Midweek Joys

Sometimes the week feels so long.  You need to stop midweek and look around at the marvelous things God has put in your life.  These are some things that I have come across in the last week that have brought a smile to my face. 

This is what welcomed me on our "praise" board when I came back after being out a few days.

"Happy Fall, Happy Jesusness, Happy Halloween!"

I often find pictures of these two men on my desk.  Mario and Luigi.

   

A place for all God's creatures...

Black Friday part 2.

A pair of jeans later, we were finally home.  Our bed never looked so good.  The next morning we would be leaving for our good friends house to celebrate the holiday.  

As 4 o'clock a.m. rolled around I woke up with a terrible pain in my right side.  In some ways, I was expecting this, I have had some sort of illness occur the past 3 weekends and OF COURSE this would be no different!  My dear dear husband ran to the bathroom to see what was wrong, I truly believe he deserves the husband of the year award for all he has had to deal with in this past month.  An hour of crying and rolling on the floor later we came to the conclusion that I possibly had my 2nd kidney stone. Great. After an unbearable 5 minute car ride to the emergency room I was given some powerful pain relievers and was given a CAT scan. What a way to end our black Friday!

Through it all, God was faithful.  I got the care and medicine I needed and I was able to sleep away the rest of the day.  Despite the challenges that we have faced being away from familiarity, in a new city, without our families, we have had all that we have needed.

We can be thankful despite the struggles.  Life and marriage have proven to be a challenge, but God has proven that he will be faithful through it all.  So for that, we give thanks this thanksgiving.  

Black Friday part 1.

As we finished our Thanksgiving meal we began to mentally prepare ourselves for our black Friday endeavors.  Now, I take my black Friday shopping very seriously; however, this year would be different from any other.

            1. Thanks to our retail friends, Black Friday would begin at midnight.

            2. I did not have my traditional poinsettia Christmas sweater to get me in the holiday mood.

            3. I was in a new town, unaware of the level of chaos that Blacksburg was capable of.

We made plans to venture to Target and Old Navy.  We made it in and out of Target in 20 minutes (not counting the 30 minutes we waited in line).  Christiansburg Target should get a gold star for their organization and ability to control chaos....Old Navy on the other hand....should not.  I never imagined that Old Navy would embody the chaos that Walmart and Target were known for.  But the moment I walked in and saw the line of anxious shoppers weaving every which way throughout the store, my stomach dropped.  All I wanted was a pair of 15 dollar jeans!  I found my jeans and slyly joined the line (pretty sure I accidentally cut in front of 20-30 shoppers).  An hour later I had my jeans and a deeper appreciation for my husband who stood by my side through it all.  

Was it worth it?  Well, two days later I went back to old navy to exchange those jeans for a different size...they were still there...for the same price.  But I guess it is all about the experience? Right? 

Our First Holiday.

   Much has happened in the past month.  These past months have been been filled with good times and some challenges.  As we prepared to celebrate our first holiday as man and wife, we made plans to visit some dear friends over the Thanksgiving weekend.  We prepared a Brazilian meal on Thanksgiving day, taking my husband back to his roots.  This consisted of chicken, rice, and beans.  We followed this up with a not so Brazilian pumpkin pie.

Grill Master 

Walnut crumble topped pumpkin pie

  We missed our friends and family, but felt happy to be with one another and celebrate in our own special way.