Hello everyone! Nice to be back on here… as always, when life gets busy (just how busy, you will soon see), my poor writings are often the first leisurely activity to fall by the wayside.
Let me try to catch you up…
April of last year – I began dating a brilliant young man named Dale. (That delightfully ambiguous post last April about noodles and cider and Cake? That was after our second date. Hehe.)
(End of) August of last year – we traveled down to Florida to meet his family.
(Beginning of) September of last year – he proposed. I said no thanks JUST KIDDING LOL
November through January – I experienced the deaths of two dear friends, with whom I’d mostly (regrettably) lost touch over the years, except for the occasional interaction on social media.
Note: This period of time (and beyond) was a very dark one for me, especially because these tragedies (and some other personal struggles I experienced but won’t get into here) occurred during what one would think should have been some of the happiest times in my life – I was engaged and planning my wedding, for gosh sakes! But the Lord saw fit to give that sweet time a bitter edge, and whatever the reason, I will trust Him… and yes, it has taken me quite a while to get to the point where I am able to say that and actually mean it.
March of this year – Dale and I got married, and despite all that preceded it, it was truly joyous. We honeymooned in beautiful Québec City.
April of this year – we adopted a puppy, whom we quickly discovered was a domestic terrorist. But he’s adorable, and we love him.
May of this year – we found out I was pregnant. That was way too easy.
June – sickness. Morning, afternoon, evening, overnight. All the sickness. I had to take a few weeks of leave time from work because the hormones were legit interfering with my ability to do my job.
Now – We found out last month that we’re having a little girl (YAY), and at this point I’m quite obviously pregnant. Like, pretty much all I wear is stretchy pants. #nachowouldbeproud
Also now – my sister has gone and moved to Nicaragua and gotten married.
Obviously, if you look at that timeline it’s easy to think, “wow, that’s a lot of big life events in a short time frame”… and DARN TOOTIN’ IT IS. I sometimes feel like I have emotional/mental whiplash because my life has taken such a dramatically different course than anything I could possibly have predicted at the beginning of last year. Sometimes I feel like I’m just barely catching my breath (more so nowadays, because our little Bean is pushing upward on my diaphragm). Change is not exactly my favorite thing – even if it’s good change, it throws off my groove. I need to take time to process it. Over the past couple months I’ve started to really dig into these events and how they’ve impacted me. I feel as though my identity has completely changed – and to a certain extent, it has. The rings I wear, not to mention my ever-expanding belly, signify to the world that there is a whole other component to my world now (namely, my husband – and now, of course, another, albeit tiny, one named Elliott Renee), whether he is immediately present or not. My priories have shifted, as Paul promises they will in 1 Corinthians:
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.
1CO 7:32-34 ESV
I have found this to be true, to a certain extent – though, if what pleased my husband and what pleased the Lord were ever at odds, obviously the latter would take precedence; it is the same as the scriptural command to obey one’s parents, or to obey the political authorities, that is to say, our primary allegiance is to a higher authority than all these, and so if there is ever conflict, we, by default, submit to God’s authority first.
This shift has also affected my life’s pursuits… namely, my work and entrepreneurial aspirations, as well as leisure activities. Nowadays, I budget my time very differently than I did when I was single… though this is necessitated in part by the fact that I have about a third of the amount of energy I use to have, thanks to little Miss Ellie. Oh well. I suppose it’s going toward a good cause. ^_^
I think I’m starting to ramble a bit, so I’ll finish up here… all this is to say that I’ve entered a new, unfamiliar, and very interesting season of life, and I’m excited to share what I learn here with anyone who’s willing to listen (or read), just as I loved sharing with you all what I learned during prior seasons. Hopefully I can muster up the self-discipline to write more regularly.
In the meantime, here are some puppy pictures. You’re welcome.
That’s little Moses Puppy, with his head on my lap and his paw on my belly. Such a sweet little guy. He’s an Aussie shepherd + cattle dog mix, and therefore insane. But he’s my furbaby and I adore him.
That’s Zoey… I call her my step-dog because Dale had her before we met. She’s a Great Dane mix and has some kind of oral fixation, which is why in this picture she’s stuffed her mouth full of doggie bed but isn’t chewing it up or ripping it apart; she is also the sweetest, gentlest creature (four-legged or otherwise) in my acquaintance.
And, last but certainly not least, my darling hubby.
He’d just bought this jacket as we were walking around Québec… doesn’t he look smashing?? Like, some kind of men’s fashion model or something. *swoons* And then here’s one of my favorites…
This was during one of our premarital counseling sessions… our friends had just had a baby a few weeks prior, and oy… seeing this guy with a tiny baby was total confirmation to me that I’d made the right choice. *sigh*
And one last…
I was taking a selfie and he pounced on me. That pretty much sums up our relationship, haha. ❤
That’s all for now, folks!
Cheers to life.
Pertaining to Life and Godliness, etc. 