Thursday, November 29, 2007

Life...

I am always amazed at how life works and how we are none of us exempt from the good parts and the hard. There has been much that has happened since we took our vows in July. We went on our honeymoon and stayed in a quaint little cabin and enjoyed nature and riding our mountain bikes. Rusty realized that Telluride wasn't such a bad place and we both wished we had more vacation time. We got home from the honeymoon and my grandmother decided that it was best for all that we find our own home to live in. We had knew that this was coming but didn't know how to broach the question and so again God showed himself in control. Well, starting in August we started our search for shelter :) We went through all our options and decided that buying a house would be best. What a process! It was a good dose of reality and a shark realization of how people and society are living beyond their means. We were blessed to find a house that was centrally located to where Rusty and I can both walk to work. We moved in in the middle of October. It took me over a month to decorate and it has started feeling like our home. In the midst of moving in and all the other transitions, we learned that we were pregnant. It came as a surprise as we were not planning on it at this time, but we were trusting God's timing. Well last week, I started bleeding very badly and had an ultrasound done and confirmed that we had a miscarriage.

So just as we were getting adjusted to the idea of having a new addition to our family, we were having to readjust again and still trust in God's timing and staying focused on the truth that he is in control. We had great support from family and friends and I couldn't have been more thankful that Thanksgiving was that week and we were surrounded by my and Rusty's family.

We both are doing well and have found peace in God's grace and love. My body is finally getting back to normal and I am feeling like myself again energy wise. This time has just reminded me of how important it is to have family and friends that you can share the good and the hard with and be able to share LIFE with...

Friday, August 17, 2007

It is Official

Well it is official, I am married. It was a great day! I will start with Friday. All lot of people came on Thursday and Friday. The down side on all of it was the unfortunate time spend at Sam's Club and Walmart to get food items. My dad and the boys were hard at work roasting the hog and setting up, while Becky and I made 9 batches of yummy brownies. The "theme" for Friday nights hog roast was all local food. The hog was from down the road, the corn was Olathe Sweet Corn, the cole slaw was made from cabbage from the neighbor's garden, and the beans were homemade by a good friend (I don't know where the beans came from :) ). The recipe for the brownies originated with one of grandma's oldest friends. It was a great night. There were around 100 people and there were quite a few people that got to come Friday and not Saturday. There was the normal group playing their guitars and normal "East Mesa" fun :) Then Saturday started with us meeting first thing in the morning to set up the chairs and sound system and have a rehearsal. The afternoon flew by and before I knew it we were running late and flying down the road to drop off the Bronco (hide it) and get to the ceremony to get dressed and start photos. I got ready in about 15 minutes (my hair was done thank goodness). I walked out to start photos and Rusty saw me and I thought that I might have to do the Heimlich b/c he choked and almost started to cry when he saw me. It was GREAT!! We got pictures started and thankfully got all of the family pictures done before the ceremony b/c the kids were not having pictures after. The ceremony was perfect. There was a huge storm coming and right when everything got started and the wind started blowing and I thought we might get slammed, but it stayed right there and the wind calmed down. It was like God was saying I am right here, holding back the storm. The ceremony went without a glitch. The funniest thing was Rusty's 3 year old niece throughout the ceremony would go in front of everyone to sit on a rock and could not be bothered by her dress so hiked it up for everyone to see. Priceless :) The reception was great. The food was great and I had friends from work do all the serving and they did awesome. Instead of wedding cake, we had cheesecake and there were incredible looking. We danced and chatted. The night went quickly but it wasn't stressful and I enjoyed every minute of it. The only thing is that I wish everyone could have been there :)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

10 YEARS

So this last weekend I went to my ten year class reunion in Brush, CO. I hadn't been in my home town since about 2000. The nice thing about that area of the country is that it doesn't change drastically unlike the Western part of Colorado. I really had a good time seeing everyone and catching up with classmates. Those are some of the only people in your life that you really know their families, their parents, their siblings. It was a very validating experience. It was a little surreal not being recognized by people even though you feel that you haven't changed that much. It is great to be told that you look great and to be around the people that used to accentuate your insecurities and have them now validate your security in yourself. It was just a real confirmation that I have really changed and I am not the person that left Brush, CO ten years ago. I am more fully who I am now, if that makes any sense at all :)

Other news, I have 2.5 weeks before the wedding day. I am getting excited. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends and having a good time. I am looking forward to the preparation and seeing how things turn out. I am looking forward to who actually comes and who doesn't. I am looking forward to what makes the day unique from others, what good stories are going to come about. I am looking forward to being "officially" married and being able to enter into the transition of marriage fully.

Well, enough for now.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Man, Life has hit worp speed!

So life has gotten very busy very quickly. I started a new position at work two weeks ago. I love it!!! It is M-F, regular 40 hour week with no on-call. I have my weekends off and paid holidays. YIPEEE!! Granted I don't have my week off, but I am so thankful for a regular set schedule that I can make plans around. I am the intake/access clinician at the Center for Mental Health. I am really the gatekeeper for people that are wanting to get mental health treatment at the Center. I will also have my own clients eventually, which will be great experience.

The wedding plans are going well. Thankfully that has not been stressful other than figuring out how to pay for it. But that will get taken care of over time. Rusty and I are doing great! We are doing a parenting class and also pre-marital counseling. We really like the pre-marital counseling. We are ready for the parenting class to be done. It is done through the department of health and human services and has much to be desired (in my clinical opinion ;) ).

We are trying to stay focused on our relationship and our hope is to have a fun get together that is called a wedding that we get to enjoy our friends and family.

I do have some prayer requests. The first is that you would pray for Rusty's son Blake. We have been having trouble with his mother and had to go to a lawyer in order to submit a parenting plan to the court so that she could not change visitation on a whim. That has been one of the most stressful things I have ever been through. Second, for our families that they will be able to let go and transition through this time of change. Third, Rusty has a job interview tomorrow for a much better job. We are praying that he gets it and can leave where he is working. It is just an unhealthy business that has unhealthy business practices.

Thanks!!! I hope that I get to see some of you this summer in Colorado!!!

More later...Laura

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

I am engaged!

Well life has taken another large turn. But man this is a turn that I have been waiting for a LONG TIME! I am not sure where to begin other than God is amazing!!!!! Rusty and I started dating on February 14. Our first date we went out to lunch and ended up talking for four hours. We went out a few more times and then I took him to Durango to meet my dad and help with a building project Dad was working on. After that weekend, we have been pretty inseperable. A few weeks ago, we were taking our daily walk and Rusty asked me if I saw us together forever and I could say without a doubt that I could. Well, this weekend my sister and Dad came up for a visit. Rusty was able to talk with my dad and proposed to my on Saturday afternoon in my Grandmother's kitchen. We were alone and he just couldn't wait any longer and he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. Of course, I said YES! We went into the Den and told my Dad and sister, both of whom where shocked! Then his family, who already knew what he was going to do, came over for dinner and we were all able to celebrate. It was cool b/c Saturday was his grandparents wedding aniversary.

His family and my family are very excited. I am surprised at how fast it happened but I don't feel like we are rushing anything. It is so weird. All the little details that were orchestrated by God for us to meet and the little details that were answered for us to fit together is mind boggling. I met Rusty b/c his mother is my supervisor at work. His sister also works in the same office. It is funny b/c it took him about six months to work up the courage to ask me out :) God had really been working in his heart and brought us together at just the right time in his walk and in mine. We both love the outdoors and being active. He is very handy around the house and you all know my propensity toward manual labor :) He has a three year old son but he is a good dad and love kiddos. We started going to a good church in town and started going to a small group of four other couples. The timing on everything has been perfect.

I am so excited about the future and excited to share this fun time and transition with all of you. I promise I will post a picture as soon as I get one and figure out how to post it :)

More details to come...

Friday, March 16, 2007

How quickly things can change...

Well, in the last month things have definitely taken a turn. Thankfully I can say that they are all very good turns. I am just amazed at how quickly life can change and switch directions. You spend so much time thinking things are never going to change and then voila! things change. I think one can only appreciate the amazingness of this when you contemplate the amazingness of God and how intimately and intricately He is involved in each individual life.

The first turn that has happened is that God brought a man into my life. Talk about shift in thinking. It is a new relationship, but the more we are together the more we want to be together and so I am feeling pretty darn good about it. That in and of itself is amazing. This relationship is not stressful. It isn't hard work. We just enjoy each other. I am almost worried b/c it is too easy. Silly :)

The second interesting turn is that I met my "boyfriend" b/c he is my supervisor's son at work. Minor complication. So b/c of that and b/c we are getting more serious I have applied for another position at my job. This job would be a normal schedule with the perks of paid holidays and paid vacation. It would include me doing more intensive clinic work with clients as well as doing intakes for people that are wanting mental health services. What is funny about this is that this position is perfect for me, but I would have never applied for it if God hadn't brought someone new into my life. His plan is perfect and his timing is perfect and I hope that I am continually amazed by how personal he is and how close he is.

That is the latest. FYI the weather has been BEAUTIFUL and I am ecstatic!

Friday, February 23, 2007

It's snowing, again!

We have had a week of really nice weather and today it started snowing. I am instantly disheartened. I want it to get warm so bad! I keep reminding myself everyday that the days are only getting longer and are only going to get warmer (sort of).

I did get to enjoy the winter weather a few weeks ago. A friend from Germany came and spent the week with me. We spent four days skiing the slopes at three different ski resorts. We went to two different natural hot springs and took two snow shoeing expeditions. We had a great time enjoying God's creation and each others company. She is one that just enjoys every little detail of life and takes tons of pictures. We drove probably seven hundred miles in five days in just Western Colorado. It was great!

Please forgive me for the randomness, but lately I have been contemplating the season of Lent and why we celebrate it and how it is celebrated. It has been very interesting. I have been contemplating how I can celebrate this season. It is a season that symbolizes so many things. It symbolizes Jesus' journey to the cross and the celebration of his life and the overcoming of sin. It is a season of reflection to recognize how our own sin instigated that journey and how we are on that journey ourselves. It is a season of renewal, recognizing the new life that we have, seeing spring in our own spirits were there is new growth showing after a season of winter. It is a season of refocusing of what is important and kind of doing spring cleaning in our hearts, minds, and spirits. I had never really put much thought into this tradition and season until this year, but now that I have I am again reminded of the amazing love of our Father, the incredible sacrifice of Jesus, and the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit. I have of late really been reconciling myself to my own weakness and vulnerability. My own humanness scares me. But God, is my strength. He defends me. He protects me. He is dependable and trustworthy.

I pray that all of us in this time of reflecting on the journey of Jesus to the cross are further reconciled to who we are and who God is and who we are in Him.

Love to all,
Laura

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Just an Update

Well, the holiday season is over. Although you wouldn't tell it by my house b/c I have yet to take the Christmas decorations down. I think that I am not going to get in a hurry about it either. This years holiday season would be rated as fair to good. Grandma and I made it to Denver for Christmas squeezing in between the two gigantic snow storms. Don't get me wrong I had my fair share of horrible traffic and bad roads, but not unbearable. I sure was glad to get back over the mountain where the pace is a bit slower and there are far fewer people :) My favorite present this year was a heated mattress pad, Divine!, and a warm, cute hat to keep my head warm in the subarctic weather.

For New Year's Eve, I took the day off from work and went snow shoeing. We walked for about six miles. It was fun but heaven's my body was feeling it. I do love snow shoeing. Then that night I went with some friends to a New Year's party where I learned to Black Jack and danced in the New Year. I am always amazed at my difficiancy with number. Really, is it so hard to count to 21? I sure think so :) On New Year's day, I hybernated in my room under a heated blanket and really tried to reflect on the year past and what I want in the present year. It was so refreshing to journal again. I haven't done it in so long.

God has really been reminding me here lately that He is my first love. That he is the source of all of my needs and He is sufficiant. What a good reminder. What a refreshing reminder. He really is good!!!

Some fun highlights of the last few weeks were: throwing a good friend a birthday bash with enchiladas, margaritas, and homemade carrot cake. It was so fun! I love cooking and throwing parties. Who knew :) ; my dad coming to visit over the weekend and just hanging out watching football, reading books and making Chili; and awaiting future adventures to come in the new year.