Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was once again very busy for us. We didn't head to Washington until late Wednesday night because Marcel was at worship practice for the weekend services which he led (the services turned out great--he was beyond amazing, I was so proud!). We spent Wednesday night at his dad's and then had breakfast there Thanksgiving morning, before heading up to his mom's house for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. The food was delicious, although I ate too much breakfast (it's my absolute favorite meal of all!) so I didn't eat much that day. Coco sent us home with plenty of leftovers, so I've now had my share! On our way back to Oregon, we stopped at Jill's house, Marcel's good friend and best woman in our wedding, for a short visit turned long, which was wonderful. Home before midnight so I could be up at 4am to work Black Friday @ Banana...

Like always when I get out my camera, Snoh thinks it is the most fascinating thing in the world so he served as our photographer. Most of them are blurry, but I think these ones turned out well...

The 3 of us... and once Marcel got to push the button Snoh had to...see next picture Marcel had to stabilize the camera, but it was Snoh to take the picture

Snoh was directing us... "Brother you have silly face and MaryBeth you have happy face." This was the result.

Hope everyone had a great holiday! Christmas is right around the corner and I'm starting to get into the spirit and really want to decorate our place and a tree, but to be moving in less than 3 weeks makes it a bit impractical, and we won't be in Idaho until 5 days before Christmas, so I'm not sure how much decorating will happen for our first Christmas as husband & wife...

26

I noticed on Facebook a few days ago that people were posting something they were thankful for for each day of November, until Thanksgiving. I'm a bit late but figured I could still come up with at least 26, so here is my list:

1. God--He has done more for me that I can ever begin to recall, but recently, he allowed me to meet my husband, he has provided for Marcel and I when things seem to be stacked against us, and of course, he loves us with His perfect love.
2. Marcel--Today, we are 4 days shy of our 6 month mark of being husband and wife. While we have not had as much time together as either of us would like, at the end of the day we both know that we are there for each other 100%. Marcel has shown me more love these last 6 months than I could ever deserve. Getting up at 3:30am with me to have the car warm when I leave for a 4am shift, and making breakfast for me on days when I work at 5am, having the whole house cleaned when I get home because work has made me too tired to clean it myself, I could go on and on, but I am thankful to have him by my side
3. Mom & Dad--People say you learn to respect your parents more once you become a parent, but I think just being married has given me a deeper respect for everything they do. Now that I am responsible for working, cooking, cleaning, paying bills and all the other grown up stuff, I see everything they did for me when I was young. Thank you!
4. Emily & Hannah--I could not ask for better sisters. We may not talk often enough, but when we finally get a hold of each other (we are all living in different time zones!) we talk like no time has passed and can tell each other just about anything we feel. I hope that my kids will one day have that same relationship with their siblings.
5. Marcel's family--So much of his family I feel I don't know well, or at all, and I may not be the closest to those I do know, but they made him who he is today and that alone makes me thankful!
6. I Love You--These simple 3 words speak volumes. It doesn't matter if I was mad, sad, disappointed, frustrated, happy, overwhelmed or any other emotion, hearing I Love You will always bring a smile to my face and make my day a little brighter
7. Our house--Every month, at the end of the month, when we are about to pay rent, I get worried wondering about where the $695 is going to come from (but see #1, because it always happens), and complain having such a big rent check to pay, but I am now trying to tell myself that we do have a place to live and for that I am thankful.
8. Our car--There are times when our one car is far from enough to get me and Marcel everywhere we need to be at the time we need to be there, but with Marcel's flexibility we are able to make it work. Our Vibe gets me back and forth between 2 jobs with 2 very crazy schedules.
9. Food--Marcel jokes that I have to eat every 2 hours and I get mad at him every time he says anything about it, but I have to admit that I can't go long between meals and we have always had something in the cupboard to fill that need.
10. Employment--I don't know if there has been a day where I have not complained to Marcel about one thing or the other about one of my jobs or the other, but I am thankful for having a job when so many people around me don't.
11. Education--I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go to college and get a degree. If I am using it now or not, it is still something that can't be taken from me and is something that I will use, however God best sees fit.
12. Future--With how greats things have been, I am thankful for the future God has in store for me. I pray now that I will try to be grateful for what I am given and when I am given it because I know things work out better when we trust in Him.
13. Church--I was just saying today that I may not have been the most involved in my church, outside of Sunday School, but I still believe without the church experience no one would feel God move in their life the way He wants. I love Sonrise's mission statement/motto: A Safe Place to Hear a Life Changing Message. Everything you do hear at church is life changing, if you let it be.
14. Friends--Although I am soon moving away from those friends of mine that I've grown closest to over the last 5+ years, I am thankful for that friendship and now that it will never end. I am excited for the opportunity to develop new friendships as our life leads onto a new chapter in our life.
15. Health--I consider myself to be in good health, while I could be in better shape, overall I think I'm healthy and for that I'm thankful!
16. Seasons--I love living in a place that has such great seasons. I love all of them and can't imagine living in a place that did not allow me to experience the whole spectrum of God's creation.
17. Entertainment--Whether that be a good movie or a good TV show, I am thankful for the actors who are able to provide me that outlet. Maybe I watch a bit too much of it, but it is enjoyable nonetheless!
18. Sleeping in--It doesn't happen nearly as much as I would like for how late I stay up almost every night, but the days where I am finally am to sleep in are heavenly to me, almost as heavenly as...
19. No alarm clock--I think I would trade sleeping in if I could just simply wake up everyday when I wanted to. I feel so much at peace with my day when I chose when to wake up, instead of being told when to get up.
20. Rainbows--They are beautiful just to look at, but knowing why there is a rainbow in the sky is so much more important. Every time I see a rainbow, I am thankful that God will take care of us each and everyday.
21. Dave Ramsey--silly for some of you, but this man is guiding Marcel and I down the path to becoming debt-free. It will be the two of us doing all the hard work on the path, but he is showing us what path to take and I can't wait for the day when I owe no one money and Marcel and I can finally visit Australia! We have told ourselves when our student loans are entirely paid off we are going on a long vacation there
22. Technology--nearly every day I am checking my email, on facebook, blog stalking, or searching for jobs, and I would not be able to do any of that without the internet and a computer. While sometimes it does make your life harder, most of the time it does nothing but make it easier.
23. America--Things may not be going the best for our country right now, but overall this is a great place to live. I'm glad to be an American.
24. Dishwashers--As I was talking to my mom this week, she reminded me that our house in Idaho is without a dishwasher and it made me so glad that I have had one the last 6 months. It helped with our hectic schedules to have clean dishes waiting for us!
25. Photography--I thought I used to take a lot of pictures, but Marcel has taught me what it means to take pictures. He takes pictures of things I'd never think to and those are usually the ones that best capture the memories we're making. I enjoy scrapbooking and hope that soon I'll have time to get caught up enough on mine that I can start our wedding book, and to think that none of it would be possible without the picture.
26. Life, in general--Everyday I feel frustrated by money, work, messes, just to name a few, but this Thanksgiving I am trying especially hard to find the good in everything, everyday. I am blessed!

The Stone

Tonight, I was once again home alone and since our borrowed internet has decided to work again I was going through some of my old posts-it's a lot of fun to see everything I was really excited about in the last few months.

I found my post about Marcel's Senior Project (he wrote a piece of music, taught it to students, and then conducted them in concert) and it reminded me that I just found an old email in my inbox with a link to a youtube video of Pacific's Senior Project Day that is set to the piece he wrote. I figured that if I put it into my blog, I can find it whenever I want to feel overly proud of my amazing husband.
This video is not just about his presentation; his music just plays throughout it and he is credited at the end, still enough to be proud of

He named his piece The Stone because it was his capstone project, just in case any of you were curious!

Mysterious Message

Yesterday morning I was on my way back from Banana, anxious for my nap, and listening to K-LOVE, my new found love in radio. I heard that Steven Curtis Chapman was going to be on but I didn’t hear when. I was hoping that I’d hear it because he is my all-time favorite Christian music artist. On my way to the gym, my radio turned on to K-LOVE and it was Steven Curtis Chapman! His new song, Heaven is the Face, is about his little girl dying. His whole interview was about her dying and how they are coping still after 18 months. All he could say over and over is that there are still hard days and very hard days but each day they are reminded that they will be reunited and that is enough to get them through the difficult times.

He also spoke of his tattoo of her drawing—a six petal flower, with only 1 petal colored in, with the word SEE. He explained it as the sign from God that everything would be okay, that his family would get through the tragedy. He has 6 children, 1 of which has gone to Heaven, that’s the petal that’s colored. We can never reach completion in this life and it isn’t until we return to our Father. SEE was a word she had just learned to write but it spoke volumes of saying see I’m in a better place.

I spent my 30 minute drive crying along to the radio, and the DJs who were also crying. Lately I’ve felt that life has been rough for me—my jobs keep me way too busy for way too little money, my house never looks how I want it to, I don’t see my husband enough, etc… but this whole conversation spoke to me. There are people who have it way harder than I do, and they may even be in my apartment complex. I have 2 jobs at a time when many people have none. I have a place to live when many people don’t. I have food in my cupboards and fridge when many people can’t afford groceries. I have a loving, supportive husband and family when many people are losing their loved ones.

This was a message I needed to hear. It is something I’ve been praying about and having Marcel pray for me about. God works in mysterious ways and allowed me to hear the message I have needed to hear to come from someone I admire. I feel relieved to realize again that I am blessed beyond measure by a God who will never forsake me.

This Place...

In my last post I said that I could not have possibly caught up on the 2 years I hadn't written in my journal, but I did write about what I was feeling at that time. Again, I said last time that it is already packed up but what I wrote about is still tugging on my heart, so I'm writing about it again...

I had spent the day packing up and while I am excited beyond belief to be moving I was getting very emotional for the following reasons:

• This place has been my home for over 5 years
• This place is where all my closest friends are
• This place is what brought Marcel and I together (I didn't reread this far back in my journal, but I know that as a senior in high school, I was scared about picking a college because I had hoped and dreamed that would be the place God would show me my husband, and at 18 that thought was scary!)
• This place is where Marcel and I have spent our entire relationship: dating, engaged, and now married
• This place allows me to visit our wedding site whenever I want...nothing is as good as going back to campus and walking through the place we exchanged our wedding vows and remembering the excitement of that day!
• This place has changed me into the person I am today

Even with all of that and some things I will miss about Forest Grove (I have a draft of a post I'll publish when it gets closer to moving day) I am super excited to be returning to Idaho, closer to my family after these last 5 years of being gone. I am forever grateful for everything Forest Grove and Pacific University has done for me and could see us ending back in this area God-willing, but for now my time here is complete and I need to head somewhere else to keep growing in my relationships with my husband, my parents, my sisters, and of course God.

Reflections

2 days ago (who really knows though because my days have been all screwed up lately!) Marcel told me that he had run across my journal while looking for a notebook to take to his conference. He didn't want to tell me because he thought I might be mad at him for reading part of it and at first I was a little hurt, but I have no secrets so then I was just intrigued by what he found. He told me that he was reading from the end of my sophomore year, which is when our relationship started. He was getting very emotional (but that is just between you and me!) telling me about it, and even said that it made him fall more in love with me. All he really told me was he could tell how excited I was for our relationship, my first ever!

Today I was trying to be very productive, which I think I accomplished, except instead of looking a place of employment in Idaho, I started packing. Knowing we haven't touched our bookshelf since we moved in, that's where I started, so I too ran across my journal. I was surprised to find I hadn't written in it since July 2007! I went digging for the entry that first talked about Marcel--sometime in May 2006. I read through the rest of the journal and was also very fascinated with what Marcel had just read.

Some things that really stuck out to me:

• I had some doubts at the beginning, mainly during our first 3 months together since we were starting a relationship long distance, but once we were both back at school, things turned out great!
• I had very great friends who were there for me 100% when I need someone to talk through my feelings with
• I have been able to talk completely openly and honestly with Marcel from the beginning
• I had been very anxiously waiting him to say "I Love You" for a few weeks before it finally came on November 2, 2006...Kelly had told me not to say it before 6 months of dating to make sure I truly meant it, and Marcel respected that so he waited as long as he could before he finally said it, just 20 days early, but I know for sure that we both meant it ;)
• I had started to think about us getting married earlier in our relationship than I would have thought
• I was super excited to get good reviews from my family the first time Marcel made the trip to Idaho with me, which sealed the deal for me in a way
• I was grateful to be able to spend so much time by his side in the hospital during the liver tumor fiasco of 2007...we spent so much time joking that he'd have plenty of time to repay me as he stood by my side as I was delivering our children
• I was expecting a proposal on our first anniversary, just 16 months earlier than when it finally came

It also made me realize that we've nearly been together 3.5 years and what a ride it has been! Those were my reflections on the past and this is my glimpse into the future, trying to remember that we are not in control of any of it and we'll continue to gladly take what ever God chooses to hand us.

• Moving to Idaho, because all we've ever known together is the wonderful college town of Forest Grove
• Following Dave Ramsey's plan for our Total Money Makeover, and choosing to live like no one else so one day we can live like no one else
• One day becoming Mom and Dad, in addition to being Husband and Wife, something my mom is anxiously awaiting!
• Growing closer together each day of what I've made Marcel promise to be at least 60+ years!

And in case you were wondering, I didn't think I could possibly catch up my journal from the last 2 years, so I just started up again like no time had passed, and then packed it up promising myself that when we are in Idaho and I'm unpacking I'll be able to write about our first Christmas as a married couple, hopefully enjoying a beautiful white Christmas in Idaho!

I Miss My Husband!

This week I feel like I have done nothing but work. I usually feel this way, but this week was even more so. I had Monday off from Banana but was at the gym that night, but then spent the next 4 days at both jobs. Again, this is nothing new except the days were so much longer. In my 4 days at Banana I worked 33 hours, starting at 6am most days. I would love to start my day early so I could be off early, but in my current job situation it is not ideal. Not getting home from the gym until nearly 9pm makes it very hard to get rested enough to be up at 4:45am!

This week's craziness has also been hard because it has kept time with Marcel to a minimum. Tuesday and Wednesday he is in class until at least 9:30pm and I was trying to be in bed around then. And now that I have tonight and tomorrow off and am actually home, Marcel is attending a conference in Portland and won't be home until around midnight. Oh, what it would be like to have dinner together again!

We still have no idea what either one of us will be doing for employment once we move to Idaho, but I'm hoping that our jobs will allow us to spend time together like we did while we were dating and engaged.