{ of weddings }

Mike's sister Amaryah married her Lawrence on July 20, two days after our fourth wedding anniversary.

In true pregnancy-brain fashion {or is this just a sign that we're slowly exiting the "honeymoon/take-a-photo-of-every-milestone" phase?}, I didn't take a single picture on our anniversary outing. My mom was in town, so she watched Lainie while Mike and I went to my first midwife appointment. We got to hear Jellybean's heartbeat for the first time, which was sweet, and then we had dinner at a restaurant on the marina. We came home and ate ice cream while watching Downton Abbey with mom. I joke that we've transitioned from traveling to islands to celebrate our marriage {Honeymoon: Oahu. First anniversary: Lopez Island. Second anniversary: Kauai.}...to going to medical appointments for our children {Third anniversary: Lainie's last surgical follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital. Fourth anniversary: Jellybean's first midwife appointment.}.

There are, however, some decent photos of us from Amaryah's wedding two days later. That'll do, right?

Amaryah + Lawrence had a beautiful wedding, one of the loveliest I've seen. The ceremony and reception were outdoors, and the weather was gorgeous. So was the bride!

 

 

:: the reception area ::

 

 

 

:: the ceremony area ::

 

:: the whole family ::

 

:: exquisite centerpieces! ::

 

 

:: lace mounted on embroidery hoops, hung above the dance floor ::

 

 

:: Mike and I did this...a lot...all evening. Baby girl wants to walk everywhere. ::

{Side note: I can't decide how I feel about the fact that I comfortably wore a maternity dress at 12 weeks pregnant.}

 

 

:: three generations ::

 

 

:: all the food was miniature and SO delicious--but between feeding Lainie and myself, I only got a photo of the tiny burger. ::

 

 

:: lots of fun lawn games, which Lainie thoroughly enjoyed ::

 

:: ignore my freaky blurry hand...I love this photo of Lainie. ::

 

 

:: first dance ::

 

 

:: I kid you not--beneath that crazy red wig lies my husband. ::

 

 

:: Mike and Amaryah dancing with Estella, their cousin's daughter ::

 

It was such a lovely wedding celebration. Retrospectively I am totally a first-time mom, taking far more photos of my cute little baby than of the bride and groom and wedding festivities! All the more reason to look forward to the professional photos, right? And I'm sad not to have any pictures of the ceremony, but since we were sitting in the front row, I was completely occupied keeping Lainie quiet and happy. {Consumed by Lainie--just during the short ceremony: Two pouches of baby food, cheerios, part of a lollipop, and various sips from one water bottle and one sippy cup.} She was a little angel...a very hungry little angel, apparently...until the very end, when the pastor was doing the "by the power vested in me..." formalities just before pronouncing them husband and wife. At that precise moment, Lainie set down her lollipop and yelled, "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!" You have to admit, her timing was impeccable!

 

We are so thankful that my mom came over for the weekend specifically to help with Lainie during the wedding and reception. Partway through the reception, she took Lainie home and put her to bed. Mike and I were able to dance and par-tay and enjoy the rest of the reception without trying to entertain a very tired little girl, which was a huge blessing. Thanks, mom!!

 

What a difference four years make. When I think back on our wedding, I want to blurt out, "You were such a kid!!" We both were--not that we're terribly mature and grown-up now, but it's just crazy how much has changed since then. How much we have changed. In good ways. Marriage does grow you up. Having a child does grow you up. And while I was all misty-eyed over the wonder of Lawrence and Amaryah starting their journey as husband and wife, I am speechlessly amazed at what God has done/is doing in my own marriage. How He continues to grow us together. Continues to grow and deepen, mature and solidify and strengthen a love that I thought was pretty amazing when we said "I do" in 2009.

 

I used to be afraid of losing the butterflies-in-the-stomach, crazy-in-love inloveness of newlyweds. Everybody is, don't you think? Afraid that if it goes away, you'll be left with nothing...certain that the only other option is a lifetime of boring staleness, looking back with longing on that mythical "honeymoon phase." That is such a lie. SUCH a lie. Being newlyweds is great, and I loved that season, and every newlywed should soak it up! But the love that grows from that...after that...is a beautiful, sacred, breathtaking thing too. Love isn't static. It isn't something you achieve and then struggle to protect and maintain as-is. With Jesus at the center of a marriage, love constantly grows and changes and becomes deeper and more beautiful. It's not all sunshine and roses {or rainbows and unicorns, as Mike would say}. It's not all easy. But it is so rich. And I am so thankful for the four years I've had the great privilege of being Mrs. Mike.



{ Five Minute Friday: Rest }

It's the nature of life, I suppose, when he has a job and a commute and I'm taking care of the home and our wee one and after that there's church, community group, family, serving opportunities, friendships--all manner of things and people vying for our time and attention. But I don't like it when I start to sound like a human calendar. When dinnertime conversation is

We need to make a decision about X

and

We've been invited to Y's party--do you want to go?

and

Are you having breakfast with Z on Saturday?

and

I need you to do this and this and this

I remember when we were first married, and Mike talked to me about how, for him as the provider working and fighting battles--both financial and otherwise--for us outside the home, it's important that our house is a sanctuary for him. A refuge, a place of rest and comfort and safety. And not just our home, but me. As a wife, one of my highest responsibilities is to be my husband's safe haven. His sanctuary. A restful person to be with.

Even though I'm not nagging--I'm pretty sure he'd agree--I realize that the way I've been interacting with him lately is more like a machine trying to get as much accomplished ASAP, rather than inviting his soul to rest when he gets home in the evening.

Honey, I'm sorry. Tonight, let's rest.

{ On a Weekend in February }

It's been a good weekend, y'all.

Started on Friday evening, when we babysat Julia--our friends' daughter and the only other baby/kid in our Bible study group. Julia is two and a half months older than Lainie, and let me tell you: Watching them interact is a hoot.

Julia crawls. Julia crawls fast. Julia explores, licks, tastes, opens, closes, pushes and pulls rapidly and thoroughly. Julia jabbers and growls and eats with gusto.

Lainie sits and watches, shocked, as though there is an invader in her home but that invader might actually be a lot of fun but she's really loud and it's kinda intimidating that this moving-growling-other-baby apparently is more skilled at playing with Lainie's toys than Lainie herself is.

It was so much fun to see what the next stage is--what Lainie will probably be doing in a couple of months! And it made me realize how very un-child-proofed our house is. *sigh* I am not looking forward to childproofing. Though Lainie was a bit intimidated by such an active playmate in "her" space, I think they had fun together.

Saturday I got a haircut, but there are no photos yet so we aren't going to talk about it. At least not photos I'm willing to post on the internet. There are a couple self-portraits Mike and I took on our date {see below} but we both look slightly crazed and incredibly anemic, so just use your imaginations.

Saturday evening Julia's parents, Travis and Krissy, babysat Lainie for us so we could go on a date. Because we are so young and adventurous and full of excitement and don't go on dates as often as we should nowadays, we chose to spend our date night at home...making dinner...followed by a little TV.

I can't believe we are those people!!!

I mean, I can, and it's not all bad, it's mostly really really good, and I think all of our other dates post-baby we've gone out, so it was really nice to just chill at home, just the two of us, but still!

In our defense: Lainie has been so hard to get to sleep at night {usually crying off and on for a couple hours} that the idea of a nice, leisurely, quiet evening at home, relaxing and enjoying a really yummy dinner and uninterrupted conversation without keeping things at a whisper and taking turns getting baby back to sleep, seemed divine. And it was! We made homemade macaroni and cheese--one of my absolute favorite comfort foods--followed by oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies. I saw them in Pinterest and knew we had to make them--what could be more decadent than a mashup of our two favorite kinds of cookies?




 Be forewarned: These babies are monsters. I think we were a little generous with the cookie dough, but regardless, each "cookie" is the equivalent of two chocolate chip cookies plus an oreo. They are ridiculously dense and filling.

And the ultimate "eat it with milk" cookie. They were a fun experiment, but I don't think we'll make them again--too huge, and rich, and just too much. As a matter of fact, we gave half our batch of 12 away!

 

Then we headed to a restaurant to meet up with Mike's parents, sister Amaryah, and her fiance Lawrence. Yes, Lawrence finally popped the question on Friday night, and Amaryah said yes! {We had to make a little detour to Travis and Krissy's so I could feed Lainie, since she is refusing all bottles these days, but that is another story for another day.} We had yummy drinks {Mike and I were too full for anything else} and hung out and talked weddings and watched the ferries twinkling across the water. It was fun because it's the same restaurant where we went on our first date, and on the night Mike proposed--we could see the pier where he asked me to marry him from our table. We couldn't be happier for A + L and are excited to see them transition from boyfriend/girlfriend to husband and wife. And I'm excited to see what Amaryah comes up with for their wedding...she works as an event planner, so I'm sure it will be a really lovely affair.

 

And then Sunday: I managed to get Lainie and I to the 9am church service on time {Mike was already there since he helps with setup} and for the first time, Lainie stayed in the nursery for the whole service! Apparently she cried a lot, but not to the point where they had to call us to take her. It wore her out, though, and she fell asleep within five minutes of getting in the car.

 

Now it's just a nice, quiet Sunday evening. Baby Girl is playing with her food. Mike is working {still crazy busy for a week or two}. I am slowly whittling down the monstrous pile of dirty dishes that used to be our kitchen. I'm hoping the kitchen will be visible by tonight. Because somehow, we have to get to the fridge, and that leftover mac and cheese...

{ Midweek Date Night }

Last week, Lainie and I ventured down to our local farmer's market. It's quite small; just Wednesday afternoons from 3pm-7pm, and less than two dozen vendors, but it's fun and very picturesque {in the lighthouse park, the Puget Sound a few steps away}. I suggested to Mike that we go there for our date this week, so we did.

Disclaimer: You won't see evidence of Lainie or her stroller in any of these photos, but both were definitely present.

.

:: picking out sandwich bread {I just now noticed the tablecloth--love it!} ::

:: My dinner: pear and Gorgonzola pizza with caramelized onions ::

:: the pizza stand--cool oven, huh?! ::

:: One of the pizza guys pretended he was going to photobomb the shot, and Mike encouraged him to actually do it! ::

:: fresh two-patty cheeseburger {is anyone surprised that's what he chose?} ::

:: blackberry lavender ice cream bar for dessert ::

:: coconut lavender ice cream bar...it was SO delicious! {See the bouquet of dahlias Mike got me?} ::

Happy Date Night, Honey!

{ Three Years }

{Note: Contrary to appearances, I did *not* write the previous blog post while in labor! I was at the hospital at the time it was published, but I'd written that post, and this one, a few days earlier. I assumed on our anniversary we'd be at Children's Hospital with Lainie, so I'd better get an anniversary post pre-written! I also made a list of all the posts I wanted to write before the baby arrived: baby showers, the nursery, etc. And then my water broke, 17 days before her due date, and 24 hours later--exactly to the minute!!--Lainie was born, and all my blog-writing aspirations dissipated like the morning dew. I'll be back, with lots of pictures and details, someday...but for now, I'm just trying to sleep when I can and snuggle my baby.}

Dearest Mike,

On a balmy July day exactly three years ago, we were all grins and excitement and wedding-day-butterflies.

We dreamed about babies and what the future held.

I probably hoped that by the time our third anniversary rolled around, we'd be a little family of three.

When we found out I was pregnant last November, it looked like the chances were pretty good that we might end up sharing our anniversary with our baby's birthday--my due date was only five days before our anniversary!

Then, when we found out about Elaina's diaphragmatic hernia in May, we began to prepare ourselves for a long summer at Children's Hospital with our sick little daughter. Neither of us ever imagined we'd spend our third anniversary at Children's Hospital, but now it looked like that was inevitable. 

But my love, no matter where we are, there are no people I'd rather spend our anniversary with than you and Lainie. 

And by sheer grace from God, not only are we not in the hospital on our special day, Lainie was discharged 13 days ago! Not only was she born early...not only was she able to breathe on her own from the moment she was born...not only was she far beyond every best case scenario the doctors ever predicted...she was discharged from the hospital when she was only 8 days old!

I'm sure we'll steal a few kisses today when Lainie isn't lookin...and thank Jesus for the innumerable graces He has lavished on us in our three years as Mr. & Mrs.

I love you!

{ Babymoon, Part II }

It felt so luxurious to sleep in. So indulgent. So...almost naughty. But blissful!!

And we don't even have a baby yet...how will I handle the sleep-deprived-ness of a newborn?

Cooking big breakfasts. Reading the Bible on the deck. Watching the ferries come and go. Nowhere to go, nothing to do at any particular time. In spite of our severe lack of practice in the art of relaxing, I think we did a pretty good job.

When the tide was out, we walked down the beach. I found some awesome, huge shells that are now gracing our mantle.

 

:: That's Seattle, way over yonder! ::

In the afternoon, we went to the Point Robinson Lighthouse. It looks very similar to the Mukilteo Lighthouse...but shhhh, I think the one in Mukilteo is nicer!

There are two houses on the premises--both keepers' quarters--that can be rented year-round. Doesn't that sound like a fun family vacation?

We found a swing in a corner of grass between the keepers' quarters and the wilderness, and spent an hour or two reading and swinging and hoping the clouds over Mt. Rainier would lift.

They didn't.

On Sunday, we went to the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie, where Seattle's Best Coffee got its start. It was a cool old building and we enjoyed browsing through the coffee memorabilia and the natural foods market that shares the space.

:: shelves upon shelves of herbs, many of which we'd never heard of ::

As I look back over these photos, I realize we didn't take a whole lot of pictures...which is nice. A change of pace for us. We enjoyed just hanging out together. No agenda. No alarms. No schedule. No plans. We've never done that, to this degree, before. It was great.

And can I just say that, for a couple who has had no TV for almost three years and just watches Hulu and movies on a laptop, the fact that the apartment had a flatscreen TV and streaming Netflix literally made us giddy! We are both adamantly anti-TV-in-the-bedroom, but it was so much fun to snuggle up next to Mike and watch "Dirty Jobs" {I love that show!} and "Burn Notice" {one of Mike's favorites}. Seriously, the best.

Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful weekend with my husband.

{ Babymoon ~ Part I }

On the last weekend in May, Mike and I took a Friday-Monday getaway to Vashon Island. Mike is always a very hard worker--I refrain from using the term "workaholic," but those of you who are one {or are married to one} know what I mean. ;-) I really wanted us to take a little babymoon more for his sake than my own; it's so hard to unplug from life and reconnect with each other when you're at home. With the added stress of Lainie's diagnosis, I am so glad that we had this little retreat.

We have unwittingly established a tradition of going to an island to celebrate our anniversary: Oahu {honeymoon}, Lopez Island {first anniversary}, Kauai {second anniversary}. Apparently we really enjoy islands. Since we'll almost certainly spend this anniversary at Children's Hospital--and because long car rides are not my cup of tea at this point in pregnancy--we opted for something a little closer to home. If you hit the ferry line right, it's hard to believe that somewhere so rural and pastoral and that requires a ferry ride is so close to home--our return trip {including a short ferry line wait} was one hour and fifteen minutes!

The beginning of ferry hair...                                                                       ...and its full, glorious state.

:: the Olympic Mountains were in their full glory ::

:: a beautiful day to be sailing! ::

:: approaching the dock ::

We stayed in a studio apartment that was literally on the waterfront and a couple hundred feet from the ferry dock. It was the perfect little nest for a couple. Falling asleep with the windows open, hearing the water lap on the shore, was so lovely--that's one of Mike's and my favorite memories about Hawaii.

Here's a photo tour:

 :: bathroom entry...a little more Buddhist than we liked, but oh well! ::

Let's step out onto the deck...                                                              ...ferry dock to the left...

...homeowner's yard and beach access to the right.

 :: better look at the yard/beach--the tide was pretty high in this photo ::

:: Mr. & Mrs. Mike ::

After a delicious dinner that evening at an Indian restaurant, we went on an exploratory jaunt down the island. It's only 13 miles long, and it's an island--how lost can you get? We stumbled across the tiny hamlet of Dockton just as the sunset ended.



Back at home, watching ferries in the dusk.

Next up: Babymoon, Part Deux!