A Night to Remember

I am a pretty sentimental person. I have a shoe box that holds all my treasures from Ryan. All the cards he has given me, seashells from the beach, ticket stubs. I remember all the special occasions in our relationship. The day we went on our first date, the day he told me he loved me. The day is proposed. That day, December 15, 2007. Two years ago today.

People often ask me how Ryan proposed and I quickly say, under a 75 ft. Christmas Tree. It’s true. Pioneer Courthouse Square here in Portland. It was beautiful, and such a perfect place.

Last year we had hoped to go and visit “our tree”, but the snow storm made that too difficult. Tonight we are going to celebrate the night we got engaged. It might seem a bit ridiculous to you, but for us, we enjoy it. A nice dinner out, and a stroll in downtown Portland to see such a special tree (that is if it’s not too rainy, then we will go another night to see the tree).

None the less, we will take tonight to remember a night that changed both of our lives. A night we made a promise. A night neither of us will ever forget.

Christmas Lights

This weekend when we were in Yakima, we went and looked at some Christmas Lights. We stopped by a house that was synchronized to Trans Siberian Orchestra. They had a sign that said to tune into a specific radio station, and it played the same two songs over and over. The lights flashed with the music. If you haven't heard Trans, it's very upbeat so the lights move very quickly. It was amazing!!

If you get a chance, google Trans Siberian Orchestra and Christmas lights and you will find several YouTube videos of this same thing.

It's pretty impressive...I wish I had my camera with me!!!

Wonder

Have you ever wondered why?Have you wondered why things happen to you that don’t happen to anyone else?I do.
I wonder why I married the most incredible woman in the world.
I wonder why I get to enjoy life with the most beautiful woman in the world.
I wonder why I have been able to see parts of the world many people only dream of.
I wonder why I have been able to meet so many wonderful people and be apart of so many great lives.
I wonder why I enjoy the alarm clock going off at 2am to go do the best job in the world.
I wonder why I have been so blessed in my life.

I used to wonder why I was depressed and wanted to kill myself – going as far as trying.
I used to wonder if God would ever make something of my life.
I used to wonder if I would ever be healed.

I have been healed – and while I don’t know the “why” part of the answer, if it meant being able to appreciate the blessings I have now more than I would have if I hadn’t gone through the other stuff – that’s enough for me and for now, I’ll be content wondering why.

-Ryan

My Monster

Meow has become a little monster. By Monster I mean giant pawed huge kitty monster. I cannot believe how big he is. He loves to lay on his back and expose his very fluffy tummy, not fat, fluffy. He’s just a monster.

He is so sweet and affectionate. I have never had or met a cat like him. He loves to give love, especially to me. Ryan would tell you it’s true, but he def gives love to Ryan! Meow likes to wake me up around 3 in the morning, every night. He gets on me and starts licking my face and nudging me. He just wants so much love and wants to share it with me. Then he proceeds to sleep on my head. Yes, on my head. The other night I was laying on my stomach and he stretched from one shoulder to the other with his little face resting on my cheek just purring and sleeping. It was the sweetest thing…until I couldn’t fall back to sleep.

He also likes to be where we are. If we leave a room, he follows. He doesn’t have to be with us every moment, just in sight of us. It’s so cute. When we leave for a few days, even with someone kitty sitting, he just wants to be held and loved and is afraid we will leave him again.

I love my little guy so much. I had a guy at work ask me yesterday if he has become like our child….you know, kind of. Ryan even bought Meow a stocking for Christmas. Of course, the stocking says Meow right on it. He brings us so much joy. He is truly a good cat…curious, but good.

We have been reading up on the Maine Coon Breed of cats. I have a friend who told me that Meow might be of this very popular breed. So I read up…he does seem to have many of the traits. Long ear hair. Long hair in his toes. Fluffy tail. Giant paws. Fascination with water. Loyal. Playful. Affectionate, but not a lap cat. Huge. Did I mention how big my monster is getting? This breed can get up to 4 feet long with the tail..yikes. They tend to have some dog-like traits…like playing fetch. Yup. There were several more, but as both Ryan and I have read up, we are pretty convinced he is at least partially Maine Coon.

Looking forward to my monster getting much bigger, especially with him sleeping on my head. Great.

Baby Monster

Not so baby Monster

Turkey Day

Just a quick blog to say, HAPPY THANKSGIVING.




*This is my niece Hadlie at Halloween, but I thought it would be appropriate for Thanksgving!

A Loving Letter

Do you remember when you were younger and you would check your mail, and there tucked between magazines and junk mail, was a letter. The one you were waiting for. You pull out and see the name of the person you were hoping for. You slowly open the letter, and read every word. Maybe several times.

I loved those days. I had several pen pals in my life. All of which I have lost touch with, or now I receive emails from them. Email has now replaced those priceless letters. Occasionally I will get an email that surprises me, much like that letter tucked into the mail box. Today was one of those days.

A few days ago I emailed my Aunt in Germany. I only did because I saw an old email from her and realized it had been far too long since I spoke with my aunt. A little background, my Aunt Rosemarie, and Uncle Wolfgang live in Germany. They are German. Rosemarie is my dad’s half sister. She was a teenager during WWII, and has seen more things than she chooses to remember. I met them and my cousin Volker when I was a young girl when they came to visit the states. I met my aunt again on another visit. When I was 16 when we went to Germany for a week. We stayed with them and they showed us so much of Germany. My aunt and I made a connection.

When I was a senior in college I was able to go back to Germany. I was there with a group from my school working with Malachi Ministries, but when we took a “play day” in Heidelberg, I made sure I got to see my family. They took the train from Herrenberg where they live all the way to Heidelberg. We spent the entire day together. We saw the castle, ate German food, and shopped. It was a wonderful trip and something I will never forget.

So, today when I checked my email, my aunt had responded to me. A sweet, short note catching me up on her life in Germany. She isn’t young anymore. I am hoping to make it back to Germany one day just to see my family and for Ryan to meet them. Maybe soon we will get to go, but for now, I need to email my aunt back!

Christmas in November??

I have a confession...I love Christmas. Well, that's not so bad. I love Christmas early. Like...mid November. Yes, I am one of those people.

Usually, the music waits until after Thanksgiving, but not this year. See, my family goes to see Trans Siberian Orchestra every year, so to get in the spirit of it my dad and I begin listening to the music a tad bit early. I think we were both listening to it in September this year. But it's amazing. And well, since I have been listening to that for so long, I was ready for my other countless Christmas cds...guess what I am doing right now?

Anyways, I feel as if the stores are getting ready earlier and earlier. Places are decorated and ads already boast of Christmas shopping. How could I not get in the spirit a bit early? Last weekend my mother in law gave me this new beautiful natvity set. I instantly put it up, just to see how it looked. Well, it was so pretty, that I tried to convince Ryan that we should really take down the fall decorations and put up the Christmas ones. He didn't budge.

So for now, I am just listening to my Christmas music.

Don't judge me. :)