countdown // forty-one

this weekend was all kinds of wonderful - even the not-so-wonderful things were made good. 

i think it'd be safe to say that through our engagement we have learned more about each other, disagreed more often, loved more, cried more, and prayed more fervently than ever before. it has not been roses & glitter - but who ever said it would be, or that we were entitled to that? but it has been so good - soul good. good for me, good for you, good for us. 

friday was hard. but it ended sweetly. after the tears dried and we had let go of the stress, hurt, and misunderstanding, we were ready to be filled once again. filled first with HIS unending love. what a wake up call for me - that i often tend to depend on your love or the love of others more than that of our Heavenly Father. i haven't been feeling His love lately, i confessed. it has just felt like test after test. he tests those who he is preparing for big things, you reminded me. i nodded, knowing in my head but not feeling it in my heart. we talked about living a missional life and our mission field - not only across the world but right here, in our home, in our community. when we go out, you said, we prepare ourselves for the mission field - we don't complain, we don't whine, we are flexible and adaptable, we are fully surrendered. our marriage is also a mission, and though it will be sweet and so good, it will also be faced with challenges and obstacles perhaps designed by our Enemy to weaken us, but destined to make us stronger through the grace of our Savior. 

thank you for leading us. 

in my desperate attempt to slow time down and hold on to you before you leave, we also declared sunday a T&D day - a sacred day. a day of adventure and spontaneity. a hike through the woods, the almost fatal injury to my camera, a trip to Trader Joe's for snacks and treats, a late (LATE) movie, watching the sunset in malibu, a drive down PCH, conversations until we had no words left, a starbucks date, dinner at the diner, the good sunday morning...it was perfect. 

oh and hey, i love you. i'll miss you like crazy. 

aquarium-ing

a while ago, T and i received free tickets to the aquarium (hello free date), and so yesterday we seized the day and ventured downtown for a little adventure! can you believe we only have two sundays left in the year?! and one of them is christmas! i can't believe how quickly this year has gone by...what a fabulous year it's been!

how creative & awesome is our God?!

 

'just keep swimming, just keep swimming'

nemo's & dory's!

 

what a beautiful peaceful end to the day

our spontaneous sunday

yesterday was absolutely perfect. sundays are generally my favorite day of the week, and yesterday delivered through and through. scott foster blew our minds in church and after that, the tone for the day was just set.

because of our crazy schedules, t and i often struggle to find a lot of alone time together aside for the hour or so he swings by after work, so when we discovered that we both had the day entirely off, i literally jumped for joy! contrary to my usually planned self, we made absolutely no solid plans and decided just to go off ideas of things we wanted to do and love to do together: drive, explore, take pictures, be outside, and EAT! we grabbed a map, jumped in the car, and just let the day take us where it would.

first stop? lunch. t always gets hot off the grill when he's working and since he raves on and on about it, i told him he has to take me there one day, and yesterday was finally that day! that burger was heaven.

 

with plenty of food for thought after church (no pun intended), we talked about us, friends, and everything on our hearts. setting goals for us as a couple, restating our priorities and desires and our direction, and opening it all up with prayer is such a great thing. and the greatest thing of all? God completely led that conversation and confirmed things in both our hearts, and it blew my mind. 

stuffed on greasy, delicious, american food we hit the 405, malibu bound. the weather was perfect, we rolled the windows down, and soaked in some ocean lovin. 

 

on saturday, i picked up this book, Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti, at B&N, and i absolutely love it. i was so excited to share it with T and discuss it. apparently, it's true. boys brains look like waffles - full of little boxes, all singly focused. it's why they struggle to multi-task, or to keep up with our endless conversation that somehow starts with homework and ends with shopping. on that note, women's brains look like a pile of spaghetti - everything is connected, our friends, family, experiences, emotions, etc. it's why it takes us time to process, why we can juggle a million tasks and feelings at once, and why we get so frustrated when men can't keep up. understanding those differences is SO important, and it has already made a world of difference for me. read it. you'll be entertained - and learn something!

 

we read, we talked, we laughed, we learned, we threw on our hiking shoes and explored the malibu hills. we blazed our own trail, did some rock climbing (well, T handled it like a pro and then ever so kindly helped me down when i needed it), and soaked in the beauty of untouched nature, the quiet and stillness of it all.

 

i am a sucker for sunsets, and before we missed it, we hopped back in the car and raced back to the beach. luckily, we were JUST in time - and it was perfect. all of it. 

 

after a long day outside, we capped off the night with some homework, grabbed starbucks, hung out with some of our closest friends, and i simply sat there and soaked it all in. thank you Lord for all your blessings.