Ribbon

Curling ribbon never gets old.

At least this spool doesn’t.

I bought it back in 2004 and it’d been my trusty, go-to spool of ribbon every since. It’s been with me my entire marriage, and has survived 7 moves, 3 children, and many many Christmases, anniversaries, and Mother’s Day’s. 

It’s been unrolled on numerous occasions, and rerolled just as many times. It’s been dropped. Spilled on. And left for dead.

But it’s still here. Somehow, it’s still here. Still full. And still just as beautiful.

Now that is some dependable ribbon!

Between the bows and the ribbon…I’m totally obsessed with gift toppers this year, huh? But it’s nice that the little things can mean so much.

Challenge

Last week, our Bible Study leader challenged the ladies' in our group to outwardly voice our love for our husbands. She urged us to guard our speech and to use our words to build up. Here's what she challenged us to:

1. For the next 30 days, purpose not to say anthing negative about your husband -- not to him, and not to anyone else about him.

2. Everyday for the next 30 days, express at least one thing you admire or appreciate about your husband. Say it to him and to someone else about him.

It has been a great challenge (especially now that my husband is away for an extended period without any way of contacting him--oh Army life, how I love you!!) but also a great encouragement to carry on.

I have a wonderful marriage. I have a husband who loves and supports me; who listens, counsels, and encourages; who cherishes me like Christ does the Church. And I love him back. I love him with my whole heart; he's my best friend, my right arm, my go-to guy, my knight in shining armor.  I am so very happy with him, and really, in every aspect of our relationship. I'm fulfilled and content. Complete. And it's a wonderful wonderful blessing from God alone.

But I know, that while my situation may not be that rare amongst my Christian friends, it is rare in the rest of the world. It's rare to have a happy committed relationship with your spouse. It's rare not to have any ongoing feuds or problem areas. It's rare not to argue and yell at each other. It's rare to have what I have. What we have.

But the truth is, it's easy to take it for granted.

Really? Is it?

But yes, yes it is. You get used to being this happy, this safe, this loved. And just think it's normal. But it's not.

It's not normal in this sinful world. And it's definitely not what sinful old Kathryn deserves.

But I have it. And oh boy, I have it in such a good and marvelous way, it makes me weep to think of taking it for granted. It cuts me down to my very core to think I have not daily thanked God for my spouse and our marriage. And to not have told my husband EVERY SINGLE DAY how much I love him and how wonderful he is.

So there you go. I'm taking on the challenge. And I urge you to pick it up too. Whether your relationship is in an upward spin or a downward spiral, whether it is just beginning, or hasn't yet begun, we all need challenges like this one.

Choose to build up your relationships. Choose kind words instead of negative ones. Choose to guard your tongue among others.  Choose to let your loves ones know how thankful you are.

Choose. Choose. Choose. Pray. Pray. Pray.


With faith in Christ, nothing will be impossible for you.

Marriage Retreat

This weekend we went on our first Marriage Retreat sponsored by the Army. We found out about the event several weeks back during an FRG meeting, and decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Each Army base offers these sorts of things in order to help maintain and strengthen marriages during a highly stressful military career. Just coming off a deployment and then PCS'ing to another assignment, it seemed like the perfect chance.

So we headed off to a 4 Star Resort at Osage Beach. The retreat offered free on-site childcare, so after breakfast each morning we dropped the boys off and headed to our classes. We had several different sessions where we learned about (and reinforced) useful information such as "active listening" "clear communication" and "love languages." The retreat was put on by the Chaplaincy so most of the information was solid. Of course, we took a lot of things with a grain of salt as well. :) The Army organizers factored in plenty of vacation time for us to enjoy the amenities of the resort (boating, swimming, golfing etc) and also provided extra childcare for a "date night."

So... we had a ball. Nick and I have not spent so much time together alone in a very very long time. Even the class sessions were enjoyable because we were not trying to keep two busy boys quiet and still. We were able to listen and discuss topics together. Beyond the class sessions, during our free time on Saturday we pitched in with some of our friends (who were also at the retreat) and rented a boat and spent the afternoon on the water. It started getting kind of cloudy, but it was still warm, so it was actually a relief not to have the sun shining. Both boys took a turn driving the boat. As much as they like engines and driving, their favorite part about the boat was the horn (which they quickly found) so we boated around honking at everyone we saw. :) Hee hee. Hopefully no one was offended. :)

We also enjoyed the pools and water slides. We took the boys to the indoor pool in the evening, but during the afternoon free time, we hit the huge outdoor pool with "the big GREEN water slide" Nick and I took the boys down the slide many times. I think they could have done it all day. It's been years since I went on a water slide, and I couldn't believe how much fun it was!

It really was a great weekend. A perfect little vacation with the kids, while still enjoying time alone. I'm very glad we went. We cut the weekend a little short, and came home to worship and fellowship with the saints at our church. Hearing God's word preached was the perfect end to the weekend.

Feeling nostalgic

I've been looking through old pictures to put on the wall in our bedroom, and thought I would share a few of them with you all. When I look back, its hard to believe we've been married for 4 1/2 years, and even harder to believe that we pulled this wedding together in less than 2 weeks! Wow!

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I'll never forget all the details that fell into place. For those of you that were involved, thank you again for the work that you did!

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Nick had been stationed in South Korea, and had just received deployment orders to Iraq. We had initially been told that they would not give the soldiers leave to visit their families. This changed, and Nick was given 2 weeks of vacation to come home. We had been engaged for 9 months at this point, with the wedding plans in the works for a January (not June) wedding. As soon as we got the go ahead from my parents that we could do the wedding before Nick deployed-- we hit the ground running. We quickly decided on a date, June 4th based on my schooling, as I was in my senior year of college, with final exams, presentations and projects all due the week before and week of the wedding. I would graduate from college the Friday after we got married.

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Once the date was in place, it was amazing how people pitched in and all the details of the wedding came together. We quickly found a gorgeous church to rent with availability in JUNE with less than 2 weeks notice (unheard of!!) My sister, Jen, knew people who ran a catering business, so we got the food lined up right away. Jen also knew some very musically talented people and in a few hours we had a trumpeter (for the grand entry of the bride) a pianist (for background and ceremony music), and two talented vocalists (who sang during the wedding). We had several family members and friends who were photographers, and offered their services. My mom and her close friend set to work in overtime to finish sewing my wedding dress (my mom is a very talented seamstress!). We bought bridesmaid dresses off the rack at a bridal store, and they conveniently had everyones size so there was no waiting or ordering or anything. The guys got all their tux measurements in to Men's Wearhouse from their prospective locations and all the tuxes arrived in WA at the appropriate time as well. Nick flew in from South Korea just in time for us to purchase the marriage license, that required a 3 day wait before it became valid. One of my fellow nursing classmates' mother owns a gourmet bakery and offered to provide the wedding cake. Family members flew in from across the country for the event. All of our immediate family members were able to be there for the wedding, and many of our extended family as well. One of my aunts flew in early to help with planning and decorating. Another aunt took on the role of wedding planner and helped pull all the details together. Costco provided all the wedding flowers/roses. Friends and family spent hours putting bouquets, corsages, and boutineers together. My college professors allowed me to take all my final exams early so that after the wedding we could leave on a week long honeymoon before flying home for my college graduation. My classmates threw me a bridal shower. Nick planned our honeymoon while still overseas...

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It was truly amazing how all the details came together. Of course it was a stressful time, but when I look back on it, I don't think of the stress, I think of how God provided so wonderfully for his children. He brought Nick and I together, gave us an amazing family, an stunning wedding, and time alone together before he left for Iraq. Its neat to see the Lord's hand so obviously in ones life, as the details and plans fell into place in such a short time.

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We are so glad that we got married! I remember people asking, "Was it really worth it? Looking back would you rather have waited till Nick came home?" And the answer is always that we would have done it again, if given the choice. Aside from the fact that we didn't know how long Nick would be gone, or even if he would make it home, Nick and I had been through so much, we had been tested and tried. We'd had had a long courtship (almost 6 years) and had loved each other for so many years. We wanted to be married, to be able to join our hearts and lives before God and man. We had spent so many years holding back, restraining our thoughts, our words, our bodies, and our hearts--- and had been patiently waiting for the moment when we could share our lives completely, not just as friends but as husband and wife.

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God blessed our marriage from the start. It was hard for sure, as Nick was gone for the first year, but we came out of the fire, purified and strong. Nick and I were able to connect and relate on so many levels, and were able to truly open our hearts and minds to each other, and struggle through the challenges together. God used that time apart to strengthen and test, and grow us in our relationship to Him. We learned on a even deeper level what trusting the Lord means. We understood the longing that Christ has to be united with his bride the Church. God bound us together, closer to Him and closer to one another.