sure some surprises (jobs, houses, relocation for one or both of us), but still, some really great things.  After all, it will be the year that I marry my best friend.  That in itself is enough to be excited about. 

As I experienced  a week of celebrations with loved ones, I was reminded of how truly blessed I am.  So many women gave me the gift of time as we spent a delightful evening out together.   Not only did I have the most delicious chicken dish ever, but the blackberry sangrias were to die for!  We had a lovely evening of good conversation and laughter.  I felt so special and very well loved.  

My coworkers even decorated my cubicle with a special birthday balloon. Loved ones far away sent their birthday wishes in cards.  My cousin came down and had lunch with me.  And, as if that weren't enough, my sister came for a visit the end of the week for 5 days!  Thank you Lord for giving me this 28th year and for all the incredible people that you have placed in my life!

 

Of course, Parker celebrated my birthday too.  In fact, it was a year ago about this time that he taught me how to Skype, sent me my first card (for my birthday), and talked about coming to visit me for the first time.  It still blows my mind to think about God's faithfulness in our relationship in just a year's time.  This year, Parker hid my birthday card and present under my pillow when he was visiting last week.  He thought that I might need a little cheering up after he left.  Yes, this man knows me well.  He also probably knew that I'd never be able to wait a whole week to open both...he was right again.  Even though I couldn't wait until my actual birthday, it was nice to spread out the celebrations.  Parker wrote me the sweetest card and gave me a shirt to help me feel closer to him.  Do you see the maple leaf?  Canada, please take good care of my guy until we can be together again.

Canada Via Colorado

Let's be honest in saying that I was quite spoiled after spending 14 straight days with my fiance over Christmas.  Coming back to "real life" was a little bit of an adjustment.  When I left Parker the day after New Years, we hadn't set up the next time we'd see each other, which made it even harder to say goodbye.  I probably should have had a better attitude about the whole thing.  Thankfully, it turned out that I had less than 2 weeks to wait.  (Thank you Parker's work travel agent who got him to go up to Canada via Colorado for just an additional $40!)  My pastor in Colorado has agreed to do our premarriage counseling.  It's a little bit tricky since we're getting married by our pastor in MT, but won't be there until just before the wedding.  So, we were super excited that Mike & Leesa agreed to mentor us.  We absolutely love their family (5+ kids) and heart for the Lord.  I was able to be in a women's Bible study with Leesa last year and served in the Dominican Republic with both of them for a week back in 2010.  Not only were we stoked about them doing our counseling, but also about the fact that that means that Parker will becoming back to Colorado at least 5 more times this spring :)

Our weekend together started off with date night up in Denver.  We had dinner at the cutest place, Washington Park Grille (thanks Amy for the best restaurant recommendations).  I was adventurous and tried a salad with duck, while my guy had his favorite dish on the planet...pizza.  It was a perfect start to our weekend-relaxed atmosphere, delicious food, and good conversation.

Friday after breakfast we headed up to meet Pastor Mike at a coffee shop for counseling.  While I'd like to say that the experience was entirely wonderful (and in the end it was) we definitely had a rough start of it all.  The trip there was full of trouble with directions, communication, and music.  Thankfully, time, perspective, and prayer worked wonders on our hearts.  A few hours later, we left as a stronger couple--glad to have experienced this bump in the road and to have come out the other side together.  Mostly, I have the best guy to do life with.  How did I get so lucky?

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key.  We went to church, made meals together, and watched Tebow and the Broncos lose out of the playoffs against the Patriots.  Good thing the friends and delicious food made up for the lack of game.

Another highlight was the fact that Parker fixed my clock.  Well, he technically didn't fix it himself, but he did the research to make it happen.  After spending $10 and 35 minutes alone in the car in an alley of a sketchy part of town, Parker emerged with my working clock and a big grin.  You see, he absolutely LOVES clocks...a true symbol of the value and quality of time, so simply ticking on yet still mysterious, or so he says.  It may seem like a trivial thing, but it's so nice to be able to sit in the living room while watching TV or Skyping and to know the real time.  Let's face it, in the past few months my favorite clock kept loosing time, so I couldn't even do any sort of tricky conversion to figure out the time.  Every time I look at my functioning clock I think of how Parker serves me...even in with the small things in life.  Thanks dear!