coming together....

as each week passes, i am able to see things come together for the wedding. if i can sum anything up about wedding planning, it is that it is not at all what you think it will be.

SINGLES BEWARE! be prepared for anything and everything under the sun to happen. and i have fought tooth-and-nail to keep this wedding a small and simple affair. in the end, after all the desperate attempts not to have aunt lucinda's mother-in-law's friend attend... i think jody and i may be having a small wedding after all. more than likely around 85 people. that's great. that's amazing. praise God.

the invitations are done and about to be sent out. the catering has been decided. and we're having the rehearsal dinner at my grandmother's neighbor's home. she's great. the house is beautiful. God has blessed us, and i'm thankful beyond words. rebekah has her dress. communication with jody's family is improving enormously... THAT is a huge praise-the-Lord.

jody continues to plug away in korea. i miss him more than i ever thought was possible, even surrounded by friends and family here. we talk daily via skype/webcam and continue to make plans long-distance. he is in the midst of job searching, so prayers would be appreciated. we are trying to dedicate this first year of marriage to the Lord and seeking His face, so good work hours (i.e. similar ones to mine) would be great. otherwise we won't see one another at all. please pray that God will lead jody and make his path clear before him.

as i mentioned before, i have been surrounded by friends. and i'm not joking. the Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends, and i've seen many of them in the month i've been home. at least one arrives almost every single day to just hang out or tag along for wedding errands. i am truly thankful for them. here's my friend lisa from middle school. she just got back from teaching a year at an internat'l school in hungary!!! we've been busy swapping stories of teaching in a foreign country. it's pretty funny how similar our responses are to living cross-culturally.

tomorrow i leave for fredericksburg to spend time with my older sister rebekah and her family. i am excited to see her and help out around the house. micah, nathan, and chloe certainly keep her on her toes. :) pray that God blesses the time... i cannot know when i'll be able to do this again.

i love you all. write/email when you have the chance.

our knot...

http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=7450095550669068

wow. who's that?!

not getting bogged down.

it is a little hard to believe that i have been home in america for almost 2 weeks now. on the one hand, time has been very busy and full, and on the other hand, it is dragging by.

wedding planning is marching along, and i am starting to feel like we are making progress. there are so many details, and i am trying to find the balance between caring (because there should be some measure of concern when so much expense is involved) and just letting some of the details slip through the cracks. mom has been amazing. i am so proud of her.

today my sister drove down with baby chloe (grandma holt had micah and nathan) and we were able to buy her dress. she is the matron-of-honor and the only bridesmaid i have, so we had fun having so much freedom in pickingjout a dress. then we went and grabbed dinner at panera bread. and after that we went over to her roommate christina's place to talk a bit about the bridal luncheon.

we also ordered the invitations and the cake. yay! so things are marching along. i am learning to trust that the Lord is fully in control and His hand truly is on us. and the knowledge of His presence and blessing makes everything so much easier and more peaceful.

on the other hand, i am really missing jody! it's just no fun being apart and knowing that he's having to weather korea alone. especially since we are such pals! *sigh* i'm trying not to count down the days, but it's not working very well.

well, it's late and i should get to bed. love to all. talk soon!

Like Christ

The past week at home has been both wonderful and challenging, to say the least. I am once again surrounded by my parents and four younger siblings on a regular basis. It has been awesome to be in their midst; however, I am beginning to see that people develop opinions as they grow up. So we have lots of opinions in our household. Also, I have been away from the family for a long time now. This morning during my time with the Lord I was thinking about how much my family has changed since I left the house for college in 2001. I realized that the perception I give to other people of my family is the one I had developed at that time. But my family has changed a lot since then and so have I, so this perception may be faulty. This week I am seeing how important it is to handle all situations with the attitude of Christ... with humility, patience, and a servant's heart.

My suitcase lies on the living room floor, clothes jumbled, shoes in a heap, and bags all around. So far my bed has been the living room sofa, Anna's top bunk, and Courtney's apartment sofa, and I am consistently waking up between 6 and 6:30 every morning. Part of it, I'm sure, is still jetlag, and the other part just might be having an active mind by all that is going on around me and not really having a place to get away to. I have grown accustomed to the silence of my apartment in Korea. There is no competition there!

On top of all that I am in the throes of wedding planning. Things are marching along all right but not without some tension and occasional confrontation. Also, I am without a car consistently, so I am having to communicate with Luke and Sarah constantly about the cars, in case I need to get something done.

It is good to be home. It is wonderful to see decisions reached and wedding plans come together. I am incredibly grateful for the support that I have here. And yet, I am reminded that as each challenge arises, it really is important how I respond to them. No matter what inconvenience, stress, or discomfort arises, I want to reflect the life and love of the Lord to those around me.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

Philippians 2, 5-8

"first" impressions of america (reverse culture shock)

1. everyone is so friendly! people talk to strangers here. that's amazing.
2. life is much slower here. ahhhh. my stomach is slowly relaxing.
3. the air smells wonderfully sweet and heavy (currently from the humidity). where are the smells of car and bus exhaust, sewage, and garbage?!
4. there are so many trees and i can see wildlife. i forgot about the sounds of birds!
5. so much SPACE!!! i can go for stretches without seeing more than 5 people. that's phenomenal. awesome. wonderful.
6. ENGLISH! i can understand everything. it's amazing. things get accomplished so much more quickly because we speak the same language. communication IS key. but it's overwhelming. so much stimulation. where is the quiet?
7. i can't walk here very much. i miss having the choice to walk anywhere (if i wanted to).
8. my family is loud. and overpowering. and very opinionated. where is the quiet of my apartment?!
9. there are so many ridiculous and unnecessary choices here.. why is life so complicated? 50 types of cereal? come on, is that really necessary?
10. dryers and sink disposals are the best inventions EVER.