We enjoyed a little time at the Farmer’s Market this morning and Jonathan bought me a beautiful bouquet! I am one well-loved girl!
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Well-Loved
Saturday, September 10th, 2011July 13-Five Years!
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011Five years ago today, I had one of the most hectic, wonderful days I can remember. I got to work early, skipped lunch and left at 1:00 to be in Bellevue for an interview for a job I wished so very much to have! After the interview, I was meant to meet Jonathan at his apartment, but I was early so I just sort of wandered around town for a bit. I got to Jonathan’s place and he asks if I’d like to have dinner first or go for a walk. Mind you, I hadn’t eaten since about 5:30 and I was wearing a suit! Because I really liked Jonathan, I said, “Oh, up to you!” He decided we’d take a walk first, so I put on my walking shoes and off we went. My stomach was rumbling, but I was also out-of-my-mind nervous! Here I was, off to walk with this guy I liked SO MUCH. I didn’t care if we ate at all!
We walked along the Sammamish River Trail, talked about things and then, well my friends, it was the most magical event I’d ever experienced. We HELD HANDS. And it was mind-blowing. I was holding hands with the most amazing, wonderful guy I’ve ever known AND he had expressed his intentions perfectly clearly. I was not worried about having my heart broken, I was overwhelmed with joy that the Lord had so perfectly orchestrated everything for us.
Here is one of our first photos together (I’m definitely wearing a dress. It’s just strapless):
Because today is the five year anniversary of our hand-holding life together, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about holding hands. Jonathan not only held my hand that day as we were walking along the trail, he’s held my hand as he asked me to marry him, while I faced a scary health crisis during our dating days, as we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, as we traveled to other countries, just sitting on the couch at home, driving in the car, as we sat with our doctor and heard the news about our sweet girl’s life being in danger, while I breathed through contractions, as he held Beatrice during her first days of life. There has been MUCH hand-holding in the last five years and not all of those times have been moments of rejoicing, but I have always been thankful to have Jonathan right by my side.
August Catch Up Time-Part One: Late Night Date Night
Monday, September 13th, 2010August was a busy month for us! We hung out with family and friends, went camping,showed Bea the Pacific Ocean, fed Bea her first solid foods and witnessed her rolling around like a crazy person. Since things are still busy and we’ve got some fun planned for September yet, the next few posts will be catch up posts. Enjoy!
We had a fantastic “late night date night” in mid-August thanks to my Mom who stayed overnight. Jonathan and I were able to go to Seattle to see Carrie play with Jeff Greer at the Park Pub. Jeff is a very talented musician and Carrie, well, it’s always a delight to see her fiddle! It was really fun for Jonathan and me to head out on a date and kind of be footloose and fancy free for an evening. We still missed Beatrice, mind you, but an evening with good music and a table full of friends on a warm summer night was just what we needed!
Here’s a shot of the action. Some of my favorite parts of this photo are the kilt Jeff is wearing, the laptop music stand and Carrie’s sweet bangs!
Here we are, trying to look footloose and fancy free! I was really happy to wear my strapless dress! It’s not so great for heading out if you may need to nurse, but it’s fun to wear on a date!
We were also able to see some MVPC friends, Kelsey and Arthur. If you have a chance, check out Kelsey’s blog. It’s a delight! Especially this post. Doesn’t it make you want to head to Trader Joe’s right now?
Best Cup of Coffee Ever
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010Today, I responded to this blog post and it made me smile to think about all the wonderful cups of coffee I’ve consumed in my married life. You may not know this, but Jonathan loves a good cup of coffee. He’ll even drink a bad cup of coffee. He just has a great fondness for coffee. Since we’ve been married, my coffee consumption has increased. On the weekends, Jonathan will get up either before me or while I’m getting ready and brew a pot of coffee, one cup of which he will prepare just how I like it and bring to me either in bed or while I’m cooking. I love this about him. I LOVE sharing a morning cup of coffee with you, Jonathan. Today is cloudy and rainy and cozy here in Washington. I like days like today. They are comforting and a great excuse to sit down with a warm beverage and snuggle. Since Jonathan’s at work, I’ll just post this video for you to enjoy. Jonathan, you are the best. Best husband, best dad and you make the best cup of coffee!
More thoughts from a rambling pregnant lady
Friday, December 4th, 2009More than a few people have said to me lately something like, “it’s great you let Jonathan go to South Africa.” Yes, yes, it’s great that Jonathan is in South Africa, but I did not provide him with the permission to go. Oh, I prayed alright, and I know that if I’d ever said anything about wanting him to stay he would have, but ultimately the thing I could not get out of my head was the memory of this photo:
Jonathan and Nhlaka
You see, this child followed Jonathan around everywhere the whole time we were in Durban last year. While it initially seemed he was most interested in the camera equipment Jonathan carried, it quickly became evident that more than anything he really had a need to be loved and given some attention from a man. His father is not present in the home, his mom works in a factory that is not near their house, so he lives with his older sister and they do the best they can. They’re doing their best, but it isn’t God’s best for them. Jonathan was the only man on our team of eight that traveled to South Africa last year. He was almost always followed or surrounded by a crowd of little boys. Many of these boys don’t have fathers in their homes. When I think of how much we love our little child who is currently only the size of an ear of corn and how hard it must be for those mothers to raise their boys, it was not hard for me to support Jonathan in returning to Durban. Don’t get me wrong, I miss him like crazy and sleep horribly all alone, but it’s worth it. Worth it for me to know that the Lord is using Jonathan to work in the hearts of these children to tell them He has a good purpose for their lives and for Jonathan to love them in a way maybe they don’t experience all that often. My prayer during this time is that they realize that regardless of the situation around them, God is interested in their hearts and their future. God is bigger than AIDS, bigger than shanty towns, bigger than parents who cannot or will not provide for them. My prayer for the people of Cato Manor today comes from Psalm 5:11~
“Let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.”
Lord, may those who are facing situations that seem terrible still find reasons to rejoice. May your grace and your peace be enough for them. Lord give us wisdom to see how we can serve those who are struggling and may our struggles be seen in the light of your grace and goodness.
Happy Wedding Day!
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Erin & Garrett at the Garage
These two winners are getting married today and I KNOW it’s going to be beautiful. Not only do they have two sweet musicians (Jonathan and Carrie), but they are fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives. Erin and Garrett both work with me at CN, but I’m just going to be honest and say I hang out with Erin much more than Garrett. Erin is one of those people who always looks pretty and has super cute clothes-the type of person and when I first met her I thought she would never want to be friends with a lowly admin staff member who pretty much doesn’t have the same caliber of fashion sense. Surprisingly, Erin has become a dear friend to me because not only is she super cute, but she is amazingly kind and one of those people who will listen when you need it and suggest happy hour when that’s the best way to resolve an issue. I’m so thankful that we’re able to be part of the big day where she and Garrett exchange wedding vows! I’ll post more about the wedding next week after we’ve actually attended, but here are some fun photos of our sweet bachelorette weekend at Seabrook.
There was some really, really good food:
Hashbrown quiche which was accompanied by orange ricotta pancakes and bacon. Mmm.
Delicious thai peanut chicken with a yummy salad
Juje baked us cinnamon rolls Sunday morning. They were warm, sweet and hit the spot!
And we had FUN:
I flew a kite at the beach
Erin and Kelly ready to take down their opponents on the badminton court
Riding bicycles through "town"
Yay! Erin's getting married!
We’ll see you at the wedding and we are SO HAPPY for you!
Another first: bus commute together
Friday, July 24th, 2009
This morning Jonathan and I commuted by bus TOGETHER! It was great. There is a bus that goes from nearby our house to the transit center by Jonathan’s office then continues on it’s merry way to the transit center closest to my office. Tonight we’ll have a date here in Bellevue and take the bus home. It’s going to be a new adventure in commuting. It does take a little longer for me to get to my office, but it’s a nice relaxing ride and I’ve honestly missed riding the bus in the mornings. It’s such a relaxing way to start the day because you can relax, read or even take a nap and also talk with the folks around you. When I go on my own, I feel like I miss out on the commute with Jonathan (he often drives me to work in the mornings then I take the bus out to his office in the afternoons where he picks me up and we head home).
Hooray for public transportation! Here’s hoping we make it home tonight.
In our area, it’s fairly easy to figure out bus tables and timing of transportation. King County has a great website that has a Trip Planner that we find very user friendly. Do you take the bus or train or other public transport regularly? What’s your favorite thing about it?
Not much blogging lately
Saturday, July 18th, 2009It’s not because we haven’t had much to blog about. We’ve just been busy. Here are some highlights from the last couple of weeks:
July 3rd, we hiked the Ape Caves with our friends the Marths, Olsons and Rafers:
Then we went to Christi and Michael’s to have dinner before the fireworks on the 4th of July:
July 5th, it was about 90 degrees outside, so we decided it was the perfect time to hike Mt. Si. Somehow, we were able to convince Katherine to join us! After consuming great amounts of water, we made it:
All in all, we’ve been enjoying the beautiful weather and just enjoying the outdoors together.
England: York
Thursday, June 18th, 2009The day began with some sweet hanging out of the laundry and hoping it was dry by the end of the day. I REALLY enjoy line drying our laundry and will be a happy girl when we get our own clothesline (after the yard project is complete).
Here is what our stuff looked like in England:
Out to dry
Maddy made delicious porridge for breakfast. Good job Maddy!
Then we went back to our favorite train stop at Woodlesford and caught the train to York! This was maybe my favorite day of the whole trip! Grandpa decided he’d rather stay back and finish a book he’d started the day before so it was a bit sad that he ditched us, but otherwise it was most enjoyable.
We arrived to York and walked along the old city walls. Jonathan was able to use the gorillapod to set up a sweet shot of all of us:
We went to York minster and decided we’d like to climb to the top! It’s not everyday you’re able to climb to the top of a cathedral! Regrettably, the line was long so we bought our tickets and then headed out to explore a bit more. We visited shops and looked around, the men went to a shop that really only sold meat and then we all took tea at Betty’s tea shop.
After we were filled to the gills with tea and food, we went to the Jorvich Viking Centre and learned of the Viking history of York! It was very interesting and a little creepy and maybe smelled a bit dodgy, but it was great! After the Vikings, we climbed the tower (which was really two towers) to the top of Yorkminster.
Mom and Dad-almost half way!
The view from the top was beautiful
After getting over the fact that we climbed hundreds of stairs while confined within a spiral staircase made of stone, we headed to one of the squares for the Historic Pub Tour of York (can you tell who picked which activities for the day? Mom and Kelly and Rachel=tea, Mom and Dad=climb the tower, Dad Dad Dad=pub tour). Oddly enough, the pub tour was very enjoyable, though I did ask for a coca-cola classic rather than ale. Because who wants ale when you can have a delicious coke? Not me.
It was just our family on the tour, which made it very nice and a little bit hilarious.
First stop on the pub tour-The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and The Lamb was our first stop and the pub in closest proximity to Yorkminster. The church ran the pubs at one time, which must have made its location convenient!
It was very nice to sit and rest after all that walking:
And Dad and Jonathan enjoyed some bonding time:
Thankfully, the glasses of ale were small so everyone had their sample without incident (Big E and I skipped out on this one)
More pub tour photos:
After our historic pub tour it was time for dinner and since Grandpa wasn’t with us, we had Italian! It was delicious.
We were able to catch a glimpse of the sunset as we headed back to the train station for our train to Leeds.
Sunset in York
J&K with York sunset
England: Chester to Leeds
Monday, June 15th, 2009We arose Tuesday morning to fairly sunny skies and had a rather unfortunate breakfast at Wetherspoon’s (hey, it was the closest restaurant to our hotel). Following breakfast, we packed up and checked out of the hotel. We met Rachel at Euston Station and checked out the offerings at the shops in and around the station before boarding our train to Leeds.
One of my favorite things about newsstands in the U.K. is the offering of a free item with your magazine. Mom picked nail polish!
I got a really cute Cath Kidston bag which now houses my pens and pencils and assorted relevant Bible study materials.
Here are the McPhersons on the train from London to Chester:
We had a transfer in Chester and enough time that we were able to get out (meet Tim!), stretch our legs and walk around a bit. Chester is a beautiful little city, surrounded by Roman walls. The Eastgate Clock in Chester is the second most photographed clock in the world (after Big Ben, which is really the bell, not the clock but I can’t remember the name of the clock in the tower in which Big Ben is housed). I digress, here are Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Erik with the Eastgate Clock in all it’s Chester beauty:
We walked around a bit and took in the sights of Chester. Saw the cathedral, had tea at Hattie’s tea shop, walked along the walls and visited Chester’s oldest pub (or one of them).
tea at Hattie's
outside the Chester cathedral
Ready for pints at Chester's oldest pub
Cheers!
We then boarded the train to Leeds and met Jim and Bara who were kind enough to drive us to Bara’s house where we stayed for the next four nights.