This month ended up busier than we thought, but amazing!
Adam ran the Chicago marathon at the beginning of this month. He did amazing. I am so proud of him. He started training in May and had been very dedicated to eating well, getting plenty of sleep, and drinking lots of water. If he didn't have time to run in the morning, he would run at ten or eleven pm. He was like a little kid the day before the marathon, he couldn't wait to say he was a marathon runner. I think the marathon was even more special to him because it was in his favorite city, Chicago.
With 45,000 runners and 1.7 million spectators it was difficult to spot Adam running. But between his family and I, we found him. Ashley had the route of the marathon on her phone, so we met Adam at four different spots along the way: mile 3, mile 12.5, and mile 19, and mile 26. We saw Batman, Spiderman, a 40-week pregnant woman, men in their 60s and 70s, and Minnie mouse all running the marathon. It was a neat experience even for the spectators, but more importantly I felt blessed that I was able to be there to support my husband. Check, one thing off Adam's bucket list.
Well, almost! I am enjoying pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, homemade chicken soup, chili, and carmel apples in front of our fireplace. Bring out the scarves and boots...I love fall!!! I think I might like fall better if I knew winter wouldn't come.
Summer was busy. We moved...to a two bedroom apartment!! Woo hoo! We love it, but hate moving. We went on our vacation to Arizona in July. Went to a friend's wedding in MN in August, went to visit a couple friends, a couple trips home to Illinois, celebrated my grandma's 70th birthday, and my great-grandpa went to be with the Lord.
Adam has been busy working for the church and his dad. We feel so blessed to be apart of Crossroads Church for 3 years now and blessed Adam was able to provide additional income by working for his dad's business. Adam, I, and the youth workers are excited that we have turned the "barn" in to the "youth barn." The decor is cool and they are working on a mural for the wall. It's exciting for our youth to have their own place! It's that time of the year for our annual church fall festival and the youth's regular weekend trip to camp PYOCA.
I have been working in the trauma/neuro ICU now for a year. Man, time flies. When I think about what I knew then and what I know now, it is crazy. I have learned so much and I love my co-workers and management. I just can't say enough!!
And Ginger, well she is still...............crazy.
"Mawwiage!" "Mawwiage is what brings us together today. Mawwiage that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream..."
Just had to start my blog about marriage with one of my favorite quote on the movie, Princess Bride. It is the season for weddings, and Adam and I have had our share of joining with others in the celebration. It is a happy, bubbly time, a time to recite vows, see loved ones, and celebrate all God has done and will continue to do. Love is evident in the eyes of those who stand before their guests and witnesses.
I think I can say that Adam and I are officially out of our newlywed stage in life. Even though we have only been married about three years, I am continually reminded that marriage is a joy and very difficult at times. Marriage is about two selfish people coming together and learning how to love and serve each other ultimately through their love for Christ. It's about being fruitful and multiplying to produce godly offspring. It's about having a partner to go through life with, but no one ever said that road would be perfect and easy to travel...
I came across this song a friend sent me and she asked me what I thought of the song.... (You'll have to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and pause the music first so you don't hear multiple songs playing)
You only know what i want I you to
I know everything you don't want me to
your mouth is poison your mouth is wine
you think your dreams are the same as mine
I don't love you but I always will
I don't love you but I always will
I don't love you but I always will
I always will
I wish you'd hold me when I turn my back
well the less I give the more I get back
your hands can heal, your hands can bruise
I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you
I don't love you but I always will
I don't love you but I always will
I don't love you but I always will
I don't love you but I always will
To me, I had to listen to this 3 or 4 times and the first two times I listened to it, I actually hated it. Why would I want to admit to myself that marriage isn't this fairytale, lovey-dovey thing?? Joy Williams, the singer/songwriter said this about the song:
"Poison & Wine is a musical snapshot about the dichotomy of love - that while it can be the thing that destroys you, it can also be the very same thing that beckons and builds you. JP and I are both married have been for several years now - and we got to talking one day about what a tug and pull our individual relationships can be. The longer you know someone - and the longer you allow someone to know you - the more the light and shadows inside each person become more vivid. This song was our attempt at being as brutally honest about the dangerous and beautiful process of knowing and being known."
I think as women, we are looking for a constant fairytale story in our husbands. We want to be their "rockstar" as a friend of mine would say. :) When they do something to disappoint us, we forget that they are human....and thus, we are too. I love the tug-of-war of the husband vs. wife in this song. But in the end, they are together gazing in each others eyes saying, "I don't love you....but I always will...I always will...
...and sometimes that's just how you feel....how can someone you love so much, hurt you that much?!?! But these are the times the Lord speaks to me and says, "Michelle, who are you relying on?" "Your husband or me?" ...and suddenly, the lightbulb turns on, and I wish I hadn't waited so long to stumble in the dark before finding the light switch...our marriage will never be held together on OUR own...only through God...and that's my daily prayer.
I read this quote and have always loved it: "If marriage were all about fated, perfect love, there would be no need for a vow." So true, so true.
The longer I am with my husband, the more I am learning what it means to love one another...to give 100% and not expect anything back. To be honest, I wouldn't want to be in the newlywed stage forever. There is so much to adjust to and not much life-experience to share, but it does have it's own joys too. I look at my husband now, and truly have such a deeper love for him after going through some of our struggles. He balances me out, keeps me from being too serious, makes me laugh, and loves the Lord. I am blessed to have such a man!!!
So what now? Now, I am just learning to rely on God daily to teach me how to love and care for this man...and we have our whole lives...
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
We were so excited to finally see the Grand Canyon!
We stayed in Phoenix a couple days...
Crows/Ravens everywhere!!
It was so beautiful, then to see this verse. I marveled at God's creation!
Went to see a Diamondback game.
Went to the Desert Botanical Garden. These cacti were huge!
Just thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures with you while on vacation. Adam and I really enjoyed being able to see the Grand Canyon. This was the first time both of us had seen the Grand Canyon. We were both thrilled and thankful to get time off and be able to travel.
My day started at the sound of an annoying alarm clock telling me to rise and shine (I don't know about the shinning part) at 5:15am. Ugh, I would say I'm a morning person, but not that early and definately not after I worked a 13 hour shift the day before.
The hours at work would not slow down and actually, I felt like I was running out of time with so much to do and a really sick patient on every kind of drip you could imagine...2 hour insulin checks, EVD/ICP monitoring every hour, CVP monitoring every 4 hours, neuro checks every 1 hour, meds to give, assessments to do, cleaning to do, and being there for a distraught wife and kids, and of course, the unexpected and upredicted things that arise with an ICU patient....and then there's another patient to take care of...(that's for all you nurses out there that understand...) but I'm not here to talk about the crazy day I had...
I quickly sent my husband a text at 3:30pm when I was snarfing (yes, snarfing) down some lunch...it said something like, 'Just to give you a heads up, I won't be home until late tonight.' I just had a feeling, especially since I practically hadn't charted a thing that day...
Eventually, I get home and my husband had prepared some dinner for us both. Relief sets in, I am home!! Practically lethargic after my exhausting day, I snarf (yes, again) dinner down and drag myself in to bed...
The husband says, "You're going to bed already?" As he's running around and playing with the dog, huffing and puffing with all the excitement and using his unending supply of energy. He presumes to be a 'chatty Kathy' and I've learned that I have to take every advantage of those times he actually wants to talk instead of me 'interrogating' him about his day. :) So I put aside my tiredness while lying in bed and prayed for an ounce of energy so I could stay up and converse with my husband.
We laughed about the silly dog and chatted about the happenings with my husbands job. I was able to share about what happened at work and the difficulties and joys of my day. We even got on the subject of talking about Chicago. I told him Chicago always reminded me of him, because it's where I'd drive to to see him during breaks/weekends from school. I walk down Michigan Ave. and all of a sudden all of these memories flood my mind. We talked about how exciting it was to be young and so in love (and infatuated), but are thankful to be beyond that in our marriage. It will be three years in August, and we've grown a lot together. We have even been able to laugh about our horrible (Adam's in agreement) first year together...adjusting was hard, but even more than that we had (and continue to) learn about each other..
I'm sure some of you who are reading this after having been married 20+ years are laughing in agreement with a lot of this. But It is exciting the longer you've been married to see how much you continue to grow as a couple. Adam's gotten pretty good in some areas of knowing how to take care of me and vice versa...and having dinner ready for me after a rough day at work was one way.
It's the little things...like talking in bed and chatting with my husband that made my day. I love nothing more than just being with my husband and talking about life. I pray daily I don't miss an opportunity like this...which could have been easy to do.
Seize the day, seize the moment. Praise the Lord for the work he continues to do in me, in my husband, and in the life of each individual. May you be looking for all the little opportunities in your day...
