Visit to the States

I (Bethany) just returned last week from a special 10-day trip to the U.S. to celebrate the wedding of my sister, Crista and her new husband John. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to be there for her special day. Maya came along, and it was quite the exhausting adventure for the two of us. We flew to Atlanta and spent two days at my brother's house. My parents picked us up and we drove 4 hours to their new house in South Carolina. 4 days later we got in the car again and drove to Virginia (6 hours). The day after we drove 9 hours up to Connecticut and were there for 4 days for the wedding. All of this travel was tiring and unfortunately, Maya got sick just after getting over jet lag. It was rough, but also full of many special times with family. I am thankful to be back home where Maya is recovered and sleeping well again, but I miss my family.

While I was gone, Nate held down the fort with Ellie. We had a babysitter come each day so Nate could work (he's been prepping a sunday school class for the fall and he was working on a sermon) and in the afternoons, Nate and Ellie went on many fun adventures together including rock climbing, camping, visiting a favorite museum, hiking and swimming. Their time was full like ours!

Here are some photo highlights from our time the last two weeks:

How can my niece be 15 already??

Beautiful ceremony by the water

Fun at the reception

The happy couple

Grammy and Maya

All the cousins who were there

Fun at home - ice cream!

Ellie in her sleeping bag on her first camping trip

Sunset on Neusiedlersee - Nate and three other dads took four toddler girls camping!

Climbing excursion

Minnesota Highlights

We flew back to Minnesota in April to celebrate Nate's brother, Neil's wedding. It was such a wonderful time with family and friends, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to be there! Here are some photo highlights from our visit.

We remembered to take a family photo!

The Wedding Party on the Big Day

Nate and his brother, Evan, with Grandma

Cutting the cake. What a beautiful couple!

The Best Man Toast

The Mother-Son Dance

Ellie in her flower girl dress

The three Johnson brothers at the rehearsal dinner

 

Caitlin & Neil

Ellie, rehearsing her flower girl entrance

We visited my (Bethany) family in Chaska and met my cousin's Fiance

Family photo with Grandma

Ellie explored the kitchen!

Selfie with Oma & Opa

Celebrating Nate's birthday at a mexican restaurant

Riding the rides at the Mall of America

The big Lego Store

Selfie with Opa

Crawling around an indoor playground

Ellie's first time meeting Nana

  

We're Still Alive

Sorry for the recent blogging hiatus! Life was quite hectic in March and at the end of the month, our time was filled with getting ready for our second big trip over the ocean (read about the first here). We flew back to the States on March 31 and are staying for two weeks to celebrate Nate's brother Neil's wedding. We are so thrilled to be here celebrating with Neil and Caitlin, and it's been a really special time connecting with family.

In other news, things with our church relocation back in Vienna are going strong, and this is still a big prayer request. When Nate returns on April 14th, he will hit the ground running with this, attending meetings with the contractor and architect, coordinating volunteers and helping with the renovations himself. He will also be preaching in May, so you can pray for him as he prepares!

When Nate flies back to Vienna, Ellie and I will be staying two more weeks in the States visiting my family in CT. Ellie still flies for free (since she is under 2), so I figure this is probably the last time we can take a trip like this. We are looking forward to seeing everyone out there again! Ellie did really well on the flights here and has adjusted well to the time change. She has warmed up to Oma and Opa (Nate's parents) and has enjoyed some great one-on-one time with them on our trip. She is not walking yet, but getting closer everyday. She is now regularly standing without holding onto anything, so that's a "step in the right direction".

Just for fun, here are a few photos we took of Ellie today. Thanks for your prayers for us!

Celebrating 3 Years

Time flies when you're having fun! And that has certainly been true for us since we tied the knot 3 years ago today. Marriage has been a fun and wonderful adventure for us, and we've learned so much about ourselves and each other since April 18, 2009. Our marriage has been full of a LOT of change, as most of you know...but it has only brought us closer and taught us how to do life together, no matter the circumstances.

Here are some photos from our special day 3 years ago...

Speaking Well

It is here again, wedding season leaps into action right about... now.  And it doesn't feel that long ago that Bethany and I were walking through this same adventure together.  With friends getting married very soon and others just popping the question, weddings and new marriage advice floats through many of our conversations with friends.



Photo credit: earl53 from morguefile.com

As I was flipping through my RSS reader recently I stumbled across this post from Michael Hyatt about speaking well of your spouse in public.  This post caught my attention because this was something that our marriage counselors had recommended to us and it is something we intentionally include in our conversations.  As we continue sharing with friends and family about our missions plans we include a section where we talk about our gifts, strengths and how we compliment each other in life and in ministry.  It encourages me to have a chance to speak well of Bethany and to hear her speak well of me.

What are are you intentional about for the health of your marriage?    

we are to that point

We are to the point where whenever we say our wedding date, the other person's eyes get really big and they say something like, "wow that is really soon!" I think it is one of the only times that we as a couple are wandering around on the cusp of a major life change and don't really physically appear to be there yet. For example, if we were having baby, it would be pretty obvious if you just looked at Bethany (especially 3 weeks before the due date!). I guess maybe we would be in this position if we were adopting a child. But even that is so much more private, there isn't the same comparison.

It is a fascinating proposition, to stare at yourself in the mirror and say, "I am right on the edge of a story that I will tell for the rest of my life." There is a surreal quality to all of this. I felt this way acutely when I was in Bosnia for my internship. People would tell me, and I would tell myself, that this experience will shape how I view the world for a long time. So what exactly does the monumental feel like? Is it supposed to be that much different than a normal Tuesday?

I guess I am just marveling at the fact that in the end it will be exactly like everyone says. I will forget what I did most Tuesdays or even most Saturday nights for that matter. But on April 18th something mystical and lovely is going to happen. And it will shape how I think and feel and see the world for the rest of my life. And there really isn't anything that I can do to make most Saturdays more normal and that day any less abnormal - in a good way. I think the best I can do is to ride it out. Ride the emotional and surreal waves of life and drink what I can from those cups while they are my table for that day.