July sixth is always a big deal at our house. I cannot imagine worrying that Tim would ever forget our anniversary; I would be more likely to forget than he would! Whenever feasible, we have taken a day or two off to spend time by ourselves. Our celebrations have ranged from the Poconos Mountains to a cabin in West Virginia; from a family camp out at Shawnee Park to a return trip to our honeymoon cabin in Stowe, Vermont. This year we really, really wanted to go to the Bay Islands, one beautiful part of Honduras that we have never visited. But we are at that awkward stage in life where our children are too many to just dump on someone else for a few days, and too young to leave by themselves! With the political situation being unstable as it is, we're thankful we did not have any travel plans this week; I especially don't care to venture far out of my comfort zone. But a trip to San Pedro was necessary today; our Troyer relatives flew in late last night and we weren't able to go pick them up them because of a curfew. (They found a friend in the city who risked spending a night in jail and talked his way through several police checkpoints in order to rescue them from spending the night in the airport!) ...So this morning Tim and I left our (many) children with our great friend Bertha and went to the city by ourselves. And our anniversary was celebrated by going to the Immigration office, picking up our Troyer cousins and their mounds of luggage, lingering long over baleadas at "Baleadas Express", enjoying a slice of !CHEESECAKE! (compliments of Uncle Junior) and buying two new bicycles for a couple fast approaching middle age and in need of some fun exercise! It was a truly beautiful day ~filled with "simple" pleasures~ and tonight I am thanking God for every moment Tim and I have shared together! Mission life has a way of testing a marriage and exposing all sorts of strange and uncomfortable things about your relationship that you never knew were there... It seems to take so much more commitment and effort to maintain complete oneness, and sometimes it simply feels like war- not with each other, thank God!- but against the enemy who seems to have an intense hatred for godly homes here in this country. But those concentrated efforts of preserving our marriage bring some marvelous rewards! It is the storms of life that deepen and strengthen our love, and I am so grateful that God's choice for us has far surpassed the tame and comfortable existence of our little house in King!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thirteen Years
July sixth is always a big deal at our house. I cannot imagine worrying that Tim would ever forget our anniversary; I would be more likely to forget than he would! Whenever feasible, we have taken a day or two off to spend time by ourselves. Our celebrations have ranged from the Poconos Mountains to a cabin in West Virginia; from a family camp out at Shawnee Park to a return trip to our honeymoon cabin in Stowe, Vermont. This year we really, really wanted to go to the Bay Islands, one beautiful part of Honduras that we have never visited. But we are at that awkward stage in life where our children are too many to just dump on someone else for a few days, and too young to leave by themselves! With the political situation being unstable as it is, we're thankful we did not have any travel plans this week; I especially don't care to venture far out of my comfort zone. But a trip to San Pedro was necessary today; our Troyer relatives flew in late last night and we weren't able to go pick them up them because of a curfew. (They found a friend in the city who risked spending a night in jail and talked his way through several police checkpoints in order to rescue them from spending the night in the airport!) ...So this morning Tim and I left our (many) children with our great friend Bertha and went to the city by ourselves. And our anniversary was celebrated by going to the Immigration office, picking up our Troyer cousins and their mounds of luggage, lingering long over baleadas at "Baleadas Express", enjoying a slice of !CHEESECAKE! (compliments of Uncle Junior) and buying two new bicycles for a couple fast approaching middle age and in need of some fun exercise! It was a truly beautiful day ~filled with "simple" pleasures~ and tonight I am thanking God for every moment Tim and I have shared together! Mission life has a way of testing a marriage and exposing all sorts of strange and uncomfortable things about your relationship that you never knew were there... It seems to take so much more commitment and effort to maintain complete oneness, and sometimes it simply feels like war- not with each other, thank God!- but against the enemy who seems to have an intense hatred for godly homes here in this country. But those concentrated efforts of preserving our marriage bring some marvelous rewards! It is the storms of life that deepen and strengthen our love, and I am so grateful that God's choice for us has far surpassed the tame and comfortable existence of our little house in King!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Words of Affirmation
Mama: "Derek, how about I tell you a story about when I was a little girl... Did you know I was a little girl once?"
Derek, surprised: "No."
Mama: "Well, what did you think I was???"
Derek, carelessly: "A piece of dirt!"
Derek, surprised: "No."
Mama: "Well, what did you think I was???"
Derek, carelessly: "A piece of dirt!"
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